Financial Independence Community Update - New Rules going into effect |
- Community Update - New Rules going into effect
- 2 Years of Net Worth Tracking, a Promotion, and Future Goals
- Confession: I get overwhelmed by the mechanics of FIRE
- Daily FI discussion thread - October 25, 2019
- Weekly FI Frugal Friday thread - October 25, 2019
- Any recommendations of movies/documentaries/articles to share with SO or anyone who doesn't understand/like FIRE?
| Community Update - New Rules going into effect Posted: 25 Oct 2019 06:38 AM PDT Hello everyone! After the feedback from last month's Community Survey: Top-Level Posts, and internal conversations, the moderation team feels that our rules no longer clearly align with the desires of our community. We have updated the rules to become clearer in intention, and reduce the total number to make them easier to follow. Didn't we just update the rules 2 months ago? – Yes, but with the new moderators adding their voices, feedback from the community survey, we have decided that we needed another update. When will this go into effect? – Today! We will wait until discussion dies down here before updating the official rules page (so you can also go look at the old rules to see the changes), but these rules are now in affect as you read this. What if I disagree with one of the rules, what should I do? – make a post below and say why you disagree, what it should be, what you think it should or shouldn't cover, and anything else need. We want to hear your feedback. We are willing to update the rules to include or exclude certain activities or topics if we feel they are for the better good of the community. Quick note on moderation: the mod team is committed to keeping discussions on r/FinancialIndependence engaging, high-quality, and on topic. For each rule, we have tried to identify behaviors or topics that go away from that ideal and have done our best to explain the motivation for the rule and provide examples when necessary. Also, we hope you have seen an increase in the entire team explaining removals in a majority of cases – usually through comments left on remove posts by the removing moderator. We are doing this to not only help the entire community understand why we made a certain decision, but also to help hold ourselves accountable to the community. That said, we know we aren't perfect, and that there are likely judgement calls you disagree with. We have been working with a "spirit of the law" mindset when it comes to the rules. Given that our main desire is open, thoughtful and respectful discussion, we will on occasion allow things that aren't 'letter of the law' if we believe the post in question is for the betterment of the community. These are always judgement calls by the moderation team. We are always open to civil and respectful feedback – whether it be for something removed or left live. We have been using the feedback gathered to help drive day-to-day moderation decisions, as well shape larger changes like the rules update. If you disagree with a certain decision made, please let us know in a respectful way and allow us to not only explain our decision but also give us the chance to hear your side of the situation as well. That's enough of a lead in, let's get to the... New updated r/FI Rules.
As a mod team, we would like to Thank You for being the substance that keeps this sub a lively and respectful place and hope that you all continue to keep those trails in the future. Myself and other mods will be in the comments below if anyone has questions, concerns, feedback, or anything else you would like to contribute. [link] [comments]  |
| 2 Years of Net Worth Tracking, a Promotion, and Future Goals Posted: 25 Oct 2019 08:59 AM PDT First of all, I hope this content warrants having its own post. If not, I apologize. I graduated in 2017 with $74k in debt with no money to my name. When I started working, I started aggressively paying off my debt while living with my parents. I was able to put the majority of my paycheck towards my loans and fund my 401K to get the full match as well as throw some money into my Roth IRA and save a few hundred bucks per month. I was very fortunate to have my parents not only cover my living expenses but they even paid about a third of my debt off. I was in a great position to have that support from my family. I'd like to add that I was making a modest salary of about $58k plus a 10% bonus. I started tracking my net worth and became addicted to paying off my debt and slowly building my nest egg. May 2017: -$74k NW Somewhere around the end of 2018, my net worth hit zero. It was a bittersweet feeling because I was glad to be making progress but frustrated that I was just starting from the bottom. May 2017: -$74k NW December 2018: $0 NW Around March of 2019, my debt was completely paid off. This feeling was more exciting than hitting 0 net worth, because I then knew that interest would be totally working in my favor. I also felt like I received a big raise because I didn't have to pay $2.5k per month on my loans. I immediately increased my retirement contributions to pick up the slack in my disposable income. Since then I have been contributing $500 per month to my IRA and $1000 per month to my 401K. I moved in with my (now) fiance about 3 months ago and have been having conversations with her about FIRE and delayed gratification. She isn't interested in how investments work but she realizes she needs to set money aside for the future. She is still working on her PhD so she has time before she will make money and be able to invest. Today I just surpassed $30k in my retirement accounts. I finally feel like I have a decent little pile developing. It's not much, but it's a start. I could cover about a year and a half's worth of expenses with those savings. I know that early contributions are what make a big difference down the road. The FIRE journey is a grind but it's rewarding to watch your wealth grow and make progress. May 2017: -$74k NW December 2018: $0 NW Today: $35k NW Basic chart because I know you mangs like charts: https://imgur.com/a/JclE6Ry You can see the growth levels off a bit halfway through the year when my parents stopped making payments on my loans and I moved out. Compound interest hasn't made a noticeable impact yet on my worth since I have not had so much time in the market. I am guessing around the $100k mark I might see the magic start happening. Anyway, yesterday I received the news that I am being promoted. My raise will be about 23% and will put me above the $80k mark including my bonuses. I am still in the process of negotiating it higher (I think I will be able to, given my performance reviews). I am ecstatic. My hard work is paying off. I am really looking forward to greater responsibilities and the growth that will come as a result. My plan is to try to fully fund my IRA and 401K while continuing to save for a house. Hopefully within a year or 2 I'll be able to purchase my first property. I hope this post shows some people that not everyone here is making 6 figures, worth half a million in their 20s. I am still privileged to have had the luxury of living at home with my parents while paying off my debt, but this perspective may be easier to relate to as a mid level earner. Happy Friday everyone! [link] [comments]  |
| Confession: I get overwhelmed by the mechanics of FIRE Posted: 25 Oct 2019 10:03 AM PDT I'm 100% on board with FI/ER concepts and plans. My SO and I have made big strides (paying off student loans, 40% SR, opening retirement vehicles, etc.) Where I get bogged down is the details and the mechanics. I've read the sidebar, FAQs, stand alone posts, blog posts, the freaking IRS website, etc. But I still don't 'get' the mechanics. I have no idea how Mega Backdoor Roth works. I have no idea how tax loss harvesting works/when I should do it. I kind of get rebalancing. I know a SWR of 3.5% works, but I have no idea how. For now, I've just gone with what the majority of recommendations are here. But my lack of understanding has already cost me a couple of times this year. First, I naively opened a SEP IRA (thinking I could open an individual 401k later this year. I can't). Second, I've naively contributed 20% to the SEP IRA (thinking I could still take advantage of the FEIE up to the allowable amount. I can't.). I'm worried this lack of understanding will lead to larger problems down the road — especially as I figure out where to put the rest of our 40% SR. Is anyone else in my shoes? How did you start wrapping your head around the details and making smarter decisions? [link] [comments]  |
| Daily FI discussion thread - October 25, 2019 Posted: 25 Oct 2019 01:07 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 Frugal Friday thread - October 25, 2019 Posted: 25 Oct 2019 01:07 AM PDT Please use this thread to discuss how amazingly cheap you are. How do you keep your costs low? How do become frugal without taking it to the extremes of frupidity? What costs have you realized could be cut from your life without pain? Use this weekly post to discuss Frugality in general. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are more relaxed 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]  |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2019 03:30 PM PDT I am not looking to convince them it's the right way to do things, but to show them that it's not necessarily about stopping to work, but more about enjoying life and the freedom that comes with FI. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
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