Perhaps this forum helped them planned this 
Good for them, hope they can enjoy it for longer.
One thing that raises my eyebrows though: Describing a 6600$ rent as ‘pretty reasonable’ (*for Switzerland and the location).
For 2 people, IMO, thats not ‘reasonable’, but luxury. Sure, if one can afford it, why not, but normalizing such a number doesnt do any good for the average renter.
9 Likes
Same with these astounding Google salaries. Comparison is the root of all unhappiness, and this headline makes me sad.
10 Likes
Poirel and her partner keep their finances separate, splitting shared expenses proportionally — about 35% for her and 65% for him. The split was originally tied to their incomes […]
So she was making 390’000 and her bf 724’000, for a total of over 1.1M per year?!
6 Likes
Curious as to what kind of projects she was managing to earn that kind of salary. That’s extremely high for Google.
But an interesting insight into how high salaries tend to reduce motivation to work. I’ve seen this many times. Most of the people I know with both high incomes and a strong work ethic are either self-employed/business owners, have unique career’s that they are passionate about (scientists, surgeons, etc.), or have a clear goal which involves quitting work (e.g. FIRE).
2 Likes
From LinkedIn she was Senior PGM (L5), I assume this is total comp at vest (so includes stock appreciation). (Should be easy to google around to figure out the scope of that role).
Originally split, we don’t know how much she made at split time.
Wrt Google compensation, they talk about 390k USD, i.e. approximately 344k CHF, which isn’t that abnormal for Google senior roles, even at grant time. Though arguably the Google comp itself is abnormal
I’m always a bit jealous when someone here on the forum talks about earning 90k+ per year (I make less). I think it’s really nice that even those earning 90k+ feel the same way if someone makes much more 
13 Likes
Except for one person, there’s always someone earning more than you.
I’ve always been quite lucky in that I’ve never been envious of those earning a lot. Sometimes, I think it must be great earning millions a year as a pro golfer or elite competitive gamer. Then I think:
- That’s probably not the life/work I want anyway and
- Even these people, due to hedonic adaptation and the rigours of their profession, probably have their own misgivings. I remember once speaking to some professinal athletes and thought it was miserable: their sleep was regimented, they couldn’t drink alcohol, had a very strict diet (we were at a great dinner, and they couldn’t eat any of it). But maybe they had the last laugh as now later on in life, I also gave up alcohol, and a lot of unhealthy foods… only I don’t have the athletic body that they do
8 Likes
“I think I literally typed in Google, how can I retire 17 years earlier,” she says.
Maybe Google ought to catch their employees doing this and return search results saying. “No don’t retire, it is impossible! Keep working and collecting that paycheck!”
6 Likes
Well she did retire less than a year after the big layoff wave and while Google was kinda doing rolling layoffs, so … maybe not entirely regrettable attrition? (no implication here that her performance was bad)
Yeah most prob she’s reading this ahah
1 Like
I would say there are three ways to FIRE:
One is frugality. Live actually cheaply (my understanding of the article is that it isn’t what is happening here, $4k per month at 35% of the couple expenses means $12k per month for the couple).
Frugality can generate frustration and a sense of always having to tighten the belt but can also generate a sense of empowerment and develop the do-it-yourself and keep learning muscle, which is very satisfying and doesn’t require a high salary.
Another one is having a really high salary or big windfall. That’s mostly tech/finance employees, higher up executives, self-employed and/or people who built and sold their company. Basically choose the right field, keep improving your skillset (including the social one), build or get the right network, don’t count your hours while you grind (you may coast later on).
Then there’s a mix of the two.
Another approach is to simply aim for FI without dreaming of RE and balance work output, income and expenses to lead a meaningful life while spending less than we earn and investing the difference. While the chances of youngish early retirement are then pretty slim, there’s a lot to be said for valuing our time at all stages of our life. It is also a very hard but, if successful, very rewarding exercise.
There again, the approach can be balanced with the others and we can still aim for positions with a higher salary while cultivating our life balance and focusing on being good human beings (which is very valuable). It sometimes involves changing our field of activity and/or moving to where the opportunities are, which Florence Poirel did.
7 Likes
I think in just about every case it’s a mix of the 2. A high income without frugality can disappear very quickly, and frugality without a high income might enable your great-grandkids to FIRE if your descendents stay the course, but probably not you.
2 Likes
So inspiring seeing a couple retiring before 40 just because they earned 1M/year together lol.
12 Likes
Eyewatering … †
More seriously: seems like a fairly standard L5 Program Manager salary total compensation[$] with a couple of years under her belt and good performance, at least the way I recall it prior to 2020 or so.
His salary sounds more like L6 and probably engineering, but not yet topped out for his level.
At least in my teams at the time, these people (the splurging ones) were a rare exception. I had reports making as much as she or her boyfriend, but they would choose to live in Adliswil – nothing against Adliswil, mind you – or some other commuter town to pay, say, CHF 2k in rent instead of finding a comparable apartment in the city for maybe CHF 3k (ok, maybe not in Seefeld or with a lake view).
Love this.
The best “salary moment” in my life was definitely after I finished my studies (during which I worked as a night clerk at some hospital, making maybe CHF 2k a month[$$] which allowed me to barely survive) when I got my first real job where I made maybe CHF 5k a month[$$] which meant complete independence and what then felt like being able to splurge on anything and everything.
Folks, I hate to be the one[‡] telling you this, but this is your own fault: you index lovers buyers keep buying the VT and other market weight indices, continually and relentlessly propping up these companies which keep diluting their shareholders at break-neck pace (e.g. $22.8B in stock based comp in 2024 just for GOOG).
Where do you think this money is going?
Oops, borderline political.
Self-censored now.
† I of course meant the taxes they pay on these salaries in the city of Zurich. I hope they didn’t read up too much on this forum on how to fill up pillar 2 and save up on those taxes … 
)
$ Total comp = base salary + bonus + equity vested, probably about 60% equity, 30% base salary and 10% bonus if I had to guess.
$$ Inflation adjusted to today.
‡ Ok, I admit: I say this with a smirk on my face: as a stock picker I actually enjoy telling you this.
3 Likes
For those curious: Google Software Engineer Salary in Greater Zurich Area | CHF 164K-CHF 1.12M+ | Levels.fyi
AFAICT those seems in the right ballpark. (and I doubt the 700k total comp someone assumed is correct, but don’t want to speculate further, since I guess her partner would prefer staying anonymous).
Oh, it totally is for L6.
The article states the partner’s first name, age, place of residence, and employer. It also has a photo. That ship has sailed.
What is the cap for L6 comp you are aware of? (and is that granted or vested for stock)