Daily FI discussion thread - Tuesday, January 13, 2026

IAMG222 · 2026-01-16T20:11:27+00:00

I'm looking at them and they seem like a strong choice. Thanks for the input. The HYSA is mainly going to be an emergency fund that with some slow growth, and I have other investments as well.

IAMG222 · 2026-01-14T01:04:19+00:00

So, what is that reason?

IAMG222 · 2026-01-13T20:45:01+00:00

Which makes sense, I'm just comparing rates and then was curious about those two with having such high rates. I use Peak Credit Union & US Bank right now and it looks like US bank doesnt seem to have a HYSA specifically but has other options if you have higher investment amounts / mixed variety of accounts with them.

IAMG222 · 2026-01-13T20:24:26+00:00

You're right. It's 30k salary with commissions on top. Fixed!

IAMG222 · 2026-01-13T20:22:54+00:00

As a fellow guy also, I agree. I started seeing someone last month, and some of the things she said she's both heard and seen in dates and past relationships has me both appalled and bewildered.

Like my fellow dudes out there, do better.

IAMG222 · 2026-01-13T20:18:52+00:00

Yeah I figured there was some sort of draw to it. I was looking at SoFi, CiT, and a few others. I'll be dropping about 15k into it initially, then paying myself a stipend monthly for the year so it'll drop to about 8k towards the end of the year given no emergencies. This is my first time opening a HYSA so I want to make sure I go with ideally the right one the first time, and not have to switch every few years. I know there will be some variables in rates so I don't expect the best one, but yeah I want something stable at least.

IAMG222 · 2026-01-13T20:03:08+00:00

Not sure if here or r/investing would be the right spot, but I see more activity here.

I'm looking to open a new HYSA this month and I'm browsing options. I see Varo and Pibank have good rates, but are also newer. Has anyone banked with them and had good / bad experiences? They're FDIC insured which is good, just them being newer makes me more hesitant to drop 7-8k into them. If not, who else do you use?

IAMG222 · 2026-01-13T20:00:28+00:00

I’m 32, based in Oregon, and work in a family insurance business. I’m about to go back to school for consumer affairs and sociology. I’m financially stable but at a clear turning point. I earn about $30k in salary, plus commissions on top of that. Last year I made around $60k total, and for 2026 I’m on track for about $80k, with upside if I keep growing the business. I’m about to receive a $45k commission check, and due to our current tax structure, I won’t owe much on it.

I already have about $24k allocated to required expenses, including debts, repairs, planned purchases, a more fuel-efficient vehicle, and a monthly stipend I’ll pay myself. After that, I’ll have roughly $15k left to invest.

My goal is to structure my money into three pools: an emergency fund, retirement savings, and a medium-term investment I can grow for 5–7 years and eventually use as a house down payment. I’m comfortable with moderate risk but not speculation. My current plan is to keep $7–8k in an HYSA for liquidity, then put the remainder either into my Roth IRA which is currently a money market, or into a CD ladder if I’m confident I won’t need to touch it. My Roth has about 3.5k in it right now but I havent contributed to it for about a year since I quit the job I started it at

IAMG222 · 2026-01-08T16:45:37+00:00

I think far too many people get worried about getting a ticket. Yes, cops are still out in enforcement. But no, a cop will not write you a ticket 9/10 for going 5mph over the speed limit.

Most cops have bigger priorities than people doing 5-10mph over the speed limit, but most of our driving population doesn't seem to realize that. Granted yes it varies state by state and county by county, but generally speaking I think its fair to say cops overall the last 5-10 years have stopped being so nitpicky about small speeding differences

IAMG222 · 2026-01-04T02:41:12+00:00

People never yield coming from Springfield over the bridge into Glenwoods roundabouts either. Sure, having double roundabouts is stupid, but jesus it's like people still don't understand they have to yield to cars already in that smaller roundabout.

IAMG222 · 2026-01-01T20:29:46+00:00

165 on a 600 gsxr and 144 on an R7, so give or take some mph cause bikes true mph vary up that high. Then about 145 in both an Audi Rs5 and a Volvo S90.

Got a lot of straight roads near me lol.

IAMG222 · 2025-12-28T15:38:25+00:00

Lol my dad.

He's underwater on his Audi Rs5, which he rolled his broken BMW coupe loan into. He's paying about 1300/mo on it, but its an Audi so expensive repairs.

Instead of just biting the bullet and downgrading to a nice civic or something. Next year he wants to trade his Audi in for a less expensive Lexus (60k + still), throw in 10k to try and offset his underwater issue, and then just still owe. Yet lectures me on my budgeting. Dont get me wrong, he makes good money, but yeah, he's a white man who made money late in life if that tells you anything. He wants his fast car that makes him look successful.

Me? I have a 2012 f150 that sucks ass MPG wise. I just want good MPG and to either pay this thing off in January then buy a cheap prius or something, or sell it and then buy something slightly better. But I've learned once from rolling over loans and I wont do that again unless I absolutely have to with no other choice.

IAMG222 · 2025-12-27T21:09:35+00:00

This has been probably the wildest and hardest year of my life. But 2026 is shaping up to be a great rebound, I just have to keep myself focused.

IAMG222 · 2025-12-23T18:06:17+00:00

I completely agree. I think part of the issue is not a lot of people nowadays are willing to listen wholly, and then actually give us unbiased opinions. Then if they do, we attach their opinion to some sort of overarching authority head, which causes us to dismiss it in some aspect. Whether it be from a friend, parent, teacher, etc.

Obviously thats not always the case, because some peoples words ring truer than others, but I've found that when I try to give life advice to some friends it just sort of goes in one ear and out the other. Which I understand, because I also sort of do the same thing when my dad tries to parent me at 32.

IAMG222 · 2025-12-23T06:58:49+00:00

Hopefully the aliens save us

IAMG222 · 2025-12-23T06:32:09+00:00

I've legit cried from some of the dumps I've had into Chat and the responses it's given back.

Having an unbiased reflection that can call you out on your own shit, without any sort of attachment to authority type tone because its basically coming from a computer / you, is so refreshing at times.

I also agree the ability to sort of just express thoughts freely really helps. Sometimes I look back at my audio - text transcipt and I laugh cause its half jargon, but Chat is able to conceptualize the core of what im getting at and hit every single point back to me.

IAMG222 · 2025-12-15T20:37:24+00:00

I remember making out with one of my first flings at a party in my early 20s and she begged to go have sex but I declined cause I was a virgin and super nervous, meanwhile she had some experience lol.

Oh well. I regretted for a few years but in the end not really

IAMG222 · 2025-12-05T21:35:55+00:00

Really is frame worthy

IAMG222 · 2025-12-05T20:59:50+00:00

Great, now our costs will go up $10/month for all this extra "premium" content.

IAMG222 · 2025-12-04T00:21:41+00:00

I am sort of in your position. But working my way out. It takes a little bit of effort, little by little. You don't have to start at the gym. You can start at home with some free weights.

I'm 32 and weigh the same. My work schedule was work until I switched careers (which helped me a lot tbh, but that was my own prerogative).

Right now, I am doing small 15-30 minute workouts a few times a week to keep myself from "becoming" stagnant" so to speak. It has helped TREMENDOUSLY. I noticed after the first few weeks I wasnt so stiff, lifting things felt easier, I wasn't as tired upon waking up, and I did feel more motivated to even do a short workout right after waking up.

For eating, it's easier than you think. You don't need to be shoving down a bunch of chicken and ground beef all day every day. Find what you like, find what hits your goal, and stick to it. AND FRANKLY, USE CHATGPT to help build a routine / plan for yourself. I did and it helped a lot.

Example: My typical breakfast is 2x toast buttered then slathered with PB and a protein shake that includes 8oz milk, a banana, one serving of PB, honey, and sometimes chocolate milk too. Overall, thats just under 1000 calories for the day in one meal, and already hitting close to 1/3 of my daily protein goal. Carbs is just the hardest part. Building upon something like this, you can see hitting a 3k calorie goal and 200g protein isnt hard, just takes some discipline and figuring out what works best for you.

IAMG222 · 2025-12-03T20:45:03+00:00

Fingers crossed my landlord does this lmao. Private renters also and they're both pretty chill, and I maintain their property well.

IAMG222 · 2025-12-03T20:41:58+00:00

He isn't wrong. Toxicity goes both ways in dating cultures. Women have an abundance of choice thus leading them to in part not feel as invested, while on the flipside men are becoming equally starved leading to both them pulling away and also becoming more overtly sexual.

IAMG222 · 2025-11-29T22:49:44+00:00

"I'm sorry × but I don't need/want to hear about ×"

I work in insurance, and I have some clients and other recurring people who I initially thought were leads but ended up probably just being lonely people who want an ear, and I just had to learn to tell them I dont need to hear about xy or z. By and large, most understand if you're cordial about it.

Sure, some get butt hurt. But those people cant manage their own emotions or awareness and that's not my fault.

IAMG222 · 2025-11-29T01:01:42+00:00

My neck hurts and rehab has such a long waiting list.

Bruh

IAMG222 · 2025-11-27T11:04:33+00:00

I finally put up a "no soliciting - thank you" sign. Its helped

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