Whether you have significant wealth or not, it’s not uncommon to get to a breaking point at your work and decide you need a break. Now, the thing is, if you’re a member of the FIRE community and have a little extra savings available to live on, taking a break from work is a real possibility.
In the case of one Redditor posting in r/YieldMAXETFs, this Redditor has hit their breaking point and has decided that they need a sabbatical for a year or two. The good news is that between him and his wife, there are millions of dollars in savings, making it a little easier to say goodbye to work for a while.
Taking A Much-Needed Work Break
For this Redditor, who is already financially independent with a net worth of $3 million at 44 years of age, taking a break from work sounds like a dream. The Redditor’s wife, at 42, also has a net worth of around $1.8 million, so this family is already in a super healthy financial situation.
This Redditor makes it a point to say that, for the most part, his life is pretty incredible and that the only thing he hates is his job. Describing it as a job that he hates more than words can describe, this gives us all the evidence we need to understand why the original poster is looking for a break.
To help make this break happen, he’s decided that with his 10,003 shares of MSTY, purchased at an average of $22.37, he’s going to add one more Yield Max ETF to help offset any lost income while not working. It’s for this reason that he’s set aside another $115,000 for the next adventure, which would mean around 10% of his entire portfolio is in two Yield Max stocks.
The current idea is that investing this money into ULTY to get weekly dividend payouts and diversifying beyond just MSTY is the way to go.
Setting Up Passive Income
Based on the information the Redditor has provided, with a $115,000 buy to LTY, as of August 5, 2025, this would earn him around 18,791 shares. With a July 31, 2025, dividend payout of $0.101, this would net him approximately $1,898 per week, or around $7,592 monthly.
Add in the MSTY shares, which most recently paid out a $1.184 dividend distribution, and he’s earning $11,844 monthly just from this stock. All totaled, from these two investments alone, his passive income during his sabbatical, assuming nothing else changes, is going to be approximately $19,437 every month, for the next two years.
Another Redditor in the comments also did the math and estimates this will amount to around $15,000 monthly after taxes. All said and done, if the Redditor’s monthly budget with his wife is lower than this, then by all means, enjoy the sabbatical as much as you can. Ultimately, the Redditor just needs to set up a budget and walk through exactly how much money the couple needs to sustain their lifestyle without his income.
Making Some Smart Financial Decisions
While there are a ton of calls for the Redditor just to retire and walk away from work, this doesn’t appear to be the original poster’s goal. Instead, there are several options here that can be looked at for making wise financial decisions.
First and arguably the biggest question is why the Redditor isn’t using the MSTY distribution to either DRIP or create a more diversified portfolio. There is no reason that he can’t invest in SPYI or QQQI and allow for growth potential while also having some Yield Max income as well.
It doesn’t appear as if the Redditor is close to selling MSTY, but before doing so, he would need to be aware of any tax implications related to capital gains. While MSTY is certainly hot right now, much of its success is tied to a single stock and this stock’s bitcoin holdings, which means it’s just one news cycle away from everything blowing up.
Separately, why the Redditor doesn’t explore consulting or freelance part-time is another question that really needs an answer. This is an opportunity to leverage their institutional knowledge, which has allowed them to accrue a substantial net worth, and still get paid for it, while being their own boss.
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