Hi guys,
I would like to have advice on how to reach financial independece / retire early as fast and yet safe as possible.
-Age: 26 years old student, will be graduating in a few months time.
-Living expenses: still live with parents, will get my own place (ASAP) after graduating.
-Debt: $50k student loans, interest rate will be a lot lower than inflation
-Tax Flling Status: single

Current assets:
$25K in emergency funds (enough for at least 6 months of expenses)
$75k in VWRL (Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF)
$400k in cash

I’m debating myself about the following options:

1. Invest the whole $400k in an index fund (market is almost -30% right now) (will probably DCA througout this bearmarket then) and rent an appartment until I’ll sentle down with my GF (5-7 years from now) and buy a house with her. Having to pay rent and only have a starter salary means I will not be able to monthly contribute in the market for the first few years (maybe after 3 years when my salary increases).
Summary: DCA $400k in an index fund + rent an appartment + monthly contributions when salary increases

2. Invest $150K-$200K in an index fund, use the other $200-$250K to buy an (small) investment appartment without morgage (A+ or A location obviously). Use the money that I would normally pay rent with to DCA monthly into to market. When I sentle down with my GF (5-7 years from now), we”ll buy a house together and i’ll rent out my appartment and refinance it to buy another one. (I can’t use leverage to invest in real estate at the moment because having debt makes it very difficult for me to get a regular morgage. So, after buying a house with my GF with a morgage (5-7 years from now), only then can I start to leverage in real estate.)
Summary: DCA $150K-$200K in an index fund + use $200-$250K to buy a (small) investment apartment + monthly contributions


If you guys have other ideas, please let me know! Thank you!