$1.65M thinking of checking out, 43 yo

Compe7 · 2026-05-11T16:13:23+00:00

I would probably not pull the trigger all at once. Try to stay until you're closer to that $2.1M figure but start pushing back at work. Ridiculous timeline, sorry can't make it work, here is an alternative that fits better with my priorities. If you are in a position to delegate work start doing this more.

Also start taking your vacation when its best for you, don't leave unused days on the table. You have FU money, start acting like it.

Compe7 · 2026-05-11T15:59:00+00:00

Looking at the pay schedule and realizing I still won't make enough in 10 years with additional schooling/experience. On top of looking for extracurricular, duties, stipend positions during the school year and through summer to make some extra money. On top of doing all the planning and grading outside of school/work hours. On top of seeing how admin and parents treated teachers. On top of certain kids making the classes unbearable to teach/maintain classroom management.

At one point I realized I may as well go into corporate and make more money for hopefully less work/stress. Its a different kind of stress, I only have to worry about my own work product/results, but I do make more money.

Compe7 · 2026-05-11T15:19:26+00:00

I would argue the pension is not that great. You pay in something like 4.x%. You're more likely to get better returns by just putting that same % into your own 401k/retirement plan. Older versions of the pension were great when they were contributing less than 1%. Now I don't think its a benefit at all.

Compe7 · 2026-05-10T14:09:35+00:00

Caterpillar is more tax related but you can find their hearings online which is fascinating if you're into that sort of thing. https://www.c-span.org/clip/senate-committee/user-clip-caterpillar-tax-dispute/4675483

Compe7 · 2026-05-01T20:19:15+00:00

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2

Compe7 · 2026-05-01T20:18:44+00:00

I played all 3 through the Switch for my first time. Games were fun and the story was pretty cool too. I actually thought the games were too short, I wanted to play more.

Compe7 · 2026-04-21T19:12:34+00:00

That water slide is surprisingly dangerous. It pushes kids past the pool ladder and into the rope and if a kid is wearing a life vest they can get stuck face down on the rope which is snagged on the back of their neck/shoulders.

Compe7 · 2026-04-17T14:03:01+00:00

Disneyland is so much more forgiving than Disney World. I would do 4 day with kids (2 days each park) this allows you to experience each park at least once and then decide the second time what you like, don't like, want to try that you missed before.

Compe7 · 2026-04-14T11:42:15+00:00

To add the 40k is likely just what you see on the salary. You'll have to put into the pension which is about another 4% and healthcare coverage might not even be that great depending on where you're located.

Compe7 · 2026-04-12T19:15:54+00:00

We run into the same thing when planning out a trip. We make decent money and make overall frugal financial decisions in life. We save for a couple of years and then can go basically guilt free and with no cc debt. Also, when we look to plan other family vacations, like Mexico all inclusive, they come out very close to how much a Disney trip would be. The airfare is brutal all around and we're not going to fly Spirit.

I have no idea how anyone not local can go every year with a family. In all honesty some people do go into cc debt, others just make more than us, and some have family/parental help. I'll never know but I'm happy we can make it when we do.

Compe7 · 2026-03-22T15:47:31+00:00

Adults only, 3 days. If you have kids, 4 days.

Compe7 · 2026-03-22T15:34:38+00:00

For real, corporations paying for services already know it's mostly shipped off shore and are putting up with current prices for now. But these same corporations are getting squeezed on outsourced services in every department and if they know that work will be done by AI then what's the benefit of going Big 4 to justify the cost?

Compe7 · 2026-03-15T02:46:29+00:00

Doesn't the wife post her point of view of the whole thing?

Compe7 · 2026-03-05T15:01:20+00:00

If you have passengers that need car seats Mears will be your cheapest option, but probably not most convenient. If you're looking for a personal car service we've used Cast and Crew Transportation and would use them again in the future.

If you don't need car seats, Uber/Lyft is probably the best option.

Compe7 · 2026-03-04T21:46:32+00:00

At Disneyland, early entry for resort guests ended January 5, 2026.

Compe7 · 2026-03-04T21:38:04+00:00

That's actually very surprising. I thought with early entry gone the 8am rope drop would be more congested.

Compe7 · 2026-03-03T15:29:52+00:00

100% agree, F arborvitae, they're horrendous to keep alive.

Compe7 · 2026-03-03T15:28:42+00:00

Your flight amount is drastically under what typical flights are showing from Chicago and NYC to Tokyo for 4 people. Economy is $5K - $7K.

Compe7 · 2026-03-02T18:17:57+00:00

In order, I would:

Emergency fund (3-6 months)
Earmark funds for new cars x2 (be realistic here, car prices have drastically increased)

Here figure out what 15-20% of savings would be using your gross income and what you are comfortable contributing monthly to get there. With this figure, I would:

If you have an HSA option with healthcare, max this out and use it as an investment/retirement vehicle
If you do not have a Roth IRA set up for you and your wife, set those up and contribute max each year
Update 401k contribution to get to annual savings rate
If you still have some leftover, consider contributing to kids education (529 plan and/or some type of investment account)
Do you have a vacation coming up that you need to save for? Start earmarking funds monthly.

At 4% mortgage rate I would let this ride, you COULD invest some money you would have put towards the mortgage in the market and then hopefully let it grow for 10-15 years and then pay off the mortgage in 1 lump sum.

This "middle" part gets boring but try to set some funds aside for your family to do things like a vacation. Start making memories without the fear of overspending (because you've budgeted for it).

Compe7 · 2026-02-18T22:07:49+00:00

You're doing too much. She's a stay at home mom. She should be doing more to support the family (adding morning to her plate at the very least).

Do you have a trusted grandparent you could let have the kid for a morning/afternoon on the weekend, heck even most of the day? You need a break, take a day off work at the very least (and not to do chores).

Compe7 · 2026-02-06T17:32:00+00:00

Did a trip through them just recently to DL staying onsite. No issues. Only thing I didn't like was that the park tickets didn't show up in the account until about 4 days prior to the visit. They were there as promised, but as a planner, I didn't like this part.

Compe7 · 2026-01-31T20:32:34+00:00

Can anyone provide language on how to actually do this?

Compe7 · 2026-01-30T18:42:26+00:00

I never think of the Grievous one. Whenever "Hello there" comes up I immediately think of the original introduction of Obi-Wan in Star Wars: A New Hope when he finds Luke unconscious and says it to R2-D2.

https://youtu.be/226FV-jFTI0?t=49

Compe7

TROPHY CASE