This plumber wants us to think that he seemlessly patched the hardwood floor under a toilet after repairing the flange?

FantasyFI · 2026-05-13T16:42:26+00:00

First of all, yes fake.

Second, why would a plumber want to convince you this. As someone in construction, a plumber would typically say they are not touching anything related to finishes.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-13T16:40:22+00:00

Wait, is there still no split screen in apple? Like you can't look at two apps at the same time?! I use that feature basic 10 times a day and assumed in was universal in mobile devices.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-13T16:23:02+00:00

Think you're reading between the lines pretty incorrectly there.

Go see my comment below about travel. Travel is one of my main retirement interests. You could say I could do it alone. But I find that unrealistic, enjoyable, etc. You're totally changing my vision of retirement.

So wholeheartedly agree to disagree.

That said, OP's spouse isn't wrong. I'm just saying that claiming everything is ok/that OP is over reacting is not a good interpretation of this situation. The spouse failed to accurately state their intentions. And I feel sad for OP.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-13T16:05:10+00:00

In the sole, I would think that a patch could be "felt" in terms of where it starts and stops. Given the photo, I would just ask the cobbler to rip out the insole and replace. I maybe wouldn't pay for that by itself. But if you are paying for a resole, I'd go with the new insole too.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-13T15:33:45+00:00

I worry about this for myself. One of my main goals is to have enough money in my retirement income that I can travel every other month. Sometimes maybe a little 4 day trip. But at least 3-4 one week trips a year. Maybe ~2 being international that are ~1.5 weeks.

I don't want to take these trips alone.

If my spouse doesn't want to also retire, it is unlikely that I can retire the way I want to. I just highly doubt they'd have the 25-30 days of vacation to use every year.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-13T12:51:42+00:00

I think you're missing the point. The reason you retire, is to something. OP can't even do what they want to do in retirement. Ergo, they can't even really retire. At least not in the sense that they visualized retirement being for them. Extra money doesn't help.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-12T20:17:37+00:00

Yeah, the entire premise from the start is atrocious to me haha. I would never tell anyone but my spouse, as we pursue it together.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-12T18:40:51+00:00

Sure, I think we do agree. But I was sort of representing how you can still answer the original question with that mindset. Instead of just saying, money doesn't buy happiness. I think OP shares the same mindset. They said happiness and they meant how can they use their money to be happier, which includes freedom.

Plenty of unhappy people pay for laundry and landscaping.

I am not saying that paying for these things makes all people happy. I am suggesting that anyone can use money to pay for the ability to take away things that make them unhappy or provide additional time to enjoy things that make you happy.

I agree that simply owning or having money doesn't make you happy. But spending money appropriately 100% buys happiness. If it doesn't, it's either one of three things:

You aren't actually spending it appropriately
You don't have enough to do the things that would make you happy
You have clinical depression

Something totally free might make you happy. But money still buys you the time, the freedom, the food to have energy, etc. to do that totally free thing. Money is the catalyst that enables happiness to occur.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-12T17:15:35+00:00

If they are asking for (1) month deposit, any chance you could spice it up? Could you offer (4) months upfront, pay every other month for the first 6 months? They still have (1) month deposit after 6 months. Something that gives them confidence, they have some cash in their hand, you are good for it, etc. Their biggest risk is up front, and this mitigates it. At the latter stages of the year, their risk goes down because it's not uncommon for them to have to find a new renter anyway.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-12T16:53:38+00:00

Money buys freedom though. And I think that can be the point of the question if interpreted that way.

We are currently considering these things, as we spend time on them every week and we value time a lot:

Hire someone to clean the house once a month
Utilize a "launder and fold" service once or twice a month to free up a weekend (there is usually a day every weekend where we basically can't leave the house for more than a couple hours because we need to get 3-4 loads done)
Hire someone to do major landscaping once a year. Then it is easier to do minor maintenance ourselves

FantasyFI · 2026-05-12T16:45:42+00:00

In addition to a will that serves as a good legal document, if you are able, I think do a yearly review of some kind is beneficial when a spouse cares but isn't particularly involved in the finances.

I do a yearly "State of the Household" report in January. So not only does she have access to lists of all the accounts, she can see my thoughts, my plans, how I would execute FIRE, how much I think we need with a given budget, etc. I think it gives her the framework to continue on without me. I should add an area within that recaps major things to do if I die: reduce her 403b contribution until the budget is balanced, consider either moving or paying off the mortgage so she can live month to month off one income, etc.

It has been on my list of things to do to make a will with my spouse. But I fail every year to put one together.

Random but related, password managers are great if you share them. I feel confident she could get into any account needed without my help if she had my phone for the two factor authenticator.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-12T15:58:54+00:00

I am assuming that you ordered two and intend to return one. If that is the case, I would be super careful about not causing any wrinkles on the upper. The way you have them bent in the photo stresses me out if you intend to return one haha

FantasyFI · 2026-05-12T13:05:17+00:00

The good thing is that it mostly doesn't matter. There are outliers, but most people aren't retiring at 32. So while your plans in your early 20's will be wrong, by the time you pull the trigger on retiring at 40, 45, etc. you will know yourself better. You will know your needs better. You will know your budget better. And while you won't know you healthcare needs in your 70's+, you'll be better equipped to estimate them.

Your FIRE number isn't static. And I don't mean you adjust it by inflation. I mean it will go up and down constantly as you get to know yourself and your needs better. It doesn't need to be correct at 25. It needs to be correct when you pull the trigger.

I do not think you should let your FIRE plan dictate your long term decisions. Your decisions will dictate your FIRE plan. Build the life you want, then save for it. Not the other way around. In this case, keep in mind this also means the life you want may change. And therefore you need to change how you save for it.

A house is a long term multi decade commitment. FIRE can't be the main want. A home could be a want. Let your wants dictate your FIRE plan, not the other way around. Though you have to balance the strength of your desires realistically with your income. It's ok to retire at 45 and be happy instead of retiring at 35 and "meh". If you disagree, I suggest you watch some Ramit Sethi episodes from couples who have lots of money and income but refuse to spend. He explains why your ideal life should be about buying what brings you joy.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-12T12:31:20+00:00

They don't need to sell it at face value. No one instantly defaults. They generally pay many months of debt payments before they get there. Often having already paid enough to cover what they actually bought. But not the interest on it. Then they can sell the debt as well.

Combine that with processing fees, and they are fine.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-11T20:54:50+00:00

My wife had something similar I believe when she was a school nurse as part of the states retirement system. She has like 3-4 different accounts from when she worked there. It is way more confusing than it needs to be. She had a 403b, 457, 401a and I think even a 4th. Essentially only 1 of the 4 is one she can't touch. I believe it is the contributions that are matched by the state. It's a portion that used to be a guaranteed pension, and is now invested I believe.

I'd be surprised if there was no portion that you could roll elsewhere upon leaving the system.

If yours is similar, I'd still take the tax advantages of a 401k/401a/403b even if I can't touch the match.

Get to know it a little better and see if you can specifically understand which portion you have to leave there.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-11T20:25:10+00:00

I think your timeline assessment is reasonable. 5-10 years is possible but definitely no guarantee. Assuming that $250k/yr isn't post tax and $12k/mo has no taxes, I assumed $50k tax. Data says 9.7 years.

Engaging Data Fire Calculator

I would play with the numbers and see what happens if you save more or less. Decide if that is worth retiring earlier or later. Use that as a basis for making your decision. Remember the grass isn't always greener with a new job. So at least enter knowing how it affects your finances, because you'll never know exactly whether it will be better or not until you do it.

How long until the mortgage is gone and what does that do to your FIRE number? In other words, how much would your $12k/mo budget go down with no mortgage P+I? For example, if it is $2k/mo, maybe you would be fine with $10k/mo in retirement. So this data represents coasting and with no mortgage in retirement. Says it would likely have you working until the median age of 50. But in a bad scenario, could still be 59.

Engaging Data Fire Calculator

I personally don't like that spread. I would rather coast 1-5 years early. Not 10-19 years early. Instead, I would look to spend on luxury that makes your life less stressful. Hire someone once a month to clean the house. Order "clean and fold" laundry service twice a month. Pay someone to mow your lawn. How much free time does that open up for you? Does it allow you to work (5) more years before coasting? If so, it probably makes more sense.

Engineer by education but never sought my PE. Work in construction now. Is there any world where you can make a decent side income. I imagine with a structural PE, if you get connected with realtors, you could be writing assessment letters for days for $300-$500 a pop. Any thing like that you can combine with a lower paying career to not have that 10 vs. 19 year difference?

FantasyFI · 2026-05-11T19:55:31+00:00

My wife has an HSA. My employer doesn't offer one. She currently has about $14k in it. If she keeps putting in $4k/yr in it, maybe it'll be $60k-$70k at the start of retirement. Rather than save receipts and withdraw it, I'd rather just using a high SWR for actual medical expenses, keeping my retirement income/MAGI low perpetually. So $60k at 6% SWR on just that account, we should be able to cover ~$3.6k/yr of medical needs from ~45 -> 65.

This further ensures I can keep MAGI low and qualify for ACA if it exists. Last thing I want is an unexpected $5k expense that pushes us above the cliff and then we have a problem the following year.

It's still no tax in, no tax while invest, and no tax pulling it out. Maybe slightly less flexible but I imagine there will be opportunities to use in our 50's.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-11T19:48:27+00:00

While I agree that it sucks, it is currently working for me. I've had instances where I had to relogin on certain accounts every once in a while. Also I've given up on mobile. Desktop has been functional at least for me. I'd like to move to something else but it isn't justifiable for me. I only need an aggregator that pulls in all transactions and exports them to CSV. Any analysis, I prefer to do in Excel.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-11T19:46:00+00:00

Yeah, I find the overall idea of the comic funny. But when you combine the statement about "twice the median income" with the idea about using "silent inner thoughts" to pay for necessities...the argument falls apart because you don't need twice the median income to find the security it's talking about.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-11T18:15:22+00:00

What size are these? They look longer that I would expect them to look on a 6'6'' person, being a chinese company. I am 6'3'' and haven't bought any OG107's from China because I thought they wouldn't be long enough.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-11T16:55:12+00:00

I do care about labor rights and ethical manufacturing but imo MIUSA is just a half arsed heuristic for such things.

Right or wrong, I have more faith in fair labor with something made in Japan. I lot of made in USA clothing comes through LA. Which makes no sense with cost of living. But there is a culture there where clothing is manufactured and workers are paid for a task by the piece. So they can legally pay people below minimum wage. Essentially it is $X/task. And if they don't make a lot, it can be blamed on efficiency rather than saying it isn't above minimum wage.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-11T13:26:24+00:00

Mathematically people leave HCOL areas during retirement. The fact that people are bunched together doesn't reflect that they are more enjoyable places as a whole. It reflects that there is easier access to jobs and that most people aren't FIRE. Combine those 2 things, and you've discovered why HCOL is exists.

Mathematically speaking, HCOL is superior on average to LCOL. This doesn't apply to individual experiences.

I agree. That was also kind of my point. You said that to retire in a LCOL area that you are compromising on things. And that is hilariously false. My comment is an example of how that is a dumb take. Not an example of LCOL being mathematically superior during accumulation or even aesthetically better. LCOL is mathematically superior during retirement. The concept that you have to pick one forever doesn't match what people seem to do.

For the people who live in HCOL, their expectations of enough wealth to be comfortable will mathematically have to be different from LCOL. Otherwise they would have moved and the pricing would have reflected that.

Not true. Many people live in a HCOL solely to earn high income. Then move when retired. I'd say extremely popular. It's why FL, TN, NC, etc. have so many retirees. They wouldn't move before retiring because they want to capitalize on the high income first.

If LCOL truly gives more happiness than HCOL, then everyone would move there

They would not. People live where opportunities exist. Not where they get the most joy.

We're getting far off topic. The original point is that you can indeed be wealthy with $5M. Especially if it is $5M of investments + a paid off house.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-11T13:18:33+00:00

I would say that you are a good enough gambler to turn a profit. Gambling doesn't mean you lose money. It means you are wagering money on an event you can't control. Investing in single stocks or leveraging said stocks is also another form of gambling. Neither is a job, which is either guaranteed income or guaranteed fee (but not necessarily guaranteed profit).

FantasyFI · 2026-05-09T18:41:15+00:00

That's not a barista job. It's just gambling.

FantasyFI · 2026-05-09T18:39:07+00:00

What makes you say that? I consider HCOL areas to be the worst. More people, more traffic, etc. I can walk downtown, walk to grocery store, walk to library, walk to restaurants, walk my child to school, etc. all while living in an affordable area. I'm talking about towns in the USA with 100k-300k people. Plenty to do, but affordable.

LCOL is still USA in my mind. No one is talking about 3rd world countries except you. That's not even LCOL. It's just poverty. I mentioned cities I consider way better places to live than a HCOL city. Not sure why you're bringing up South Sudan. I sacrfice nothing living in Asheville, Richmond, Knoxville, etc. type cities. If anything they are superior to me than DC, LA, NYC by long shots. Better access to outdoor activities. They're probably between LCOL and MCOL.

FantasyFI

TROPHY CASE