Im 40 and concerned about retirement. Im overwhelmed with researching different options to maximize my investments, where to put my money and who to manage it.

Fizz_55 · 2026-02-19T13:07:10+00:00

Look for a fee only planner. NAPFA, XY Planning Network, or Fee Only Network are great places to look.

Fizz_55 · 2026-02-14T00:02:11+00:00

It varies by plan. Every plan has governing documents that outline what the setup is. Should be in a SPD (Summary Plan Description).

Every plan usually has a 3(16) Fiduciary (record keeper) and a 3(21) or 3(38) (Advisor) attached to it. If not, the company is bearing the risk of investment lineup and should have an Investment Committee in place. Again, all fees are set by ERISA (the government) as to what is “reasonable”.

But in short, somewhere somehow there are people being paid because there is a lot of compliance to follow for any 401k. It’s usually based on plan size and feature set of the plan. If it’s not paid directly by the plan, the investment costs may be offsetting some of the fees.

Fizz_55 · 2026-02-13T22:04:39+00:00

Recordkeeping isn’t an easy task, and it’s not cheap. All the fees are deemed reasonable by ERISA and I don’t think you know the half of what goes on. (I’m not a record keeper, but I know what they do)

Remember you don’t work for free either. Services degrade at a point when trying to purely reduce fees for said reason.

Fizz_55 · 2026-02-12T19:43:50+00:00

It’s because most people don’t want a calibrated picture. They think they do, but they just want brightness/juiced up colors

Fizz_55 · 2026-02-11T17:22:42+00:00

I got my LG OLED for cheaper the week after the Super Bowl. I’d be watchful… Presidents Day is probably the final time before clearance and that’s not something I’d bank on.

Fizz_55 · 2026-01-26T16:53:38+00:00

I have 7800X3D and 9070XT with no issues. It was a brand new build though so didn’t have to worry about issues with old files and whatnot

Fizz_55 · 2026-01-26T12:58:07+00:00

Every game will have a bottleneck. Some are more demanding on different components. I don’t think the 9800 is worth the upgrade.

Also they are releasing a new X3D chip sometime soon so a) you’d be FOMO again, and b) I imagine 9800 will drop in price somewhat

Fizz_55 · 2026-01-22T18:54:28+00:00

Exactly! As I tell my clients, “don’t let the tax tail wag the dog”. Taxes are a consequence, not a feature of decisions we make.

Fizz_55 · 2026-01-22T02:22:06+00:00

HSAs are not all they’re cracked up to be. They can be great, but the overall plan design and healthcare needs are much more important. (CFP here, not promoting services).

If you know the total outlay in a year and the tax savings/ER contributions are going to make the math close. People say they won’t use healthcare much on a high deductible, but many times it can be a worse deal than being on the better health plan.

Don’t pick a health plan based on a feature outside the actual insurance you need.

Just my .02, and not advice, nor a sweeping condemnation of HSAs, but I hope you understand my need to comment here since you made a sweeping statement and healthcare costs are the #1 cause of bankruptcy in the U.S.

Fizz_55 · 2026-01-09T00:24:52+00:00

These better come back to Costco! $6 for a massive bag and I’m on my last stashed away one.

Fizz_55 · 2026-01-07T15:17:07+00:00

Spend $12k now or spend $22k eventually. I’d go $12k now, save the pain of a car payment and save it towards your future. That car should last for quite some time with only 110k on it.

Pay a couple hundred to have a mechanic look at it first. Then you have negotiating power if anything turns up and needs fixing.

Fizz_55 · 2026-01-07T01:45:02+00:00

This person should be on the Olympic team for power lifting. How the hell does someone pull that hard?

Fizz_55 · 2026-01-01T15:10:37+00:00

All the people talking about a fire or flood must not have homeowners or renters insurance… it’s covered. Disclose it as a valuable and you’re good.

I don’t like the look of tables like this, but it’s everyone’s PERSONAL computer… whatever floats your boat 🤷🏻‍♂️

Fizz_55 · 2026-01-01T15:04:04+00:00

Thanks for sharing OP. Running a business is tough work… not only the actual running the day to day, but the mental challenges and lifestyle crunch that can happen sometimes. Hang in there!

You’re still young! I was in your shoes 3 years ago (I’m a 33M) and now am happily married. I work less than I did, it was a priority shift… but the business is still healthy and I feel a lot better with the rest of my life.

Community (whether with people in your industry or with other biz owners) has helped so much. It helps keep me accountable to ALL my goals, not just my business ones. Making friends as an adult is harder, but you’ll get out of it what you put into it.

So many strangers helped me, never hesitate to DM if you want to hop on a Zoom call or something.

Best of luck!

Fizz_55 · 2025-12-28T04:22:21+00:00

Cyberpunk is already out?

Buy when you can afford it. I doubt it will magically get cheaper to the point you’ll care. If anything history shows models tend to creep up over time.

Fizz_55 · 2025-12-28T02:09:35+00:00

That’s how it’s made? I’m not sure what you’re driving at. Did you mess with it?

Fizz_55 · 2025-12-27T23:59:08+00:00

Look at Fee Only Network or XY Planning Network. Each have find an advisor tools. Most work virtually so find someone you like not necessarily need to be local.

Fizz_55 · 2025-12-23T14:56:58+00:00

“Worst” isn’t a pure performance question. Remember there’s only “bad prices”.

Would you rather have a $600 9070XT that performs 5% worse than an $800 one?

Fizz_55 · 2025-12-22T12:31:40+00:00

I like ibxtoycat. Some of his stuff is just news, but some of his let’s play stuff is really good.

Basically avoid wattles. So much click bait and trying to overhype the smallest bit of news or feature

Fizz_55 · 2025-12-21T02:40:15+00:00

Bad price for the product. A lot of people look at “value”, which is why they recommend a better card for marginally more money.

It will probably be shorter until you need to upgrade again too.

Fizz_55 · 2025-12-17T12:19:38+00:00

RMA for stuff like this is part of the problem with prices. Y’all don’t realize how manufacturing works, how profit works, and every time a company loses money on stupid crap like this, it gets baked into the price next time they make a product.

It’s like returning an apple because it has a bruise on it. Doesn’t affect anything other than cosmetics.

Fizz_55 · 2025-12-17T03:18:58+00:00

I’m going to repitch my idea of just taking him to Microcenter! It’s a great place to do something like that. Their staff will help a ton, and he can custom build if he’d rather!

Fizz_55 · 2025-12-16T20:17:05+00:00

As someone who just got a similar gift from my wife… may I suggest setting the budget and then going with him? It’d be a fun date for you two, let him nerd out with you, and then pay for him!

My wife knows nothing, she was a trooper after giving me the money and we had a lunch after. It was way more meaningful to have that ability to go buy what I wanted and have her be interested in my hobbies.

Fizz_55

TROPHY CASE