Been lurking here a while. Would like some outside eyes before I make a decision I can’t easily reverse.

The numbers:

• Expat in the Gulf — no income tax, but also no pension, no social security, no state safety net, and residency is tied to my job

• Portfolio: $330k VWRA, all in a taxable brokerage (IBKR)

• No bonds, no cash buffer beyond 6 months of expenses, no property

• Contributing \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\~$7k/month, but lumpy — I let cash pile up locally and transfer every 2–3 months

• Income is salary plus freelance USD work on the side

If I stretch to 30 months I cross $625k by first quarter 2029, which has been my mental milestone.

Where I’d retire matters a lot here. The plan is not to retire in the Gulf. It’s Pakistan (home) or Southeast Asia, where $2,000–2,500/month is a genuinely comfortable middle-class life, not ramen. That’s what makes $625k look like a real number instead of a fantasy.

Am I over-solving this? Every calculator says I’m fine. My gut says keep grinding to full FIRE at 37–38. I can’t tell if that’s prudence or just fear wearing prudence as a costume.

Hey everyone, looking for some outside perspective on my situation.

1. I work in IT (remote), living in a relatively low cost-of-living country
2. Annual income: $50k. My living expenses are only $2,000/month, and that's a genuinely comfortable lifestyle here, not a stripped-down budget (the average salary in the city is $800)
3. The rest ($2,350/month) currently splits between investing and paying off an interest-free instalment plan on an apartment I bought pre-construction (paid $34k of $84k so far, finishing around December 2028), these apartments are now worth around 100k
4. Current investments: ~$20k in a stock/ETF portfolio, ~$5k in crypto, I started investing in May last year, when there was no instalment plan for apartments yet. There's nothing particularly interesting in the portfolio: mostly CSPX, some Chinese companies, and some AMD, ASML, Nvidia, physical gold, and Eli Lilly. I didn't do much research, but I understand that American companies are overlapping in the index
5. I also have a small amount of other debt, ~$3.5k, interest-free
6. I rent ($800/month, included in the $2,000 above)

Once the instalment is paid off (end of 2028):

1. That $1700/month I'm currently putting toward the instalment will free up
2. I'll likely have ~50k on investment account build up by then
3. If I keep the apartment as a rental instead of selling, I'd start getting passive rental income (~$600) on top of my income (managed by a company, so hands-off for me)

My questions.. Once that monthly cash flow frees up, would you prioritize replenishing/building an emergency fund, maxing out investments, or something else entirely? Does having rental income change how you'd think about risk tolerance in the rest of the portfolio? Anything you'd do differently in my position?

Not looking for hyper-specific advice, more curious how people in a similar spot tend to think about the next stage.

26M. Have been working for quite awhile. Started part time since the age of 15. Seriously doing part time since 19. Full time since 23. Have been hustling so much since my younger days. Started investing at the age of 21. Back then was some random investments that I do. In this currency juncture, is more towards quality stock picking.

Am thinking of quitting in the next few months as there’s no more reasons for me to continue. Wanted to get off the grid and focus on mind, health, body and finances.

Has anyone my age actually tried geo fire at the young age of 26 and moved over to somewhere affordable?