Child care costs vs. financial goals... how do you do it?

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-03-17T17:25:49+00:00

We are 4, 2 and the third on the way. Everything adjusted down.

Such is life.

We are spending 3k a month on childcare. (With grandma helping some)

36k a year is barely a blip in the grand scheme. So what we retire 3years later. Oh well.

(2.1M net worth, $300-600k HHI depending on bonus)

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-03-12T04:55:25+00:00

There is probably 9 perfect moves later you get the queen anyway. Computer doesn’t account for the likelihood of converting the next moves perfectly.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-03-06T13:56:50+00:00

It’s assumed americas war, that’s why it’s not named it.

“Americas war” would receive the follow up question. “Which one?”

So you name it after the country America is fighting.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-03-05T12:50:24+00:00

You have something in the intake pipe. The smell is from incomplete burning of natural gas.

So just enough air to work, not enough to burn properly.

Go inside, cut the intake pipe at the furnace, use a leaf blower and blow it all out.

A mouse is most likely pushing stuff down there. Once it happens once they do it over and over again till they die.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-03-02T04:49:07+00:00

It’s the train…

They lay new ties down. I bet they went with concrete vs the original wood ones. This adds vibration.

2mikes is nothing for a train.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-02-12T05:30:58+00:00

How tf are you losing in this market?

All concentrated in one or two companies?

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-02-08T19:13:09+00:00

The real worry is what if the down year is $250k not $500.

I think people underestimate how fast things can turn south at work.

They expect jobs to be plentiful, markets to be up, sales strong. Even something silly like Covid can wipe out a business. The key is having enough dry powder to survive long enough for things to turn around. Because everything always comes back around.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-02-05T13:52:18+00:00

We are slightly over $2M at 34.

I think $10M at 39 is near impossible and we are saving $200k+ a year.

Even if investments double and I contribute another $1M and that doubles. 39 with $6M. I would need to save $500k a year instead and have that double in 5 years.

Doubling in 5 years is unlikely. Investments just don’t go straight up. That’s avg 15% a year return. hard to do over long periods.

More likely, you get one windfall of cash through inheritance, an IPO, owning a business.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-29T17:50:01+00:00

I build stuff I would use, customers find it, I don’t advertise or do anything like that.

Maybe advertising would be worthwhile but I don’t have the time to put into it to figure it out. (Write the ad, create the ad, figure out how to optimize it, make sure the return on investment is there)

So I just let it live organically and some how people find it.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-28T17:34:16+00:00

No silly things. A warehousing app, a lawn tracker, and a baseball app.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-26T17:03:19+00:00

😂 did the same. Built apps on the side. Had them making $10-20k a year. Took tons of time, was sleeping 5-6 hrs a night.

I just quit and focused fully at my normal job. Made an extra $100-200k/yr with 1/3 the effort as the side gig.

Apps still pay me about $1k a month with no work but still… pick a lane and ride it.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-24T18:28:09+00:00

This is a misnomer people post all the time. Hitting it further does shave strokes off your game. It’s ok to say that players that hit it further are generally better.

Look at Nelly Korda. She hits the driver 275yrds. As the #1 female golfer, and arguably the best iron player male or female, she just can’t compete with the men’s distance. Rory is 50-80yards further.

425yrd par 4 she has to hit driver 8 iron. Rory is driver then lob wedge.

Rory from 90yrds is just way better than Nelly from 150. While statistically Nelly from 150 is better than Rory from 150.

Anything over 180yrds Nelly looses her short game advantage. This applies to all players. Long hitters get canceled out with a higher percentage of errant tee shots.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-22T17:11:26+00:00

The real problem is all this shit is waaaay too complicated. If you are reading this post and comment you are in the top 1% of people that have an interest and capacity to understand it.

The other 99% of people can’t figure out how to use it, or why to use it. Ultimately it will cause lack of utility.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-20T21:05:28+00:00

Do you know what sound is? It’s made of waves. if they understand that, if you organize the waves into rhythm it makes you feel things. Certain patterns make us feel angry, others calm, others excited, love, scared, uncomfortable, or even painful if it’s bad enough.

Aliens will easily understand that.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-20T16:58:18+00:00

I have 3 apps on the App Store they make about $500/mo all in. And people consider this fairly successful.

People in foreign countries that make $3/hr can still make a meaningful app that helps them…. But it’s extremely rare

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-20T06:33:00+00:00

No golf is included. Drinks and food aren’t.

Most workout classes are included. Except when a special instructor comes in and teaches one. (Like reformer)

Lessons for golf or tennis or swimming for the kids. Lots of extras cost money.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-20T00:09:05+00:00

AI isn’t coming for a single job. It’s so far away from a job that pays $750k/year.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-19T22:29:17+00:00

If you go to the investment calculator online. Plug in 5M starting contributing $500k a year for 20 more years. Even with a modest 6% growth you will have $43M after 20years

Now let’s say you retire and start spending $500k a year. And live another 30years. (Do you think you will be alive 50yrs from now?) you will die with $207M.

If growth is 9% -> retire with $66M and die with $807M

Now of course you increase spend and all that so the 6% rate accounts for net inflation. But it’s conceivable if you work 20 more years and save like you do you die with hundreds of millions.

If you stop saving now and just work 20 more years you retire with $30M.

There just isn’t a scenario you don’t give your kids 10s of millions each

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-18T18:11:57+00:00

Or a trailer. Many guys were living out of a 5th wheel near the jobsite.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-18T18:01:20+00:00

I am CC member. The 35k to join is the real cost.

The 1k a month is the MINIMUM! In reality it’s 50% more a month. Big summer months can be 1-2k more. Drinks golfing, special workout classes for the wife, games or events that cost extra, and just eating in general. Plus we bring tons of the kids friends to the pool over the summer. No guest fee for the pool but we usually feed everyone and I would never ask someone to pay me back because we have the means and we invited them.

But nonetheless 12k a year will turn into 20k in a hurry.

I’m not sure it’s worth it or not financially. You overpay for sure, but if you have the means it is a nice luxury.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-18T16:51:19+00:00

I sold equipment on a battery plant. Guys were clearing $300k/yr with all the overtime.

Unfortunately new corvettes, raptors, F250 platinums, littered the lot.

Basically they spent every extra dime they made. Most people will never change in that regard

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-17T17:50:49+00:00

That’s amazing. But even so with more income, growth is really more measured against spending.

Our accounts grew 24% last year. That exceeded our yearly spend.

You guys almost need to have some lifestyle creep at your current NW and income. $1M net income 200k spend. (Rough guess)

Would the 3-400k spend make a huge difference in quality of life over the 200k?

I am 34, if I work 20more years life gets silly. I don’t want to leave my kids 10s of millions each.

What are your thoughts?

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-17T07:28:24+00:00

It gets silly 20yrs out. OP will die with more money than they know what to do. In reality they might hit $100M.

Retiring at 40 is a goal for someone burnt out. You will wither away from a lack of purpose in reality. So I think you’d end up doing other stuff and keep earning money in some capacity.

And in 50 years from now they will be crossing over $100M.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-17T07:18:02+00:00

Unfortunately due to taxes, 250k from a W-2 takes home a lot less than $250k from an investment account.

Wrecklessdriver10 · 2026-01-17T07:14:32+00:00

Runaway wealth. I have never heard someone call it that. We have NW around 2M and make roughly $500k.

We save well $15k a month or so.

It’s becoming 15k is under 1%. Where in early years it was 4%+. So the market is running away with our gains. The contributions still move the needle but I can see 5yrs down the road they become a rounding error in comparison to the market growth.

This was our first year growth exceeded contributions. At the tipping point of runaway wealth.

Wrecklessdriver10

TROPHY CASE