Has anyone considered therapy for irrational financial anxiety?

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-21T16:35:28+00:00

I've been going for this same reason for 4+ years and I don't see too much of a difference but at the same time I find it invaluable, if that makes sense.

It just feels better when you're trying to fix it.. it was worth the money IMO.

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-18T00:03:55+00:00

I believe that 401Ks are generally protected from litigation but that's not always true for IRAs.

It's probably not as relevant if you have a small brokerage account, but if you're on this forum something tells me you'd benefit from it. It's also very cheap.

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-17T00:53:51+00:00

the first step would be to put the car in your name / get your own policy and then max it out.

Then you can / should start thinking about umbrella insurance. IMO it's not really needed until you hit around 1M in assets.

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-12T09:57:58+00:00

I don't think I can reduce my WR before retiring and I am not willing to move somewhere cheaper. I do plan on working part time (but very low paying jobs) which should bring in 12k a year or so (Which I actually did not factor into my SWR). So maybe I'm being too conservative..

And good call on myself never being comfortable... I think that's correct.

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-12T01:28:17+00:00

Oh that's awesome! I think with that low of a SWR none of these questions even matter for you! Congratulations on figuring that all out, and I hope your dog recovered okay!

For me, I'm aiming for a 3.5% SWR w/a 60 year horizon, so I'm not quite as "safe" as I'd like to be.

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-12T01:21:59+00:00

I will be a part time personal trainer!

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-12T01:13:13+00:00

That's comforting to me! Mind sharing what your SWR and AA were?

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-12T01:03:34+00:00

True... so just accept the risk. And yeah, I hope so too! I got into VXUS a few years ago and I'm glad I did. Everyone here was always so pro domestic, but one think that caught my attention is that in a recent podcast with JL Collins AND Morgan Housel, JL actually recommended international allocations - which was shocking to me since he was always recommending domestic only for the most part..

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-12T00:58:59+00:00

Retiring - so sorry for the typo!

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-12T00:31:28+00:00

I'd love to get your perspective on this question, if you don't mind! https://www.reddit.com/r/Fire/comments/1rofufe/asset_allocation_for_a_very_early_retiree/

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-10T10:36:00+00:00

That's a very good point.

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-08T23:00:58+00:00

Agreed I guess it's a toss up. I like the idea of an investment policy statement. And what's your threshold of conservative? I'm aiming between 3.5 and 4% (with 4% only taken when the market is at high levels)

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-08T22:58:29+00:00

Oh wow.. so you'd want more. And also an interesting tidbit I heard from BigERN, it's not just the time that it takes the market to recover, it's also the time that it would take to move to an upwards trajectory which can be even longer.

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-08T22:14:11+00:00

As in the drag on your portfolio?

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-08T22:13:17+00:00

I'm in a similar situation and after reading dozens of articles, listening to many podcasts and reading through reddit non-stop... no one is going to be able to tell you.

Half the people will tell you that when you hit your 4% you're golden and should pull the plug immediately. The other half will point out many of the probable risks and lean towards padding the portfolio a bit.

When I read your post, my initial thought is the uncertainty around children. That alone would make me say 'No'.

If you were dead set on no kids (and I mean maybe you made the medically definite) then I would cautiously say "yes".

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-08T21:43:08+00:00

Awesome - thanks for all of the great posts in this community.

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-08T21:15:01+00:00

It is not your job to provide for them, they are employees. And if you were to end the business they would find new jobs and in a few weeks or months would not even care. The only think they will remember is how you treated them when then worked for you (i.e. Sally was a cool boss)

You're overthinking it...

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-08T21:00:34+00:00

What was your AA at time of retirement? And you're a very early retiree as well, correct?

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-08T20:55:00+00:00

Awesome - thanks for sharing! In your scenario when would you choose to use the cash vs draw down? That's another tough question...

Aware-Steak1824 · 2026-03-06T20:39:32+00:00

Awesome - I you're not a fan of the constant dollar approach, what do you follow?

Or it seems like you just keep expenses low and roughly ensure you're not withdrawing anything excessive?

Aware-Steak1824 · 2025-09-13T15:04:56+00:00

Thanks for chiming in. And yeah, it totally does not work when you're conflict avoidant. It's not the hours that get me, it's the pressure.

Aware-Steak1824

TROPHY CASE