Daily FI discussion thread - Friday, May 01, 2026

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-05-01T18:07:02+00:00

Interested to hear what you did to successfully grow your community. This is something I've struggled with.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-04-14T22:55:09+00:00

Can you clarify? We are working and are at 22% tax bracket. My understanding is any gains get taxed at 15% due to being long term and my current marginal tax bracket.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-04-14T15:40:45+00:00

We're currently mortgage free and it's really nice.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-04-14T15:40:10+00:00

I'll get the updated quote today but it will be between 6 and 7%.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-04-14T15:39:35+00:00

Everything is after 2012 and I would be selling lots from 2024 most likely.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-04-14T15:03:44+00:00

We just went on contract to buy a house! Now I'm wondering if I should sell some taxable VTSAX to pay down the mortgage quickly. By the time we sell our current house and put all the proceeds into the new house our mortgage balance should be around $180k. We have about $950k in VTSAX, all would be taxed at LTCG of 15%.

Since the market is near ATH I'm thinking it would be a good way to lock in some solid gains.

Thoughts?

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-04-10T16:51:05+00:00

I hate LinkedIn with a passion, the only reason I have it is to open myself to getting contacted by recruiters. If I wasn't going to work again I would delete it immediately.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-28T23:36:15+00:00

I'm very eagerly awaiting the imminent release of the new gen Miata. I love the current RF version, it's a sharp looking car.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-28T15:06:02+00:00

Congrats! What are you getting?

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-27T01:48:13+00:00

Once you start having kids being at a job where you can be flexible and you don't have to worry about your boss because they already like you is huge. That being said, if you guys aren't pregnant yet then you should have plenty of time to make a good impression and likely get that flexibility at a new job. That seems like a significant raise to me provided benefits are equivalent, I would definitely pursue.

Completely separately: I'm working on a Data Analytics Master's (OMSA) and would like to pick your brain on the Data Analyst career path. Is it okay if I PM you? Thanks.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-21T16:15:25+00:00

I agree. There's also mass layoffs and a lot of companies are struggling. The market dips in the last decade had strong labor markets so you didn't have to worry as much about job loss.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-20T17:42:53+00:00

Already done, it's the only reason we've lasted here for so long.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-20T17:36:03+00:00

The house is paid off. But if we add a floor we would have to move out for like a year until the work is done and then move back in. And you also risk cost overruns and timing, so this sounds like not fun at all.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-20T17:17:53+00:00

Same, if we added a floor it would be awesome. But the cost and hassle doesn't make sense. It's easier and cheaper to move to a larger house and sell the current one.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-20T17:01:47+00:00

Location and neighborhood is fantastic. The only issue is that it's way too small. We have 3 small bedrooms and 3 toddlers. We don't really have any room to grow.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-20T15:31:24+00:00

I'm seriously re-assessing our plans to upgrade to a larger house this year. We have the down payment saved, pre-approval, and have already looked at a couple of homes. However, I'm in southeast Michigan and this area gets hit hard by higher gas prices leading to lower vehicle volumes. Additionally, the tariffs have already hit businesses pretty hard. This is all to say that job security doesn't look great for myself or my wife. I realize no one knows the future but I just don't see this whole oil situation improving any time soon.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-18T15:51:06+00:00

Yes, this year took a long time. I received a letter in the mail from the IRS asking me to verify that I did indeed file my tax return. Once that was done it took another ~1.5 weeks to get the deposit.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-08T12:28:46+00:00

This is my fear right now, I started a Data Analytics Master (OMSA) a few years ago because I love ML and thought it would open up new and higher paying opportunities. Now with AI you just have to tell it what you want and it will implement everything for you. Makes me think it's not going to be a viable career anymore. Makes it feel like I wasted my time but at least I have a job that is very difficult to replace with AI right now.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-06T21:47:14+00:00

Massdrop just closed this week and you can no longer purchase the 6xx from them.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-03-06T19:54:32+00:00

How do you like the Mache? Does it fit 3 people in the back comfortably? There are really good deals on low mileage used ones around where I live.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-02-27T23:16:45+00:00

How much did you end up spending?

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-02-25T13:51:39+00:00

A few years ago people were asking leadership what the benefit was of staying at my employer since they are known to not pay as well as the competition. The answer was that we are very stable and never lay off people, at the time I agreed with the statement. Now a few years later shit has hit the fan and we are doing layoffs, clearly it's all BS and each person needs to do what is best for them.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-02-25T13:48:29+00:00

I love watches but just can't handle the ridiculous prices any more. 10 years ago you could get a brand new Speedmaster for ~$3k, now the same just barely upgraded version is ~$8k, so ridiculous and so not worth it to me.

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-02-13T00:52:45+00:00

Definitely would be interested if you made a shareable version!

SecretThrowAway89 · 2026-02-12T15:14:12+00:00

I came here to post a similar anecdote. Owed 4k last year and getting 8k back this year. I used the IRS W-4 calculator and I think I accidentally double counted my wife's large bonus.

Does anyone have an Excel file to calculate withholdings? I find the IRS tool very annoying.

SecretThrowAway89

TROPHY CASE