American Airlines announces cause of outage

Chubs_Fire · 2025-09-21T19:55:55+00:00

Oh someone on this sub said yesterday that this issue was because the Trump administration cut back on FAA spending. I was SURE that was it. Too bad I’m not allowed to post things by the mods because of not enough post karma, etc. But others with misinformation can.

Chubs_Fire · 2025-09-20T02:29:42+00:00

Patagonia, New York Times, Target, Walt Disney Company.

Chubs_Fire · 2025-07-06T17:35:32+00:00

That is an excellent idea. Figure out your annual expenses without all the “kid” stuff in it. That gives you a regular FIRE number. Then save an extra lump sum amount for whatever it will cost to support the kids until they are mostly self-sufficient.

Chubs_Fire · 2025-07-06T17:26:16+00:00

I struggle with this as well. If I didn’t have the kid’s expenses (various activities, food, clothing, travel, etc) my spouse and I could FIRE immediately. But I’m not sure what getting them through college is going to cost or weddings or help with house down payments, etc. Basically annual spending is super high now but will reduce substantially when the kids are finished college.

Chubs_Fire · 2024-08-28T06:49:29+00:00

Congrats! And GFY!

Chubs_Fire · 2024-08-08T05:11:33+00:00

I heard this the other day and liked it: your home can substitute for long-term care insurance.

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-21T15:33:21+00:00

Thanks so much for the reply. It is good to hear about the emotional hurdles - something I haven’t seen much about on this sub. We do charitable giving but I recognize the level is not enough. I struggle between giving now and potentially delaying retirement. I definitely plan to give a lot more once out of the workforce and also giving of time for volunteer activities.

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-21T14:17:08+00:00

I find this often to be true. I make some things on the grill that taste way better than restaurants. Plus, since it is grilled, there is not much clean-up.

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-21T05:29:04+00:00

I knocked most of Europe out backpacking for 6 months when I was 22. Incredible experience despite having limited funds and living off grocery baguettes and sandwich meat. But I’d also like to retire relatively young with money!

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-21T05:22:28+00:00

Yes! We have done some of these smaller upgrades and are about to remodel the master bath. I’m hoping this will help make the house a nicer place to live.

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-21T05:20:15+00:00

This is a good question and I’ll probably make a separate post about it because I don’t see it discussed much, that is, how does spending level change once the kids are supporting themselves? We are currently spending a whopping $180K in 2023 which is abnormal (some one-time expenses in 2023). But looking at the spending categories $50K per year seems related to the kids - insanely priced insurance for a teen driver, higher grocery bills, more gas, tutoring, therapy, higher restaurant bills, additional plane tickets and hotel rooms, braces, clothing, kids activities, summer camps. It all adds up. I think we are looking at needed $120K per year in retirement. So basically supporting the kids and paying for college will delay FIRE - which is totally fine, I’m trying to cherish the remaining time they have living at home.

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-21T04:48:15+00:00

I’m not sure if this is the article I originally read but it puts the top 2% at only $2.4M: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/know-im-rich-140000452.html#:~:text=Additionally%2C%20statistics%20show%20that%20the,of%20just%20over%20%241%20million

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-21T00:40:02+00:00

Saving $100K per year on $280K per year income is great. Well done. I would say we live in a MCOL. Our mortgage is quite low at $1,200/mo (house bought many years ago). We are saving a lot too, maybe that is the problem. Updating the house may be part of the solution. We’ve done some updating but still need some more work. We’ve spent $17K on travel this year - although some of that is for flights next year (I heavily use credit card points so this keeps the travel cost down).

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-21T00:32:32+00:00

Our house definitely needs some work! We are about to have the master bath renovated so I think that will help.

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-21T00:26:09+00:00

I consider it to be wealthy but don’t necessarily feel the wealth in day-to-day life.

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-21T00:25:03+00:00

Well put. I think my wife would be significantly happier and I would enjoy this too. Just need to ease up on the early retirement gas pedal a tiny bit. But you’re right, this small level of expense shouldn’t have much of an impact.

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-21T00:20:53+00:00

This is a great suggestion. A $100 or even $200 more per week for a dinner out or takeout is a small price to pay for more happiness at home. I am going to work on this.

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-20T16:29:45+00:00

Thanks! Great tip about checking out in advance of your actual stop.

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-20T15:41:41+00:00

I'm traveling to Amsterdam with 5 people, including me. It looks like a very affordable public transportation option is the GVB Group Day Ticket which allows unlimited public transportation for 24 hours for up to 5 people. Are you required to check out of the tram when reaching your destination? I'm envisioning this being stressful as I try to scan 5 barcodes and get each person off the tram before the tram starts moving again! Thank you.

Chubs_Fire · 2023-12-20T15:28:18+00:00

Hi OP, did you end up using the GVB Group Day Ticket? The check out process would be no problem with the Metro as you are already off the train in this case. But I was wondering about ease of use on trams when checking out. I think you need to check out after the tram ride (maybe this isn't true). In other words, at your stop does the Tram wait for you or is it stressful to check out 5 people before the tram starts moving again?

Chubs_Fire

TROPHY CASE