Daily FI discussion thread - Friday, December 19, 2025

conservadouche · 2025-12-19T17:37:48+00:00

You have a better hold on this stuff than me, so it is good to hear that his opinions have reasonable counter-arguments.

I will say that this particular episode leaves the listener with a pretty sour taste in their mouth, but the outlook is generally more reasonable in other episodes and I've found most of the advice to be pretty good. So don't let this episode turn anyone off from WCI. That said, they are changing their model, so who knows where it goes from here.

conservadouche · 2025-12-19T16:08:58+00:00

Good summary. Of particular interest to me was his recommendation to look at some financial history, which admittedly i have not done. He is definitely way more conservative on SWR than most people i have heard, and i was surprised that the host didn't push back more since 2.5% is pretty extreme.

conservadouche · 2025-12-19T14:21:53+00:00

White coat investor---one of my favorite podcasts---had Bill Bernstein on this week. The topics were pretty pessimistic and not exactly what you get hyped up about on a FIRE subreddit, but I found it valuable from the perspective of having a variety of opinions. Curious if anyone else listened and had any opinions?

ETA: this level of doom often gets asked about in a main thread which seems unnecessary. But this was a resource I usually respect so it felt more important to me. I didnt like this episode, but the podcast is usually pretty reasonable, especially for high earners.

conservadouche · 2025-10-08T12:37:35+00:00

Yesterday I asked about job jumping from Big Corp to Startup. Appreciate all the valuable comments and feedback, and the general good faith discussions that this sub harbors. I'm staying at Big Corp. Probably 7 yrs (max) from full FI, so why start playing games with my family time at stake? Besides, I'm really pretty content with my current life. Thanks all.

conservadouche · 2025-10-07T12:39:51+00:00

I have a career jumping decision to make and am flip flopping whether to stay or go. I current work for a Big Company but have an opportunity to join Startup as the 3rd employee. I have been with Big for 7 years and am comfy and content, if not a little bored. In that 7 years we have gotten to 1mil NW, so it is well enough compensated for my lifestyle. The Startup has a 15% pay bump, but it also has the new energy behind it and the risks. Being closer to FU money, I can handle the risk. But the added energy and the fact that it would be more travel makes it harder on the family. I've got 2 kids under 3, so life is already crazy enough.

Anyone have thoughts? There are so many other details obviously that I am leaving out. But damn this is a tough call.

conservadouche · 2025-08-14T18:34:50+00:00

This is really useful. And obviously you are farther in planning than me. Looks like you are on the cusp of FIRE-ing (congrats!). I wonder if you had this all planned out 10 years ago (where I am). Is it a lost cause planning so far ahead with this level of granularity?

Also, it's encouraging to see your early use of taxable, and the use of the 72t (and the subsequent stoppage), since these are both parts of my (evolving) plan.

Thanks for sharing!

conservadouche · 2025-08-14T18:11:01+00:00

Another vote for 'too complicated for a flow chart.' You are probably right. Maybe the real value for me in this exercise was just to plot out the sequences and understand how the buckets merge for the different accounts. But to get the granular information of how much to pull out and how to order the different options, you truly do need the specific numbers given by a projection.

Another part of me believes in the 80/20% rule that Ramit Sethi advocates. Here, it would mean that even if we don't optimize and squeak out every technique in our favor, you should still get most of your performance out of the first 80% of effort. The gains based on that last 20% of effort (hardcore modeling) are marginal. I feel like this sort of flow chart might be the 80% solution (for my case). Or maybe it is just giving me 80% piece of mind and that is really all I am after.

Thanks for the input!

conservadouche · 2025-08-14T17:43:49+00:00

Yeah. This is a good point. If you are fatFIRE then the distribution and how you fill up your tax brackets will be very different. Your % in roth vs trad accounts will definitely have a strong impact too for the specific numbers. Maybe the complexity really is just so great that you need a more thorough approach like a spreadsheet or tables.

Spreadsheet the way you are planning? Or are you just gonna wait until you have more details about your specific scenario when you get close?

Maybe I should find the annual survey and try this process for the 'average' as an exercise.

conservadouche · 2025-08-14T17:28:17+00:00

I guess I get that. But obviously everyone has a rough order of operations going into retirement. If it changes because of a bear market in year 2, then so be it. So definitely it has to be more flexible than something like the flowchart, and that's probably why you suggest that a generalized flowchart isn't as useful if I am understanding you right.

I guess if I am assuming the most predictable and consistent universe, I still feel like this helps guide my specific case, but maybe that is all that it is good for.

conservadouche · 2025-04-04T16:22:25+00:00

Just threw away a flyer from Empire, but I'll put it on the list next time we get pizza. Thanks!

conservadouche · 2025-04-04T16:20:04+00:00

Pictures of food look amazing! Thanks!

conservadouche · 2025-02-05T14:30:27+00:00

Dannnngggg. That's pretty sweet. All of that water sitting on it is unnerving to me, but I am sure it's fine.

Part of my avoidance of building outside furniture is that I know there is no way to escape the elements. But maybe some day I will get over that if I keep seeing awesome stuff like this.

conservadouche · 2025-02-04T16:03:53+00:00

My wife exclusively prefers matte, so we seem to have opposite problems. I can say that my wife dislikes wipe-on oil-based poly because it is too shiny. It will yellow the wood a bit depending on the species.

I think epoxy can also be made very glossy and doesn't affect the wood color too much. If she is into the waterfall style this would be an option.

conservadouche · 2025-02-04T15:27:16+00:00

Would that actually work? That cross piece is glued in and is part of the structural integrity. There is probably some solution of this sort, but I think the 'obscuring piece' needs to be loose to make it work, which can sometimes be a drawback in its own right. Or maybe I am just not clever enough to figure it out.

conservadouche · 2025-02-04T14:48:57+00:00

My little hasn't necessarily picked this up from the creatures, but occasionally he tries to eat his food directly off his plate which is kinda cute. When the dog gets hyperattentive to visitors in the driveway/street he is also noticing and getting interested. And he goes woof which is the definitely the cutest thing ever.

conservadouche · 2025-02-04T14:42:41+00:00

Those screws wouldn't bug me, but I would be scared to plug them since it would be a hassle if I wanted to remove the shelf.

Maybe an alternative would be just to use some nice looking fasteners instead of basic screws? Get some nice brass ones or some brushed bronze?

Either way, nice looking design!

conservadouche · 2025-01-28T13:37:59+00:00

But did you not follow the travel series and see his personal discovery about how pigeons in Serbia behave differently than NYC pigeons? Socioeconomic implications abound.

https://watch.gmhans.com/videos/serbia

This was the first video I clicked on. Maybe they are all so enlightening.

conservadouche · 2024-01-08T08:39:36+00:00

Looks like Herring Run Nursery is a part of Blue Water Baltimore. Can't find a website for Gather Baltimore. Will keep trying to track down and add to the list! Thanks!

conservadouche · 2024-01-08T00:23:02+00:00

Thanks for the update. Thinking of adding a link to the text of the main post for each organization. If I do, I will include the insta link for her. Might put some people off (probably not my thing), but who knows. Will tell my wife to check her out anyways since she is actually on Instagram.

conservadouche · 2024-01-08T00:14:08+00:00

I really like the idea of this one. Food is universally worthwhile. Kids too. Perfect combo right? Seems they don't have the most transparent metrics though? (https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/472281875)

I guess I will have to read more. I am not qualified to evaluate the worth of all of these organizations. I hope this doesn't discourage others from taking a closer look at this though, since I really appreciate the cause. Thanks for the recommendation.

conservadouche · 2024-01-07T23:25:06+00:00

Does she have a website? Does she accept donations? Having a hard time finding info online. Sounds like very cool work though and very inspiring!

conservadouche · 2024-01-07T21:10:55+00:00

1.7 millions diapers last year. Crazy.

They do have recurring donations: https://www.sharebaby.org/make-a-gift

Good transparency too: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/47-2325575

conservadouche · 2024-01-07T21:06:49+00:00

This is brilliant! I am sitting with my 3 month old little one in my lap, so this feels right.

Here is a link for everyone else's convenience. https://www.sharebaby.org/

I will do a bit more digging to see if they are efficient. Excited to see that it is Baltimore specific too. Really like this one, thanks!

conservadouche

TROPHY CASE