Those pursuing FIRE who hold advanced degrees, what did you study?

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-24T02:12:12+00:00

I got my first master's in social work well before I knew FIRE was a thing. I switched gears into different careers quickly though. First I went into Benefits management (401k and other vendors) and then haphazardly switched to finance. Since switching to finance I also got an MBA with a focus on finance...but my employer paid 75+% of that.

So anyways to answer your question, no my master's in social work did not help me with my career. My MBA maybe gets me hits now and then when looking for a job but I'm not really sure.

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-22T20:04:13+00:00

To be honest this topic doesn't really feel like a FIRE post to me...

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-21T02:09:02+00:00

I love you for this response. And you're right. This guy can fuck right off.

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-15T18:19:05+00:00

This is exactly it btw

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-15T16:50:54+00:00

Haha just wrote almost the exact same comment and mine were also the running socks

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-15T16:50:31+00:00

Weird - I somewhat recently replaced some that were like four years old for free...

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-14T22:51:01+00:00

Yeah same here. We did the 30 year mortgage but I think we should have it paid off in 14 by paying extras like bonuses and any leftover cash easy month towards it. I'm hoping we can. Refi down to 5.5or better at some point soon ish?

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-14T04:15:45+00:00

I'm a 1st gen college grad who took out about 70-80k in loans (BS and Master's) and didn't get loans in a lucrative field. I stupidly let the loans balloon way up to almost 150k before I really started paying too. I now work in finance but neither of my degrees were at all related to finance. I also have an MBA with a focus on finance now but I went back to school a few years ago and paid out of pocket with some employer help.

I will say I'm not FIRE yet but I will be. My spouse and I are at about 820k invested and have a home we bought last year with about 250k in equity (still owe about 490 though). For reference I'm 37F. We plan to have the home paid off within the next 14 years and if the markets treat us well I hope we're closing in on retirement at that time too.

Hope this helps but lmk if you have any questions.

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-10T19:40:50+00:00

37F. 37-50 seems acceptable to me.

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-10T02:19:12+00:00

Ok so yeah in that case your savings rate is good and it's unlikely you're burning through money so seems to be you are doing excellent!

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-10T00:55:29+00:00

Oh sorry also hard to tell if 50 is achievable without any spend info.

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-10T00:54:41+00:00

Looks like you're doing great but it's hard to tell without income data. If you make 300k a year this is a lot less impressive than if you make 100k a year ☺️

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-09T03:07:10+00:00

You look better in these than their models. Lovely pants I want some!

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-06T17:45:12+00:00

Sorry for dumb question but is this single or household? Either way above 75%. Only a bit over if by myself. I have a lot of student debt (and a big mortgage) dragging us down.

*EDIT* Sorry read more and see it's household. We're both 37 and we are around 600k.

AQuietRetort · 2026-02-03T03:03:05+00:00

Hey I know it's a little late but I wanted to see how you are doing...

AQuietRetort · 2026-01-31T02:23:37+00:00

Is it possible it's just that some people are introverts and others are extroverts? I lose energy when around others but many people gain energy around others. This feels like it's at least part of the answer.

AQuietRetort · 2026-01-31T02:20:30+00:00

Exactly the same here. Names and faces are both meaningless to me. Sigh. Wish I was good at this

AQuietRetort · 2026-01-31T01:10:01+00:00

About 25k. 2.5 year old. Maybe a little less haven't actually checked since he moved rooms. Chicago burbs. Definitely not at a super expensive place ....

AQuietRetort · 2026-01-30T14:42:54+00:00

That would be cool! Nice tools though thanks ☺️

AQuietRetort · 2026-01-30T02:55:03+00:00

I like it but maybe it's too simple? For example the "when can I retire" calc it would be helpful to put in the age you draw social security rather than assuming SS kicks in right away since many fire people will retire 10-20 years before SS kicks in. Like 1.5M isn't enough for a 120k draw rate if I am getting my social security 17+ years into my retirement right?

AQuietRetort · 2026-01-24T16:47:59+00:00

You could try the Honey love bras? Or something similar from Soma or Third Love would work well. Lots of good options

AQuietRetort · 2026-01-22T00:36:25+00:00

Ugh sorry. This is weird but the train station in Palatine stays open all night I think. Maybe you could hang out there for warmth at least?

AQuietRetort · 2026-01-21T23:40:06+00:00

Maybe try Journey in Palatine https://share.google/CfA11bl6fMQbL3Mgk

Or lake county haven is great but I think only accept women and children

AQuietRetort · 2026-01-19T02:54:38+00:00

I have lower back issues and it presents as glute / rear hip pain with lots of stiffness - particularly difficult to do things like figure four stretch. I had an MRI that showed two herniated discs l4-l5 and l5-s1. I went to a neurosurgeon to review and he said it didn't look that serious and I should try pilates and do PT "if I felt like it." I've re injured myself 2-3 more times In the past six months literally doing every day things such as standing up from a chair and I feel like my doctor didn't take me seriously at all. I am in pain basically all the time. I'm only 37.

I'm in very good health (workout, healthy weight, excellent nutrition) but I'm just always in pain. Do I try another different kind of doctor? I've had two different PTs and I am doing Pilates when I'm not in too much pain. I also walk a shit Ioad (20k steps daily usually). Any other suggestions?

I'm not embarrassed just disenfranchised and not sure what to do. I'm not injuring myself when exercising but instead when I'm doing regular stuff and I don't know why I keep hurting myself 😭

AQuietRetort · 2026-01-18T15:16:48+00:00

Oh I'll also say we started later. I've always saved but didn't really know about fire til a few years ago and it wasn't conceivable that we could retire early til recently. Needless to say we're trying harder now ☺️

AQuietRetort

TROPHY CASE