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We use the smallest midea in our good sized master bedroom. I purchased it as a backup if our ac went out in the heat of summer or if we lost power in the summer. It is real quiet and does a great job cooling. My Honda eu2200 generator can run it because the inverter unit doesn’t have a huge pull electricity wise. After testing I was going to box it up and store in the attic but my wife like sleeping in the cold so much we just left it. We only run it at night or during really hot days to keep stress of our late 90’s central ac unit. We are replacing our entire hvac soon and the problem is we are so used to sleeping colder at night that adding a zoned system for our small house or adding a permanent mini-split costs so much (4-5k) compared ...

I don’t factor in anything because it wouldn’t significantly change any of our choices if it did or didn’t happen.

Long-term health care, remarriages, family issues, and other unknowns can wipe out a lot of money fast and I don’t want to pretend I have control over situations like that.

If it was a very large amount, I probably wouldn’t factor In dollar amounts, but I would probably take more risk or not err on the more cautious side of expectations (returns/inflation).

galawdawg wrote: ↑Mon Mar 06, 2023 8:02 am I'd recommend you consider a sinking fund. Put those extra dollars dedicated to paying off your mortgage into a money market fund or treasuries. When the fund balance equals the principal balance of your mortgage, then pay it off in full.

This also allows for a bigger emergency fund in the case of a job loss, etc. We’ve done this with a car fund, building it up to not take on a payment. It is nice knowing we could use those funds or delay the purchase of a car if an emergency came up.

Echoing what others said, refining the 25x number is what I’ve done as we’ve been saving: being more pessimistic about returns, looking at a higher x number or lower withdrawal rate to account for an earlier FI, expecting future expenses to be much higher, taking actions to help with SOR risk. I also don’t want to be in the boat of saving too much at the risk of not enjoying life now and this line is different for every person. All that to say, doing something to reduce future expenses like mortgage and 529 are positive moves that hard to argue with. We aren’t at the point where returns will get us to our FI number and we paid of our mortgage early. It brings us peace of mind when layoffs, re-orgs, and bad leadership chatter starts. With in...

My father in law mows his older neighbor’s lawn. He does it when he is mowing his own so it’s not that much more work, probably equivalent to $30/hr.
My father used to buy state pickup trucks from auctions. He would stick to a similar model so he knew what it would take to fix it up and what it would sell for. He also bought used boats he liked, fixed them up, used them for awhile, then sold.

I’ll second the home lighting (updated fixtures, smart bulbs and switches-hue, under cabinet lighting).

Under cabinet swivel knife block.

Anything to help with storage organization or get rid of eye sores that you’ve gotten used to.

An excess $3800 a month sounds like you can afford it and it looks like you don’t have to drain your savings. Not sure if this pushes back your financial independence/retirement date or expectations.

I like to play out scenarios of worst case so I know what kind of a hole I might have to dig myself out of if needed. If you have to sell due to job loss, relationship loss, etc. estimate how much you’ll be out. Relationship loss applies whether married or not.

Good luck and hopefully best case scenarios play out!

I use buckets:
Car
Vacation
House/planned remodels
Taxes/Insurance/other Yearly Bills
General Savings

It started many years ago when we were living paycheck to paycheck and we wanted to go on vacation and didn’t want to put it on a credit card. We could get by without them now, but it keeps me from justifying a more expensive car than I need and helps with perspective.

You are definitely not crazy and sounds like you would be fine either way. 6 years at an extra 50k is $300k gross, maybe $225k net before the new car/gas/insurance. I’m not sure what that means to you at retirement and there are other items like increases, 401k match and health insurance options to consider.
It’s a gray area because riding out 6 years is a long time, some would have 3 different jobs in the that same time period. You are lucky that you have someone that you can talk to there that know the position and company well. Based on what you said, I would take the money out of it and see if you want a new challenge or does your current job keep you interested enough.

I think it is handled on the back-end and not the front-end. The retirement system should keep track of the after-tax contribution, if paid out of pocket, so a small portion of the benefit will not be taxable when paid out to you.

I have the m12 fuel hammer drill and fuel impact driver and they are great tools. I get so much use out of them and an impact driver makes a night and day difference when driving screws. The m12 are surprisingly powerful for their size. The surge impact driver is really smooth and much quieter if you want to shell out some more money. A good carbide bit and the m12 hammer drill will easily take care of 5/32 holes in a concrete slab. I don’t have good luck with tapcons and much prefer metal bolts with a fasteners that hammer in and spread open when tightening, but it depends on the project and they require bigger holes. The bit that comes with the tapcons seems like it dulls pretty quick at least in my concrete slab. I also have an older cor...

If it was me and I know I didn’t need the money and if I knew there was a good chance MIL wouldn’t need the money, but wanted it set aside just in case, I’d invest it. I’d probably use a different index than my others to track it separately and if it does well you could take her on a nice trip in the future.

With it being a Toyota sedan, someone will always be looking for a good deal on such a popular vehicle if mechanically sound and well taken care of. I wouldn’t worry much about selling it in the future for a discounted price obviously, but trade-in might be low.

I had a civic in a similar situation, and when I listed it a little lower than all of the other civics in sold in a heart-beat. Mine was bad enough to be totaled and I was able to buy it back with a clean title. I made money on the deal short term and long term. It was a little embarrassing driving around in a golf ball, but I used it as a commuter and errand car and it was nice not having to worry about any additional dings.

We are in a similar situation with my spouse’s RSUs. We had a plan to sell 1/3, keep a 1/3, reinvest a 1/3. I was expecting less volatility so we should have made a more specific plan about when to do each. I wasn’t feeling great about it dropping, but we’ve already sold a decent amount when it was higher so it removed a lot of the risk for us. We feel pretty confident in the industry and company so we don’t mind riding it out and consider these the shares we are keeping. In the future I’ll plan on splitting the 1/3rds as it vests.

Definitely not the same value or stock, but with my spouse’s RSUs we decided to sell the first round to pay off house and save for a remodel, luckily it was at a good time, doubled. I felt like that took a lot of the risk off the table for us. For the overall total award, we decided to spend/save a third, reinvest a third in an index, and leave a third invested until a specific time or price. I haven’t worked out what to specifically do at each vesting period but I need to come up with a system because the lockout periods and large swings make it an emotional decision which is what I don’t want. I don’t like blindly selling either and will probably include some simple price to earnings vs benchmark triggers. I will probably also include a r...

I went with nest because I had a thermostat and the smoke detectors so having one app for all of them is nice. It has worked reasonably well but I have had some wi-fi issues with a relatively smaller house. The app does seem to hang up quite a bit at viewing video too. Nest hasn’t been the best with anything but pretty good overall.
The best system would probably be wired system that has a hard drive and backed up to the cloud, but is it necessary? I’ve come to realize that most cameras can’t see license plates or faces unless you are really close or you have speciality cameras. Having cameras that can be seen is half of the deterrent.

If it hasn’t been mentioned yet, I would check out how healthy the current pension plan is. They should list a funded percentage (% of benefits they can cover right now) and the closer to 100, the better. Below 70, I’d go the other way and between 70-85 I’d do some more research to see if the trend has been going up and making sure the employer is making all of their actuarial required contributions.

I preferred hertz in the past and have used Silvercar multiple times. Recently Silvercar in San Francisco was cheaper than the smallest car I could get anywhere else even with the short Uber ride to the dealership. The last Silvercar I had was an 80k vehicle though with a pitted windshield but still drove nicer than an economy.

If you knew it was above industry average, it sounds like you knew it wasn't going to last. It has to be very difficult to plan, like your plan, and then scale back towards the end.

This next 100k job isn’t the end all be all. It may help to think of it more as a transition time period, either towards the next job, promotion, or scale back period and let your existing investments due the heavy lifting. You are still on a great path just not the same path.

If I was to get a scooter I’d check out the new Honda trail 125, a new take on the old CT90 but it is a little funky. I understand wanting to stay under the 50cc for other law requirements though.

I have seen a lot more people use metal posts in concrete with 3 rails. Also using a pressure treated board as a bottom border that is easy to replace vs the bottom of the pickets rotting out. Since the posts should last a long time it makes replacing the rails and pickets relatively easy.

It sounds like you have enough income and could come up with a temporary solution (driving car longer, large repairs) pretty easily if you didn’t want to pull out when the market was low.

We drive 14 year old cars so our case is a little different. We put about $600 month into a supposedly “high yield” savings and use that for repairs/new car fund. Our budget would probably be $30k for a new/newer car. If the market falls 25-40% And I think we can get by for a few years I will probably use the the majority of that to buy some stock on sale. We also don’t drive much and currently have a lot of flexibility.

tashnewbie wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 4:27 pm I think you and your partner should have open conversations about your financial picture.

I second this too.

Congrats on your recent success! That is tough work. I would personally split it. I’d be paying a little extra on the loan but put the majority in savings and re-asses after a year. You should have enough to pay off the student loan then if that is the route you wanted to take. If my longtime partner (future longer term partner) had a decent amount of debt I would probably focus more on my debt. If an expensive wedding was in the future I’d also pay down the student loan so the money couldn’t be used for the wedding, :) I would also max out my Roth before 457 and take a look to see if you qualify for public service loan forgiveness, though the qualifications are tough. We did an 80/15/5 loan back in 2009. 5% down, a high interest (7-8%) 15 ...

We have a completely different situation but may add perspective for others. Dual income no kids (DINK), no debt and we only have about $400k each of employer life insurance. Both mid-career. I figured it was enough to take a significant amount of time off and we both agree we plan on working if something happened to the other.

In your case I would only add more insurance if I intended to provide a higher standard of living or if I think there is a decent possibility I could owe more than the new properties are worth.

Once a year with home value and savings accounts. I look at retirement accounts quarterly to make sure I am still inline with asset allocation.

I don’t have much of a reason to look at net worth. I don’t have any goals that that use my savings accounts or home value.

I obtained my MBA around 30 from a local university while working, married with no kids. I felt like my career options were stalling out. A 2 year cohort program designed for working adults with 3 semesters a year. Work paid $15k and I paid about $20-$25k out of pocket at the time. I am 95% sure I wouldn’t have been considered for the job I am in (same company different department) without it and the salary increases have outweighed the cost. My undergrad was in an unrelated field so the MBA played a more important role immediately and in future job searches. For the experience, you get out of it what you put into it. There were only a few professors that put in the appropriate effort in my program unfortunately. Sometimes the school was sc...

No answer unfortunately. I’ve had issues with 3 of my Subarus if only driven a couple days a week. Some of the Outback forums say to make sure your lights are on when driving because it kicks up the charging from the alternator. I like to call our Impreza a plug in hybrid because I ended up making a quick connect in the grill for a battery tender so I don’t have to lift the hood anymore to charge it when sitting for a few days. I have used everything from interstate to optima to evercharge and I’ve had the best luck with an oversized interstate.

I don’t this thread needs another data point but I keep thinking about it. We are 10-15 from an early’ish retirement and we paid off our mortgage in 15 years on a 30 year mortgage. We always paid extra but over the last couple years we really started knocking it out quickly and then lump summed it. I don’t regret it but do agree that I’d have more money in my pocket if I paid the minimum and refinanced. If I had to do it again I would have invested it then would decide when that balance matched the payoff. Paying extra on the mortgage made me more diligent about keeping my spending low and provided me good perspective over the years, which is just a personal thing. We had some large’ish house projects in the near future we wanted to complet...

willthrill81 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:52 am

Normchad wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 9:22 pm
It will likely be there for you, in some form. A lot of people here assume the benefits will be reduced by 30%, just for reasonable planning purposes. That seems reasonable to me.

That's roughly what I'm assuming for my own FIRE plan.

Same here and as a reference point I’m younger than OP. While I know SS is not a typical pension plan, I have seen many scenarios of pension plans reducing future benefits to become more sound. I will probably make sure I can still hit my lean FI numbers not including SS as an extra step of precaution when the time comes far into the future.

Can you think of any high value projects that would make you look good to your boss or anyone else higher up? If more work didn’t bother me, I’d specifically look for something that my boss does that is somewhat interesting to me that I could take over, especially if it is a pain point for them. Anything that will keep you a couple steps in front of your peers? Any other departments or fields that you would consider a dream job that you can learn more about? Any networking within your field, maybe reach out to other healthcare systems with random questions to build relationships. If you don’t want to spend it doing work stuff, then I’d think about anything that would make things easier at home, meal planning, online grocery shopping, person...

If it is motor oil, the valve covers are common spots for leaks on a Subaru with the horizontal design of the engine. If it is anything like the 2.5l it may require loosening engine mounts and lifting the motor to slide out the valve covers. I imagine the 3.6l is even tighter in there.

Dyloot wrote: ↑Sat Feb 12, 2022 12:18 pm
If you're a fan of Zin, check out the Dry Creek Valley appellation (next to Healdsburg) when you visit.

That just made me think of some Talty Zin that we’ve had and always consider a treat. They only make Zin and are quite good at it.

I agree with the others. Too many things have to go right to make it acceptable (doing what you want without fear of losing your job, while getting paid what you think is right). I’m not familiar with acquisitions, but I’d be surprised if the new owners would start shoveling money into existing employees. You haven’t been able to convince the current owners that you should be paid the market rate and they know how valuable you are, so convincing the new owners could be tougher.

It sounds like you are very marketable if you are making it through the rounds. You should be able to move on even if the next one isn’t a good fit. Good luck either way!

I feel sorry for people that don’t have H‑E‑B. It is rare that the pricing doesn’t match.

We have the little GE profile wine fridge and bought it when it was much cheaper than it is now. It is relatively quiet, but still noticeable and next to our living room. We tried one before that and it was way too loud even though it is advertised as quiet. If it is going in a kitchen, you may not have to worry about sound as much since your other fridge may drown anything out.

I’d suggest a single zone to keep things easier (less parts to break) and don’t have a limit on reds vs whites. Many of the little fridges out there don’t fit the bigger bottles without removing a shelf or something so keep that in mind when they show bottle counts.

I tried a sign for placement to thwart porch pirates and it was comical how the sign made it worse. I have the storm door issue too. I know delivery drivers struggle with a lot of other stuff so I give them the benefit. It’s hard not to shake my head when I see that package blocking the door until I realize how nice it is to have people bring stuff to my door.

It's temping to feel smug right now, and it's easy to forget the years where I underperformed the market when things are going well. There is a little voice that says, "Maybe I do know more than the market".. "Maybe I should index less". The dangerous allure of individual stocks is that when they do well, they are very good at feeding your ego and temping you to become a worse investor. We had this smug feeling with RSUs/ESPP when seeing it climb and climb with dreams of retiring even earlier than planned then they fell and fell all within a couple of months. We only have a small amount that is vested and able to actually be sold, but it is an early lesson in a lot of different ways. The psychology of gains and losses i...

That is great that she has enough of a monthly income to cover her normal expenses and that you have been there to avoid any bad financial advisories to swoop in. I don’t have specific answers to your questions but I went through a similar situation a few years ago. My parents portfolio was sliced and diced but in indexes and at Vanguard. We opted for the life strategy funds (40/60) because it keeps me from messing with it or worrying if I am doing the right thing. I also wanted it simple if something happened to me. I now only worry about the bigger issues of how conservative it should be. I may transition it closer to 50/50 or 60/40 in a few years if she feels comfortable with it. I’m not saying you should do this, I am saying you should ...

I had a Subaru that did something similar. Ended up being a small hose that just got brittle. No cracks in the hose and tightening the hose clamp didn’t help. I was able to sniff it down to the general location and started touching underneath the hoses to find it.
Once the pressure decreased in the lines (after a few minutes), it stopped leaking but still smelled after a couple hours.

The 3m ceramic is pretty standard and should last the lifetime of the vehicle. I had a wagon done a few years ago and it took a couple hours for a one man shop. The bigger decision is with which shop/person to go with. I looked for someone that was around a few years and had a lot of good reviews.
I think XPEL and suntek are other reputable brands from what I understand too.

I agree with the others here that RSU value isn’t concrete. Sure it is the bottom dollar in your pocket, but you can’t count on something you don’t control (stock price). Bottom line is, if you think you are worth more, you should start interviewing to see if you can receive more, then ask for more. Your company has been granting you more and more RSUs (not counting sign on) based on the dollar amount when awarded, which is a good sign that they understand you probably made more earlier on because of the rising stock price. I think it is unrealistic for the them to give you more shares because you received more money due to the stock price going up earlier on. I imagine it is hard to consider what is fair or what the market value of your jo...

On the original 1984 iMac there was an odd consideration: the integral black-and-white CRT was actually much better than any CRT you could buy separately (even if there had been a way to connect one, which there wasn't). This remains somewhat true today. Ignoring gaming and refresh rate considerations, you really can't buy a separate monitor as good as what you get integrated into an iMac for anything much less than the cost of the entire iMac - whether we are talking the 24" or 27" model. If display quality matters to you, it will be hard to beat the price of the iMac. Disagree. Something like the Dell U2720Q would be an excellent monitor for this application. It's about half the price of the cheapest 24" iMac, and more tha...

Your friend and others have good suggestions. Not in the same situation but I have struggled with motivation in the past when switching jobs at the same employer. For me, there was still a lot of baggage that I couldn’t shed. I wouldn’t discount a move to a new employer, especially if you can find a part-time role in something interesting with benefits.
I get the not wanting do the same amount of work for less money thing and that could be a big hurdle. I’d be interested in a follow-up down the line to see what you did and how successful it was for you. Good luck and great job getting to FI.

If you are adamant about not having a mortgage and also being in a house in 2-3 years, having the majority in cash is probably a good idea. If you are ok with a mortgage and want the option of a house in 2-3 years then I’d have enough cash for a decent down payment ($100k), on top of an emergency fund. A lot can happen in 2-3 years as we’ve seen, and I think this option allows for the most flexibility. Your taxable brokerage account should be very liquid other than the taxes on gains or selling low. Since you have a decent amount in there I’d beef up the 401k/IRA. Definitely move whatever you leave in your taxable brokerage into lower cost index funds. Great job on thinking ahead and saving so much already. Remember that all of your 401k pr...

I’m not much of a cook but I’d trust anything from Americas Test Kitchen.

I’ve had good luck with Hunter fans. I think they have a better line of fans that are outside of the big box stores, kind of like moen faucets. I’ve also tried more expensive fans from a light and fan shop and it was noisier than the cheaper ones.
I’m not a fan of integrated leds unless you can adjust the color temperature because getting the light to match other lights can be a pain The last fan we bought beeps loudly every time you change the speed or light which is annoying and freaks my dog out.

I found a cheap single ear bud (em16) that fits decently in both ears and just switch it over to my top ear which can be a pain. I also have another set where one ear bud died and I just use the one but it doesn’t fit as well in both ears.

I like to be able to hear some sounds when sleeping for safety purposes too.

Haven’t seen these listed yet:

Honda Trail 90
Snapper Rear Engine Riding Mower
A cheap stainless steel shoehorn - i started using it in my 20s and will probably use the same one for my lifetime.

I estimate my future expenses based on current expenses and increases I’ve seen over the past 10 years (very subjective), then hope the inflation built into a SWR estimate carry me forward from the point of retirement forward. My estimates and my future expenses include some fun stuff that I know could be cut if needed. I tweak it every year based on new information.

I also use a lean, average, and fat spending approach to keep my expectations in line. This eased my mind a bit when I started having the same questions you did about what number to actually put down. I’d like to think I will have the option to continue to work even if at a reduced capacity/salary during retirement if needed but not counting on it.