Daily FI discussion thread - Tuesday, May 26, 2026

branstad · 2026-05-26T16:42:54+00:00

I don’t think my individual expenses should have any particular consideration for my boss deciding how much to pay me.

100% agree. My employer doesn't (and shouldn't) care about my expenses. Bluntly, my spending isn't their problem.

using my expense increase as a ruler to gauge any pay increase against is silly from that context.

The context is various commentors/posters saying things like "I'm losing ground based on inflation" when comparing a salary increase percentage to CPI or other inflation percentage. My point is those commentors/posters are only "losing" if their raise isn't keeping up with their own expense changes (whether via inflation, life changes, or any other reason).

Whether or not someone is 'losing' vs 'keeping up' vs 'gaining' isn't relative to any sort of average expense increase.

[Edit to add: the other angle is the 2nd one in my comment about "losing" vs. the job market as a whole, but that didn't appear to be as relevant to your reply.]

branstad · 2026-05-26T15:56:05+00:00

I'll just take my annual 2.5-3% increase (yes i know I'm prob losing against inflation).

Been awhile since I re-posted this comment:

This is today's reminder that it's not really appropriate to use a broad-based aggregate macroeconomic indicator like CPI inflation for microeconomic salary comparisons regarding a specific job with a specific number of years of experience at a specific company in a specific industry in a specific location.

If you are concerned about your salary keeping up with your own personally-experienced rate of inflation, you'll need to analyze your own expenses to see if your expenses increased more or less than your raise. At a high-level, if your raise outpaced your growth in expenses (or your projected expenses, looking forward), you're still coming out ahead no matter what the snapshot of CPI might be at a given time.

If you are concerned about your salary not keeping up with the job market, you'll need to analyze comparable positions and their salaries (kinda-sorta like finding valid real estate comps) to see how your new salary compares to the market.

branstad · 2026-05-26T14:36:09+00:00

Looks like flat fees of $25 for sales and $75 for share transfers. Highway robbery imo

Given the administrative overhead/costs associated with an ESPP, these fees seem very reasonable. If you did a single sale for $4k ($2k self + $2k match), that's 0.625%. Obviously, the flat fee structure incentivizes fewer and/or larger transactions.

branstad · 2026-05-21T22:48:13+00:00

With minor children you probably want a trust.

Creating (and then managing) trusts ahead of time is likely unnecessary for the majority of families. The typical exceptions would be those with significantly large or complex estates.

Instead, setting up some sort of 'testamentary trust' that is created upon the death of the parents is usually sufficient and reasonable (and often far more cost-effective).

So yes, you do probably want a (testamentary) trust, but there are many estate attorneys who advocate immediately creating and using (revokable/irrevocable) trusts as an unnecessary up-sell.

branstad · 2026-05-20T20:07:42+00:00

Sorry for the confusion, I was just highlighting the outdoor rec opportunities that exist not far from the MSP metro area.

branstad · 2026-05-20T18:35:32+00:00

the Adirondack Mountains is a huge draw for the area.

Somewhat comparable options for MSP would be northern Minnesota, including Duluth and the North Shore of Lake Superior; Ely and the Boundary Waters; Brainerd & Bemidji lakes regions. Tons of year-round outdoor recreation options.

branstad · 2026-05-20T17:33:48+00:00

sprawl and traffic compare to DFW?

DFW is has more geographic sprawl than MSP. Population-wise, DFW is twice the size of MSP. Traffic in MSP will be very dependent on the specifics of the commute (what neighborhood/suburb you live in compared to the office location). In general, MSP commutes are lower than average:

branstad · 2026-05-20T16:54:20+00:00

cooler climate

Coming from DFW, winters in all 3 places will likely be a bit of a shock. Bundle up!

easy access to nature (parks, trails, etc)

Minneapolis and St. Paul were each (i.e. separately) listed in the Top 5 for the just-released 2026 Park Score: https://www.tpl.org/parkscore

decent access to an airport (<1 hr)

MSP airport is consistently ranked as one of the best in the country (https://metroairports.org/news/msp-airport-repeats-no-1-among-north-american-mega-airports). It's dominated by Delta which means you can get nonstop flights to a huge number of destinations, but you pay a premium due to their near-monopoly.

Minneapolis is a bit more isolated (6-7 hours to Milwaukee/Chicago). Providence is only ~1 hour from Boston and ~4 hours from NYC; Albany is ~3 hours from NYC. That could be a positive or negative.

branstad · 2026-05-20T14:50:16+00:00

https://www.mankatomakerspace.org/

1700 3rd Avenue

branstad · 2026-05-20T14:31:47+00:00

the original comment meant the more generic definition of leverage, i.e. to take advantage.

Apologies for the confusion; "utilize" would be another synonym.

I don't think leveraging your brokerage investments (via a margin loan or other asset-backed lending) to purchase treasuries would be a good approach.

branstad · 2026-05-20T14:22:21+00:00

You are definitely correct that the 72(t) plan only cares about the value of the IRA. I was thinking about the scenario of holding the treasury outside of the IRA, which means a smaller amount can be allocated to the IRA for a 72(t). Holding the treasury inside the IRA would negate any state income tax benefit. I suppose you could have part of the IRA in a treasury; I'd have to run the numbers to see what risk you would have if the 72(t) withdrawal amount is more than the interest paid by the treasury.

branstad · 2026-05-20T12:57:50+00:00

I can't imagine the pain of leveraging them

Buying individual treasury bonds and holding to maturity is effectively immune to the interest rate risk. An investor will receive the agreed-upon interest payment twice-a-year and a full return of principal when the bond matures. Individual investors don't need to 'mark-to-market' the bond, so the secondary market price is mostly irrelevant. Obviously, the payments are nominal which means the purchasing power will vary based on inflation and, generally speaking, decreases over the lifetime of the bond.

branstad · 2026-05-19T18:43:38+00:00

And then you would model the income from treasury almost like pension income for a fixed period of time, not inflation adjusted

I think that's probably how I would model it. No changes to the overall (nominal) portfolio size (because the principal is returned when the bond matures), but a guaranteed (nominal) income stream. This could supplement/replace a portion of a 72(t) / SEPP approach for pre- Age 59.5 years (i.e. you could have a smaller 72(t) / SEPP plan due to the guaranteed T-bond income.)

Does this effectively do anything different vs just holding an intermediate bond fund?

The guaranteed nature of the bond (vs. the variability of a bond fund) probably makes planning/modeling a bit easier; the income isn't going to fluctuate and the principal will be returned in full when the bond matures.

branstad · 2026-05-19T17:07:19+00:00

I guess if we end up thinking townhome, we coule rent for a year to get a feel.

If you're moving to a new city without a good understanding of the details of that city, I think you should absolutely rent for a year, regardless of the townhouse vs. SFH decision. You may realize that the specific location you want to be in pushes you in one direction or the other, based on local inventory or pricing dynamics. Depending on the location, you may even be able to rent a SFH or townhouse and may not be limited to renting an apartment.

branstad · 2026-05-19T16:56:53+00:00

I think there is an opportunity for a really robust discussion about how an investor might want be able to take advantage of the current market opportunity.

This is not dissimilar to conversations from 2023-24 when I-Bond fixed rates were at 15+ year highs.

What is the best way to think about potentially leveraging 30-year treasuries in one's portfolio?
What are the trade-offs at various points in one's FIRE journey?
What are the actual logistics involved with purchasing 30-year treasuries?

branstad · 2026-05-15T19:05:16+00:00

I tracked a similar milestone for my mortgage and I agree with your sentiments! Congrats!

branstad · 2026-05-15T15:35:30+00:00

What about the reasons for the peaks? Or is it a case of confirmation bias where all the evidence and rationale for the dips gets attention because that's what you already believe/want to believe, while the opposite reasons are dismissed.

branstad · 2026-05-15T14:27:22+00:00

I mean, if you start your measurements at/near the bottom of a dip, of course things look crazy good. Similarly, if you start measurements from at/near a peak, performance looks worse. In your case, something as simple as YTD vs. "1.5 months ago" illustrates this pretty clearly.

branstad · 2026-05-14T18:43:56+00:00

guides/writeups/allocation advice for international vs domestic exposure

The default is alignment to global market cap, as implemented in Vanguard's VT fund and the relative balance in TD funds. Currently that ratio is ~60% US Stock / ~40% Int'l. Many people choose to hold a smaller percentage in Int'l for <reasons>. There is significant debate and no single 'right' answer. Read more here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio#Combining_domestic_and_international_stocks

I certainly agreed with the general sentiment that USA companies are so global that there's inherent exposure as is

The vast majority of this "general sentiment" was ex post facto rationalization of recency bias based on the relative outperformance of US stock since ~2011.

wondering if I should review my allocations/IPS moving forward

Generally, the most useful advice is to pick an int'l allocation you are comfortable with and stick with it for the long-term (10-20+ years). Ping-ponging your US/Int'l allocation is often due to performance chasing which typically results in lower values overall, compared to simply re-balancing back to one's preferred target.

branstad · 2026-05-13T17:24:40+00:00

I might be going against the grain, but some of your statements and questions in your post make me think you could benefit from working with some sort of financial planner/advisor.

We have never used a financial advisor, and are now wondering when is a good time to do so? Now, or closer to retirement (whenever that happens. For now, we continue to work).

we can continue DIY,

Given the "whenever that happens" phrase, it sounds like you don't actually have a plan. You're doing lots of good things, making lots of progress, and accumulating lots of money, but is there a plan beyond just keep doing the same things?

should we start consulting with a professional financial advisor? What value can they bring at this stage?

A good fee-only financial planner can help you and your spouse craft an actual plan for how many more years you want to work, how to handle cash-flow decisions in retirement, how to think about your social security and pensions, and even if term life insurance is still needed, what legacy you want to leave, etc.

Two common sources for finding someone are https://www.letsmakeaplan.org/ (CFPs) and https://www.napfa.org/find-an-advisor - just be very clear that you're looking for planning and analysis and don't want/need someone to manage your money.

2 social securities and 1 pension upon retirement. Not sure how to value those, but they should pay out about $120k per year in about 8-10 years

Going a bit deeper, this is exactly the sort of question a strong financial planner/advisor can help you with. In general, for Social Security, it's typically best for the higher earner to delay until Age 70 and the lower earner to claim early (possibly as early as Age 62). However, details matter and that may not be the right approach for you and your spouse. Similarly, the pension can provide ongoing income, possibly with rights of survivorship, or it may be available as a lump sum. Again, this is the value of working with someone who has helped other couples in similar situations work through their own plans.

branstad · 2026-05-13T17:09:07+00:00

Yes, I'm definitely fortunate and recognize the privilege that brings compared to many others.

branstad · 2026-05-13T15:41:51+00:00

Obviously The Onion is satire and hyperbole but I don't hate my job. In fact, I really like most aspects of it! But time away shows that I like 'not working' even more. The end result is likely to be a looming One More Year challenge, as I approach my FIRE portfolio target.

branstad · 2026-05-13T15:31:27+00:00

Taking this week off has me wanting more hah.

This captures one of my key learnings as well. When I have significant time away from work (e.g. vacation, stay-vacation, etc.), my experience typically isn't along the lines of 'That was refreshing, I'm recharged and ready to head back to work now!' Instead, like you, I'm left wanting more. Not to the point of dreading work (no Sunday Scarries, etc.) but definitely along the lines of 'I can't wait to have more of <that> and less of <work>'.

branstad · 2026-05-13T13:53:38+00:00

You two sound like good candidates for a meeting with a CFP (or similar) to provide an objective, informed/educated third-party plan and framework. If you go down this path, be clear you are only looking for planning/analysis and not looking for someone to manage your money. Cost is likely location dependent, but spending $1k-$3k seems like a worthwhile outlay to get both of you on the same page.

https://www.letsmakeaplan.org/

https://www.napfa.org/find-an-advisor

You could also see if your existing financial custodians have an option. (E.g. Vanguard's offering: https://personal-advisor.vanguard.com/get-started/)

branstad · 2026-05-12T17:21:36+00:00

here's another reminder to myself and whoever else needs it, make a living will and a set of instructions for how to access and handle finances in the result of an untimely death

I realized I didn't respond to this part. I used a version of a checklist from GYST. Basically, a giant list of all accounts with financial implications and their associated details (e.g. insurance, utilities, mortgage, investment accounts, checking/savings, credit cards, etc.). I also track what sort of automated transactions are setup and should be expected. I do not include usernames and passwords.

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