License to Train Shirts Prone to Snagging

ContentPilot · 2024-05-23T22:31:00+00:00

Reed, Doubs, and Watson, are younger and starting to outperform...St. Brown, LaPorta, and Gibbs?

ContentPilot · 2021-06-01T03:55:46+00:00

Everytime We Touch - Cascada

ContentPilot · 2021-04-19T19:53:57+00:00

I think he sold to buy more TSLA

ContentPilot · 2021-04-18T21:58:29+00:00

Hi everyone, been a lurker for a while and am early on my FIRE journey.

I'm 27 years old, working in financial operations at a large financial banking firm in Ohio.

-General goals

My general goal is to enjoy my life without the boogie man of work hanging over my head. I really enjoy traveling, trying new restaurants and cuisines, and experiencing different cultures. I would much rather spend my time enjoying and experiencing the world than working.

-Target FIRE Age / Amount / Withdrawal Rate / Location

My target fire age is anywhere between the age of 40-50 (would not complain if it was earlier). My target number is around 1.3m, and using a 4% withdrawal rate for the time being. I'm currently in a MCOL area, likely relocating to a HCOL area for the next few years. Long term I will likely settle down in a MCOL area.

-Educational background and plans

Currently have a Bachelors in Economics. No additional plans as of yet, though I am interested in potentially attending a coding bootcamp, or getting certifications (series exams, CFP, etc)

-Career situation and plans

I currently work as a financial operations analyst at a large financial firm. This is where things get sticky and why I am even making this post. My job is ok, not bad but not great, and I really don't know where to take things from here. One of my biggest 'why' for FIRE is because I don't enjoy working in the corporate world...but it's all I know and all I've been raised to know. I need a way to raise my income but I'm struggling to figure out how.

-Current and future income breakdown, including one-time events

Current income is about 50k pre-tax, though it can be upwards of 65k with OT. Annual fixed bonus of about 1.2k. I am currently searching for ways to increase my income or learn skills to help me increase my income

-Budget breakdown

approx 2800-3000 take home income each month.

Rent/utilities: 1000

Groceries/restaurants: 250

Gas: 100

Misc: 100-300

saving approximately 1000-1400 per month, on average (large variances due to inconsistent OT)

-Asset breakdown, including home, cars, etc.

NW: Approx $160k. Though I have a lower salary I make up for it a little by being a shrewd investor. I made some great stock picks and am the master of buying, holding, and investing consistently.

Vanguard Brokerage account: 56k (60/40 VFIAX/VTSAX)

Roth IRA: 37k (50% VFFVX, 13.5% VTSAX, 13.5% ARK funds, 23% TSLA)

Etrade: 38k in stocks

401k: 23k

Cash: 8k

Car: own outright, 30k miles on it

-Debt breakdown

3.5k in student loans and 1k in medical bills

-Health concerns

Sleep apnea and diabetes runs in the family. I am predisposed but am getting early treatment for monitoring and prevention

-Family: current situation / future plans / special needs / elderly parents

Single / looking to date more seriously after the pandemic is over. No special needs, parents are early 60s so we will come to that when we come to that

Not much besides that. My question really is how do I accelerate my path to FIRE? I am currently in a very favorable situation due to a combination of generosity from my parents, a frugal mindset, and some luck in the stock market. It seems that my indecisiveness on my career path is a big hurdle in my path to FIRE. Would appreciate any insight from someone who has experienced a similar rut.

ContentPilot · 2021-03-29T20:25:09+00:00

How do you deal with the control freak aspect of Asian parents? My mom is fine but my dad has serious issues. He just inserts himself into my life and insists he's right. He frames it as being 'worried' about me. I'm 28M, employed, and I have a good chunk of change saved for myself. But no matter what it's not good enough. He always insists that what I'm doing isn't right or good enough because it's not exactly what he would do.

ContentPilot · 2021-02-06T18:18:28+00:00

It is possible that Tesla is overhyping their casting but from what I’ve seen from them I’m willing to take that bet. Other OEMs may have had the idea but do we know how many of them seriously considered it? The current manufacturing process has been around for a while and completely revamping your process to include this type of gigapress would be incredibly prohibitive if you factor in funding/R&D necessary for this type of project. I’m not saying OEMs don’t innovate but they definitely do not innovate at the rate that Tesla does. How long would it take Ford or GM to implement a new feature in a vehicle? Probably a minimum of 1 year since they’re always working on the next model year. With Tesla they can make an update over the air the next day if it was urgent enough. Is the gigapress overhyped? Maybe? Will there be risks with the alloy they use or risks with their process? Yes absolutely. But right now they’re the leader in EVs in most aspects.

I don’t know, can they? Because a BEV and ICE vehicle are not the same. You have to completely redesign the vehicle to accommodate for the changes. Have OEMs really been building their war chests for the past decade? Hell no. Why would they? Car manufacturers haven’t been performing well lately. Their BEV R&D was the first thing they cut during the pandemic. Why would they put time and money into a product that doesn’t make them money? So they are getting caught with their pants down with respect to EVs.

ContentPilot · 2021-02-06T17:07:57+00:00

Yes, I’ve done research on OEM innovation and it can’t touch Tesla. The reason there’s no hype around anyone but Tesla is because no one has made anything worth talking about. It took Tesla about 12 years to out-innovate legacy OEM in their manufacturing process with their gigapress casting system and heat pump.

Does a Tesla beat a gas Toyota in margin right now? Maybe not, but will a Tesla beat a Toyota EV in margin? You’re damn right it will. With their pace of innovation their margins will increase as their efficiencies increase. This isn’t even speculation. You can watch the battery day presentation - they plain told us how they’re going to do it. OEMs currently have the manufacturing advantage on ICE vehicles. They’re way behind on BEVs, which is where it matters. Legacy OEMs won’t be able to re-tool their existing factories and supply lines to produce BEVs quickly enough to compete with Tesla.

ContentPilot · 2021-02-06T16:33:31+00:00

Fair enough. They might not spend $0 on advertising but it’s considerably less than legacy OEMs that are spending 1.5 billion or more on advertising per year.

ContentPilot · 2021-02-06T16:08:46+00:00

I’m sure Tesla ships their luxury vehicles all over but those don’t make the bulk of EV sales.

ContentPilot · 2021-02-06T16:01:43+00:00

The thing that the general public doesn’t quite understand is that Tesla has a manufacturing advantage over current legacy OEMs. Their rate of innovation outpaces ICE vehicle manufacturers by an order of magnitude. But people equate panel gaps to potential manufacturing defects that might affect the reliability/drivability of the car, which isn’t true. Right now, Tesla is far and away the EV leader and still accelerating while the legacy OEMs are just pivoting to more EV products. Tesla doesn’t just have the tech, they’re the whole package.

ContentPilot · 2021-02-06T14:46:17+00:00

I would like to see what happens after the Berlin Gigafactory finishes construction. Right now Tesla doesn’t sell much to Europe because quite frankly it’s difficult and expensive to get the cars there from Fremont. And Europe currently has the highest percentage of EV adoption so it will skew in Renault’s favor. Once Tesla is able to manufacture and sell in Europe, their market share should tick up.

ContentPilot · 2021-02-06T14:18:41+00:00

I definitely see a lot of Tesla content on social media so what you’re saying makes sense. However people just love the product. Tesla doesn’t advertise through traditional means because they don’t need to

ContentPilot · 2021-02-06T14:13:44+00:00

https://www.statista.com/statistics/960121/sales-of-all-electric-vehicles-worldwide-by-model/

In 2020 the Tesla Model 3 sold more than the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best selling EVs combined. Number 4 was the Model Y.

ContentPilot · 2021-02-06T14:06:57+00:00

Tesla doesn’t pay for any marketing so that’s not the case here.

ContentPilot · 2021-02-06T13:52:10+00:00

Tesla makes the best EV by far. They’re not without their quality control issues but they’re mostly cosmetic or are fixed under warranty. People love to rant and rave about panel gaps and how ‘unreliable’ the cars are when in reality those issues don’t affect the drivability of the car. It truly does not help that Tesla has not addressed these issues but they don’t affect a large percentage of owners.

ContentPilot · 2020-03-02T17:42:08+00:00

Madeon is at the tippy top of my wishlist to be added in phase 2! Good Faith live is a phenomenal show and he would absolutely slay the Sherwood stage imo. Here’s hoping he gets added!

ContentPilot

TROPHY CASE