Tag: Finance Breaking News

So glad i got into aviation maintenance and work 2-10pm instead of a traditional 9-5 college career. submitted by /u/Character_Log_2657 [link] [comments]

I’m 40 years old. I was a broke high school dropout for all of my 20s and didn’t start building any real income until my mid-30s. I’m now earning well (just started making 220k a month ago), and I want to be intentional about using the next decade to build real wealth. Here’s my current financial picture: Debt: Car note: $30,000 IRS bill: $24,000 401(k) loan: $11,000 Student loan: $30,000 Total debt = $95,000 Assets: Roth IRA (can fully invest this): $25,000 401(k): $30,000 Savings: $20,000 Total assets = $75,000 Net worth = ($20,000) Income and Expenses: Salary: $220,000 + potential 10–20% bonus Monthly fixed expenses: $5,674 (rent is 51% of this total) My industry/skill-set is at the crux of finance and technology (e.g., AI, Risk Management) My definition of “rich” by 50 includes: Completely debt-free Owning a $400K–$500K condo in Long Beach by 45 On the way to a $3M in retirement by age 65 (living off interest only) Maintaining personal appearance (fitness, health, clothes, etc.) I’m not looking to drastically cut everything. I like wine, I like weed, I like nice clothes. I travel on a budget. This stuff boosts my confidence. I know it sounds horrible, but I'm lucky enough to have an incredible ability to upskill quickly, and I am banking on my salary growing due to my ability to keep learning and providing value within my industry. I’m not asking “what should I do.” I’m asking: If you were me — with my income, my current debt, and my lifestyle — what would you do to become rich? submitted by /u/Peacefulhuman1009 [link] [comments]

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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. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

GS Research Paper Goldman Sachs Research | Bear Market Anatomy: The Path and Shape of the Bear Market Main Findings Most equity markets have entered or are approaching bear market territory, with the drawdown initially starting in the US due to deteriorating economic conditions and de-rating of large technology companies, before spreading globally following "liberation day" and tariff increases. The current market downturn appears to be an event-driven bear market (triggered by tariffs), though it could easily transform into a cyclical bear market given the growing recession risk, with economists having raised the recession probability from 15% to 45%. Bear market rallies are common during downturns, with data showing these typically last around 44 days with returns of 10-15%, but a sustained recovery requires a combination of cheap valuations, extreme negative positioning, policy intervention, and slowing macro deterioration. Current valuations remain expensive by historical standards, particularly in the US, suggesting further downside potential before markets can transition into the "hope" phase that marks a new bull market. Long-term secular inflection points in the "Post-Modern Cycle", including less globalization, higher budget deficits, higher costs of capital, and constraints on corporate profit margins, are likely to weigh on future returns, making a strong case for more portfolio diversification. submitted by /u/rfsclark [link] [comments]

I’m trying to figure out how to maximize my 20s as I will graduate from my master's program next year. I am currently pursuing arts and art history, which I know is a low-paying field. I am thinking about also spending time creating an arts/culture-related business that will allow me to expand into other fields such as IP, events, and (potentially) a brand incubator. I want to be in a position by 40 where my family (of let's say 4) can go on one international and one US domestic trip a year. I also do not want to have to think about daily needs or wants, such as a cup of coffee or delicious fruit or eating out at Texas Roadhouse lol. How much money do you think I will need to be making and also have saved up to make this a reality? I also do not want to give up my dream of working in the creative sector, so I would love any suggestions for career pivots or lateral moves I can make. Also, what should I do with my money once I leave school, as I feel that my HYSA has enough for my emergency savings? My Current Situation: I’m 24 years old and single. Income is less than $15,000 (I am working a part-time job while in graduate school). Current net worth: ~ $40,000 Annual expenses: Covered by my family while I am still in school. Current Assets: $20,000 in HYSA ~ $18,500 in stocks/crypto (mostly just S&P 500) $0 in Roth IRA (potentially have equity in a family-owned business that would put add around 150,000 to my net worth, but I have only heard rumors about it so don't want to count it) Other Notes: I do plan on living at my parents' house until I get married. In my culture, it would be customary for my husband to buy the house. I do not have any student debt because of scholarships. I made most of my net worth from working multiple jobs in university (at my peak I had 5) and high-paying internships. One summer in tech netted me about 10,000 USD. I live in a low-cost state. submitted by /u/toastandeggs1 [link] [comments]

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. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

I'm retiring in June 2026. I'm looking for suggestions, recommendations, and other thoughts. Please no snark. Also, please no affirmations like good job or congratulations. Here is my situation: I'm 44M and am married to a 43F. We have two kids; one is going into grad school, and the other is going into his senior year in high school and will graduate in June 2026. We currently live in a very HCOL area on the West Coast. We will be moving back into our super nice and large house that we own and are currently renting out in a medium/low cost of living area on the East Coast. We love our HCOL city, but we know that we can't afford to retire here. I am very low on the autism spectrum, but on it nevertheless. Autism got my father pretty good, and it definitely nicked me 🙂 Even though this is a confidential account, I don't want to disclose my net worth and all that as I feel like it serves to de-motivate others that are on the path to financial independence and will inevitably be judged one way or another. Let's just say it's not chubby FIRE nor is it lean FIRE. I would say that it's just normal FIRE. I have a few hobbies that I plan to maintain including: Golf Foreign languages - Spanish, Italian, ? International travel for sights and culture Domestic travel for family I am contemplating a few random things to do in retirement that will do little to replace my current salary but are interesting to me including Real Estate investing - buy dilapidated properties to fix and flip or fix and rent Maybe get my realtor license Work very part time at a pizza place (I'm sure this will last only a few weeks) Work very part time at a local golf course to get cheap or free golf (this also won't last long) Open to other recommendations to add to this list I have been slowly getting my wife on board for FIRE over the past five years. She sees the tremendous toll that my chosen career field has on me. She also recently lost her mother to early onset Alzheimer's, so she has a sense that the clock is ticking, and it's time to start living life to its fullest. As it stands now, she wants to work part time in retirement, which she can do fairly easily in her career field. Also, in the low cost of living East Coast city that we will be moving to, she already has a job waiting for her. She has recently taken on pottery. However, her big passion is traveling, which works well for our mutual interests, but is difficult to fit into a FIRE budget. So far, my concerns and stresses right now are: We bought a house in the HCOL area a year ago, put a bunch of money down, and the price has completely stagnated. We have made over half of our FIRE money from buying personal residences over the past 15 years. So, while hindsight tells us that we shouldn't have bought the house, I feel like it is just part of a long term real estate investment strategy where you aren't always going to buy at the right time and at the right price, but on average you hope to gain. We also experienced some substantial life-style creep which I'm feeling guilty about in that we bought two Teslas over the past two years. I bought my Tesla first as I was moving into a sales role and had an image to maintain when driving colleagues and clients. Then, it really wasn't fair to make my wife drive the 150,000 mile, old-but-running-beautifully Toyota. So, my son got the old Toyota, and my wife upgraded to the second Tesla. I go really far to get miles and points for all the credit card sign-up bonus that I can, but we still end up traveling a fair amount, and spending a fair amount on it, whether it's for vacations or family visits for the holidays. My son has a significant attendance problem in high school and gets poor grades. The passing grades are generally from chat GPT papers that are meticulously run through a humanizer in order to avoid detection. He'll be a senior in high school next year, so the big concern with him is that he will fail to launch. I don't feel like my wife and I are suffering enough. I spend a lot on golfing, and she spends a lot on pottery and beauty products/treatments. Shouldn't we be living a life of destitution and scrimping every penny if we are about to retire? The counter argument my wife has is that she doesn't want to wait until retirement to start living. She also frequently says, "Is this what the next 40 years is going to be like," when I recommend we eat at home or when I block an expensive vacation. While our savings rates have fluctuated drastically over the past 15 years, right now we aren't putting any money in our retirement accounts or our taxable brokerage accounts. However, our investments are appreciating, and we are paying down mortgages on our current residence and on our rental property. Even though my wife doesn't need to work when we retire, will my wife resent me every time she "has" to go to work, while I am sitting at home or at the golf course? Assuming that affordable care act insurance is still income based, will it be better for my wife to actually not work? Also, assuming my son goes to college, will this further compound the need for my wife to "not" work so that we keep our income low enough that my son doesn't need to put our net worth on his FAFSA? How should I draw down to fund my retirement. In descending order, at the time of retirement, our net worth will be in Taxable brokerage 401k Home equity Roth IRA attained through backdoor Roth contributions when my income (and our saving rate) was much higher. If you are still reading, thank you for listening and I am interested in hearing your thoughts and recommendations. submitted by /u/NombreAleatorioUno [link] [comments]

Posting this on a new account, as family, friends and coworkers know my main reddit account, and I really don’t want them to see exact numbers or intents. Might just make this one my permanent account related to finances to avoid all of them, but that's not relevant at the moment. Wife and I reached our “FIRE number” last year, but have continued to work, mostly just to reallocate money around, but also we just weren’t mentally ready to retire. But we’re at the point we want to pull that trigger early next year (or earlier…). I am hoping to get some confirmation from the community that I haven’t missed anything important with my family’s FIRE plan. I am 38, wife is 36, we have 4 kids, ages 5, 7, 13, and 16. Our financial summary is as follows: Annual Expenses: $60k-$80k (flexible) Includes medical (ACA/CHIP) Does not include mortgage P&I, but does include items escrow covers (taxes and insurance) Debt Total: $363k Mortgage - $318k remaining @ 2.5% (will be ~$288k on 4/2026) Car Lease - likely will opt to purchase for $45k 9/2026 Cash: $419k Checking/Savings: $50k CDs: $289k ($300k when mature 3/2026) I-bonds: $80k Retirement Account Total: $2.3M Brokerage: $560k (basis: $420k) Roth IRA (combined): $230k (contributions: $84k) Traditional 401k (combined): $1.1M Roth 401k (combined): $156k (contributions: $126k) HSA: $80k Defined Benefit Plan (DBP): $200k (can lump sum to tIRA) Social Security (age 62): $1,681/month (me) $1,336/month (wife) Home value: ~$1M Largely irrelevant, though we may consider downsizing in the future, so some possible boost of funds could be obtained here. Our current plan is to let our CDs mature next March, retire around then, and pay off the house with that cash. Yes, “bad idea” because 2.5% APR is amazing, but as we are looking at the ACA for healthcare, we want to minimize our expenses to levels that will more easily qualify for any credits that may or may not exist next year. Plus we have kids heading to college, so yet another reason to minimize cashflow, might help with FAFSA and all that. We will continue to max HSA, IRAs and 401k until retirement, so the numbers above may be higher than current, assuming the markets don’t totally crash. Upon retiring, the 401ks will be rolled over into traditional and Roth IRAs respectively. DBP will also be rolled into an IRA. We will then allocate funds to 75% equities, 20% bonds and 5% cash, give or take. Our current allocation in retirement accounts is heavy equities, due to the excess cash equivalent holdings… so will need to adjust everything once CDs are spent. Brokerage is intended to carry us for at least the first 5 years while retirement funds become accessible via Roth Ladder conversions. For various reasons, we do not have 529s. Instead, we have been throwing money into Roth via MBDR, figuring we can access those funds to help the kids as need be (whether that be college, or other paths they may decide to go down). In addition to the $210k in current Roth contributions listed above, by April 1, 2026, another $67k into Roth 401k + 14k into Roth IRA will be added, so total accessible Roth contributions will be ~$291k. Should be a decent chunk to throw at the kids if need be, at least for in-state college - reviewed tuition & fees for nearby college, kids can live at home. If they opt for a more expensive school, that’s on them, and they are aware of this. $60k is minimum (typical) desired spend. Could go lower if things start turning bad… probably $50k would be actual minimum would be willing to go to. The $80k high end is nearly the absolute highest we would go, includes multiple international trips with all the kids. Not something we would do every year, but on occasion, particularly if markets go up, sure, why not. I think that’s all the highlights. Is there anything significant I missed, or any other thoughts on something I should consider? submitted by /u/livingbudo [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/rezwenn [link] [comments]

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. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

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Me and my spouse (both 38) used to make ~$260-$280k/ year. Currently, this is down to $145k with me working. Spouse has been out of work for 5 months. They have some medical condition (eye) that might prevent them to work at all in the future. If that happens, they might have $1500 in disability benefits monthly. We both started career late through gradual schools (5 years back) with some debts, and through lots of frugal lifestyle, we made out to have about $780k (currently) net-worth during the past 5 years: House ($230k) Retirement/ira: 505k ($365k/$140k) Cash ($45k) House is just bought last fall and we have 27.5 years left (we made extra payment a lot initially before spouse lost job). New car paid off. We have a baby on the way, this will be our only child. Our monthly expense is $5800 (without the baby, and mortgage is $3800). If the spouse can not find job, they’ll continue to watch for the baby (so no day care). Our goal is: - To pay off the house in 15 years (so that we can pass that assets to our baby). I looked up to make that happen, we need to pay $1000 extra. If our goal is 20 years (less conservative and I think more reasonable), that would be $500 extra monthly. - To retire in 20 years when our baby is going to college. - To go back to our home country for retirement. With a paid-off house there (from their parent), we basically need $2k for a nicer lifestyle, or $3-4k for a luxurious lifestyle. I want to aim for maybe $3k since honestly, we are not into any luxurious things (I think maybe just food, helper, travel, medical - but medical and travel is kind not going hand in hand anyway). We thought about having saving for our kid college, but that is not a priority given we plan to pass the house to them. In the worst case scenario, if my spouse does not work. What would be the number we are targeting for 401k and other retirement. We’ve been maxing out this every year, but now it’s just me. I want to move forward with the idea that only I can max out 401k. But again, our goal for retirement is probably just $3k per month, and we might want to prioritize paying off our house too. Given that, do you think the plan is feasible, is there anything we might miss, and should I continue to max out 401k or prioritizing paying off mortgage in our case. Thanks a lot. submitted by /u/Shoddy-Click-4666 [link] [comments]

Here's my situation. I'm 53M/55F, and we plan to retire by the time I am 58. We plan to take SS early (62 or 63 for me/64/65 for her). So we have 4.65 years left (or sooner) to our retirement goal date. Financial breakdown: Income - 300K household/year - 8200/month Debt -192K (Mortgage 178K, Auto Loan 14K) Expense - About, 6900/Month and use the rest for whatever. Yearly Expense - $1200 We save 96K+ year, sometimes a lot more (45k pre-tax, 45K Roth/Mega, the rest in cash) Investments: pre-tax - 1.5M Roth - 185K HSA - 40K Cash 65K 90% in index funds (total stock). I know this is considered risky, but will change course when I have 2-3 years left. Total is nearly 1.8M Goal is 3M The old way ^^^^ The potential new way----------------- 401K up to match - about 10K for both of us 30K into mega 25K into brokerage 25K into HYSA/cash Save the rest for taxes. What are the downsides to doing this? I feel like this could give me: 2.1M+ in 401K 500-600K in Roth/Mega 150-200K in Brokerage 150-200K in cash 100K in HSA The above gives me a lot more options. Or, do I just keep plugging away at putting 45K into pre-tax and the rest in Roth/Mega/HSA and have approx. 150-200K in cash? Please be honest with me, I can take it. submitted by /u/PedalMonk [link] [comments]

The Remarkable Story of a Soviet Refugee Who Conquered Wall Street submitted by /u/a_san_38 [link] [comments]

Hello I understand the FIRE/Financial Independence movement is all about patience, investing in low cost index funds, living below your means etc. However I'm also curious about some calculated risks you've taken to increase your wealth or speed up your FIRE date. It's important to not get greedy (I'm a belief in the pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered quote) but I genuinely believe there is good wealth building opportunity to greatly increase one's networth even with there being higher risk, so long as the person does their due diligence. Can you name any examples of monetary risks you've taken after careful research that paid off? This can include switching to a new job, riskier stock picking, options trading, real estate etc. For me personally I switched ALL of my liquid investments (IRA, HSA, 401k, Taxable Brokerage) from your generic S&P500 index fund into buying SSO stock (2x leveraged SP500 fund). In February 2025 after switching 100% to SSO my total portfolio was at $578k. Then the whole tariff shenanigans happened. I literally watched day by day as my wealth would bleed out by $5k-10k (sometimes up to $20k) per day before reaching the bottom of $386k. That's almost a near $200k drop or basically 33% ! Yet even through that entire tariff BS nonsense I STILL held and continued to load up my bi-weekly paycheck into more SSO. Now I've been recovering real nicely. Just curious to hear about other people's stories where they made smart calculated risks that aren't exactly in line with conventional fire wisdom but things still worked out due to careful planning and due diligence. submitted by /u/toss_it_o_u_t [link] [comments]

Hi everyone, first-fime poster here. In January I separated from the military after serving 8 years as an officer and transitioned to a defense contractor role making 160k/year in California. I feel fortunate in that I’ve never had much debt, and have maxed my 401k (TSP) contributions since I was 23 years old. I bought a house in January and hope to stay here for at least a few years as I grow in my career before moving to a lower COL state. I’d love to get some thoughts from everybody now that I’ve made the big transition to the civilian world on where my focus should be on the road to FIRE. Questions: Considering the 6.2% interest rate on my mortgage, should I prioritize paying off extra principal on the loan or putting more money in a brokerage account? I have a VA loan so I already paid more principal into the loan than I needed to, but I wanted that security blanket in case something catastrophic happened career wise. Should I continue to max out my 401k contributions? At what point does it make more sense to trim it down to maximize company matching and then use the additional money to pay down my mortgage or invest in brokerage accounts? I would love to retire around 50. Do you have any general advice? If I’ve provided enough data, do you think I’m on track? If there are any prior military folks in the group, should I let my TSP sit and ride? Or should I rollover to my new company’s 401k account (Fidelity)? NW 435k Assets: 1. Checking: 8k 2. HYSA: 40k 3. Taxable brokerage: 15k 4. TSP 401k: 220k (no further contributions) 5. New company 401k: 10k (maxing currently) 6. Roth IRA: $52k (need to look into back door options now) 7. House equity: $58k 8. Car: Tesla MY, new and currently worth $35k (considering selling this in about a year and buying a cheaper used hybrid sedan) Debt: 1. House (495k mortgage, 6.2% interest rate, down to 437k principal now) Inflow/outflow: 1. Monthly take home after max 401k contributions/taxes/health insurance: $6600 2. Required monthly expenses (mortgage/all bills/car insurance): $4202 3. Leaves about $2400/month for food, additional investments (which I try to maximize), and play/travel money Thanks for your time! submitted by /u/Curious_Bug8161 [link] [comments]

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. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

I’m trying to figure out what my target net worth should be to achieve full financial independence. Not necessarily “retire early,” because I actually enjoy working. But I want to be in a position where work is 100% optional and I’m never working for money, just because I choose to. My Situation: I’m 29 years old, married, and we just had a baby. Combined household income: $335K per year. Current net worth: ~$1M. Annual expenses (everything included): $105K per year. I’d like to generate $200K per year post-tax from investments to cover our lifestyle and have room for growth, fun, and flexibility. Current Assets: $150K equity in my home (bought last year, 30-year mortgage at 6.25%, $570K principal remaining) $300K in crypto (planning to sell 30% before retirement, long-term hold the rest) $188K in post-tax stock investment accounts $185K in 401(k) $50K in Roth IRA $13K in HSA $85K in cash ~$50K in depreciating assets (cars, etc.) Other Notes: I don’t plan to move and am happy in my current home I’ll help fund my child’s college education, but won’t be doing private school I’m investing aggressively and don’t plan to stop I plan on having more kids. I’ve thought about paying down my mortgage early but lean toward investing instead. Open to input on that too My Core Questions: Given my goal of $200K per year after taxes from passive income, how much net worth do I actually need? Are there calculators or frameworks beyond the basic 4% rule that make sense for someone with a mix of crypto, taxable brokerage, and retirement accounts? Is it smart to keep the mortgage and invest instead, or should I shift strategy? What would you do in my shoes to optimize for reaching FI as soon as possible without sacrificing lifestyle? Would really appreciate any thoughts, frameworks, or personal stories from folks who’ve thought through or reached this point. Thanks in advance. submitted by /u/Weekly_Transition987 [link] [comments]

I just turned 40 (single, no dependents just pets), and my hope/dream was to retire by/at/around age 45 abroad (Panama, like 99% sure). I've already researched the move and I'll be eligible for the "Pensionado Visa" due to recurring income from military disability (more on that later). I would like to purchase my home there, and maybe have a Casita or separate entrance apartment/efficiency for AirBnB. I plan on keeping my home in the US, and hiring a management company to run it (but ideally I'm hoping for a long term deal with either traveling nurse company, corporate housing company, or LDS Missionaries, something like that so I know it will hardly be vacant.) Current Stats: - Current Income (Salary + Bonus): ~$160 - $170K - 90% Veteran Disability: ~$2,300/month (tax free, pretty much forever, and gets the same COLA adjustment as SS each year). I have other claims in right now that will hopefully bring me to 100%, which would add approx. $1,500 to that monthly tax free payment (that obviously makes a huge difference for this plan) - My total "mandatory" expenses each month are ~$4K (I can prob trim some of this, it includes everything like Netflix). - My car will be paid off by 2028 (included in the above $4K) When this happens my "Mandatory" monthly payments will be ~$3,250, so I'll be able to save $750 more a month for about 2 years. - About $315K left on my mortgage, but SUPER low rate - under 2.5% (which is why I plan on keeping it to rent out. The current rental market in my neighborhood tells me that I can cash flow ~$400/month TODAY if I rented it out). Additionally, I have ~$100K equity in this home. - In a "normal market" (7%) I will have $600,000 in Roth accounts & HSA at 45, which I plan to let sit 20 years (and will hopefully be around $2MM when I'm actually retirement age - 65. (Current value = $400K and I Max my 401K, HSA, and Roth IRA) - Currently hold $75K Cash in HYSA / CD (I contribute $1K / Month consistently) and hoping to have closer to $200K by the time I FIRE. (75% of this would be for moving expenses, downpayment on a home in Panama, etc.) - Currently $120K in a taxable brokerage (contributing $650 2x/month in various ETF's so $1,300/month). Again, "normal market" (7%) scenario tells me I'll have about $260K at 45 in this account. Potentially more (shooting for $300K), as my parents have indicated they will slowly start deferring some assets to my sister and I, as well as a retention bonus that will be due to me from work, among other items) (Current Net Worth ~$700K including all of the above; Probably low for my age, but I had an unconventional career path) The year I stop working (where I essentially won't have an income tax bracket) I want to start converting the taxable brokerage to be centered more for a dividend portfolio. I've already constructed a "safe" (relatively) high yield portfolio that pays dividends monthly, and I'm shooting for $1K - $1,500/Month (depending whether I stay at 90% or get bumped to 100% Veteran Disability). I've met with different advisors, fiduciaries, etc. Fidelity, where all my money is, seems to think this plan will work but for folks out there who have actually FIRE'd already, would a hypothetical $4,000 - $6,000 / month work in Panama (assuming 90% disability is $2,500, I receive $1,500 in dividends, and let's say $1,000 rental income between my USA home and Panama Casita.) I feel like I've laid out everything going on; I don't have to worry about health care due to the VA disability (they have a foreign partner program). What else is there? Can someone either roast this idea or give me some constructive criticism? Thank you all! submitted by /u/Slap5Fingers [link] [comments]

Looking for some honest advice here. The Porsche 911 has been my dream car for years, and I’m finally in a position where buying one is possible. But I’m torn between going for it or just investing that money instead. My Financial Situation: I make $235K per year, and my wife makes around $100K per year. - Net worth is about $1 million, including a mix of taxable investments, retirement accounts, crypto, and home equity. - I bought a house last year. I have about $150K in equity, but the mortgage is high. - We have a 2022 BMW X5 that’s fully paid off, which my wife drives. - We also have a Subaru Impreza as our second car. - We just had a baby, which definitely adds a new layer to all of this. - I continue to invest aggressively and plan to keep doing so. - I’m 29 years old Here’s the core of my dilemma. I’ve always wanted financial freedom and that “f-u money” position where I never feel like I’m working for money. I don’t ever plan to retire early or stop working entirely. I actually enjoy my job and want to keep working for the long term. But I never want to feel like I HAVE to work. That mindset makes me question whether buying a 911 now is a good idea or if I should wait until hitting a bigger milestone. So I’m wondering: Is there a net worth or passive income target that would make buying a dream car like this feel more justifiable? For those who’ve done it, did you regret it or was it everything you hoped it would be? How do you balance enjoying your money now versus optimizing long-term freedom? Would love to hear what others think. submitted by /u/Weekly_Transition987 [link] [comments]

We currently have about $650k in investments between the two of us and around $100k in cash to cover emergencies and saving toward a house (though in our MCOL city, median homes are now creeping toward $600k, so a 20% down payment with 6 months expenses covered is still a few months out). When we first got together a few years ago, our combined gross was $170k in a state where we paid income tax. This year, we’ll make around $230k and won’t pay state income tax. The problem is, about $550k of our combined net worth is tied up in my retirement accounts. I’m worried that compound interest isn’t going to have enough time to act on taxable investments to allow us to reach FI in the 45-50, especially if kids come into the mix. Our rent right now is $1800, but, if we buy a house, our monthly housing cost will be in the $3500-$4500 range. What is the best strategy to build a bridge toward retirement account access age? Or is that a lost cause at this point? submitted by /u/Worldly-Yam-3604 [link] [comments]

I’m a UK based investor with a 10-15 year horizon, mainly in global index funds (like the Global 100 Index and similar), so a big chunk of my portfolio is USD exposed. With all the indicators about the USD potentially declining over the next decade (US debt, shifting global reserves, etc.), I’m wondering how others are thinking about this risk. Are you avoiding or reducing USD heavy funds? Using currency hedged ETFs? Shifting more to Asia/EM, gold, or other strategies. Or just riding it out, figuring that global diversification covers it. Would love to hear what others are doing to manage or hedge USD risk especially for long-term retirement planning. Any tips or fund suggestions welcome! submitted by /u/thalliumisotope [link] [comments]

Hear me out! This isn’t financial advice, just a thought experiment from someone trying to flip the table early. I’m 25, a control engineer, and a veteran receiving VA benefits. I live comfortably and I’m humble and grateful to God for the stability that gives me. Because of that, I’ve been putting $3,700–$4,300/month into a regular taxable brokerage account not a 401k or Roth IRA. Why? I want to retire at 40 with $60K/year in dividend/RIET/ETF income, and I’m trying to make sure I can actually access the money when I get there — without all the age-59½ hoops and tax gymnastics. At an 8% annual return, consistent investing like this for the next 15 years puts me right at $1.5 million. That’s the number I need to hit the 4% (very conservative) withdrawal rule and fund early retirement. I did the math and the monthly investment needed is around $4,335. it’s a grind, but doable in my situation. I get that 401ks (TSP for me and my military folks) and Roth IRAs have tax advantages, employer matches etc and I’m still sprinkling into those ($300 a month). But if your goal is early freedom, wouldn’t it make more sense to prioritize liquidity + control over tax deferral? Most people sleep on the freedom that a regular brokerage account gives you. No penalties. No locked doors. No IRS handcuffs. Curious what y’all think — is this reckless or just realistic for someone who doesn’t plan to wait until 60 to live life on their terms? Let’s hear it. submitted by /u/ife101 [link] [comments]

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. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

I’m 38 years old. Married with a wife. Combined wife and I have around $1 million $10k in brokerage, equity and retirement and about 12k in bank account. I’ve been maxing our 401ks and Roths for some time. At what point can I reasonably slow down? I earn 180k a year and she earns 55k. No kids, no debt except house. Do have some major house repairs coming. Drive older 2008 Toyota that’s getting up there in miles and a 2016 Subaru that’s only got about 40k miles due to COVID. 401k balance is about 60% s&p 500 10% small cap/ mid cap/ and international, and 20% bonds. I just had a big salary bump and have been used to living in around $110k + wife’s 55k while maxing everything including Roth IRA for both of us somewhat comfortably so we live like we are poor. Monthly expenditures maybe $4500-$5,000 in VHCOL area including mortgage.(PNW) submitted by /u/sonofalando [link] [comments]

$2.2M Net Worth in California 43/42 $335k annual combined $700k primary home equity- we will sell in 15 years and use this as bridge income $450k equity in commercial properties. These will term in 15 years and annual rent collection will be $85k $350k equity in vacation home- not renting $750k 401k Taxable accounts- $0 Our monthly basic expenses are $10k and we have a bit of a spending problem and don’t save any for taxable accounts. Any advice or keep plugging away and be ok? Monthly expenses will decrease by $3500 in five years submitted by /u/CaliHusker83 [link] [comments]

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2021 update 2024 update Hey all, wanted to share an update on my FIRE journey. Biggest life change has been the birth of my son at the end of 2024. I originally had some anxiety around having children (costs, whether or not I'd be a good dad) but after he was born all those anxieties just melted away and have been replaced with an intense pride; both in my son and my partner. Career wise, I left my FAANG-adjacent tech job for a pre-IPO start-up. Income grew from $300K to $350K but has made it much harder to value my equity awards. This was a pretty risky bet, leaving a cash-cow business with a wide moat for (effectively) a roulette table. Benefit is my day-to-day is much more exciting and my role actually matters vs. previously I was just one cog in an incredibly large machine. On my investments, no material change, continuing to double down on my big bets. Have begun to diversify my investments to include some pre-IPO startups via Republic.com (one ancillary benefit of now being an "accredited investor"). Spending wise, not much has changed, still living way below my means. But I did splurge on an engagement ring for my partner; spent $16,772 on a (very) fine gemstone. Still driving my 2015MY compact car, and (so far) successfully resisting the temptation to upgrade. One side benefit of having children as it relates to FIRE is knowing that all my work to save/invest will benefit not just my future self but also my children, even after I'm long dead (in the form of a trust). My goal: "Retire" at 40. And what I really mean by that is work part time while having "FU money". Currently tracking to FIRE between 42-43 depending on market performance and my stock picking ability. Now that I'm a father my FIRE number has increased to $3M. Here's how my net worth breaks down (as of today): Stonks Cash Real Estate Other Assets $1,655,391 $93,474 $250,000 $120,507 Net worth over time: 2010 $32,768 2011 $41,584 2012 $65,494 2013 $90,684 2014 $94,495 2015 $94,849 2016 $137,270 2017 $321,515 2018 $361,655 2019 $395,746 2020 $798,778 2021 $1,134,226 2022 $937,175 2023 $1,367,012 2024 $1,934,897 2025 $2,119,397 submitted by /u/lolkkthxbye [link] [comments]

Hi all, I’ve been a very active user here for 11 years, when I first discovered the concept. Back then, “early retirement” still seemed like a lifetime away, yet now I find myself in the situation actively considering pulling the trigger. I’ll give my numbers, then lots of detail on my current thinking about quitting my job. I’m not only interested in the financial aspects, but also the “lifestyle design”, “happiness-optimization”, and career identity considerations, especially from parents. Please give any feedback or questions, and allow me to use this as a free therapy session to help me analyze my own situation! Stats We are 37, 35, and 3. I make almost 300k (Counting 50-70k of which are RSUs), my spouse makes 80k (gross). Here’s our joint income history (from federal tax returns, which means maxed out pre-tax 401ks aren’t included). year IRS total income 2016 115k 2017 117k 2018 133k 2019 187k 2020 199k 2021 187k 2022 183k 2023 243k 2024 298k 2025 (projected) 350k Here’s our net worth and retirement fund balance: Checking $24,000 Savings $119,000 401k 1 $788,000 ($126k Roth) Roth IRA 1 $115,000 Roth IRA 2 $177,000 401k 2 $273,000 house $450,000 crypto $14,000 robinhood $28,000 kids 529 $30,000 retirement funds $1,353,077 total net worth $1,988,672 Annual expenses are about $86,000. That consists of $56k expenses (actual) plus $20k daycare (actual), and an extra $10k allocated for home maintenance and infrequent car purchases. I do my planning with the $85k number, even in situations where there is no daycare (once he’s in school or if i were to stay at home). Paid off house. Maxed out 401ks for years, and access to mega backdoor Roth IRA. (I used to roll it out into my Roth IRA, now do in-plan conversion). I also have a pension worth about $110k in “cash-balance” present value. Life details and dreams. My wife genuinely likes working. She can’t imagine not working. She took 3 months of maternity leave while I took 8 (5 were unpaid). She has no plans to quit when I do, and fully supports my early retirement (AKA “stay-at-home dadhood”). Her $80k income causes some interesting planning nuances: Since I make such a vast majority of our income, I’m tempted to wait to quit until we could do it without relying on her income at all. But at the same time, her income really does give us a big buffer, as her take-home income alone would almost entirely cover our living expenses. Total Annual expenses are 6.3% of our current retirement savings. But annual expenses not covered by my wife’s take-home income (of say, $50k) is <2% of our retirement savings. Meanwhile my career is interesting. I get very little joy out of working. But I’m fortunate enough to hit “director” level, without having any direct reports. I’ve hit an inflection point where I’ve been asked to speak at conferences, am getting my name as primary author on some industry publications, and am very well recognized in my fortune 500 company as a true expert on some topics. I WFH 3 days a week. I’ve been identified as a high performer, for “special” retention (e.g. extra RSUs). I probably only actually work 30 hours a week, but have some high stress situations (occasional 14 hour days, late meetings). Leaders have repeatedly pulled me aside and mentioned that they recommend me for future senior leadership, and would like to have “career development” conversations with me, about how to “make moves”. This would basically involve actively and deliberately expanding my experience taking on leadership roles in different organizations, moving around a lot, and getting high pressure responsibility. I’ve clearly stated that I am extremely happy and fulfilled in what I am currently doing, and don’t have a desire to abandon it and get shuffled around the company in positions of increasing responsibility. We are also very happy with our lifestyle, and we get very little “marginal utility” from extra money. I’d love to quit, have a garden, and play with my boy all day. Yet at the same time my career is at a point where any additional years I keep working, I make (and save) a huge amount of additional money. If I quit now, I get 2 years of stay-at-home dad time with my boy before school age. Sounds awesome. I also know that can be tricky, and will leave less time for hobbies. And I’m not even sure I want to take him out of daycare as an only child, for socialization reasons (he loves it). Quitting once he’s in kindergarten might make more sense. I get 2 more years of income, and I quit once the daycare expenses are gone, and I can be available to take him to and from school (right at 3pm or whatever!) and still have 6-7 hours to myself each day. Another note: there are some real opportunities for independent consulting in my field. Sometimes this sounds fun: working 10-20 hours a week on my own schedule? But then I ask myself: WTF, I’m basically already an internal independent consultant that gets to work from home, with stable income and perks. If I’d consider going independent, why not just stay where I am? Questions: How to think about retirement and safe withdrawal rate with my wife planning to continue working? Do I go conservative and only consider quitting if our stash could fully cover our expenses? Or is it OK to account for her income? How does funding my retirement look with such a heavy allocation in retirement accounts? I feel like we still have a big safety factor, with my wife wanting to work indefinitely, and with our Roth balances, which presumably are accessible with a 5 year ladder. Any thoughts on the “dad” aspects and time with my son? submitted by /u/TechnicalBlueberry32 [link] [comments]

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. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

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https://www.reuters.com/business/fed-likely-leave-rates-unchanged-it-hunts-clarity-economy-2025-05-07 submitted by /u/DrThomasBuro [link] [comments]

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Paul Krugman: "First — and why aren’t more people saying this? — what the hell was the Treasury secretary doing giving a closed-door briefing on a significant policy change that hadn’t yet been officially announced? Isn’t that a setup for large-scale insider trading? Indeed, attendees at that conference surely made market bets before Bessent’s remarks became public." submitted by /u/ope_poe [link] [comments]

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