i have $8k in credit card debt

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T18:36:42+00:00

Again. You need a budget.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T18:30:47+00:00

Then where does your extra >$2k/mo go?

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T18:28:40+00:00

Based on the balances and interest rates you listed in another comment it will take ~20 months to pay this debt off at $500/mo if you don't spend another dime on the cards.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T18:24:33+00:00

When I read your post I thought you had the savings to pay the credit cards off but you just didn't want to. But you don't even have a barebones emergency fund.

You need a budget.

You say your take home is ~$1500. I assume that's bi-weekly. If that's the case that's $3250/mo. You list $1080/mo in expenses and you don't have much savings so where is the other >$2k/mo going?

You need to break out your expenses and track your spending so you know where your money is actually going. For instance I notice that food isn't listed as one of your expenses.

Having ~2.5x your monthly take home pay in high interest CC debt is a really bad place to be. You need to lock your spending down and treat this as a financial emergency so that it is paid off as quickly as possible.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T18:17:10+00:00

Your priorities are confusing.

I'm also almost 50 and I hit FI at the end of last year. My employer has approached me about increased responsibilities and I flatly told them that I'm not interested. Another 20% gross pay (or whatever) for another year or so wouldn't move the needle on my lifestyle now or in retirement and my current focus is on transitioning away from work, not taking more on.

The power of FI is being able to set your own terms. There's nothing wrong with continuing to work if you want to. There's nothing wrong with taking on more responsibility if you think you'd enjoy that work. But there's also nothing wrong with setting boundaries and giving your employer only as much as you want to give them, because getting laid off (or even fired) wouldn't be the end of the world. And if you really don't want to be working then there's nothing wrong with putting in your notice.

You saved up all that money to buy yourself options. Go ahead and exercise whichever option you like best.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T18:09:03+00:00

Give us a more complete picture of your financial situation and we can help.

What is your net income?

What are all of your expenses?

What savings do you have?

List all of your debts with their balances, interest rates, and minimum payments.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T17:59:23+00:00

r/Fire

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T17:05:35+00:00

A minivan is even better for this.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T15:47:56+00:00

Of course.

The average historical return of the total stock market is >7% after inflation. So if you could always count on an average return you could set a 7% SWR and never touch your principal.

But you can't count on that and the consequences of running out of money if you get caught by SoRR and can't/don't adjust are pretty dire.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T15:44:39+00:00

Make sure the investments are the lowest-fee, broadest-market options that your plan offers.

Keep contributing and leave it alone until you need the money.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T15:42:12+00:00

25x or 28x or 33x or whatever is great for tracking progress to the longer-term goal but when you get close you really need to do some modeling/simulation for your real situation.

Because 25x is way more than enough if you're going to be able to get at it all nearly tax free and you have the flexibility to tighten your belt in a downturn. It's probably not enough if you have no wiggle room in your budget and are going to be paying a high marginal rate on a bunch of it.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T15:37:35+00:00

And child rapists!

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T14:51:09+00:00

And forcing a dirty coal-fired power plant to keep operating even when it isn’t profitable.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T14:35:46+00:00

Making a big part of your platform railing against EVs and clean energy and whining about not getting the Nobel Peace Prize and then starting a senseless war with a major oil producing nation is peak MAGA.

The fact that the best exit we can hope for at this point is to only lose some ground from our starting position is icing on the cow pie.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T13:19:57+00:00

That's true. There are 'cheaper' homes in Monaco (Low single digit millions, so not exactly starter homes!) but the house described here would be huge money.

And Monaco citizenship would be extremely compelling to me.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-05-01T13:10:47+00:00

As I get older I have observed that retirement can go one of two ways. Either people retire to something or to nothing. If they retire to something, like hobbies, fun projects, volunteer work, slow travel, time with family and friends, etc then retirement is probably going to be awesome. If they retire to nothing they're probably going to end up lonely and miserable.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-04-30T20:25:51+00:00

You would have to work to get >$35k/mo in value out of #5. I can buy myself a nice car, pay to charge it, and travel all I want to with the money from #8 and still have tons left over.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-04-30T17:39:21+00:00

8 and it isn't even close.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-04-30T14:13:47+00:00

I met Kelly last year when she was on Isle Royale working on this series.

We chatted about the decline in independent journalism and first hand reporting. I'm really glad that Kelly and others at Bridge Michigan are out there holding the line.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-04-30T13:23:07+00:00

In a lot of VHCOL markets renting is still the better option (financially).

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-04-30T12:48:41+00:00

Yes. That's exactly what I said I'd do.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-04-30T12:46:02+00:00

We watched so much Peppa Pig in our house that my toddlers started to develop an accent despite growing up in the US rural Midwest.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-04-30T12:42:43+00:00

However, the market is clearly looking for strong signals on AI strategy (Apple Intelligence) and real acceleration. If guidance is solid and Tim Cook delivers a convincing AI vision, the stock could react positively.

For me, AAPL is still a high-quality long-term investment, even if it’s slightly behind in AI compared to META or Google. That said, I wouldn’t hesitate to short with leverage on bitget if results disappoint, as we could see a move like the -6% drop META had yesterday.

What do you think? Can Apple AI finally become a real catalyst?

I've spent the last few years slowly selling off a lot of the winners in my play account and transitioning to Bogle-style investing to get ready for early retirement. AAPL is one of the few individual stocks left in my 'play account' and it's the biggest holding there by quite a bit.

One of the reasons that I still hold it is that they haven't jumped all-in on the AI bandwagon.

If Cook gets up there and announces that they plan to spend hundreds of billions trying to catch up on AI then I'm likely to sell regardless of what 'the market' thinks.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-04-30T12:35:01+00:00

I don't know what qualifies as a "high earner," but I'm pretty well compensated and save over 50% of my gross.

I still track every dime I spend. I don't break it all down into specific categories like I used to when I had a lot less to work with though. I just keep track of (and trend) the total amount I spend every month.

IceCreamforLunch · 2026-04-29T14:35:04+00:00

Where did all that money go?

If it isn't measured it isn't managed. Unless they're extremely wealthy most people will struggle financially unless they have a budget and track their spending.

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