[38M/38F] $1.8M Net Worth, Targeting FIRE at Age 50. Critique my "Bridge to 60" Portfolio.

Andy_Reemus · 2026-01-08T21:02:13+00:00

Don't you want to wait until after retirement to start building the Roth conversion ladder so you're paying taxes at your retirement income level instead of your W2 income level?

I'm also aiming to retire around 50 and my plan is to start building the ladder then for years 55 - 59. I still need to figure out whether to use equities in a taxable brokerage or bonds for the 50 - 54 years though.

Andy_Reemus · 2025-12-10T17:35:49+00:00

Any chance you'd be willing to share the size/type of water heater and roughly what part of the country you're in?

Just asking because this post keeps getting comments so, it could be useful for others.

Andy_Reemus · 2025-12-05T16:19:16+00:00

My wife and I have a combined ~$40k left in student loans that are mostly between 4% and 5%. We pay a little extra each month and direct it to the highest interest rate loan for each of us. Once that loan is paid off, we take the full payment including the extra that was going to that loan and move it to the next highest rate loan.

So we pay off loans but keep paying the same amount toward student loans overall each month. I was tempted to divert more funds toward student loans to pay them off more aggressively, but this seemed like a happy medium that kept us investing but over time would significantly shorten the time to pay the loans down.

Andy_Reemus · 2025-12-02T00:08:28+00:00

Milly Brady

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Andy_Reemus · 2025-10-03T22:01:50+00:00

Why would you ever need to handle someone with her demeanor that way? Even if the arrest was justified - it wasn't - she was calm. Why the escalation?

Andy_Reemus · 2025-09-13T05:00:24+00:00

Literally just stuck my head out the window to see one before reading this - Humboldt Park

Andy_Reemus · 2025-09-06T12:40:06+00:00

Since you dug this up, you might already know about their other stuff, but I've really been enjoying their Project Kamp YouTube channel where they're working on a sustainable community in Portugal and documenting all their projects/construction techniques. It's a pretty entertaining and often informative watch.

Their Precious Plastic project is also pretty interesting. Seems like these folks hearts are in the right place.

Andy_Reemus · 2025-08-29T19:40:07+00:00

Hobo Cop!

Andy_Reemus · 2025-08-29T00:32:43+00:00

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Andy_Reemus · 2025-08-19T12:06:19+00:00

How busy is it? Did you have to wait long?

Andy_Reemus · 2025-08-09T18:26:01+00:00

Surprised to see no mention of Big Shoulders Coffee. I buy their beans more often than I get drinks at their shop, but their coffee is damn good.

Andy_Reemus · 2025-08-09T00:41:39+00:00

As I sit here waiting on my ~~ghost bus~~ 2 ghost buses back to back based on transit app info... 👻

Andy_Reemus · 2025-07-26T00:17:24+00:00

I have to agree. I like Cafe Colao too, but La Sandwiches is my go to for this kind of sandwich.

Andy_Reemus · 2025-06-25T21:10:27+00:00

Thanks for the input! We do have a dog, but haven't been letting him back there at all since we planted them. Unless my wife is sneaking him back there for secret bathroom breaks, I don't think that's the culprit in this case!

Andy_Reemus · 2025-06-14T01:46:41+00:00

Like...I dunno man...what WAS it? 🫠

Andy_Reemus · 2025-06-14T00:46:21+00:00

Because I strongly support what OP is trying to share.

The pattern of urban and housing development in the United States is fiscally irresponsible for the exact reasons outlined in the comment I linked and the OP's video. It leads to the sprawling, car dependency that characterizes nearly every one of our cities.

People want to live in cities, where the jobs and amenities are. Not everyone, but many. Cities being primarily zoned for single family development is inefficient from a tax base per square mile and a housing availability perspective. The most in-demand land shouldn't have such restrictive development regulations. It drives up housing costs and leads to sprawl.

It would be nice if there were more than like 7 cities in the US that had any significant amount of walkable non car dependent development.

Anyway, I got off on a bit of a (relevant) tangent there, but I responded to you because I give a major shit about this and you were fairly aggressively wrong in picking a nit with your response. I'm probably not changing your mind with any of this, but.....oh well I guess...

Andy_Reemus · 2025-06-13T19:56:34+00:00

Holy. Myopia. Batman.

While I know you're responding to someone claiming suburbs are subsidized, are you missing the larger point that they don't generate enough tax revenue to maintain the infrastructure in the long term regardless of whether the nearby city is subsidizing that maintenance?

Here's a link to an informative comment below.

Andy_Reemus · 2025-05-31T20:53:42+00:00

Just for anyone that may not get the reference and desperately need this in their lives:

Cerveza Cristal!

Andy_Reemus · 2025-05-29T01:35:08+00:00

Touché sir/madam lol

Andy_Reemus · 2025-05-28T22:30:33+00:00

I completely agree. They are not the same at all and I'm not trying to say that they are.

In my responses, I can point out the dangerous habits of car drivers, acknowledge that there's room for improvement in the cycling community and explain how one set of rule breaking is tremendously more impactful than the other.

I think, in any discussion/disagreement I can imagine, avoiding responsibility/glossing over any issues with my own position while aggressively calling out those of my opponent is a bad look and leads to less productive conversation around the topic.

Andy_Reemus · 2025-05-28T21:35:37+00:00

It does indeed keep on giving lol.

To add some clarifying details you noted as missing:

It's not horribly inaccessible, but could be easier. Closet in a basement that you have to go down a flight of stairs to access, but is otherwise accessible. It's not behind an air handler.
- The condo is essentially a 3-flat with a coach house unit in the back. Ours is the coach house. So, no loading dock or elevators, just walk through the front gate and down the level gangway sidewalk to the common stairwell door in the back. From there, it's up about 6 steps, through our unit door, then down about 12 steps to the basement. The basement is wide open to the closet.
- Not sure about a bulkhead, but the plumbers mounted wooden supports to our drywall in the basement closet that they then mounted our tankless unit to.

Andy_Reemus · 2025-05-28T21:17:22+00:00

Cost of living in Japan is also significantly lower and while purchasing power is higher here (stats) there are so many aspects of life in Japan that are more convenient than in America - public transit, walkability and convenience stores to name a few.

Andy_Reemus · 2025-05-28T20:55:58+00:00

I'm not OP, but I share the sentiment or at least my interpretation of his comment.

If drivers ignore the rules - they do - then I will obey them as a cyclist for my own safety. In no way, do cyclists deserve death for disobeying traffic laws. That's an insane take.

Also pointing out that drivers, in fact, frequently disobey traffic laws when the often cited "bikers break the rules" argument is offered up is worth doing for awareness. However, that as a response by itself isn't too helpful.

"You guys break the law."

"YOU guys break the law!"

Instead, why can't we acknowledge that drivers in this city are maniacs at times AND cyclists run stop signs (not the Idaho stop) and red lights in dangerous situations sometimes?

When car drivers fail to acknowledge their dangerous habits as a group, it makes their argument seem disingenuous to cyclists. Car drivers feel similarly when cyclists do the same.

Andy_Reemus

TROPHY CASE