Financial Independence fatFIRE vs. leanFIRE: What does FI mean to you? |
- fatFIRE vs. leanFIRE: What does FI mean to you?
- How much of your happiness do you sacrifice by working, and do you feel like your salary justifies that?
- Any regrets?
- Daily FI discussion thread - July 09, 2018
- Weekly FI Monday Milestone thread - July 09, 2018
- Absolutely hated my 9-5 corporate job so I quit...now what?
- Private Banker at JPM
- Anybody have a FIRE age, instead of target networth?
- Is it worth saving early on?
- 24 years old with no debt, currently maxing out 401k, and have 20k in cash savings. Advice on next steps?
- I'm finally FI! (Food Independent)
- "New" FI Formula
- Where would you live if you worked remotely to save money? (US)
- Bay Area RE Meetup
- Opinions on disability insurance for high income workers?
- Anyone go part-time to study a passion?
- What are the best books for the post FI-life?
- A truly Mustachian NYC commute
- Hit Some Milestones - Now What?
- No debt, saving 90% of paycheck, what now?
- Does FI/RE exist for everyone?
| fatFIRE vs. leanFIRE: What does FI mean to you? Posted: 09 Jul 2018 09:22 AM PDT For those waiting for $3m+ before retiring: why? I'm not here to judge. It's just fascinating that there is such a wide range of what is considered "FI" (not to mention RE-level) on this sub. The range highlights that the $1m goal many of us have is mostly arbitrary. I'd love to hear why some people are comfortable with $300k and others wouldn't dream of retiring early until they have at least $3m. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2018 03:58 AM PDT A couple of days ago, this poster here on r/fire mentioned that his new "cushy" job changed his perspective so much that he wasn't that interested in RE anymore. He switched from a soul-crushing job which he hated to something that was much more easy going (even though it paid less). It made me think about the following concept: How much of our happiness do we sacrifice by working? Before the switch, this poster sacrificed a lot of his happiness for his job, and he was completely miserable because of it. Reading from his post, no salary would be able to justify that huge sacrifice. So he switched. Now he has a job that's still slightly boring, but the happiness sacrifice is far less and it seems from his post that he's much happier since he made the switch. I have been VERY intrigued by this concept of happiness vs. work/salary. That's why I wanted to start a discussion here. I have opened Microsoft paint and created this graph to help get the ball rolling. To use the same example as before, the old job of the previous reddit post was probably far above the linear line: Yes, it may have earned more, but (s)he was suffering every day because of that old job. His/her new job is in much better territory, despite paying less. (correct me if I'm wrong, u/ispace888 ! ;-)) I want to ask all of you to determine where your current job is located on this chart. And as a follow-up, I'd like to ask how strongly you are pursuing FIRE. I bet the people who are in the red area on this chart are trying to reach FIRE much quicker, and thus have a higher saving rate. As for me: I've been pretty happy at my work over the last 3.5 years. Being the engineer that I am, I have gone ahead and analysed just how happy I am at work in this essay. TLDRL: My work can be quite boring, stressful and intensive at times, but overall, I know that the impact on my happiness is not that big (0.12 points). This is why I am actually pretty happy with my job and salary. As a result, I'm not saving as aggresively as some others here are. Yes, I'm still frugal and aiming to become financially independent, but I'm not aggresively saving towards early retirement (or at least not yet!). I would love to start a discussion here on this topic, and see where the r/fire community is located on this happiness-sacrifice vs. salary chart. Hell, it'd be amazing if we could create a big community-filled scatter chart with each and every one of your jobs, but I guess that's just me being a dreamer ;-) What do you think? Update: Thanks r/fire for the MANY insights, anecdotes and stories. With a bit of effort, I might actually be able to create that scatter after all. Keep the data points coming :D [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2018 07:55 AM PDT This is for the folks that are in their 50s and successfully FIRE'd with no kids. Do you have any regrets about your decision or wish you would have kids if you were younger? I know DINK households that are well on their way to FIRE. Just curious where they would be 20 or 30 years down the road when they are living the last decade or so of their lives. Edit: I think a lot of people are answering the question based on whether having kids should affect your retirement goals or not. That's not what I am asking. My question pertains to those that have already made the decision to pursue FIRE with no kids and if they now regret it. We have plenty of data points to determine what decision people have already made with regards to FIRE and the decision to have kids or not have kids. The real question is do you still think it was the right move 20 or 30 years after making that decision? [link] [comments]  |
| Daily FI discussion thread - July 09, 2018 Posted: 09 Jul 2018 04:10 AM PDT 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]  |
| Weekly FI Monday Milestone thread - July 09, 2018 Posted: 09 Jul 2018 04:10 AM PDT Please use this thread to post your milestones, humblebrags and status updates 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! 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]  |
| Absolutely hated my 9-5 corporate job so I quit...now what? Posted: 09 Jul 2018 04:16 PM PDT I graduated college with a degree in chemical engineering in 2015. Got a job fresh out of school with a big corporation and absolutely hated every minute of it. I was depressed the entire time, had to take antidepressants just to get myself out of bed every morning, was constantly late, panic attacks, always mentally checked out... it was a miserable time and I hope I never have to go back to that lifestyle. I quit that job last February and have been on a mental retreat ever since... did a lot of road tripping and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, definitely feel a lot more at ease now. At this point, I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing with my life now. I really don't want to go back to that lifestyle again, committing 50-60 hours a week to a job that I hate. I made decent money and was able to put 10K into savings, 10K into stocks and 25K into my 401K. I would love to do some type of freelance work (autoCAD, programming, something technical) where I can make my own schedule and work on my own terms. I've thought about applying for grad school (atmospheric science has peaked my interest for some reason, maybe due to my passion for the environment and physical sciences). In general I just feel completely lost and would appreciate any advice from someone who maybe has been in my situation before. I'd love to follow my dreams and do what makes me happy, prioritize quality of life over money but I don't want to be forced to go back to a job that I hate. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2018 04:33 PM PDT Is an advisor targeting 13% returns and charging a 1.3% fee reasonable? JP Morgan approached me about starting a private banking relationships. They suggested an aggressive portfolio would return 13%, which is higher than I've seen advertised by robo advisors. Thoughts? [link] [comments]  |
| Anybody have a FIRE age, instead of target networth? Posted: 09 Jul 2018 12:53 PM PDT I was kind of inspired by the current top post on leanfire vs fatfire, and realized I don't really have a target networth, but more so an age I'm willing to work until. Even if I had a windfall of 5 million, I believe I would still work until I am at least 40 - pushing to 50. I feel like instead of saying I'll RE at 2.4 mil, I'm comfortable working for about 25-30 years depending my situation. I guess this is more the difference between FI and RE. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2018 04:36 PM PDT I'll soon start working as a white collar worker with some decent entry level income. I'm not living in US and local currency is not doing that good nowadays. If i live frugal, i can save around $15k. I've never been an over-spender, if I don't pursue the frugal lifestyle I'll probably still save around $10k. But there are obviously some stuff I'll be sacrificing, even if they are not vital. My question is, how much will my future self be missing that extra $5k + interest etc. Considering I can reasonably be earning 5 times more in lets say 10 years from now as entry level positions are underpaid and first few promotions exponentially increase the income, i tend to believe it won't worth the bother. A lot of you guys have worked enough to experience the results so any insight is valuable for me. Thanks for the replies [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2018 03:58 PM PDT I'm currently making pretty good money at my job but would ideally like to be able to live somewhere more rurally with a slowed down lifestyle or something of the sort. As stated above I am currently maxing out my 401k/Roth IRA, have no debt, and have managed to save 20k in a saving account with an additional 500 being added a month. What are some steps I can take better position myself for the future outside of just building my retirement account? Ideally I'd like my money to work for me a bit better than it is just sitting in a saving account. [link] [comments]  |
| I'm finally FI! (Food Independent) Posted: 09 Jul 2018 11:28 AM PDT After some time lurking here and absorbing much I could from all of you, I finally reached a very important milestone for me, being able with my current NW and at a 4% SWR to pay for all my groceries bills. I've been tracking my progress like many here with %s, but by setting more tangibles milestones like how much my current 4% SWR would be able to cover, I've noticed that I'm much more prone to save each month, and also became a bit more happy overall. There was a thread here a few days ago about this, and I thought I should share it because like me, there are probably some people here who save a lot but never noticed what they could already do with what they have. I think this is my best monday in a long time! Happy week for you all. And thank you very much for all the time you all invest here giving advices to others. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2018 02:31 PM PDT Saw on a blog post that goes something like this: age*networth/annual expenses. If the resulting number is > 1000, then, you're good to FIRE. Can someone explain the logic behind this math? [link] [comments]  |
| Where would you live if you worked remotely to save money? (US) Posted: 09 Jul 2018 02:08 PM PDT There are tradeoffs in terms of entertainment, amenities, opportunities, weather, safety... etc when choosing an area, and usually the cheaper an area the less desirable it is. But everyone has their limit and everyone has their preferences. I work remotely and have a decent salary, I'd like to find a place where I can both save more money and live very comfortably. This means in importance (just my preferences):
What city would you live in? Any suggestions that might work for me? Some I'm considering: Kansas City [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2018 01:25 PM PDT This is a shout out for Bay Area folks who have achieved FI and decided to pull the plug and RE. If you'd like to get together, share ideas, swap travel tips and local finds all while enjoying an adult beverage it's happening: Monday July 23rd, 4 PM (start of) Happy Hour at British Bankers Club in Menlo Park I'll sequester a table under the handle "Pepper" so just ask for the Pepper Party ;-) [link] [comments]  |
| Opinions on disability insurance for high income workers? Posted: 09 Jul 2018 09:08 AM PDT Hi, I'm considering buying same specialty disability insurance. As a physician, I am wondering how other high income, FIRE minded people approach this. One approach seems to look at disability as an income replacement. The benefit obviously is a higher payout if the benefit is needed. The con is obviously higher premiums that are wasted if the goal is to maximize early savings/investment. From a FIRE perspective, with aggressive savings, hopefully I will not be forever dependent on my current income. Our current expenses is probably 40% of our take home pay. as a healthy 40 year old, the premium quote I have gotten from Guardian is slightly more than 5% of coverage amount (the premium was shockingly high number for me.. would probably make it my number 2 expense after housing). Benefit amount - maxing out vs. obtaining enough to cover current expenses Waiting period - 90 days or longer? - I am thinking about extending it out to 180 days.. ie: self insuring for a few more months to decrease the out of pocket premiums seems to make sense Benefit period - 65 or 70? premiums go up dramatically for 70, so I will probably take 65 - anyone consider taking even less? (if thats even possible) Residual disability - thoughts on whether this is worth it? it will kick in if I am not able to work at my predisability level (ie: less hours, etc) Future increase option - Is this worth it? Since I get coverage through my current employer I only qualify for about 1/2 of what I am eligible for. I can survive comfortably off the amount i qualify for and the premium extra for this option is ~13% of the base rate. If I change jobs, I can either live with the existing coverage or hope my new employer has group coverage. Catastrophic rider - I am considering it - it bumps up my monthly benefit for certain catastrophic illnesses (which is what i am insuring against) 3% cost of living - will probably take Level vs graded premium - While level seems to make sense, I am considering the possibility that if I achieve FIRE within 10 years, could i consider cancelling the policy to save on the premiums? The break even point seems to be around 8 or 9 years for the level vs graded premiums. Is disability something that you would keep even once you FIRE? (there is high chance I would probably go to part time rather than RE entirely if given the chance) Any thoughts about disability insurance regarding FIRE would be greatly appreciated! Thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Anyone go part-time to study a passion? Posted: 09 Jul 2018 12:09 PM PDT For months I've been thinking about what it is I want to do with my life as I am finding software engineering less and less fulfilling the more I think about it. I've always known music is my passion. I spent ten years doing percussion and was in a punk band for a short while in college but I never pursued it as a legitimate career path since I just assumed it wouldn't be a livable wage and always doubted my compositional ability. Today I had the realization that I could cut down hours at work to take some online courses at Berklee. I see it as hitting two birds with one stone; I get to work less and also close the loop on whether music is a valid option for me. My original plan is to request a day off every week with an additional work from home day. So I'd only be in the office 3 days a week and would work from home an additional day. I plan to negotiate to keep my same salary (around $90k) as this is below the average of what I should be getting paid for full-time work in my area (San Diego). Has anyone done something similar? I'm hesitant to make this request since it is just an online course so curious about what anyone thinks of this situation. [link] [comments]  |
| What are the best books for the post FI-life? Posted: 08 Jul 2018 05:48 PM PDT I've had some time out from work recently and took the chance to see what things might be like post-FIRE. What surprised me most was the mental adjustment it took to get used to not having a boss and not getting a schedule imposed from elsewhere. Can anyone recommend a good book for dealing with this adjustment and making the best of financial independence. I.e. assuming I understand how to sort out the money side (I have plenty of books for that), what advice is available for working out what to do with a large amount of free time and a newly-unstructured life? I've read the faq and am looking through the books recommended there - but there are only a few dealing with post-FI, and I wondered if anyone else has been in this situation and can recommend more to me. [link] [comments]  |
| A truly Mustachian NYC commute Posted: 09 Jul 2018 08:21 AM PDT https://nypost.com/2018/07/07/google-engineer-uses-a-rowboat-to-commute-to-work-in-nyc/ I mean c'mon, how badass is this!? [link] [comments]  |
| Hit Some Milestones - Now What? Posted: 09 Jul 2018 01:28 PM PDT I've been lurking here for the past few years, and have gained some invaluable advice. Seeing all of you post your successes has driven my wife and I to make a concerted effort towards our own financial freedom. With that, I'd love to pick the collective brain of r/financialindependence The current shapshot of our financial picture:
We're both 28, and just had our first child. Up until this point, we've been focusing on increasing savings and cutting costs, to hit $200k NW, and $100k invested. Now that we hit our goal, I want to make sure that we don't lose momentum or take a step in the wrong direction. Our plan is to save/invest as much as we comfortably can, so that we can retire comfortably -- and earlier if possible. Currently, I contribute ~$11k to my 401(k), and we both max our Roth IRAs. Should we focus on increasing the 401(k) contribution to the maximum allowed, or point our efforts more towards a 529, and the taxable account? We'd love to have the house paid off, but at <4% I don't think that it's the best use of our money. I think we've been so focused on hitting this goal, that we don't quite know what to do now. Any suggestions on mini-goals or milestones that may help provide some constant motivation? Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| No debt, saving 90% of paycheck, what now? Posted: 09 Jul 2018 10:34 AM PDT After 2 years of being a temp/intern/co-op, I finally got promoted / got an offer letter at the same company for a $65k salaried job with full benefits (health/vision/dental, 401k, flexible work hours, 2 weeks of vacation, 56 hours of sick time, company cell phone and ipad, very close proximity to my parent's house, so close that I can walk or bike to work).
The company is an environmental/utilities company that deals with water/wastewater treatment. I'll be going from $18/hr to $65,000. That is a lot of money for me. Five years ago I thought that it was unrealistic that I would make more than $35k per year. Now, I'll be making almost double that.
However, I need some advice and reassurance about money management. I'm fortunate enough to be in a great situation right now. I have no debt, $20k in a 5 year share certificate at a credit union at 2.45%. Around $18k in my checking account at Chase, which is pretty much my emergency fund. No savings account. I live with my parents and have minimal costs, which come up to around 10% of my paycheck. So, essentially I save around 90% of my monthly paycheck, which is around $2000 net value/month. In two weeks, once I get my first paycheck, this value will increase to $3200 net value.
I'll be opening a 401k account and my employer will be matching 50% up to 4% of my contribution. I plan on maximizing the yearly contribution of $18,500.
I plan on staying with my parents for as long as they will have me. I'm 24M now, so for the next 5 years. By then I'll have money saved up will look into buying a house and car. Am I headed in the right direction for financial independence and early retirement and what else should I do to increase my chances of FIRE by 45? Thank you all. [link] [comments]  |
| Does FI/RE exist for everyone? Posted: 09 Jul 2018 06:24 AM PDT Hi all, it is one of the posts where OP seeking advice and goal in life. Would really appreciate any comments and/or suggestions of what to do to brighten the future of our kid. I am a first-gen emigrant, finally got my NIW and on the way to citizenship. I do not have any relatives or accumulated money. The same with my spouse. We worked hard to get our degrees (both PhD), then worked for universities. We have very specific specializations and we were lucky to land jobs in the same city (NY) with extreme cost of life. So for now we have 120K yearly. Around 91K after tax. We do not contribute to IRA/ROTH (only employer match). It is not top salaries in our industries, but after 2.5 years of being on job market, it seems like our top early income can be ~150K if we will get lucky and land a job in cheaper place (taking into account how tiny the job market for our specialization). It seems like we will never retire. For now, rent, utilities, childcare, gas and insurance take off ~$65000 every year. We were able to accumulate $26000 on our saving account from 2014. When we moved to NY, it drained our credit cards and we went $4000 down, then we paid $6000 for emergency hospital bills, so now we have $16000 saved. No loans or debts. Maybe we just do not see ways to step on FI road? [link] [comments]  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from financial independence / early retirement. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment