Financial Independence 2019 ACA plans now available for preview. Don't forget to look at the network & out of network coverage!!! |
- 2019 ACA plans now available for preview. Don't forget to look at the network & out of network coverage!!!
- Why do some people resent FIRE? A perspective.
- Daily FI discussion thread - October 29, 2018
- My partner is in agreement with our financial goals, but actions do not follow words - advice?
- Networking with FIRE folks for side projects
- Weekly FI Monday Milestone thread - October 29, 2018
- Traditional vs Roth for early retirees
- 17 YO, living in 3rd world country , looking for ways to fire
- What software/tools do you use?
- Stick to the course or seize the day?
- Suze Orman Retake
| Posted: 29 Oct 2018 09:05 AM PDT The 2019 plans are now available to be previewed. If you might be using them, check it out! https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/ Deductibles, coinsurance rates, and out of pocket maximums are very different in-network and out-of-network, so be sure to take those into account when choosing a plan! A personal example: I'm happy covering most of my health expenses, but I want health insurance to cover me if something major and unexpected happens. I live within a mile of 3 counties, and due to a recent dispute between providers and insurers, I have a challenge. Insurer "Nearby" has a network that only covers providers in the county next to me, where I spend a lot of time, but they cover nothing in my county. Insurer "Home" covers many providers in the county where I currently live, and where my PCP is, but nobody in the neighboring county, and it is $2.5k/yr more (regardless of subsidies). If I have a non-emergency, I can plan to get my healthcare wherever I have coverage. My concern is what happens if I have an emergency where I am rushed to the hospital. There is roughly a 40% chance I would end up at a hospital in the Nearby network, and a 50% chance it would happen in the Home network, and a 10% chance it would happen when travelling elsewhere. So whichever plan I choose, there is unfortunately a really good chance I'll end up at an out-of-network hospital if I have an emergency. For the plans from both insurers, deductibles increase to $35,000 for anything out of network. That's a huge increase! And, there is no out-of-pocket max for either insurer for anything out of network! Not only that, but for the Home insurer, they offer no coverage at all for a hospital stay not in their network, while the Nearby insurer at least covers 70% after the deductible. For that reason alone, I will likely be choosing the Nearby insurer. Also, Nearby insurer has 6 different plans available. The best coverage for out-of-pocket post-deductible was actually on one of their bronze plans (better than their silver and gold). The silver and gold paid much better in-network and for more minor healthcare needs, but for major issues, bronze actually paid out better! [link] [comments]  |
| Why do some people resent FIRE? A perspective. Posted: 29 Oct 2018 03:07 PM PDT TL;DR—I believe that a significant segment of the US/Developed world resents the concept of FIRE, but I am not sure exactly why that is. I discuss several possible reasons below, including envy, entitlement and the degree to which the FIRE path invalidates their own, more conventional, life choices. I discuss the degree to which I believe that employees would be treated differently if FI was common/universal. However, this is speculation and I acknowledge that it is not based on extensive data. Your comments and opposing perspectives are welcome. A few years ago I read this article in the New York Tiames: (https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/01/opinion/slomo.html). It describes the life of a man (Slomo) who has retired somewhat early from a career as a neurologist and now leads a simple, carefree life on the beach in CA. It is a great story and there is an excellent accompanying short film about Slomo's life. As is the case with many NYT articles, some of the most valuable information is found in the readers comments. I was struck by how many readers seemed to resent this man and the path he has taken. I have cut and pasted some of the comments below. I have condensed the comments for brevity. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/01/opinion/slomo.html
And or course, the inevitable:
I suspect that the resentment expressed by some NYT readers readers is reflective of a wider societal resentment of FIRE, and that this resentment is rooted in varying degrees of envy, entitlement and discomfort with Slomo's determination to stray from the herd and march (or skate) to the beat of his own drummer. I believe that the relationship between envy and resentment in this situation is simple. Slomo worked hard his whole life. Now he is FI, free and living a low stress, fulfilling life. I believe that many people envy him and regret the bad decisions and lack of discipline that undermined their own life. The relationship between entitlement and resentment in this situation is more complicated. In short, I believe that many people favor a highly controlled society where individuals are kept in check through dependency and/or a sense of obligation. FIRE facilitates independence, and that is threatening to many. When someone FIREs, that person is relatively less dependent on any other person and less dependent on society overall. Pre FIRE you are heavily dependent on:
Post FIRE, things change: Almost no one is ever fully independent, even when you are fully FIRED. However, post FIRE you are relatively less dependent and you have infinitely more freedom to chose your own path. This can manifest in a variety of different ways. However, perhaps most important is that post FIRE you are free to work (and provide the benefits of your skills and labor) to the larger society. However, you are also free to kick back and do nothing, and not give much of anything to anyone. And some people don't like this. I believe that many people feel entitled to your resources, skills and labor. I believe that in a healthy society people should help one another. For example, A citizen contributes to society in exchange for everything the society provides (schools, fire department, etc). However, it is not that simple. Many workers find that not only does society expect contributions of some sort, society wants to dictate and manage every aspect of your working life. The burdens of multiple professional and governmental licensing boards and regulations lead many entrepreneurs, tradesman, professionals and ordinary employees to chafe at the yoke society with which society has harnessed them. And if you are not FI, you really don't have much of a choice; you have to pull societies cart whether you like if or not. FI is the knife with which you cut the harness and free yourself. Post FI, the plumber who is told that his plumbing license is at risk if he does not complete expensive and fully redundant OSHA trainings can say: "OK, if you are going to force me to spend money I don't have to relearn what I already know, you will be deprived of my skills when your pipes burst". Post FI, the physical therapist whose desire to move from Seattle to San Diego is tempered by the burden, cost and psychological toll of another state licensing exam (really are patients in WA so different from CA that you need state specific exams?), is free to just check out and retire. Many in society are resentful and threatened by this. They need the services of the plumber and PT, and society wants them under control, obligated and dependent. FI changes the balance of power. Under the conventional arrangement, the average worker (For example an accountant in a large accounting firm) has little choice. She needs money and cannot support herself unless she is working as a (relatively) well compensated accountant. Accordingly, society can make her jump through unlimited regulatory hoops. Her employer can exacerbate this situation by creating a high pressure, soul crushing work environment. What is she going to do? Quit? How else can she afford her mortgage and car payments? FI changes the equation. I suspect that many people across the US prefer a greater level of interdependence. They want the churchgoing family man working hard and devoted to civic causes. Perhaps this is rooted in ancient human history; when we were living in small, interdependent bands, the guy who did not conform to the group was a liability. Regardless, many FIRE advocates prefer greater freedom, autonomy, sovereignty and independence. In the case of 'Slomo' (from the NYT article) Illness played a large role in his decision to retire. However, his FI allowed him to live the life he wants, free of the dictates of the various professional regulatory bodies, health insurance vampires and hospital administration cyborgs who plague many health care professionals. And a lot of people resent that he can live the dream either because they envy him, or want to keep him harnessed and pulling societies cart despite the aforementioned burdens. FI allows anyone to say 'if you are going to make my work life miserable, you will be deprived of the benefits of my labor". If every employer knew that every employee was fully FI and ready to RE, I believe that work conditions would improve and employees would be treated differently. Further, government and regulatory bodies would come to understand that burdening workers with regulations of questionable value will result in an exacerbated labor shortage. Ideally, the relationship between employees, employees and various forms of government and regulatory bodies. would be a bi-directional and mutually beneficial arrangement between, Not an relationship where, due to financial dependence, many workers have to endure meaningless, unpleasant work environments. These dynamics may be related to the current, relatively low levels of workforce participation. ` I have gone on at length about the resentment of some parts of society and/employers, but I think that resentment of FIRE can come from many people for many reasons. Some people may resent a spouse or other family member FIREing because of the perceived reduction in income or change in relationship dynamics. Some work colleagues may fear the loss of a friendship. I discussed this post with a close friend who works in the HR department of a huge, multinational corporations and she suggested additional reasons why many resent the concept of FIRE including:
Finally, there are those who just cant get their heads around the idea that a FIRE lifestyle can be, fulfilling and meaningful, and far healthier and happier than one dominated by paid work. The purported benefits of 'hard work' are exaggerated by people who know no alternative. They argue that the rewards of 'productivity' justify the negative aspects of paid work, including loss of personal agency, toxic work environments, abusive supervisors, etc. However, this perspective may be rooted in insufficient experience living a life filed with productivity but independent of either paid work or school. Again, I acknowledge that all of this is speculative and not grounded in data. But I suspect that many of you have related beliefs or hypothesis and that this is, in part, why many of us keep keep our FIRE/plans to ourselves. I welcome your perspective. [link] [comments]  |
| Daily FI discussion thread - October 29, 2018 Posted: 29 Oct 2018 04:09 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]  |
| My partner is in agreement with our financial goals, but actions do not follow words - advice? Posted: 29 Oct 2018 09:21 AM PDT This is getting very frustrating. We talk all the time about our shared financial goals, and how that will require us to make certain sacrifices, like me not going out for dinner drinks with the guys at a steakhouse a couple of times per month, or her cutting back on shopping. She's always in agreement that we're on the same page on this stuff. But then when it comes down to details, it's like she is thoroughly incapable of abiding by a budget. It's never "I'll save up for that", it's always just buying it. Shopping is a form of recreation in and of itself for her. A trip to the mall ends up not just window shopping but buying things. A common excuse is "I needed new heels" (like...what happened to the old ones you only wear 3x/year?) or "oh, it's a gift for Aunt Martha" (Aunt Martha's birthday is in 9 months...). I do think her heart is in the right place, since she has repeatedly agreed that we're financially on the same page, and she is the type of person to not give in if she doesn't agree. But her actions are just freewheeling. We have tried keeping a budget for this stuff, but it just gets blown every month, then words are exchanged, tears are shed, we make up, and agree to our goals and then ...repeat. The especially frustrating thing is that she is a smart and logical thinker in other areas of life. I don't know what to do here, any advice? [link] [comments]  |
| Networking with FIRE folks for side projects Posted: 29 Oct 2018 01:09 PM PDT Hi Everyone, I was wondering if there is a good place online to network with people pursuing FIRE that find themselves bored at work and searching for side projects? It seems like a lot of people in this community have a lot of extra energy, but have nowhere to direct it. A lot of people are underwhelmed at work and just looking to hit there number and eventually will be unfulfilled but sitting at home. Anyways, I am not quite at this point but would love to network with people with technical backgrounds that are looking for inspiration, but this seems like maybe not the place. It seems people end up defaulting to writing a FIRE blog for meaningful work, but I am pretty sure all topics have been written on 100x over. Thoughts on the best way to bring diverse skill sets together in this community to do something more meaningful than waiting to hit a #? [link] [comments]  |
| Weekly FI Monday Milestone thread - October 29, 2018 Posted: 29 Oct 2018 04:09 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]  |
| Traditional vs Roth for early retirees Posted: 29 Oct 2018 01:06 PM PDT For early retirement, is it better to contribute to a Traditional IRA vs. Roth IRA? Normally, Roth IRA is recommended early in your career, since your income will increase as your career progresses and you'd thus be in a higher tax bracket by the time you take the money out. But for early retirees who retire well before 59, wouldn't your income by effectively 0 by the time you reach 59 (since you've already retired)? So should early retirees avoid Roth IRAs? [link] [comments]  |
| 17 YO, living in 3rd world country , looking for ways to fire Posted: 29 Oct 2018 03:14 PM PDT Living currently in north africa. Markets and stocks aren't really safe to invest in here. I would like to know if you guys know if , as a minor, I can invest in US stocks / bonds. I used to buy cryptocurrencies (because I hadn't to provide any form of id) but I don't see the crypto market going anywhere up. [link] [comments]  |
| What software/tools do you use? Posted: 29 Oct 2018 12:19 PM PDT I'm trying to get a better grip on my spending, as well as forecasting my future. As a novice in this sub, I have read through many posts about people buckling down on their budgets as well as looking at their predicted future. Do you most use excel? Any other phenomenal software or tools that are worth looking into? Also if you are using excel do you have a sample spreadsheet that I would be able to use? Thank you all. [link] [comments]  |
| Stick to the course or seize the day? Posted: 29 Oct 2018 04:08 AM PDT Throwaway. I am from and work in India. 34. Spouse and I always planned to FIRE when we hit 38-40. However am lately seriously considering taking a break of a year to travel. The financials (the rupee:USD is very volatile right now – am using conversion rate of 70 for simplicity):
Pros:
Cons:
Thanks for reading. Tell me what you think. I am very risk averse by nature and just entertaining this thought is both exhilarating and terrifying. Welcome unpopular opinions, if any. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 29 Oct 2018 06:09 AM PDT In the article, Suze Orman clarified she believed "retired" to not be doing anything to earn income; however, she has since come to her understanding the FIRE movement is about retiring from unpleasant work. She continues to express concern that RE is "dangerous" and does not think it is save to assume the 4% rule can be applied over a period of 40-50 years time, when it was designed for 25-30 years (65+). "I encourage every FIRE follower to keep saving more." Although the tone is very different, it does not appear she has actually changed her mind or views, and perhaps it was a necessity to make amends with the FIRE community due to her new book coming out. However, I wonder if it truly is "dangerous" to do so, and if it may actually be possible to predict the 4% rule out to 40-50 years - after all, over time, the market continues to go up. Anyway, it won't stop me from striving for FIRE, ending the hold on my most valuable asset--time. [link] [comments]  |
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