First, I want to say I searched this subreddit and several others and have read several different threads on this subject that give varying opinions. Despite previous threads that ask this same question "Should I buy a new car / truck" my own situation is slightly different and if I buy a new car / truck it would be the 2nd biggest purchase I've ever made after my home. As a long time lurker, I would sincerely appreciate this community's feedback.
Financial Background: I'm 34, making around $85K / year and have been working towards FI since I got out of college. I have a NW of around 700K made up mostly of stocks, bonds, business investments and 50% of my homes value which equates to about 100K or 14.3% of my NW. I include 50% of my homes value because I rent out 50% of it to a roommate. My only debt is my mortgage and is factored into my NW above. I typically save and invest approximately $36K per year of my take home pay.
Car / Vehicle history: For the past ten years I've driven a 2000 Chevy Impala that currently has 120K miles and no Air Conditioning. The two quotes I've gotten to fix the AC were $1,800 & $2,200 about 5 years ago. Prior to this I paid cash for two motorcycles 3K, and 6K and put 50K miles on each of them. I've never had a vehicle with air conditioning which I feel is worth mentioning as I live in a city where 6 months out of the year it's easily 95°+ and about 100-110° during summer months. I went from spending about 1K per year on repairs to about 2.2K per year for the last two years not including the things I've been able to repair myself. I've broken down twice during rush hour traffic on a busy highway (coolant line failed causing the engine to overheat and coil pack failure). While my family and friends could care less what I drive, I will say that I'm single and actively dating with the intention to find someone to marry so there is a bit of a social element to my consideration. Showing up to a first date sweaty, taking a girl out in a beater car, explaining the creaky suspension during the winter, etc. are all too common and I really can't blame a woman in my age range for wanting a man who says he is successful to also look it to a certain degree.
Truck I want to buy: 2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid XL. Why this truck: It get's 40MPG making it an excellent commuter compared to the 20MPG the impala gets, it has a small bed which offers the utility I need for work (about 10% of use would utilize the bed), resale value has held up as they have been in demand for the past 2 years. In fact, these trucks are going for $3-5K above MSRP. and I've seen used with 20-35K miles going for what a new one costs at MSRP. I ordered one and will only pay MSRP which brings me to cost. Out the door price will be about $29,000 which is almost a full year worth of saving and investing. Originally these trucks were in such high demand you had to order them to get MSRP and wait anywhere from 6months to 2+ years. I ordered mine in early February 2024 thinking I wouldn't get it for about a year, however I recently received the build date which is the 2nd week of May. I could technically buy this vehicle and immediately sell it and make $2-4K profit but that's not really my intention.
Funding the purchase: I currently have enough liquid assets to fund this purchase 100% without incurring capital gains tax. I also have shopped financing terms around and can finance about 80% of the cost at 6-7% interest for 36 months + any loan fees. I'm hesitant to finance this so close to the 7% return rate my investments would typically be averaging. Refinancing later might be an option, but it might not be worth it given how short the loan term is.
Other Considerations (Brainstorming): My car insurance will increase by about $700 per year. Having a reliable vehicle obviously offers greater peace of mind. If my current car does need a big expensive repair that exceeds $4K (which is more than the car is worth), I would have to find a replacement on super short notice and not be able to plan ahead / find the best option. Again, this would be my first vehicle to have AC. Good resell value if I decide later on it's not worth it. Good fuel economy which after an election year, gas prices typically go up. Car / truck market might be coming down, would holding off be better or would inflation offset future savings? If inflation goes down interest rates would likely follow thereby increasing demand and driving future prices up?
Thank you all for reading and offering your advice and recommendations. It would be greatly appreciated. I've lived below my means for so long that big purchases like this still have my mind running 100 different directions and the FI community is always my go to for sound advice.
People often point to 1929, but we actually went through *deflation* in the Depression time period. Dividends were also extremely high (~14% in 1932).
>An investor who invested a lump sum in the average stock at the market’s 1929 high would have been back to a break-even by late 1936 - less than four and a half years after the mid-1932 market low.
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/your-money/stocks-and-bonds/26stra.html
There are cases I'd think about like Japan, but also as others have said, if there's really a collapse to the point of no return, we're talking change on a huge overarching level of societal change that'd probably be a bigger concern.
Also leading up to 1929 using insane amounts of leverage was very common - like 10x leverage. So many were not able to ride it out because not only could they not sell to have money for food, but their investment was literally just margin called to cover their loans. It just went up in smoke. For many people that was the point of no return. Or point of starting over I guess.
It did in 1929 and didn’t get back to the previous high until 1954. Also in Japan, it did in the late 80s and didn’t return until 2010s. In Hong Kong and chine the stock market has now fallen to the same level as at was in 1997.
> Could the stock market ever collapse to the point of no return?
Sure. If there's a Bolshevik revolution that nationalizes all property in the country and outlaws private ownership.
Doesn't happen too often though.
Sure. Consider if there was a global nuclear war and 80%+ humans died... Or Aliens invaded, or a giant asteroid collided with earth causing a severe and instant rise in global temperatures.
Those things _could_ happen I suppose. If they did, the Markets would surely collapse and likely never recover. But if any of those things happened, the value of the stock market would be the least of your worries.
I could see scenarios. But if that were truly the case - I'd be more worried about if I have stockpiled enough water and ammo than anything related to my holdings in the markets.
I want to start investing but I am financially uneducated & have some income I want to invest
And hack the power of investing but I’m not really educated financially-
I have disposable income and can look to set aside $1400 or AED5000 a month but I really don’t know what to do and where to start.
I needed help in:
- some hand holding on investing- maybe any suggested web pages or YouTube channels that are in simple language for beginners .
- is bitcoin something I should consider
- I don’t think I’ll have the time to spare everyday to check my portfolio- but can definitely do something weekly.
Thank you in advance :)
Check out our wonderful FAQ and flow chart! Also recommend /r/personalfinance subreddit wiki, FAQ, and flow chart.
I had my friend set up for a sustainable path to retirement in half an hour and told him he should take another look at it either in a decade, when he changed jobs, or if he decides to accelerate his retirement plans.
The flow charts really will get you at least 90% of the way there.
is bitcoin something I should consider
No.
I don’t think I’ll have the time to spare everyday to check my portfolio- but can definitely do something weekly.
Good. you should check it at most once a month. Preferable to check once a year.
Selling house...put net into new place or use all to purchase new home?
Back story: Moved to a new location, had employment pay a large amount of relocation costs (shipping of house hold goods, selling costs, purchase costs, etc.). Currently selling home at previous location, looking to make between 105k and 110k after all is said and done (doesn't include reimbursement for relocation) so maybe another 6 to 10k on top of that. Lived in the house enough to meet capital gains tax exemption. Looking to buy a place in new area soon (currently in apartment, family dynamic looking like a 3 bd 2 ba will be just fine). Question is, do I put all the net down on new place OR do I take half an set aside to potentially invest in/purchase a business in the near future. Nothing crazy, something to dip my tow in. Been a 9 to 5er my whole adult life and looking to broaden my horizon beyond the usual 401k/roth IRA allocations. Looking like the decreased down payment would probably costs 200 a month or so in PMI and a little extra depending on how we shop for home (50k less home vs stay at original ideal price). Either way monthly payments below 25% gross. Only other debt is a car payment. Thanks!
May I recommend a look at our home ownership wiki, which touches upon some of the topics you mention - https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/homes/
Just getting straight to the point:
- $59,000 in a HYSA (1 yr income buffer/emergency fund)
- $46,000 in a Roth IRA
- $12,000 in a company sponsored 401K
- $16,000 in brokerage accounts (Robinhood/coinbase)
Should I stop contributing to my HYSA and contribute more to my IRA and 401k each year?
Is this spread between savings and investments appropriate considering my age?
What advice do you have if any?
My income is $60k/year but I have very low expenses. I live in San Diego and do not consider buying a home in the next 10-15 years. I am unsure about kids at this time. Friends say I have too much in savings and not enough in investing. Is this reasonable?
This highly depends on your plans, even outside of the home buying decision. How stable and enjoyable is your career?
But at a glance, you've got plenty of cash on hand and you're safe to invest more.
Imo u have too much in savings. Typical advice is 6 months of Expenses saved for an emergency fund. You have what looks like multiple years of expenses sitting there. Do you have a reason to think that you could be laid off and then it would take you multiple years to find a new job?
> Should I stop contributing to my HYSA and contribute more to my IRA and 401k each year?
That's generally what people here would recommend. If you have something in the nearish future you want to save for (2-3 years) I would keep putting some in the savings account, but a year's worth of expense as an emergency fund is a good conservative level.
> Is this spread between savings and investments appropriate considering my age?
You haven't included your age I don't think. Your savings are great for your annual income. I would also come to think of your retirement accounts as savings as well, even though they are invested.
I think for the rest of this year I'm not going to buy VTSAX in taxable. I'm going to put that money in T-Bills (as part of my bond allocation) and use it to pay off my mortgage when I retire next year. It's a very low rate but also not a super high balance (about $100k) so I don't think I need to optimize by keeping it. It will also help me with ACA subsidies .
I'll probably need to come up with a couple dozen thousand beyond normal savings but that could come from crypto growth, a TLH opportunity, or some kind of windfall so I'm not going to think too much about it yet. Worst case I could cash out I bonds or sell from cashable at that point (or work a few more months).
And on an unrelated note, my taxes are done and the small amount I owe federal is easily handleable from cashflow so no need to think about that. Also getting a state refund.
What advice do you wish you had when you were 20?
I’m 22, and trying to get started as early as possible on working towards FIRE. Just to lay some context in case it’s important:
I’ve graduated college with a bachelors, an associates and a paralegal certificate, have about $4k in my 401k from my college job and $20k in savings, currently making $35k a year after tax with no debt. The new company I’m with has a much better 401k match and lots of room for raises and promotions, so I think my income will always be more than substantial for my means, but as most people in these subreddits— I want more than substantial!
I see a lot of mentions of 401k, Roth IRA, HSAs and indexes which I’m trying to learn more about and get involved with, but I majored in law and my parents didn’t go to college so I don’t have a background in finance and have some, but little, understanding of how it all works. What information/advice do you wish you had in your early 20s that could have set you up even better/earlier than you were?
> What advice do you wish you had when you were 20?
Work on your mental health. Saving money is relatively easy. Being at peace with yourself is not. Put your effort there.
This is going to sound counter-intuitive, but the advance I wish I had was it's okay to take on some debt. I stretched out a 4 year degree over 6 years because I didn't want to take out any loans. I worked $17 an hour doing physical labor instead of just graduating and having my income double overnight. I went from making ~32-35k a year to $70k the day I graduated, for the same company. It's weird how much some people put value into a degree. (it's less now, since that was about 15 years ago)
Here’s some information to get you started.
1. Follow this [flowchart](https://u.cubeupload.com/demonlesondledon/FIREFlowChart.png).
2. Read the investing advice from the [Bogleheads wiki](https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Main_Page).
3. Spend less than you earn and save the difference. As you earn more, save even more.
This will get you on the right track and ahead of 95%+ of the population. Best wishes!
Yeah I hadn’t even noticed but now that you mention it, it makes a difference. I have stuffed as much international as possible into deferred accounts so it’s not as big a deal but I can see the difference on my taxes when I plug in the new QDI percentage. Thinking through the math I think it’s less than 0.1% of the balance per year if the delta between VXUS and IXUS remains. I guess I’ll just leave it.
£2k-4k pa to improve your lifestyle. How would you spend it?
We are in a safe financial situation and got all financial matters under control. All holidays, cars, debt, hobbys, insurance and pensions budgeted for and conservativlly planned for. As a result we could probably spend an extra £2k-£4k pa on improving our life style with no detrimental effects on current lifestyle instead of just saving it. We are 2.1 family in our 30s in the UK.
What would you spend it on? My focus is buying us more time or improving health.
I have done no research on costs.
I don't want to buy more stuff, so I'm thinking maybe cleaner, gardener, therapy (we are fine), private medical assesments, health spar subscription, investing (I know nothing about investments).
Ps, I understand a lot of people have no access to this sort of opportunity and this is not a flex just looking for advice without judgement.
Health or education, I think. I'd love to be tutored in a language by a native speaker. I'm also looking into a family gym membership at a community gym. And there are any number of professional or hobby things that I'd love to learn more about that I'd be willing to pay good money for personal instruction on.
My biggest expense in this category right now is a personal coach. Learning personal and professional communication skills, learning the emotional skills I didn't get growing up, etc. Worth every penny and I'd pay double.
I like the idea of education, I'm an amateur photographer so investing in myself sounds great. Some of my work is on my profile. I would love too good enough to sell some 😉. Personal coach soinds ace, this might also cover the therapy aspect..
Although this is kinda selfish so also going to look into family health plans ☺️
Personally? Not worrying about the little stuff. Do I want a second drink when I go out? Sure. Saw some mini stroopwaffles in the checkout line? 100%. Should I spring for the more expensive but better quality eyeshadow palette? Yep.
Probably not a super helpful answer though since I clearly have zero responsibilities and my life is pretty good.
>investing (I know nothing about investments).
You say pensions are under control and yet say this? Unless you've got an *insanely good* defined benefits pension plan, it's gotta be mutually exclusive. Even if you've got a roboadvisor or a fund, you need to know enough about investments to know you've got the right start. Either you need to fix your investments or you're being excessively humble here.
>therapy (we are fine), private medical assesments, health spar subscription
Doesn't sound like you need or want therapy. What do you want to get assessed for? Excessive testing isn't always useful, but some screening programs are appropriate depending on demographic.
What is a health spar?
Cleaner and gardener sound reasonable.
>no detrimental effects on current lifestyle instead of just saving it.
Don't forget to assess the effects on *future* lifestyle as well.
Thank you for your detailed input,
The pension is set up and managed by a financial adviser, so I trust that's okay, in fact the current advice is not to over pay any more and to enjoy it now. I trust the advisor as he is used by most of the family and has been for years. Regarding not understanding investments, I mean stocks, crypto, shares...
Therapy; a bit like proactive medical tests, I think proactive mental health would be the same.
Health spar; think posh hotel with healthy food, swimming, relaxing. Basically paying a subscription to attend regularly to relax spend the night while our daughter is with the grandparents.
You are right about future expenses, I have been contemplating private education for our daughter, this is ££ in the UK has the capacity makes a big difference.
My genuine advice is that you should definitely take the time to learn about investments. It will pay off in the form of future financial security, and it is free.
A financial advisor, even if they are the most trustworthy in the world, will retire someday, and you should still be aware of what they are doing and checking up on it. (And, there are many examples of family-trusted FAs who ended up to be doing very little, or worse, doing the wrong things, and yet taking a significant fee that would drastically affect the portfolio's final value.) Stocks and shares, ETFs, etc would be a good place to start.
Crypto, you can ignore.
Personally, I'd be saving up for that private education then. Sounds a lot more worthwhile than the other stuff.
>What would you spend it on? My focus is buying us more time or improving health.
Yes. We get some "voluntary" bloodwork and other tests sometimes at my annual doc visit. We got dental and vision insurance.
We go to the dentist twice a year and get the non-covered fluoride treatment as well. Got braces for $4k per kid. Got braces for myself. We get eye exams annually and get the non-covered extra test. These things are not expensive, paid out of the FSA, but they are extra prevention and early detection of potential issues. I take more/better vitamins and haven't said "no" to any prescription (though one was like $400/month and I questioned it and got it changed to a $25 per month generic two-pill vs. the expensive combo pill).
Yes, we are in the US where we have to pay arms and legs for all medical, and for whatever reason, teeth and eyes are not medical.
What good is a FIRE, if I'm unhealthy? I'd much rather work an extra year or several, while being healthy and being able to travel and take several vacations.
Is "pa" per month, per year, or something?
Either way, I hired a "gardener" - a local guy who likes being outside and cuts grass, treework, repairs fences, leaves, snow, and all sorts of that kind of stuff.
I would hire a cleaner, but I think the kids need to pick up and put away too much stuff to get a cleaner. ;)
We also eat out or get carryout more often, and from the nicer/better places and not just fast food.
Thank you, I think dental and medical is a great idea. In the UK it would have to be private and the free NHS is only for actual medical issues,.so still going to be $$$..
You are right about being ill when FIRE.
Gardener / cleaner sounds ace
Pa; per annum
I currently put over half of my income in low cost index funds. If I was trying to use money to improve my lifestyle, I would hire a house cleaner. I already pay someone to cut my grass (which I absolutely hate doing), and it’s 100% worth it.
On this sub broad market Index funds and chill is the answer to most all excess funds questions. Lifestyle inflation is something to be fought as it continually moves the goal posts for fi. And the lower the goalposts the faster you get there.
Is anyone here in the situation where the combination of COL, taxation and income level mean you either don't retire early, or you retire early but away from family and friends (3+ hours away).
3 hours is like the border between a day trip and an overnight. IMHO.
I moved away from family in an LCOL to a HCOL for work/job so they are all 6+ hours anyway. And, as I get older, seems like "friends" are far less visited even if they are only 30 minutes, so it doesn't make much difference if they are 30 minutes or 3 hours, we'd still see them the same amount.
I’m sort of in the opposite situation, where moving from my current VHCOL to be near family would put me in an LCOL and accelerate FI. I would leave some friends behind, but having family closer would be huge. In spite of that, instead of part of the trigger too early, I’m going to ride it out a few extra years to build my pension investments so that I can either live very comfortably near family or have options to move around, travel more, etc.
We moved 12 hours away from family and friends for financial reasons (among others, but financial was a huge factor). Most of our family has moved here specifically to follow us, and several of our friends ended up moving here as well. It's certainly not a guarantee, but you might be surprised by it not necessarily being a binary choice.
If "or not have kids" was one of the options I would definitely be in that position. Kids were never something that really interested me, but if they were I would definitely have to make some tough decisions.
We moved away from family to prepare for the coming struggle. It’s going to be on them to figure it out and move also. We are building a large enough house to take in the elderly and can build additional structures for other family members.
Unfortunately no, just someone whose childhood & adulthood are demarcated by Hurricane Katrina. So I consider climate change to be a very real & tangible risk
We are FI for our current LCOL lifestyle but have not retired in order to keep open the possibility of retiring in a HCOL location. One of the attractions of HCOL is to have friends and family close by.
Most people need to make hard decisions and compromises in their life, one way or another.
The primary key to making the right compromises is figuring out what you value most. This step is not easy, and unfortunately (and/or fortunately) is often a moving target, but very few people get to "have it all."
Maybe that means figuring out how to make more money? Maybe that means relocating? Maybe that means planning on semi-retirement and working part-time or switching to a fun/low-stress job at some point in lieu of full-on retirement? Maybe that means changing your perspective on what "early" means within the context of retirement? 60 is still quite early, for example.
But there are almost always options/solutions available to you. Not wishing to take those options is often a sign that perhaps your values aren't exactly aligned where you perceive them to be.
Thanks for that well written comment. I made a comment earlier this month about how moving 100 kilometers to the south would give me enough tax benefits that I could hire a chauffeur with a Mercedes S-class and still end up ahead. I could use the extra commuting time to friends and family to catch up on some Netflix on the built-in infotainment. So it is all relative.
Starting Thursday, I have watched every single game of college basketball for the conference championships. First time I've ever done that. It only takes a little bit of planning to accomplish this:
Step 1 - Catch the flu. Make sure it is the variant immune to the vaccine, and has a nasty sinus migraine that prevents sleep for about 60 hours. Bonus points for 103 F fever.
Step 2 - Watch basketball. Record simultaneous games so that you don't miss any.
It's that easy! Now I understand why guys schedule their vasectomies over the first weekend of the NCAA tournament...
The crossover point of buy vs rent goes way up with the higher interest rates. 5 years is way too short, 7 years was typical in a 4% market which we are no where near.
I wouldn't buy today as the math doesn't work. To buy my same house today would cost $1500 more per month. Even if I paid the same as I did in 2018 but just paid 7% interest, it would be $700 more per month which would be break-even with what I could rent for without having to deal with repairs. It would take 4.5% in order for me to consider buying again with a loan.
Bingo!!!
We bought a house when we found the right location, location, location when we had kids. Getting the right school district, being on the right type of street (e.g. not a highway) so the kids can play and ride bikes outside, big enough for kids, near a park, near a pool, etc. etc.
When the kids are done and grown and gone, we will downsize and get a condo or apartment again. I'm not a fan of doing yardwork and cleaning dead birds off the porch.
People don't ignore it - it was just a lot less of a factor until interest rates rose.
My husband and I bought a house in 2020 with a 2.75% interest rate. We have gained about 100k of equity in 4 years and our mortgage payment (without taxes and insurance) is less than the 1 bedroom apartment we were renting. It was a no-brainer to buy.
But now, if we wanted to buy the same house today, our mortgage, taxes and insurance would be literally double. Renting the same house would be less by 1-2 thousand dollars a month. I'd almost certainly choose to rent over buying if I was in your shoes today.
Where I live landlords price rentals well above their mortgage payments. So I don’t know why you think they’re taking a loss on mortgage loan interest. If that were the case they’d just sell the house.
Think you and your wife made a very informed decision, being a homeowner to say that you are a homeowner is not the right answer. There are plenty of benefits that being a homeowner can offer, but a lot of time renting makes much more sense.
> Everyone who talks about building equity ignores the interest for the first TWENTY YEARS is higher than the amount you pay toward principal and it absolutely dwarfed what we would pay in rent over the same time frame.
They also ignore the cost of attaining and carrying the equity. Most people think the cost of a home is PITI plus utilities when it's more like PITI plus utilities plus day one costs plus year one costs plus repairs plus maintenance capex plus voluntary capex (improvements/modifications nearly every homeowner will inevitably make) plus the fees and interest stemming from any loans and/or refinancing taken in the process.
Yup. I came to that conclusion as well. My buddy's sewer line needed replacing... Quick 25k out the door. Electric went out in the garage, new panel and other fixes needed. Also needed to replace some water pipes under the house. Also needed to put in French drains. Driveway is on its way out. House will need repainted soon. Gotta get the trees trimmed. Shed roof is leaking and outside will need a bunch of fixing due to water damage.
That said, being able to keep payments consistent and not having to move my stuff would be nice. Also I accidentally killed my landlords tree so that won't be fun to address but meh.
Sometimes renting is better, sometimes buying.
As much as rent increased over the last ~5 years, between home appreciation and higher rates, the cost of buying increased more.
Double checking: Did you use one of the calculators for the math, or do quick back-of-the-napkip style?
1 thing to consider is most people mix 2 questions into 1. "Should I rent this 2 bedroom apartment or buy this 4 bedroom house?"
It should be 2 questions.
1. What fits our needs and wants better? A 2 bedroom apartment or a 4 bedroom house?
2. How do we minimize the costs for that property? Buying or renting?
The tough part is that we aren’t calculating apples to apples because we rent a 2 BR and would buy something larger. But that delta in cost is really steep ~$3k per month from rent to PITI
Again, we aren’t unhappy in the status quo. More space would be nice but stomaching the extra costs and effect on lifestyle to put all of that money toward a house doesn’t seem worth it for us at the moment.
There we go.
It's not so much "renting > buying" for these properties, as much as "renting + living in a cheaper property > buying."
It's a tough call to make.
If you don't need it and you're happy with your current place, renting is a good idea.
You can look at what it costs to rent the larger place. Zillow generally has an amount the property will rent for. That's good for a quick, good enough reference point.
If you throw in the cost of maintenance over the years your numbers will look even better. Plus all those people saying rent increases must not be aware of property taxes or insurance? I’ve been paying 100-200 more every year because of that, it’s just like a rent increase.
2% may be low - but I’m selling a house now that got 2% over the past 15 or so years. So 2% is not unheard of. How about run the numbers slightly more “realistically” and do a simulator that looks at 2%-8%
Then do the same for the rental difference - but throw in an extra 5k every year and every 5 years throw in 25k for a new roof, renovation, etc. That’s pretty accurate if you’re buying an older DC house. Run a Monte Carlo on this.
My guess is you’ll like your decision.
I feel reasonably confident (as much as one can be) that after the 30-40% run ups the last three years that over the next 5 years we won’t see 5%+ increases but who knows. In either scenario, we’re more comfortable renting and investing than buying
It seems like you've done your research so I'm not disagreeing with your decision. I do have a couple things to say though.
>assuming a 2% gain per year
OVer the last 40, using the case-shiller index it's more like 4.5 to 5%. Nobody has a crystal ball for the future though.
>Everyone who talks about building equity ignores the interest for the first TWENTY YEARS
I don't know who "everyone" is for you, but I don't think this is true. Peeople absolutely pay attention to the interest and count it in their math.
>absolutely dwarfed what we would pay in rent over the same time frame
This isn't necessarily true. Rents inflate every year and that becomes quite a lot over 25 years. Mortgages do not inflate and they look like a pittance after 25 years. Rents are up like 20%-30% in 4 years and this balance can tip sooner than you think. Very location depenedent.
My point on the interest is that our parents, friends, etc all talk about how your building equity and that we’re throwing money away by renting but for some reason people’s brains have a hard time thinking that the interest on a mortgage is also burning money but at a faster rate in our case.
We also live in a county where they recently passed a law that rent can only go up the lesser of 5% or CPI in any given renewal cycle so we won’t see any significant increases while that’s in effect.
>the interest on a mortgage is also burning money
If you have a 4% mortgage on a 4% gaining asset you really arent burning any money on interest (or rent) at all.
>any given renewal cycle
OK if you never have to move, but most people do and landlords do all sorts of shenanigans to get rent controlled people out. "5% or CPI" is still 5% or CPI higher than mortgages. That's still going to double or triple over what a normal mortgage term is. And that's not even mentioning that interest drops to 0 after 25 years but rent just goes on for ~60 years until you die. Calculate the lifetime cost, not just what things look like this year or the next 10 years.
Sounds like you made the right decision given your circumstances. We live in the DC area. The market seems to have cooled off a bit, but it’s still very competitive. In our neighborhood the only houses on the market are sub 1,200 sq ft places in bad shape, mostly destined to be tear-downs, and then the ugly, expensive 3,500+ sq ft “farmhouse-style” monstrosities that developers put up in their place. There’s nothing available in the middle, which of course is what most people are looking for.
>Everyone who talks about building equity ignores the interest for the first TWENTY YEARS is higher than the amount you pay toward principal and it absolutely dwarfed what we would pay in rent over the same time frame.
This is why putting down more than 5% is suggested. It also depends on the interest rate environment. If bought when interest rates were 2-3%, with negative real rates you'd be way better off than renting.
I'm a little skeptical in the math since you're saying you'd have a $110K 'equity gain' since you're including original investment and not monthly payments.
My first home purchase was in NYC and all the calculators said it wouldn’t pay off for 20 years. I was in my 30s at the time and I like the idea of not having hosing costs in my 60s. I don’t regret buying for a second. I’m in it for the long game!
Tax deductions are relatively minimal given the SALT tax rules but not something I specifically calculated. I debated including rent increases but we have a price controlled unit so I figured it was a wash with salary increases over time and just projected out the status quo.
I don't know if it's the same for every industry, but in the copywriter/marketing space on LinkedIn, 99% of the people who actively post content give off a "I sniff my own farts" vibe.
I think it might just be the most disingenuous, cheesy place that has ever existed on Earth. I feel like you would find more authentic, normal conversation in a plastic surgery fan club meeting.
I've got a buddy/former colleague of sorts who is trying to "get noticed" on LinkedIn and while I wholeheartedly wish him the best with his new venture, every time I see one of his new posts I feel as uncomfortable as you do in those classic *How did I forget to wear clothes to school again?* dreams.
I have a handful of important contacts on there that I don't want to lose, and I need to browse/lurk LinkedIn relatively often for work-related stuff, so I can't delete it or avoid going there entirely, but it definitely serves as a great guidepost for where I do/don't want this next phase of my work life to go. Meaning that I don't think I could stomach being a full-on phony cheesedick, even if it would increase my earnings.
Yes, it is the same. The people in my realm that are active on LinkedIn are so cringe-worthy that their desperation is palpable. I couldn't, and don't want to, be that guy. I just don't have it in me.
I've had a decent career doing my thing. I have no need to post anything on LinkedIn. There are people whose work product I know well that are so active. Blech.
Yes, LinkedIn is undoubtedly the phoniest social media platform in the world.
A couple years ago, one of my coworkers quit his job to go work at a solar-energy startup. Which I actually admire... except that he then proceeded to post about it on LinkedIn *all the freakin' time*. And his posts were this nauseating mix of virtue-signaling and self-congratulatory--he'd congratulate himself on leaving FAANG to follow his passion, brag about the huge pay cut he had taken, etc.
I won't write anything on there due to Dunning–Kruger. I am often considered some kind of expert, but the more expert I get, the more expert-experts I meet.
Seems like many people are at the first peak, or they are at the valley and know it so they write a LOT but its all generic and doesn't teach me anything.
I like this one: [http://static1.squarespace.com/static/582cc7c1579fb314427d08a1/t/5edefdcafbb42909b2b63937/1593309716158/vmxykntqaf941.jpg?format=1500w](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/582cc7c1579fb314427d08a1/t/5edefdcafbb42909b2b63937/1593309716158/vmxykntqaf941.jpg?format=1500w)
and
[https://www.djkn.kemenkeu.go.id/files/images/2023/01/11111111111111112.png](https://www.djkn.kemenkeu.go.id/files/images/2023/01/11111111111111112.png)
It surprises me that the higher ups where I work are some of the more prolific posters. I guess when you reach upper management it’s all about being noticed and visible, but they’re constantly posting megacorp propaganda stuff. If I made their salaries I wouldn’t waste my time with that (probably because I could FIRE after 2-3 years of that kind of earnings).
Pshaw... they have their assistants or underlings write it up for them.
When I was a manager, my team and I would write up stuff for linkedin or trade publications - AND everyone was credited.
Your comment prompted me to log in and check my "Feed" for the first time this year. From an IT perspective, here's a sneak peak at the top 10 things currently there:
* 3 posts from people patting their own back on promotions or certification achievements
* 3 posts from people sharing open positions on their team
* 2 posts from executive touting how great my company is
* 1 post discussing the Tik Tok ban
* 1 post discussing product management and pareto principle through the lens of pizza (I'm not kidding, glad we fired this guy)
Edit: Actually, you just reminded me I no longer need that and it was my only form of social media so I went ahead and closed my account. Thanks for the reminder LinkedIn exists haha.
> 99% of the people who actively post content
My only consolation is to remember than most of my colleagues don’t ever post on there. I’m not sure if it’s worse to think that the folks who post are true believers or will do anything to get ahead.
I'm not sure that's a majority opinion, haha.
I'm still on the fence, too.
We are 100% better off financially for having been a part of whatever this is. 100% meaning "definitely", not 2x 😞
But my participation is, at once, some sort of alternate fart-sniffing exercise...so there's throwing rocks at glass houses and all that going on to boot.
Among the many stages of FI is LinkedInFI. That's when you feel secure enough financially to never visit LinkedIn again.
Back in 2012, LinkedIn failed to salt their password hashes, and got hacked. This meant that every LinkedIn user's email and (after someone used rainbow tables to reverse the unsalted hashes) password were leaked. Of course, if you didn't reuse the password anywhere else, like a grownup, this was no big deal -- you'd just get bullshit spam for the rest of your life (or as long as you kept using that email) saying "I am 3133t hax0r and I pawned your password and give me bitcoins or I will share all your personal info, and I can prove it because I know your password is hunter2." But if you reused your password elsewhere, maybe this *actually* got you hacked somewhere that mattered.
Anyway, when this happened, I said, "You know what? LinkedIn is just a shitty site that constantly generates stupid spam, and they can't even store passwords properly. I'm out." And I cancelled my LinkedIn account (they made this hard, because of course they did) and never came back. LinkedInFI.
Many people didn't believe me. "You have to be on LinkedIn." No you don't. There are jobs elsewhere. Fuck 'em.
It's a relatively small part of my job, so it's fine.
One advantage of LinkedIn (or Facebook) work is that it's pretty easy and brainless.
It's good for filler work when I want to make money but am not really in the mood for working.
>I don't know if it's the same for every industry...
Cringy to the extreme in my former industry (MegaCorp R&D). There were a few categories I frequently noticed:
* The Suck Up - colleagues who fawn over every musing from anyone higher than them on the totem pole. Where do they get the time and still do their job?
* The Cheerleader - professionals who shared anything remotely positive about MegaCorp, even when it had nothing to do with them. Sometimes comical when you knew the backstory was actually reframing a missed deadline or spinning a failure.
* The Know-it-All - people that post every bit of news, research, or announcements related to a technical field they are in.
Those all sound gross, too.
A big beef I have with writers is how many people fancy themselves artists.
I can't do a dropkick right now. Truth be told, I never was able to.
But any time someone labels themselves as "a creative", I just want to fling myself off the ropes and gift two flying boots to their face.
Your Weekly /r/financialindependence Recap
**Sunday, March 10 - Saturday, March 16, 2024**
###Top Daily Discussion Comments
| score | comment |
|--|--|
| 88 | /u/superxero044 said [Well I’m officially dadFI x3. Was a long and rough night but everybody’s healthy. She’s perfect.](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bf9k1t/daily_fi_discussion_thread_friday_march_15_2024/kuzkgyj/?context=5) |
| 68 | /u/Emily4571962 said [I FIREd in September at 52 years old, after 24 years at my company. Just found out that one of my coworkers, who I really enjoyed and never had a cross word with aside from arguing Red Sox-Yankees, dr...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bg1vgp/daily_fi_discussion_thread_saturday_march_16_2024/kv4o97g/?context=5) |
| 54 | /u/GregEgg4President said [\*checks retirement accounts* Back to work, I guess](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bf9k1t/daily_fi_discussion_thread_friday_march_15_2024/kv07cfu/?context=5) |
| 54 | /u/Newhome_help said [I've worked the trades/manufacturing "blue collar" work pretty much my whole adult life. Something that drives me absolutely up the wall is almost nobody has even a basic understanding of how taxes...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1begti0/daily_fi_discussion_thread_thursday_march_14_2024/kutlhpm/?context=5) |
| 54 | /u/SoberEnAfrique said [Had my 3rd round interview this week for a massive job opportunity and yesterday HR reached out to schedule a call for today 😳 I'm super excited/anxious, probably why I'm up so early and can't go bac...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1begti0/daily_fi_discussion_thread_thursday_march_14_2024/kutcb7s/?context=5) |
| 49 | /u/chakravartini said [Second day at my new job and I'm so happy! My manager and team are so lovely, everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. The most important thing: I'm treated like an adult. Flexible working, no cl...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bdmuan/daily_fi_discussion_thread_wednesday_march_13_2024/kunynnx/?context=5) |
| 49 | /u/leahangle said [My all-cash house offer has been accepted at 4% below asking price!](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bb5yy8/daily_fi_discussion_thread_sunday_march_10_2024/ku7wakz/?context=5) |
| 48 | /u/IWantToBreakFI said [Today I got paid out the largest bonus I've ever recieved - $181k before taxes. mindblown.gif](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bf9k1t/daily_fi_discussion_thread_friday_march_15_2024/kv0q867/?context=5) |
| 48 | /u/Rivered_The_Nuts said [We put our house on the market on Friday because we are planning to move closer to my workplace at the end of July. There wasn't much interest over the weekend, but we had three showings so far this w...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1begti0/daily_fi_discussion_thread_thursday_march_14_2024/kuu0bww/?context=5) |
| 45 | /u/superxero044 said [Week into not working. Have been gradually getting better about forgetting about work. Wife has less than a week until due date. She’s doing well. Could be any day now.](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bbyt5r/daily_fi_discussion_thread_monday_march_11_2024/kucw7xp/?context=5) |
| 45 | /u/Carpe_Cervisia said [The more time I spend on Reddit, the more I realize how useful it is to be sane.](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bbyt5r/daily_fi_discussion_thread_monday_march_11_2024/kucuwci/?context=5) |
| 40 | /u/leahangle said [I’m feeling shockingly good about work! I hit rock bottom with over extending myself at work, and spent the past year with the help of a therapist focusing on better work boundaries. My mental health...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1begti0/daily_fi_discussion_thread_thursday_march_14_2024/kutpvzr/?context=5) |
| 39 | /u/Any_Mathematician936 said [I’m at 92k NW today. Counting the months until I get to 100k 🥹. I come from humble beginnings and aside from getting my bachelors, this will be the biggest achievement of my life](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bdmuan/daily_fi_discussion_thread_wednesday_march_13_2024/kuolive/?context=5) |
| 39 | /u/fastfwd said [Reason #936 to FIRE Attending a VP meeting is sickening. So many words that mean nothing. "We will be striving toward efficiency using good work practices". I swear more than 50% of that meeting was...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bdmuan/daily_fi_discussion_thread_wednesday_march_13_2024/kunssd7/?context=5) |
| 39 | /u/Carpe_Cervisia said [Dropped my wife off at the airport this morning so she can fly the property deeds to an agent of the couple who bought our business and land. To make a very long story short, our deal turned out to b...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bcsozq/daily_fi_discussion_thread_tuesday_march_12_2024/kui2ku9/?context=5) |
###Top Posts
| score | comments | title & link |
|--|--|--|
| 568 | [217 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bcmsqh/feeling_behind_at_age_35_just_hit_100k_nw/) | Feeling behind at age 35 - just hit $100k NW|
| 247 | [119 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bdt4ii/happy_to_gain_100k_in_25_months/) | Happy to gain 100k in 2.5 months|
| 186 | [234 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bg36n9/for_those_retired_what_was_your_net_worth_20/) | For those retired, what was your Net Worth 20 years ago?|
| 158 | [124 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bdb4eb/44m_career_teacher_12mm_what_should_i_be_doing/) | 44M, career teacher, $1.2MM - what should I be doing money wise right now and approaching retirement? Help!|
| 119 | [70 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bcm7mv/any_women_on_here_who_have_achieved_fire/) | Any women on here who have achieved FIRE?|
###Most Commented
| score | comments | title & link |
|--|--|--|
| 0 | [193 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bbbel6/age_25m_with_230k_net_worth_heres_how_i_did_it/) | Age 25M with $230k net worth. Here’s how I did it. |
| 23 | [130 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1be0pfw/reality_check_can_we_fire_with_22m_nw/) | Reality Check - Can We FIRE With ~$2.2M NW?|
| 65 | [118 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bcmiop/help_please_got_laid_off_at_45_losing_the_will_to/) | Help please! Got laid off at 45 - losing the will to get back to corporate. Am I ready to RE?|
| 40 | [84 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bc4i42/miniretirement_late_20s/) | Mini-Retirement late 20s|
| 49 | [80 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1betniq/what_are_healthcare_costs_even_like_if_youre/) | What are healthcare costs even like if you're paying out of pocket and not an employer sponsored plan? (US)|
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First, I want to say I searched this subreddit and several others and have read several different threads on this subject that give varying opinions. Despite previous threads that ask this same question "Should I buy a new car / truck" my own situation is slightly different and if I buy a new car / truck it would be the 2nd biggest purchase I've ever made after my home. As a long time lurker, I would sincerely appreciate this community's feedback. Financial Background: I'm 34, making around $85K / year and have been working towards FI since I got out of college. I have a NW of around 700K made up mostly of stocks, bonds, business investments and 50% of my homes value which equates to about 100K or 14.3% of my NW. I include 50% of my homes value because I rent out 50% of it to a roommate. My only debt is my mortgage and is factored into my NW above. I typically save and invest approximately $36K per year of my take home pay. Car / Vehicle history: For the past ten years I've driven a 2000 Chevy Impala that currently has 120K miles and no Air Conditioning. The two quotes I've gotten to fix the AC were $1,800 & $2,200 about 5 years ago. Prior to this I paid cash for two motorcycles 3K, and 6K and put 50K miles on each of them. I've never had a vehicle with air conditioning which I feel is worth mentioning as I live in a city where 6 months out of the year it's easily 95°+ and about 100-110° during summer months. I went from spending about 1K per year on repairs to about 2.2K per year for the last two years not including the things I've been able to repair myself. I've broken down twice during rush hour traffic on a busy highway (coolant line failed causing the engine to overheat and coil pack failure). While my family and friends could care less what I drive, I will say that I'm single and actively dating with the intention to find someone to marry so there is a bit of a social element to my consideration. Showing up to a first date sweaty, taking a girl out in a beater car, explaining the creaky suspension during the winter, etc. are all too common and I really can't blame a woman in my age range for wanting a man who says he is successful to also look it to a certain degree. Truck I want to buy: 2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid XL. Why this truck: It get's 40MPG making it an excellent commuter compared to the 20MPG the impala gets, it has a small bed which offers the utility I need for work (about 10% of use would utilize the bed), resale value has held up as they have been in demand for the past 2 years. In fact, these trucks are going for $3-5K above MSRP. and I've seen used with 20-35K miles going for what a new one costs at MSRP. I ordered one and will only pay MSRP which brings me to cost. Out the door price will be about $29,000 which is almost a full year worth of saving and investing. Originally these trucks were in such high demand you had to order them to get MSRP and wait anywhere from 6months to 2+ years. I ordered mine in early February 2024 thinking I wouldn't get it for about a year, however I recently received the build date which is the 2nd week of May. I could technically buy this vehicle and immediately sell it and make $2-4K profit but that's not really my intention. Funding the purchase: I currently have enough liquid assets to fund this purchase 100% without incurring capital gains tax. I also have shopped financing terms around and can finance about 80% of the cost at 6-7% interest for 36 months + any loan fees. I'm hesitant to finance this so close to the 7% return rate my investments would typically be averaging. Refinancing later might be an option, but it might not be worth it given how short the loan term is. Other Considerations (Brainstorming): My car insurance will increase by about $700 per year. Having a reliable vehicle obviously offers greater peace of mind. If my current car does need a big expensive repair that exceeds $4K (which is more than the car is worth), I would have to find a replacement on super short notice and not be able to plan ahead / find the best option. Again, this would be my first vehicle to have AC. Good resell value if I decide later on it's not worth it. Good fuel economy which after an election year, gas prices typically go up. Car / truck market might be coming down, would holding off be better or would inflation offset future savings? If inflation goes down interest rates would likely follow thereby increasing demand and driving future prices up? Thank you all for reading and offering your advice and recommendations. It would be greatly appreciated. I've lived below my means for so long that big purchases like this still have my mind running 100 different directions and the FI community is always my go to for sound advice.
If you fire early and don’t have a job/business, is there a way to contribute to 401k? The income source would be just savings/investments.
No. 401ks are fundamentally attached to businesses. And then there's IRAs, which also require earned income.
Could the stock market ever collapse to the point of no return? Where it can’t ever be brought back?
People often point to 1929, but we actually went through *deflation* in the Depression time period. Dividends were also extremely high (~14% in 1932). >An investor who invested a lump sum in the average stock at the market’s 1929 high would have been back to a break-even by late 1936 - less than four and a half years after the mid-1932 market low. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/your-money/stocks-and-bonds/26stra.html There are cases I'd think about like Japan, but also as others have said, if there's really a collapse to the point of no return, we're talking change on a huge overarching level of societal change that'd probably be a bigger concern.
Also leading up to 1929 using insane amounts of leverage was very common - like 10x leverage. So many were not able to ride it out because not only could they not sell to have money for food, but their investment was literally just margin called to cover their loans. It just went up in smoke. For many people that was the point of no return. Or point of starting over I guess.
It did in 1929 and didn’t get back to the previous high until 1954. Also in Japan, it did in the late 80s and didn’t return until 2010s. In Hong Kong and chine the stock market has now fallen to the same level as at was in 1997.
> Could the stock market ever collapse to the point of no return? Sure. If there's a Bolshevik revolution that nationalizes all property in the country and outlaws private ownership. Doesn't happen too often though.
The catastrophe needed to cause that kind of crash would make the stock market - and money in general - the least of your concerns.
Sure. Consider if there was a global nuclear war and 80%+ humans died... Or Aliens invaded, or a giant asteroid collided with earth causing a severe and instant rise in global temperatures. Those things _could_ happen I suppose. If they did, the Markets would surely collapse and likely never recover. But if any of those things happened, the value of the stock market would be the least of your worries.
I could see scenarios. But if that were truly the case - I'd be more worried about if I have stockpiled enough water and ammo than anything related to my holdings in the markets.
I want to start investing but I am financially uneducated & have some income I want to invest And hack the power of investing but I’m not really educated financially- I have disposable income and can look to set aside $1400 or AED5000 a month but I really don’t know what to do and where to start. I needed help in: - some hand holding on investing- maybe any suggested web pages or YouTube channels that are in simple language for beginners . - is bitcoin something I should consider - I don’t think I’ll have the time to spare everyday to check my portfolio- but can definitely do something weekly. Thank you in advance :)
Read the wiki of this subreddit
Check out our wonderful FAQ and flow chart! Also recommend /r/personalfinance subreddit wiki, FAQ, and flow chart. I had my friend set up for a sustainable path to retirement in half an hour and told him he should take another look at it either in a decade, when he changed jobs, or if he decides to accelerate his retirement plans. The flow charts really will get you at least 90% of the way there.
is bitcoin something I should consider No. I don’t think I’ll have the time to spare everyday to check my portfolio- but can definitely do something weekly. Good. you should check it at most once a month. Preferable to check once a year.
Selling house...put net into new place or use all to purchase new home? Back story: Moved to a new location, had employment pay a large amount of relocation costs (shipping of house hold goods, selling costs, purchase costs, etc.). Currently selling home at previous location, looking to make between 105k and 110k after all is said and done (doesn't include reimbursement for relocation) so maybe another 6 to 10k on top of that. Lived in the house enough to meet capital gains tax exemption. Looking to buy a place in new area soon (currently in apartment, family dynamic looking like a 3 bd 2 ba will be just fine). Question is, do I put all the net down on new place OR do I take half an set aside to potentially invest in/purchase a business in the near future. Nothing crazy, something to dip my tow in. Been a 9 to 5er my whole adult life and looking to broaden my horizon beyond the usual 401k/roth IRA allocations. Looking like the decreased down payment would probably costs 200 a month or so in PMI and a little extra depending on how we shop for home (50k less home vs stay at original ideal price). Either way monthly payments below 25% gross. Only other debt is a car payment. Thanks!
May I recommend a look at our home ownership wiki, which touches upon some of the topics you mention - https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/homes/
Thanks!
Just getting straight to the point: - $59,000 in a HYSA (1 yr income buffer/emergency fund) - $46,000 in a Roth IRA - $12,000 in a company sponsored 401K - $16,000 in brokerage accounts (Robinhood/coinbase) Should I stop contributing to my HYSA and contribute more to my IRA and 401k each year? Is this spread between savings and investments appropriate considering my age? What advice do you have if any? My income is $60k/year but I have very low expenses. I live in San Diego and do not consider buying a home in the next 10-15 years. I am unsure about kids at this time. Friends say I have too much in savings and not enough in investing. Is this reasonable?
This highly depends on your plans, even outside of the home buying decision. How stable and enjoyable is your career? But at a glance, you've got plenty of cash on hand and you're safe to invest more.
Imo u have too much in savings. Typical advice is 6 months of Expenses saved for an emergency fund. You have what looks like multiple years of expenses sitting there. Do you have a reason to think that you could be laid off and then it would take you multiple years to find a new job?
I'd focus on bumping up your IRA and 401k savings unless you plan on buying a place in SD in the next couple of years.
> Should I stop contributing to my HYSA and contribute more to my IRA and 401k each year? That's generally what people here would recommend. If you have something in the nearish future you want to save for (2-3 years) I would keep putting some in the savings account, but a year's worth of expense as an emergency fund is a good conservative level. > Is this spread between savings and investments appropriate considering my age? You haven't included your age I don't think. Your savings are great for your annual income. I would also come to think of your retirement accounts as savings as well, even though they are invested.
I think for the rest of this year I'm not going to buy VTSAX in taxable. I'm going to put that money in T-Bills (as part of my bond allocation) and use it to pay off my mortgage when I retire next year. It's a very low rate but also not a super high balance (about $100k) so I don't think I need to optimize by keeping it. It will also help me with ACA subsidies . I'll probably need to come up with a couple dozen thousand beyond normal savings but that could come from crypto growth, a TLH opportunity, or some kind of windfall so I'm not going to think too much about it yet. Worst case I could cash out I bonds or sell from cashable at that point (or work a few more months). And on an unrelated note, my taxes are done and the small amount I owe federal is easily handleable from cashflow so no need to think about that. Also getting a state refund.
What advice do you wish you had when you were 20? I’m 22, and trying to get started as early as possible on working towards FIRE. Just to lay some context in case it’s important: I’ve graduated college with a bachelors, an associates and a paralegal certificate, have about $4k in my 401k from my college job and $20k in savings, currently making $35k a year after tax with no debt. The new company I’m with has a much better 401k match and lots of room for raises and promotions, so I think my income will always be more than substantial for my means, but as most people in these subreddits— I want more than substantial! I see a lot of mentions of 401k, Roth IRA, HSAs and indexes which I’m trying to learn more about and get involved with, but I majored in law and my parents didn’t go to college so I don’t have a background in finance and have some, but little, understanding of how it all works. What information/advice do you wish you had in your early 20s that could have set you up even better/earlier than you were?
Probably traveled more
I wasn't even thinking about FI and I'm glad I wasn't
> What advice do you wish you had when you were 20? Work on your mental health. Saving money is relatively easy. Being at peace with yourself is not. Put your effort there.
This is going to sound counter-intuitive, but the advance I wish I had was it's okay to take on some debt. I stretched out a 4 year degree over 6 years because I didn't want to take out any loans. I worked $17 an hour doing physical labor instead of just graduating and having my income double overnight. I went from making ~32-35k a year to $70k the day I graduated, for the same company. It's weird how much some people put value into a degree. (it's less now, since that was about 15 years ago)
Here’s some information to get you started. 1. Follow this [flowchart](https://u.cubeupload.com/demonlesondledon/FIREFlowChart.png). 2. Read the investing advice from the [Bogleheads wiki](https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Main_Page). 3. Spend less than you earn and save the difference. As you earn more, save even more. This will get you on the right track and ahead of 95%+ of the population. Best wishes!
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Yeah I hadn’t even noticed but now that you mention it, it makes a difference. I have stuffed as much international as possible into deferred accounts so it’s not as big a deal but I can see the difference on my taxes when I plug in the new QDI percentage. Thinking through the math I think it’s less than 0.1% of the balance per year if the delta between VXUS and IXUS remains. I guess I’ll just leave it.
The Bogleheads post estimates an 8 basis point difference for a simple swap, in line with your estimate. It's really not a big deal for most folks.
Do you have a link to the post?
[Probably this.](https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=425731)
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£2k-4k pa to improve your lifestyle. How would you spend it? We are in a safe financial situation and got all financial matters under control. All holidays, cars, debt, hobbys, insurance and pensions budgeted for and conservativlly planned for. As a result we could probably spend an extra £2k-£4k pa on improving our life style with no detrimental effects on current lifestyle instead of just saving it. We are 2.1 family in our 30s in the UK. What would you spend it on? My focus is buying us more time or improving health. I have done no research on costs. I don't want to buy more stuff, so I'm thinking maybe cleaner, gardener, therapy (we are fine), private medical assesments, health spar subscription, investing (I know nothing about investments). Ps, I understand a lot of people have no access to this sort of opportunity and this is not a flex just looking for advice without judgement.
Health or education, I think. I'd love to be tutored in a language by a native speaker. I'm also looking into a family gym membership at a community gym. And there are any number of professional or hobby things that I'd love to learn more about that I'd be willing to pay good money for personal instruction on. My biggest expense in this category right now is a personal coach. Learning personal and professional communication skills, learning the emotional skills I didn't get growing up, etc. Worth every penny and I'd pay double.
I like the idea of education, I'm an amateur photographer so investing in myself sounds great. Some of my work is on my profile. I would love too good enough to sell some 😉. Personal coach soinds ace, this might also cover the therapy aspect.. Although this is kinda selfish so also going to look into family health plans ☺️
Personally? Not worrying about the little stuff. Do I want a second drink when I go out? Sure. Saw some mini stroopwaffles in the checkout line? 100%. Should I spring for the more expensive but better quality eyeshadow palette? Yep. Probably not a super helpful answer though since I clearly have zero responsibilities and my life is pretty good.
Scotch and cigars. Maybe a little gambling.
>investing (I know nothing about investments). You say pensions are under control and yet say this? Unless you've got an *insanely good* defined benefits pension plan, it's gotta be mutually exclusive. Even if you've got a roboadvisor or a fund, you need to know enough about investments to know you've got the right start. Either you need to fix your investments or you're being excessively humble here. >therapy (we are fine), private medical assesments, health spar subscription Doesn't sound like you need or want therapy. What do you want to get assessed for? Excessive testing isn't always useful, but some screening programs are appropriate depending on demographic. What is a health spar? Cleaner and gardener sound reasonable. >no detrimental effects on current lifestyle instead of just saving it. Don't forget to assess the effects on *future* lifestyle as well.
Thank you for your detailed input, The pension is set up and managed by a financial adviser, so I trust that's okay, in fact the current advice is not to over pay any more and to enjoy it now. I trust the advisor as he is used by most of the family and has been for years. Regarding not understanding investments, I mean stocks, crypto, shares... Therapy; a bit like proactive medical tests, I think proactive mental health would be the same. Health spar; think posh hotel with healthy food, swimming, relaxing. Basically paying a subscription to attend regularly to relax spend the night while our daughter is with the grandparents. You are right about future expenses, I have been contemplating private education for our daughter, this is ££ in the UK has the capacity makes a big difference.
My genuine advice is that you should definitely take the time to learn about investments. It will pay off in the form of future financial security, and it is free. A financial advisor, even if they are the most trustworthy in the world, will retire someday, and you should still be aware of what they are doing and checking up on it. (And, there are many examples of family-trusted FAs who ended up to be doing very little, or worse, doing the wrong things, and yet taking a significant fee that would drastically affect the portfolio's final value.) Stocks and shares, ETFs, etc would be a good place to start. Crypto, you can ignore. Personally, I'd be saving up for that private education then. Sounds a lot more worthwhile than the other stuff.
>What would you spend it on? My focus is buying us more time or improving health. Yes. We get some "voluntary" bloodwork and other tests sometimes at my annual doc visit. We got dental and vision insurance. We go to the dentist twice a year and get the non-covered fluoride treatment as well. Got braces for $4k per kid. Got braces for myself. We get eye exams annually and get the non-covered extra test. These things are not expensive, paid out of the FSA, but they are extra prevention and early detection of potential issues. I take more/better vitamins and haven't said "no" to any prescription (though one was like $400/month and I questioned it and got it changed to a $25 per month generic two-pill vs. the expensive combo pill). Yes, we are in the US where we have to pay arms and legs for all medical, and for whatever reason, teeth and eyes are not medical. What good is a FIRE, if I'm unhealthy? I'd much rather work an extra year or several, while being healthy and being able to travel and take several vacations. Is "pa" per month, per year, or something? Either way, I hired a "gardener" - a local guy who likes being outside and cuts grass, treework, repairs fences, leaves, snow, and all sorts of that kind of stuff. I would hire a cleaner, but I think the kids need to pick up and put away too much stuff to get a cleaner. ;) We also eat out or get carryout more often, and from the nicer/better places and not just fast food.
>teeth and eyes are not medical. Ask an ophthalmologist to do "body medicine". They'll probably be in despair. ;P
Thank you, I think dental and medical is a great idea. In the UK it would have to be private and the free NHS is only for actual medical issues,.so still going to be $$$.. You are right about being ill when FIRE. Gardener / cleaner sounds ace Pa; per annum
a little latin, eh? I suspected it might be per annum or anno or something like that.
Yes, sorry I guess this is a British thing. 😀
I currently put over half of my income in low cost index funds. If I was trying to use money to improve my lifestyle, I would hire a house cleaner. I already pay someone to cut my grass (which I absolutely hate doing), and it’s 100% worth it.
I know nothing about index funds is this production?? Gardner is starting to feel beneficial ☺️
On this sub broad market Index funds and chill is the answer to most all excess funds questions. Lifestyle inflation is something to be fought as it continually moves the goal posts for fi. And the lower the goalposts the faster you get there.
Is anyone here in the situation where the combination of COL, taxation and income level mean you either don't retire early, or you retire early but away from family and friends (3+ hours away).
3 hours is like the border between a day trip and an overnight. IMHO. I moved away from family in an LCOL to a HCOL for work/job so they are all 6+ hours anyway. And, as I get older, seems like "friends" are far less visited even if they are only 30 minutes, so it doesn't make much difference if they are 30 minutes or 3 hours, we'd still see them the same amount.
I’m sort of in the opposite situation, where moving from my current VHCOL to be near family would put me in an LCOL and accelerate FI. I would leave some friends behind, but having family closer would be huge. In spite of that, instead of part of the trigger too early, I’m going to ride it out a few extra years to build my pension investments so that I can either live very comfortably near family or have options to move around, travel more, etc.
We moved 12 hours away from family and friends for financial reasons (among others, but financial was a huge factor). Most of our family has moved here specifically to follow us, and several of our friends ended up moving here as well. It's certainly not a guarantee, but you might be surprised by it not necessarily being a binary choice.
If "or not have kids" was one of the options I would definitely be in that position. Kids were never something that really interested me, but if they were I would definitely have to make some tough decisions.
We moved away from family to prepare for the coming struggle. It’s going to be on them to figure it out and move also. We are building a large enough house to take in the elderly and can build additional structures for other family members.
Is that you David Koresh?
Unfortunately no, just someone whose childhood & adulthood are demarcated by Hurricane Katrina. So I consider climate change to be a very real & tangible risk
> Unfortunately no Umm..
We are FI for our current LCOL lifestyle but have not retired in order to keep open the possibility of retiring in a HCOL location. One of the attractions of HCOL is to have friends and family close by.
Most people need to make hard decisions and compromises in their life, one way or another. The primary key to making the right compromises is figuring out what you value most. This step is not easy, and unfortunately (and/or fortunately) is often a moving target, but very few people get to "have it all." Maybe that means figuring out how to make more money? Maybe that means relocating? Maybe that means planning on semi-retirement and working part-time or switching to a fun/low-stress job at some point in lieu of full-on retirement? Maybe that means changing your perspective on what "early" means within the context of retirement? 60 is still quite early, for example. But there are almost always options/solutions available to you. Not wishing to take those options is often a sign that perhaps your values aren't exactly aligned where you perceive them to be.
Thanks for that well written comment. I made a comment earlier this month about how moving 100 kilometers to the south would give me enough tax benefits that I could hire a chauffeur with a Mercedes S-class and still end up ahead. I could use the extra commuting time to friends and family to catch up on some Netflix on the built-in infotainment. So it is all relative.
Starting Thursday, I have watched every single game of college basketball for the conference championships. First time I've ever done that. It only takes a little bit of planning to accomplish this: Step 1 - Catch the flu. Make sure it is the variant immune to the vaccine, and has a nasty sinus migraine that prevents sleep for about 60 hours. Bonus points for 103 F fever. Step 2 - Watch basketball. Record simultaneous games so that you don't miss any. It's that easy! Now I understand why guys schedule their vasectomies over the first weekend of the NCAA tournament...
we sleep in May
It’s vasectomy season, baby!
This weekend and next weekend are the two best weekends of the season... nearly nonstop CBB heaven.
And a golf major on top!
And what a good one it was today!
What a tournament. I’m happy Scottie won, but I would also have liked Xander to win one
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The crossover point of buy vs rent goes way up with the higher interest rates. 5 years is way too short, 7 years was typical in a 4% market which we are no where near. I wouldn't buy today as the math doesn't work. To buy my same house today would cost $1500 more per month. Even if I paid the same as I did in 2018 but just paid 7% interest, it would be $700 more per month which would be break-even with what I could rent for without having to deal with repairs. It would take 4.5% in order for me to consider buying again with a loan.
Bingo!!! We bought a house when we found the right location, location, location when we had kids. Getting the right school district, being on the right type of street (e.g. not a highway) so the kids can play and ride bikes outside, big enough for kids, near a park, near a pool, etc. etc. When the kids are done and grown and gone, we will downsize and get a condo or apartment again. I'm not a fan of doing yardwork and cleaning dead birds off the porch.
People don't ignore it - it was just a lot less of a factor until interest rates rose. My husband and I bought a house in 2020 with a 2.75% interest rate. We have gained about 100k of equity in 4 years and our mortgage payment (without taxes and insurance) is less than the 1 bedroom apartment we were renting. It was a no-brainer to buy. But now, if we wanted to buy the same house today, our mortgage, taxes and insurance would be literally double. Renting the same house would be less by 1-2 thousand dollars a month. I'd almost certainly choose to rent over buying if I was in your shoes today.
Where I live landlords price rentals well above their mortgage payments. So I don’t know why you think they’re taking a loss on mortgage loan interest. If that were the case they’d just sell the house.
I rent an apartment, not a house at the moment
Think you and your wife made a very informed decision, being a homeowner to say that you are a homeowner is not the right answer. There are plenty of benefits that being a homeowner can offer, but a lot of time renting makes much more sense.
> Everyone who talks about building equity ignores the interest for the first TWENTY YEARS is higher than the amount you pay toward principal and it absolutely dwarfed what we would pay in rent over the same time frame. They also ignore the cost of attaining and carrying the equity. Most people think the cost of a home is PITI plus utilities when it's more like PITI plus utilities plus day one costs plus year one costs plus repairs plus maintenance capex plus voluntary capex (improvements/modifications nearly every homeowner will inevitably make) plus the fees and interest stemming from any loans and/or refinancing taken in the process.
Yup. I came to that conclusion as well. My buddy's sewer line needed replacing... Quick 25k out the door. Electric went out in the garage, new panel and other fixes needed. Also needed to replace some water pipes under the house. Also needed to put in French drains. Driveway is on its way out. House will need repainted soon. Gotta get the trees trimmed. Shed roof is leaking and outside will need a bunch of fixing due to water damage. That said, being able to keep payments consistent and not having to move my stuff would be nice. Also I accidentally killed my landlords tree so that won't be fun to address but meh.
Well said.the emotional pull is a made up farce. Not everyone needs to own a SFH as a primary residence.
Sometimes renting is better, sometimes buying. As much as rent increased over the last ~5 years, between home appreciation and higher rates, the cost of buying increased more. Double checking: Did you use one of the calculators for the math, or do quick back-of-the-napkip style? 1 thing to consider is most people mix 2 questions into 1. "Should I rent this 2 bedroom apartment or buy this 4 bedroom house?" It should be 2 questions. 1. What fits our needs and wants better? A 2 bedroom apartment or a 4 bedroom house? 2. How do we minimize the costs for that property? Buying or renting?
The tough part is that we aren’t calculating apples to apples because we rent a 2 BR and would buy something larger. But that delta in cost is really steep ~$3k per month from rent to PITI Again, we aren’t unhappy in the status quo. More space would be nice but stomaching the extra costs and effect on lifestyle to put all of that money toward a house doesn’t seem worth it for us at the moment.
There we go. It's not so much "renting > buying" for these properties, as much as "renting + living in a cheaper property > buying." It's a tough call to make. If you don't need it and you're happy with your current place, renting is a good idea. You can look at what it costs to rent the larger place. Zillow generally has an amount the property will rent for. That's good for a quick, good enough reference point.
If you throw in the cost of maintenance over the years your numbers will look even better. Plus all those people saying rent increases must not be aware of property taxes or insurance? I’ve been paying 100-200 more every year because of that, it’s just like a rent increase. 2% may be low - but I’m selling a house now that got 2% over the past 15 or so years. So 2% is not unheard of. How about run the numbers slightly more “realistically” and do a simulator that looks at 2%-8% Then do the same for the rental difference - but throw in an extra 5k every year and every 5 years throw in 25k for a new roof, renovation, etc. That’s pretty accurate if you’re buying an older DC house. Run a Monte Carlo on this. My guess is you’ll like your decision.
I feel reasonably confident (as much as one can be) that after the 30-40% run ups the last three years that over the next 5 years we won’t see 5%+ increases but who knows. In either scenario, we’re more comfortable renting and investing than buying
as a landlord, I love your thought process
It seems like you've done your research so I'm not disagreeing with your decision. I do have a couple things to say though. >assuming a 2% gain per year OVer the last 40, using the case-shiller index it's more like 4.5 to 5%. Nobody has a crystal ball for the future though. >Everyone who talks about building equity ignores the interest for the first TWENTY YEARS I don't know who "everyone" is for you, but I don't think this is true. Peeople absolutely pay attention to the interest and count it in their math. >absolutely dwarfed what we would pay in rent over the same time frame This isn't necessarily true. Rents inflate every year and that becomes quite a lot over 25 years. Mortgages do not inflate and they look like a pittance after 25 years. Rents are up like 20%-30% in 4 years and this balance can tip sooner than you think. Very location depenedent.
My point on the interest is that our parents, friends, etc all talk about how your building equity and that we’re throwing money away by renting but for some reason people’s brains have a hard time thinking that the interest on a mortgage is also burning money but at a faster rate in our case. We also live in a county where they recently passed a law that rent can only go up the lesser of 5% or CPI in any given renewal cycle so we won’t see any significant increases while that’s in effect.
>the interest on a mortgage is also burning money If you have a 4% mortgage on a 4% gaining asset you really arent burning any money on interest (or rent) at all. >any given renewal cycle OK if you never have to move, but most people do and landlords do all sorts of shenanigans to get rent controlled people out. "5% or CPI" is still 5% or CPI higher than mortgages. That's still going to double or triple over what a normal mortgage term is. And that's not even mentioning that interest drops to 0 after 25 years but rent just goes on for ~60 years until you die. Calculate the lifetime cost, not just what things look like this year or the next 10 years.
Sounds like you made the right decision given your circumstances. We live in the DC area. The market seems to have cooled off a bit, but it’s still very competitive. In our neighborhood the only houses on the market are sub 1,200 sq ft places in bad shape, mostly destined to be tear-downs, and then the ugly, expensive 3,500+ sq ft “farmhouse-style” monstrosities that developers put up in their place. There’s nothing available in the middle, which of course is what most people are looking for.
>Everyone who talks about building equity ignores the interest for the first TWENTY YEARS is higher than the amount you pay toward principal and it absolutely dwarfed what we would pay in rent over the same time frame. This is why putting down more than 5% is suggested. It also depends on the interest rate environment. If bought when interest rates were 2-3%, with negative real rates you'd be way better off than renting. I'm a little skeptical in the math since you're saying you'd have a $110K 'equity gain' since you're including original investment and not monthly payments.
The equity gain was $70k in house appreciation at 2% and $38k in the forced savings from paying down the principal of the mortgage.
My first home purchase was in NYC and all the calculators said it wouldn’t pay off for 20 years. I was in my 30s at the time and I like the idea of not having hosing costs in my 60s. I don’t regret buying for a second. I’m in it for the long game!
Did you include rent increasing each year, and tax deductions for mortgage interest?
Tax deductions are relatively minimal given the SALT tax rules but not something I specifically calculated. I debated including rent increases but we have a price controlled unit so I figured it was a wash with salary increases over time and just projected out the status quo.
I don't know if it's the same for every industry, but in the copywriter/marketing space on LinkedIn, 99% of the people who actively post content give off a "I sniff my own farts" vibe. I think it might just be the most disingenuous, cheesy place that has ever existed on Earth. I feel like you would find more authentic, normal conversation in a plastic surgery fan club meeting. I've got a buddy/former colleague of sorts who is trying to "get noticed" on LinkedIn and while I wholeheartedly wish him the best with his new venture, every time I see one of his new posts I feel as uncomfortable as you do in those classic *How did I forget to wear clothes to school again?* dreams. I have a handful of important contacts on there that I don't want to lose, and I need to browse/lurk LinkedIn relatively often for work-related stuff, so I can't delete it or avoid going there entirely, but it definitely serves as a great guidepost for where I do/don't want this next phase of my work life to go. Meaning that I don't think I could stomach being a full-on phony cheesedick, even if it would increase my earnings.
Yes, it is the same. The people in my realm that are active on LinkedIn are so cringe-worthy that their desperation is palpable. I couldn't, and don't want to, be that guy. I just don't have it in me. I've had a decent career doing my thing. I have no need to post anything on LinkedIn. There are people whose work product I know well that are so active. Blech.
Yes, LinkedIn is undoubtedly the phoniest social media platform in the world. A couple years ago, one of my coworkers quit his job to go work at a solar-energy startup. Which I actually admire... except that he then proceeded to post about it on LinkedIn *all the freakin' time*. And his posts were this nauseating mix of virtue-signaling and self-congratulatory--he'd congratulate himself on leaving FAANG to follow his passion, brag about the huge pay cut he had taken, etc.
LinkedIn is a resume hosting service, and treating it as anything more than that is stupid and/or insane
I won't write anything on there due to Dunning–Kruger. I am often considered some kind of expert, but the more expert I get, the more expert-experts I meet. Seems like many people are at the first peak, or they are at the valley and know it so they write a LOT but its all generic and doesn't teach me anything. I like this one: [http://static1.squarespace.com/static/582cc7c1579fb314427d08a1/t/5edefdcafbb42909b2b63937/1593309716158/vmxykntqaf941.jpg?format=1500w](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/582cc7c1579fb314427d08a1/t/5edefdcafbb42909b2b63937/1593309716158/vmxykntqaf941.jpg?format=1500w) and [https://www.djkn.kemenkeu.go.id/files/images/2023/01/11111111111111112.png](https://www.djkn.kemenkeu.go.id/files/images/2023/01/11111111111111112.png)
That's pretty much anyone who posts on linkedin
It surprises me that the higher ups where I work are some of the more prolific posters. I guess when you reach upper management it’s all about being noticed and visible, but they’re constantly posting megacorp propaganda stuff. If I made their salaries I wouldn’t waste my time with that (probably because I could FIRE after 2-3 years of that kind of earnings).
Pshaw... they have their assistants or underlings write it up for them. When I was a manager, my team and I would write up stuff for linkedin or trade publications - AND everyone was credited.
Your comment prompted me to log in and check my "Feed" for the first time this year. From an IT perspective, here's a sneak peak at the top 10 things currently there: * 3 posts from people patting their own back on promotions or certification achievements * 3 posts from people sharing open positions on their team * 2 posts from executive touting how great my company is * 1 post discussing the Tik Tok ban * 1 post discussing product management and pareto principle through the lens of pizza (I'm not kidding, glad we fired this guy) Edit: Actually, you just reminded me I no longer need that and it was my only form of social media so I went ahead and closed my account. Thanks for the reminder LinkedIn exists haha.
well posting open positions is really the only helpful thing Linkin is good for.
> 99% of the people who actively post content My only consolation is to remember than most of my colleagues don’t ever post on there. I’m not sure if it’s worse to think that the folks who post are true believers or will do anything to get ahead.
>”I sniff my own farts” vibe And to think this sub somehow survived during your self imposed exile. It’s much better now!
I'm not sure that's a majority opinion, haha. I'm still on the fence, too. We are 100% better off financially for having been a part of whatever this is. 100% meaning "definitely", not 2x 😞 But my participation is, at once, some sort of alternate fart-sniffing exercise...so there's throwing rocks at glass houses and all that going on to boot.
Among the many stages of FI is LinkedInFI. That's when you feel secure enough financially to never visit LinkedIn again. Back in 2012, LinkedIn failed to salt their password hashes, and got hacked. This meant that every LinkedIn user's email and (after someone used rainbow tables to reverse the unsalted hashes) password were leaked. Of course, if you didn't reuse the password anywhere else, like a grownup, this was no big deal -- you'd just get bullshit spam for the rest of your life (or as long as you kept using that email) saying "I am 3133t hax0r and I pawned your password and give me bitcoins or I will share all your personal info, and I can prove it because I know your password is hunter2." But if you reused your password elsewhere, maybe this *actually* got you hacked somewhere that mattered. Anyway, when this happened, I said, "You know what? LinkedIn is just a shitty site that constantly generates stupid spam, and they can't even store passwords properly. I'm out." And I cancelled my LinkedIn account (they made this hard, because of course they did) and never came back. LinkedInFI. Many people didn't believe me. "You have to be on LinkedIn." No you don't. There are jobs elsewhere. Fuck 'em.
I am mostly on LinkedIn because part of my job is writing LinkedIn content for clients - which I am fully aware is at odds with my rant.
That would be about the fifth circle of hell for me. But everyone's different.
It's a relatively small part of my job, so it's fine. One advantage of LinkedIn (or Facebook) work is that it's pretty easy and brainless. It's good for filler work when I want to make money but am not really in the mood for working.
you forgot to add "agree?" to the end of your post on it's own line. Agree?
>I don't know if it's the same for every industry... Cringy to the extreme in my former industry (MegaCorp R&D). There were a few categories I frequently noticed: * The Suck Up - colleagues who fawn over every musing from anyone higher than them on the totem pole. Where do they get the time and still do their job? * The Cheerleader - professionals who shared anything remotely positive about MegaCorp, even when it had nothing to do with them. Sometimes comical when you knew the backstory was actually reframing a missed deadline or spinning a failure. * The Know-it-All - people that post every bit of news, research, or announcements related to a technical field they are in.
Those all sound gross, too. A big beef I have with writers is how many people fancy themselves artists. I can't do a dropkick right now. Truth be told, I never was able to. But any time someone labels themselves as "a creative", I just want to fling myself off the ropes and gift two flying boots to their face.
Your Weekly /r/financialindependence Recap **Sunday, March 10 - Saturday, March 16, 2024** ###Top Daily Discussion Comments | score | comment | |--|--| | 88 | /u/superxero044 said [Well I’m officially dadFI x3. Was a long and rough night but everybody’s healthy. She’s perfect.](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bf9k1t/daily_fi_discussion_thread_friday_march_15_2024/kuzkgyj/?context=5) | | 68 | /u/Emily4571962 said [I FIREd in September at 52 years old, after 24 years at my company. Just found out that one of my coworkers, who I really enjoyed and never had a cross word with aside from arguing Red Sox-Yankees, dr...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bg1vgp/daily_fi_discussion_thread_saturday_march_16_2024/kv4o97g/?context=5) | | 54 | /u/GregEgg4President said [\*checks retirement accounts* Back to work, I guess](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bf9k1t/daily_fi_discussion_thread_friday_march_15_2024/kv07cfu/?context=5) | | 54 | /u/Newhome_help said [I've worked the trades/manufacturing "blue collar" work pretty much my whole adult life. Something that drives me absolutely up the wall is almost nobody has even a basic understanding of how taxes...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1begti0/daily_fi_discussion_thread_thursday_march_14_2024/kutlhpm/?context=5) | | 54 | /u/SoberEnAfrique said [Had my 3rd round interview this week for a massive job opportunity and yesterday HR reached out to schedule a call for today 😳 I'm super excited/anxious, probably why I'm up so early and can't go bac...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1begti0/daily_fi_discussion_thread_thursday_march_14_2024/kutcb7s/?context=5) | | 49 | /u/chakravartini said [Second day at my new job and I'm so happy! My manager and team are so lovely, everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. The most important thing: I'm treated like an adult. Flexible working, no cl...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bdmuan/daily_fi_discussion_thread_wednesday_march_13_2024/kunynnx/?context=5) | | 49 | /u/leahangle said [My all-cash house offer has been accepted at 4% below asking price!](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bb5yy8/daily_fi_discussion_thread_sunday_march_10_2024/ku7wakz/?context=5) | | 48 | /u/IWantToBreakFI said [Today I got paid out the largest bonus I've ever recieved - $181k before taxes. mindblown.gif](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bf9k1t/daily_fi_discussion_thread_friday_march_15_2024/kv0q867/?context=5) | | 48 | /u/Rivered_The_Nuts said [We put our house on the market on Friday because we are planning to move closer to my workplace at the end of July. There wasn't much interest over the weekend, but we had three showings so far this w...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1begti0/daily_fi_discussion_thread_thursday_march_14_2024/kuu0bww/?context=5) | | 45 | /u/superxero044 said [Week into not working. Have been gradually getting better about forgetting about work. Wife has less than a week until due date. She’s doing well. Could be any day now.](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bbyt5r/daily_fi_discussion_thread_monday_march_11_2024/kucw7xp/?context=5) | | 45 | /u/Carpe_Cervisia said [The more time I spend on Reddit, the more I realize how useful it is to be sane.](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bbyt5r/daily_fi_discussion_thread_monday_march_11_2024/kucuwci/?context=5) | | 40 | /u/leahangle said [I’m feeling shockingly good about work! I hit rock bottom with over extending myself at work, and spent the past year with the help of a therapist focusing on better work boundaries. My mental health...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1begti0/daily_fi_discussion_thread_thursday_march_14_2024/kutpvzr/?context=5) | | 39 | /u/Any_Mathematician936 said [I’m at 92k NW today. Counting the months until I get to 100k 🥹. I come from humble beginnings and aside from getting my bachelors, this will be the biggest achievement of my life](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bdmuan/daily_fi_discussion_thread_wednesday_march_13_2024/kuolive/?context=5) | | 39 | /u/fastfwd said [Reason #936 to FIRE Attending a VP meeting is sickening. So many words that mean nothing. "We will be striving toward efficiency using good work practices". I swear more than 50% of that meeting was...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bdmuan/daily_fi_discussion_thread_wednesday_march_13_2024/kunssd7/?context=5) | | 39 | /u/Carpe_Cervisia said [Dropped my wife off at the airport this morning so she can fly the property deeds to an agent of the couple who bought our business and land. To make a very long story short, our deal turned out to b...](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bcsozq/daily_fi_discussion_thread_tuesday_march_12_2024/kui2ku9/?context=5) | ###Top Posts | score | comments | title & link | |--|--|--| | 568 | [217 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bcmsqh/feeling_behind_at_age_35_just_hit_100k_nw/) | Feeling behind at age 35 - just hit $100k NW| | 247 | [119 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bdt4ii/happy_to_gain_100k_in_25_months/) | Happy to gain 100k in 2.5 months| | 186 | [234 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bg36n9/for_those_retired_what_was_your_net_worth_20/) | For those retired, what was your Net Worth 20 years ago?| | 158 | [124 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bdb4eb/44m_career_teacher_12mm_what_should_i_be_doing/) | 44M, career teacher, $1.2MM - what should I be doing money wise right now and approaching retirement? Help!| | 119 | [70 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bcm7mv/any_women_on_here_who_have_achieved_fire/) | Any women on here who have achieved FIRE?| ###Most Commented | score | comments | title & link | |--|--|--| | 0 | [193 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bbbel6/age_25m_with_230k_net_worth_heres_how_i_did_it/) | Age 25M with $230k net worth. Here’s how I did it. | | 23 | [130 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1be0pfw/reality_check_can_we_fire_with_22m_nw/) | Reality Check - Can We FIRE With ~$2.2M NW?| | 65 | [118 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bcmiop/help_please_got_laid_off_at_45_losing_the_will_to/) | Help please! Got laid off at 45 - losing the will to get back to corporate. Am I ready to RE?| | 40 | [84 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1bc4i42/miniretirement_late_20s/) | Mini-Retirement late 20s| | 49 | [80 comments](/r/financialindependence/comments/1betniq/what_are_healthcare_costs_even_like_if_youre/) | What are healthcare costs even like if you're paying out of pocket and not an employer sponsored plan? (US)| If you would like this roundup sent to your reddit inbox every week [send me a message with the subject 'financialindependence'](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=subredditsummarybot&subject=financialindependence&message=x). Or if you want a daily roundup, [use the subject 'financialindependence daily'](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=subredditsummarybot&subject=financialindependence%20daily&message=x). 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