Financial Independence Relevant New Yorker cartoon to keep in mind |
- Relevant New Yorker cartoon to keep in mind
- Finding your enough point
- "How do I actually drawdown at my SWR?" JLCollins
- Daily FI discussion thread - January 25, 2018
- It is Burns night tonight... preaching financial independence since 1786!
- "FI before it was cool" in the local news
- Why is it better to pay out of pocket than from HSA (struggling with the math)?
- Lots of big changes ahead for fiance and I. Need recommendations!
- Do I have enough FI to pursue my own business?
- What else can I do?
- Given FI/RE hopes, wise for me to go all-in on 457b (or 403b?) now?
- Millennials: Approximately 1/6 had $100,000 networth in 2013. Also, statistics on networth for income and single vs. multi-person households
- Dividend only SWR?
- Does anyone have an easy method to tax loss and tax gain harvesting?
- Windfall of money to invest in a bull market, what to do?
- Saving for a House - Capital Investment Ideas
- Smartest way to tackle 320k in student loans
- FI - Could be done - But my life isn't ready for FI
- Tell me why or why not to buy a house cash
- "What is something you hope to see in your lifetime"
- Investment style for passive income leading to financial independence
- My older sibling is retiring. Help me catch up with her!!
| Relevant New Yorker cartoon to keep in mind Posted: 25 Jan 2018 07:30 AM PST | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 25 Jan 2018 12:17 PM PST This is a review of my 2017 financials + mindset. I hope you enjoy it.
*Background: *28, Female, Software Dev, LCOL, Flipping items. 500K NW.
Sankey: https://imgur.com/a/nvu5R
This past year I finally found my enough point, and it was the most refreshing thing I have ever found. For my entire life I had always been focused on gaining more money, and I wasn't sure my focus would ever change. I sought after getting raises, getting bonuses, earning higher profits etc. I saved money well, kept expenses low, and yet I was constantly searching for more. I watched my spreadsheets like a hawk, checked in on my accounts daily, and adjusted my formulas daily to figure out my different savings rates and retirement dates based on various factors.
But I felt like I wasn't really finding happiness from it all, and like I said before every time I made money I just sought after more. And I slowly realized that more money wasn't changing my happiness and that I needed to change my plans. So I started to travel more (as you can see in my expenses) and started doing things I had always wanted to do in life. I spent some time overseas with a friend, visited lots of friends around the country, spent a little more money on food and dates, picked up some hobbies I was putting off because they cost a few hundred bucks to start, etc. I'm a naturally frugal person so I didn't go off and spend 100K, but at the end of the year I looked back and said, "I did everything this year I really wanted to do."
I filled my life with the richness of relationships, travel, nature, and more; and for the first time in my life I looked at my finances and thought, "this is too much." And I don't say that to brag or make anyone else feel bad, I definitely recognize how lucky I am to be in such a position. Instead, I say it in hopes others will know that an "enough" point does exist in life and when you start living the life you want to live and remove your focus from money, you may find that point for yourself.
If you're here, you are most likely ahead of 99% of the world financially. Whether that's with a high NW, a good savings rate, a frugal mind, or simply just the knowledge about finances that a lot of others do not have. Give yourself a little bit of a break to enjoy your life. Step away from the spreadsheets for a little bit.
The first thing I did at the start of this year was tell myself "It's okay to have a lower savings rate this year. If this change isn't what you're hoping for, you can always go right back to focusing on saving more next year." Worst case scenario I spend a few thousand dollars on myself and learn it's not what I was hoping for, setting my FI date back maybe 2 months. Instead I found more happiness, less stress, and my SR actually increased thanks to the newfound energy and passion I had for my side hustle. And at the end of it all I realized I didn't need to make more because I no longer felt like there were things I was missing out on in life due to cost.
I found my enough point, and it freed me.
Money can be great. It can be power; it can be security; it can be freedom. But money is also evil. It can be addiction; it can be greed; it can be isolation. It does not define you, so don't let it control you. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "How do I actually drawdown at my SWR?" JLCollins Posted: 25 Jan 2018 06:23 AM PST This is a question that has come up repeatedly in the daily discussion threads and I think it could use some more in depth explanation.
"I would not just set up a 4% annual withdrawal plan and forget about it." I recommend all of his posts, but this one specifically for drawdown discussion: http://jlcollinsnh.com/2014/08/25/stocks-part-xxvi-pulling-the-4/ Free Bonus reading JLCollins Stock Series [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daily FI discussion thread - January 25, 2018 Posted: 25 Jan 2018 03:08 AM PST Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! Have a look at the FAQ for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| It is Burns night tonight... preaching financial independence since 1786! Posted: 25 Jan 2018 08:22 AM PST It is Burn's night tonight. A great reason to gather friends and eat offal and drink whisky! I was reading through some poems and came across this and thought it relelvent! http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/poems/epistle-young-friend-may-1786
'gear' being wealth. I am not sure what he had against train-attendants :) Raise a dram to you all whatever stage you are along this journey to independence! [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "FI before it was cool" in the local news Posted: 25 Jan 2018 03:52 AM PST Sounds like a lot of the folks that frequent this subreddit, plus about 40-60 years. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Why is it better to pay out of pocket than from HSA (struggling with the math)? Posted: 25 Jan 2018 10:56 AM PST Hello! I've been lurking around here for a while, picking up loads of awesome advice. I've learned a great deal from the folks on this board, and am very appreciative of the level of knowledge and helpfulness. One of the things you all made me aware of early on was the magic of the Health Savings Account. The standard advice is that it's better to keep the money invested and treat the account as basically a traditional IRA. This made sense to me - take advantage of the tax-free growth - until I tried to put some numbers to it. My math actually suggests the opposite. I'm fairly certain I've made a mistake in my thinking, and would love for someone to take a look at the example below and spot my error(s). I've never seen an example with actual numbers, but I apologize if I missed it!
Scenario
Question
Assumptions
Option 1 – Pay from HSA
Option 2 – Pay out of pocket (from $133 of pre-tax money)
Optimal Approach
Let me know what you think!
Edit: Added reimbursing yourself in retirement to Option 2 and clarified tax treatment of $100 [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lots of big changes ahead for fiance and I. Need recommendations! Posted: 25 Jan 2018 01:22 PM PST About us: -I'm 28 years old. Shes 24 -She just got accepted into Pharm school. Should cost us approx $190k for the Pharm D and MBA. Not including residency program -I plan on moving and pursuing a career change in 2021, the year she plans to graduate from pharmacy school. -Current collective income is about $75k (52k from my job, 18k from rental income on spare bedrooms in condo, 5k from her job) -$200k mortgage on a ~$400k condo. $1750 monthly payment due for condo related things (mortgage, hoa, insurance, prop tax) -$4k in car loan at .9% -credit cards and other short term debt paid in full every month -$65k cash earning a hefty 2.45% in CDs (sarcasm) -$11k in investment accts -$7k in trad IRA acct -$100k+ in available credit -$2.5k average we put away into savings on a monthly basis -My credit score of 814 and hers 791 Goals: 2021: Move to Nevada, away from expensive So Cal 2025: Pay off student loan debts, buy a house, start a family 2030: Pay off house, hold mortgage on California condo while collecting rental income 2035: Purchase at least 2 more homes for rental income and retire Questions:
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| Do I have enough FI to pursue my own business? Posted: 25 Jan 2018 10:01 AM PST I'm early 30s, no kids. I have no debt and own my home ($170k asset). I have $340k in savings and 401ks. I'm a software developer at my day job but I'm not interested in working for someone else. I have great ideas for websites I'd like to build and own. Am I able to take a year or so off and pursue my ideas? Will I be ostracized from future jobs if my ideas fail? [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 25 Jan 2018 12:56 PM PST Hey, guys. I'm fairly new to this game. About a year ago, I read Millionaire Next Door and things spiraled out of (into?) control from there. As a result, I've made some major changes and am trying to go lean FIRE. Unfortunately, I wasn't very good with money in my earlier years, so I'm starting way behind. I'm 28 and have about $50K in student loans, which I am aggressively paying off, and $7.5K in a car loan. I make $62K and my employer pays me $194 per paycheck free and clear straight into my HSA. My fiancee makes upwards of $95K but we may want to go on one income/have her go part time in a few years, because we want to have a kid. I have about $12K in an IRA split about 77/19 between an index fund and a bond index fund (with the rest in cash). My fiancee has somewhere around $200K left on the house, but no other debt. She has some amount in a 401K but she doesn't know how much. It's on her list to find out. She also has an individual investment account somewhere in the neighborhood of $20K-30K. Here's what we've done/are trying to do so far:
I've considered selling my car ('12 Mazda 3, stick shift) and getting something cheaper, but it's never had a mechanical issue in two years of ownership (excluding the original battery needing to be replaced), parts are cheap, and it is pretty efficient, especially if you hypermile it. I'm iffy about selling it for an unknown. I think I can easily get many years out of this car once it's paid off, so I'm a bit on the fence on that. I've also considered getting some kind of part time work or doing occasional weekend stuff for fun and pay (i.e. fixing people's computers or bikes or something, refinishing curbed furniture and selling it, etc.). What I want to know is: what might I not have thought of yet? What can I cut? What can I do to bring in more? I still feel like there's always more to do. Thanks! EDIT: added some further info. EDIT 2: about to drive home but I'll check this post again tomorrow. Thanks for the advice and thanks in advance to anyone who posts until I check it again! [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Given FI/RE hopes, wise for me to go all-in on 457b (or 403b?) now? Posted: 25 Jan 2018 10:38 AM PST TL;DR: Should I max out a 457b while mostly drawing down ~$50k cash savings? I can still get all of a company match in a 401k if I get a new job that offers it, correct? Does the "math" of this make sense for a FI/RE oriented person? We're aiming for FI/RE within maybe 10 years (we're 47) after 2 decades of being asleep at the wheel and learning a lot here. Thank you all so so much. I have NEVER myself contributed to a 401k or 403b, despite having the chance. This is because I was willfully ignorant about finances. I want to begin to change that immediately. I just realized today that I qualify for either a 457b, 403b (no match) or both at my current job. I only make $740 week gross, though unpaid during school breaks and summer. My wife is already slated to go 100% of her checks into her 457b (regular or Roth) and 403b starting this month. If I went all-in as well, I might be able to max out my 2018 contributions by roughly November, into one (or both, if split) of these plans, to 18,500 total. (I don't make enough to do BOTH plans fully). That would leave us with only my side income, about $400/month, and drawing down savings to live on. We currently are sitting on $50k cash (some at 2% bank interest), and I'd love to draw that down since it's doing just about nothing. This also doesn't count an incoming check for $50k that I probably will invest in the market. We can definitely swing it until August when my wife is maxed out and starts getting $5k/mo in paychecks again. My 3 concerns, in growing order of importance, are:
Unlike my well-paid wife, I only make enough to stand a shot at maxing out either a 457b or a 403b, but not both. Therefore, I could attempt to max out one, and then if I do get a new job, I will have $18,500 of the other one--or a 401k, if that's what they offer--to play with in terms of getting company matching contributions. I don't know what company matches are like these days, but assuming high (for me) salary of $80,000 year and and 7% match, the most the company could kick in is $5,600, right? I'd put in my $5,600, they would put in theirs, and then I would put in the remaining contribution up to the limit. Correct? Also, is it the case that most companies only offer 401ks, but not 403bs, and rarely 457bs? For that reason, I was thinking I should go for the 457b (into a sort of index fund) since then if the company only offers a 401k, I can try to max out both this year, or try. I do NOT want to stay in my current job longer than I have to, and once I leave it, the 457b money is able to be withdrawn without penalty, I believe. So, seems to me a reasonable plan would be:
Seem sane? Any potential major flaws in this plan? [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 24 Jan 2018 06:01 PM PST I'm piggybacking off of this recent post with some actual data. Apparently, that post was from a BoA survey of 300 millennials, so not necessarily that representative of millennial population. Plus, that was in "savings" which is not that verifiable compared to "networth." My snooping efforts came up with the data comes from the Wealth, Asset Ownership, & Debt of Households Detailed Tables: 2013 from the US Census Bureau. The data is on "Table 4" and I used the data from the Under 35 section which reasonably approximates how old millennials were about 4-5ish years ago. If the oldest millennial was born in say 1980 -- which I've seen for some dates -- then in 2013 they would've been 33. So pretty close.
I've tried to replicate the relevant portion of that table here for 35 and under, although the imgur link contains a bunch more info on demographics (white, asian, black, hispanic).
Here are some relevant stats:
That's pretty dismal. Hopefully things have changed in the past 5 years as millennials have gotten older. Also relevant on that table above for race and <5k or negative networth:
There's a huge disparity by race between white and asian versus black and hispanic in those that are negative networth or just getting by. However, substantial portions of whites and asians around 1/5th to 1/4th are still poor which is why stereotyping socioeconomic disparities by race is not a good thing. Here's some other relevant tables that the imgur link did not include. Income + Money managing skills for all ages (added in mean earning quintiles):
What surprises me is that about 20% of the population earning on average $11k is worth 100k or more. I assume that's because of inheritances. However, the frugalness of the next few quintiles show that networth continues to rise as income rises. Given the per capita of doctor, dentist, pharmacist, law, and other professional degrees and student debt, it's not unreasonable that about 11.8% and 5.3% of the population in the 4th highest and highest quintiles may be negative to 0 networth. This really shows how having a high income will virtually drag you to >100k networth. Comparison of < or > Poverty Line for all ages
Goes to show you that if you're skirting with poverty level incomes, your prospects are not that great. Try to find a higher earning job, a trade job, or think about college. Single vs 2 or more households under 35
I think this really goes to show how much an extra income helps. Either through marriage or whatever else.
DINKs vs 2+ households with children at all ages
I made the assumption that if one was a "2 person household with no kids" that they're probably DINKs (double income no kids). It's possible that only one of the people in such a relationship doesn't work, but probably not the vast majority. What also interested me is the DINKS vs 1+ children, as children are expensive. This surprised me. There is definitely a decent gap in 250k+ networth when you compared it to one child. However, once the youngest child was 10-18 years old, the gap is pretty much negligible compared to DINKs. This indicates that families adapted their budget to still save and gain networth effectively with a family. Of course, this table does not separate out the oldest DINKs versus the younger DINKs whereas if the youngest child is 10-18 that means the parents are probably at least in their 30s or likely 40s, or 50s+, so it's not exactly a direct comparison. Anyway, there's some more stats you can derive from there as the wealth tables also show health insurance, government programs, and so on. Hope you enjoyed this. Took me a bit to dredge up the data, analyze, and format it. If there's any errors let me know. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 25 Jan 2018 09:36 AM PST A combination of US and global equities yields about 2% in dividends. What are your thoughts on essentially only withdrawing dividends and considering that as your total income? Possible benefits: 1) Will never have to sell equity ever (no capital gains) 2) Automatically adjusts your income, lifestyle, and spending depending on the economic conditions (spend less during a recession when corps payout less, spend more during expansions etc). 3) Unless the world ends, this pretty much has a 100% success rate. There is no uncertainty or backtesting required for this strategy. 4) Can go 100% stock and 0% bond since principal is never dipped into. Main disadvantage: Will probably have to accumulate a larger pool of stock, effectively doubling FIRE assets (2% variable SWR vs 4% fixed SWR) I almost view it as sort of a permanent annuity. The deal (at least in spirit, to yourself) is to permanently vest $5 MM for instance, and you are never allowed to sell it. In exchange you will receive a variable salary for the rest of your life (but it should fluctuate between 50k and 150k). No buying or selling required. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Does anyone have an easy method to tax loss and tax gain harvesting? Posted: 25 Jan 2018 07:28 AM PST I read the articles about tax harvesting on mad fientist's site, but there wasn't a lot of specifics on the best (and least involved) way of doing it. My idea was to exchange vanguard funds every year (plus a day?) And that should cover both gain and loss harvesting right? Do people have two similar funds they like to go between? When does income level come into effect for harvesting? Are there better ideas? [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Windfall of money to invest in a bull market, what to do? Posted: 25 Jan 2018 01:21 PM PST Hey everyone, first post here, hope to do this right :) SINK in his early 30s, renting a little below the average in HCOL city in Europe, working in IT & saving good part of a decent salary for over a decade, started to move my first steps in FIRE in the last year or so. Earlier this year I received a windfall of money from an inheritance, about 300k that added up to the ~100k I accumulated. As part of a special situation for foreigners living abroad, both my savings and investments are not taxed (and won't be for another few years). My current savings/investment ratio is about 90/10 (~50k invested in various Vanguards index funds), and I'd like to flip these numbers and put money to work. Problem is, with the market reaching new peaks every passing day, it feels crazy to put in so much money. I know on the long term it won't matter, but I wonder how much better off I'd be coming a bear market soon (which could also not happen for years). I'm also considering buying an house as an investment, though also the house market is at its high and can't predict how long that'll last. What should I do? Am I just being stubborn against basic FIRE principles by postponing the decision to invest due to the current bull market? Or does it make sense to hold (part of) such big amount of money for a better buying opportunity? Thank you in advance for your time and suggestions, I love this community and avidly read almost every post! [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saving for a House - Capital Investment Ideas Posted: 25 Jan 2018 06:49 AM PST My SO (28, 40k/year) and I (27, 76k/year) are determined to get involved with income property as a means to FIRE. Neither of us have been landlords before, but I have a career in construction and she has in human resources. We're excited about the idea of using our skills to manage properties and tenants in an entrepreneurial fashion. Our initial plan is to start with a duplex as an Airbnb host then move onto a long-term tenant and subsequently multiple properties. Hey, plenty of millionaires own trailer parks... We consistently redefine our lifestyle to scrape out every bit of frugality and have had great success saving even in a HCOL area. My primary concern over the past few years has been funding our retirement nest egg. I contribute the IRS maximum 401k annual amount (18.5k), she contributes a bit less based on her lower income. On top of 401k we are fortunate to save a good amount of cash, but our cash lags behind retirement saving. A few questions: 1. I've accumulated a lot of cash! What is a safe investment for down-payment capital at this time? My personal view is that stocks are overvalued and due for a correction. Even ETF's are starting to seem risky in regards to safety of principal. 2. We're maybe halfway to our down payment amount. Is there a sweet spot between retirement saving and cash saving? Am I saving too much for retirement? 3. I'm only comfortable buying a house 2.5x our combined incomes with a 20% down payment. Am I crazy? [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Smartest way to tackle 320k in student loans Posted: 25 Jan 2018 04:21 PM PST Here are the rough numbers: 320k in federal student loans (unsub + sub) Currently on the REPAYE program which offers interest subsidies and no interest capitalization. Effective interest rate year 1: 0% Effective interest rate year 2-3: 3.125% Effective interest rate year 4+: 4.25% Salary: 140k 401k match: 7% Living expenses: 1k in living expenses+bills, $850/month in student loan repayments Would it make sense for me to match up to my employers contribution and then throw 70k+ a year into my vanguard account (VTSAX) to take advantage of my low interest rates for the first 5 years? I can start making yearly withdrawals past year 5 + use my salary to pay down my loan from then on. I'm not looking to re-finance through a private lender for better rates as I'm actively looking for a job in the hospital setting that would qualify me for PSLF (fingers crossed). I'm in my mid 20s and my risk tolerance is high. Would do you all think? [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FI - Could be done - But my life isn't ready for FI Posted: 25 Jan 2018 03:50 PM PST Throwaway since I think my co-workers found my normal account. Recently hit > $2M financial net worth. Which could provide a pretty decent FI lifestyle at 3.5%, or more if I did just remote contract work. However, the things I want to do aren't really possible. I have youngish kids and am married. My kids are tied to their schoolyear, and the activities I want to do in my FI lifestyle mainly involved travelling (camping, hiking, photography, biking, etc) and moving around more than that would allow. Youngest kid is 11 years from college. The past few years have been pretty fantastic financially. Obviously the stock market gains, but additionally I made nearly $300k last year. For the past 10 years I've been just above $100k/year, but the past two years have been insane. I live in a MCOL area. And the work isn't a lot of stress. I still have breakfast with my family every day, and dinner every night (except when I travel for work, which is about 15 days a year). I work some on weekends, but it's just a few hours here and there, typically pretty easy to fit in when my kids have various activities. I could dial work down, but it's such easy money. I have a very flexible FT job that loves me. I do remote contract work on the side, from home, with very few hard deadlines. "Get to it whenever you want!" Is anyone else in a situation where family or other obligations restrict their FI decision? On the one hand, I could quit. On the other, the $ is ridiculous (to me) given the lack of stress, and it's mostly enjoyable. On the other, the things I dream of doing just aren't possible being home every day. I love my family, so I don't resent that at all. On the other hand, it's easy money, and if things ever changed (new boss, company reorgs and all those other crap things you cannot control), I could just quit then. Thoughts? [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tell me why or why not to buy a house cash Posted: 25 Jan 2018 05:04 AM PST Hey guys, I want another way of thinking about this. I have roughly $200k in stocks, mutual funds and an investment property. I'm 30 years old without any real career yet. (FYI, everything is savings from my previous career where I saved 60% of my income for 5 yrs. I'm currently in university, graduating in Spring. No outside help). I'm considering moving to a low living cost city with a good job market, and buying a house/townhouse/condo cash (or almost cash). This might be the wrong forum because I don't plan to retire early. Instead, I want the independence to work jobs I actually can enjoy, without financial stress preventing me from doing so. I talked with a friend, who is also an economist. He suggested that I invest in stocks instead with a 30 years mortgage, but he said I would need to wait to take it out after (traditional) retirement at 65ish. I thought that's crazy. Why not take care of my major expenses now and pay off a house and live in an area with low living expenses and low car needs. Please keep in mind this comes from a person who is: married, not considering full retirement, but semi-retirement, and even after graduating has an expected low ish income $40k. $60k-$70k per year with spouse income. Edit: Just to clarify before people start saying this. I'd still diversify a bit. Approx $150k house or $100kish with a small mortgage [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "What is something you hope to see in your lifetime" Posted: 25 Jan 2018 02:29 PM PST | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Investment style for passive income leading to financial independence Posted: 25 Jan 2018 02:10 PM PST I am 21 years, and have been into trading and investing. I'm not going to go onto a huge paragraph about my financial standings. However I will ask about help in regards to leading myself to financial independence. So for the most part, I've got a few investments, however I mainly focused on trading. This ranges from daytrading, arbitrating, to flip trading. This has done very well so far, however nobody knows that it will last forever. This is why I am looking to branch. For everyone who considers themselves successfull investors, -How diversified is your portfolio? -is this split evenly? Ex 20% in 5 different holdings - is this your main source of passive income? - is there any advice you want to give me? My plan is to have 60% invested for the long term, 20% trading and other, and 20% in a savings account for when it is needed in case of an emergency. [link] [comments]  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My older sibling is retiring. Help me catch up with her!! Posted: 25 Jan 2018 12:59 PM PST Throw away for privacy reasons. Just recently learned about this sub. I've been responsible with money but not always made the best decisions budgeting or planning ahead. My sister will soon become eligible for collecting 100% of her salary in a state pension. I always imagined I'd work until 65, but now that I see her situation and this sub, I am inspired to do my own FIRE version at 50. I have 5 years to achieve goal. I have ideas on how to do it but would like some input. Stats: 45F married. Make about 130k a year, currently maxing out 401k. Employer matches 3%. 401k plan does not offer option to do mega backdoor after tax 401k contributions. 780k in 401k. My main residence and sungle-family rental property are both paid off. Each are worth about 200k and 130k respectively. Rental brings in around 1400 per month. We have two cars, no debt. Spouse has own business but not making much. Spouse loves job, but I want to leave that income off the table since its contract work and not always consistent. I am comfortable FIRE'ing with 50k a year for both of us. We recently set up a new business but it's not making any profit right now. We want to grow that so we can quit our full time jobs and work in the business from anywhere so that we are able to spend more time near our families which are in opposite ends of the country. We don't have kids, but we like to help our families. About 10% of our income will always go towards that and/or donating to causes we believe in. We are both self-made. We did not inherit anything but a strong work ethic. Both of us paid a combined 30k in student loans from our education. One of my masters was paid by employer. We have never been given any monetary gifts and we don't stand to inherit anything. We are both foreign-born immigrants who came here as teens/children and we recognize the sacrifices our families have made for us. Not trying to get political but we are very fortunate to have had the ability to go to college and be able to work without legal immigration hurdles. We understand not everyone is so lucky. We are both professionals and hold double master degrees. Spouse has IRA with 80k. I don't have one. We have about 55k cash in savings. I will start this year saving in roth IRA for me and continue to add to my spouse's. That would leave us with 39k. I will stash 10k aside for emergency fund. Question is what to do with the rest to meet FIRE at 50. I'm tempted to invest in ETFs but stock market is overpriced right now and I'm afraid it will sink my investment in the next two years. Option two is invest in real estate. I could try and finance a rental multi multi unit property with a goal to bring 2-3k a month in income. Third option is to increase my savings rate to hold me over for 5 years while I wait to access my converted 401k (assuming I quit 5 years from now at age 50, convert funds to tIRA, then to rIRA). Or, take 401k penalty on withdrawals), as the Madfientist recently suggested. Last option: pump money into crypto... just kidding!! Is there one option you would recommend over the other? Are there other options I have not thought about? I know that my sister's situation is different than mine due to her having a secure pension vs my 401k. At 55 she will be 'financially secure'. She never made much money but she is looking forward to start something new and go back to school. I'd like to at least match her situation when I am that age. I love you FI redditors who are always so eager to help! I am very proud of those of you who've made it happen. Especially those of you who've overcome great odds in your personal lives. EDIT: my apologies for not knowing about paragraph editing before. Thanks a million to those who responded and read through it. [link] [comments]  |
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