This story is a part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money sequence, which particulars how folks all over the world earn, spend and save their cash.
On Valentine’s Day in 2024, Florence Poirel poured champagne in her Zurich house with her associate, each longtime Googlers.
Her associate, Jan, had simply completed an extended, aggravating day, and their dialog turned to what life may be like in the event that they stopped working altogether.
What started as a joke grew to become severe the extra they talked, Poirel tells CNBC Make It: “Wouldn’t it be great if we were retired? Why don’t we just do it? Why not just [take] that next step?”
By the tip of the evening, that they had determined to go for it.
Florence Poirel with her associate, Jan.
Gabriel Pecot | CNBC Make It
At the time, Poirel was 35 and incomes roughly $390,000 a yr working for Google in Switzerland. Walking away from that sort of compensation might sound shocking, particularly since she lives in one of the vital costly nations on the planet. “Saying no to this kind of income can be daunting, for sure,” Poirel says.
But early retirement had been on her thoughts for years, having constructed up $1.5 million in financial savings and investments, as of January 2024, by setting apart most of her revenue every month. Describing herself as “risk averse” by nature, Poirel selected to check the waters with what she calls “a mini retirement,” with sufficient money to cowl 18 months of bills.
Now, 18 months later, she hasn’t determined when she’ll return to work. Days are slower, spent studying, swimming in Lake Zurich or touring with her associate to locations like Brazil and Australia.
“I thought I would get bored very easily,” the now-37-year-old says. “But now, it’s been a year and a half and I still haven’t [had] a time of boredom.”
From Google promotions to planning an early exit
In 2013, after finishing a grasp’s diploma in enterprise and economics, Poirel was working in advertising and marketing in Belgium. During a experience house on the finish of an extended week, she advised a colleague how unfulfilled she felt with her job. He replied with the French phrase “qui ne tente rien n’a rien” — he who dangers nothing has nothing.
The phrases caught with her. The following Monday, Poirel give up her job. About a month later, she packed her issues and moved to Dublin with no job lined up, selecting the town for its popularity as a tech hub. Within the yr, she landed a contract place at Google, working in content material moderation and security.
Florence Poirel in her house workplace.
Gabriel Pecot | CNBC Make It
In 2017, she transferred to Google’s Zurich workplace to work as a challenge supervisor, the place she earned three promotions over the next years. That’s the place she met Jan, who’s 17 years older. The relationship made her begin to rethink her long-term plans — particularly the concept of ready a long time to retire.
“I realized that I could not just wait for retirement to enjoy my time with him because he would be much older at that time,” she says. “So that’s when I thought, ‘OK, now I need to think about how I can retire earlier.'”
Discovering FIRE and occurring ‘mini retirement’
Faced with the prospect of working a long time longer than her associate, Poirel went trying for a option to retire sooner. “I think I literally typed in Google, how can I retire 17 years earlier,” she says.
That search led her to the FIRE motion, which stands for monetary independence, retire early. It gave her each the construction and motivation to begin monitoring her internet price with a concrete goal in thoughts. She started actively managing her investments utilizing an in depth Excel spreadsheet and sought out promotions to spice up her wage, channeling every increase straight into financial savings.
Florence Poirel strolling the shore of Lake Zürich.
Gabriel Pecot | CNBC Make It
“People think FIRE is about eating only pasta or cramming into an apartment with 20 flatmates, but that was never my approach,” she says. “It never felt like deprivation … it was just how I behaved and how I shopped.”
By January 2024, she had put away about $1.5 million, and although she wasn’t burned out or sad at Google, she had already began making ready for life past work.
“I realized how much time with the people I love is the most important,” she says. “Climbing the ladder would have meant more responsibilities, more stress, late meetings — and financially, I didn’t need that anymore.”
How Poirel spends her cash
Poirel and her associate hold their funds separate, splitting shared bills proportionally — about 35% for her and 65% for him. The cut up was initially tied to their incomes, however has remained in place since they left their jobs.
“We’re not married, we don’t have joint accounts … having separate finances is very important to keep that independence,” she says. “Finances and money is never a stressor in our relationship because from the beginning we had the same mindset on how to manage that as a couple.”
In May 2025, Poirel’s complete spending got here to about $4,611. Here’s how her share of bills breaks down.
Christina Locopo | CNBC Make It
- Rent: $2,187 for her share of the Zurich house
- Discretionary: $1,345 on journey, electronics and pharmacy purchases
- Insurance: $497 for medical health insurance plus her share of legal responsibility, house and automobile protection
- Food: $378 for groceries and eating
- Utilities: $134 for Wi-Fi, water, warmth and electrical energy
- Transportation: $30 for practice fare
- Phone: $23
- Subscriptions and memberships: $18 for Netflix, Sky and Amazon Prime
Although hire is by far Poirel’s largest expense, the brilliant Zurich flat, which she calls her “sanctuary,” has loads of daylight and a view of the lake.
Her prices are modest in contrast with her former $390,000 wage, particularly in Switzerland, the place she retains prices down by buying at low cost shops and sticking to easy routines.
She and Jan hardly ever dine out and spend a lot of their free time outside. “We have beautiful mountains. You can hike everywhere for free … you can spend 15 hours hiking a mountain just with your backpack,” she says.
Looking forward
Poirel says that having the ability to step away from work at 35 was uncommon, made doable by a high-paying profession in tech that allowed her to avoid wasting aggressively. While that may not be life like for many individuals, she’s seen others within the FIRE neighborhood obtain monetary independence on decrease incomes — it simply typically takes extra time or dwelling in a extra inexpensive place.
With her 18-month sabbatical coming to an finish, Poirel continues to be weighing her subsequent transfer. During the break, she’s used her freedom to concentrate on profession teaching for girls, whereas additionally touring and having fun with time with her associate.
Florence Poirel exterior her house in Thalwil, Switzerland.
Gabriel Pecot | CNBC Make It
She hasn’t dominated out returning to company work, however says if she does, will probably be on her phrases. “To me, FIRE means financial independence, relaxed employment,” she says. “I would love to not go back to 100% — to have much more flexibility in life.”
Poirel says her mini retirement has been outlined by a realization that point is a very powerful useful resource she has. “You can’t buy it, you can’t borrow it, you can’t save it … it just really keeps on spending without you having control over it,” she says.
That perspective modified how she seen her profession. “I didn’t need to keep on climbing that ladder. I had reached the point when it was just enough — and I was happy and free to do something else.”
All quantities are in U.S. {dollars}, transformed from Swiss francs on the OANDA trade fee of 1 CHF to 1.22 USD on May 31, 2025.
What’s your price range breakdown? Share your story with us for an opportunity to be featured in a future installment.
Last probability to avoid wasting: Want to be your individual boss? Final days to get 30% off Smarter by CNBC Make It’s new on-line course, How To Start A Business: For First-Time Founders. Find step-by-step steering for launching your first enterprise, from testing your concept to rising your income. Use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory low cost from September 16 by September 30, 2025.
