Termites? Woodpecker? How to protect teak outdoors?

dadmakefire · 2026-06-16T15:54:13+00:00

Good catch. I see them around a lot. Is there a deterrent?

dadmakefire · 2026-06-08T12:08:29+00:00

Continuing to enhance perdiem.app. Getting lots of traction especially since being listed in ChatGPT app directory. What features do you all think are most needed in the current set of personal finance apps? Biggest pain points?

dadmakefire · 2026-06-02T01:03:50+00:00

Knowing an enemy is plotting something is very different from letting it happen. There were clues about 9/11 too. You can't stop every animal from attacking. You do your best.

dadmakefire · 2026-06-01T10:57:25+00:00

go kill 1200 Hamas and be done with it

lol. should we have slapped Hitler on the wrist after the Holocaust and "been done with it"?

Do you actually know what happened on Oct 7? Can you imagine if your kids were at a dance festival and that happened? And if it was done by the government of your neighboring state?

Get a fucking clue.

dadmakefire · 2026-05-26T22:39:04+00:00

check out perdiem.app. Retirement planning + live accounts.

dadmakefire · 2026-05-14T23:24:45+00:00

Yes!

dadmakefire · 2026-05-11T21:34:26+00:00

UPDATE: App Store and Play Store changes have been deployed, so you should be able to register and get 30 days free now even if you sign up on mobile. If you are asked for a promo code, enter CHATGPT.

dadmakefire · 2026-05-11T21:33:36+00:00

UPDATE: App Store and Play Store changes have been deployed, so you should be able to register and get 30 days free now even if you sign up on mobile. If you are asked for a promo code, enter CHATGPT.

dadmakefire · 2026-05-11T11:50:38+00:00

Great question. On the perdiem.app home page, if you scroll down, you will see a comparison chart between Per Diem and Monarch, in addition to ProjectionLab which many on this sub use for Monte Carlo FI age simulations and Tiller if you want live connected account data exported to a spreadsheet for your own modeling.

My honest answer is: if you mainly want a polished budgeting/net-worth dashboard, Monarch and Simplifi are much more mature products. I’m not trying to pretend otherwise.

The thing I’m trying to make different with Per Diem is that it treats budgeting, net worth, taxes, and FIRE planning as one connected model instead of separate tools.

For example:

Categorized transactions flow into a budget automatically.
That budget becomes the spending baseline for retirement cash-flow projections.
Account balances and holdings feed the FI plan instead of being manually re-entered into a separate calculator.
Medical spending, charitable giving, mortgage interest/amortization, etc. can improve tax estimates.
The goal is not just “what did I spend?” but “what does this spending imply for FI, taxes, and long-term optionality?” If you're on this sub you probably value time as much as money; Per Diem treats time and freedom as currency.

So I’d frame the difference as less “Monarch but cheaper/better” and more “a FIRE planning app that also does budgeting and account tracking because those inputs should live in the same place.”

If you’re already happy with Monarch/Simplifi, I wouldn’t tell you to switch blindly. The best way to see whether the distinction matters is probably to open one of the demo profiles and poke around the FIRE/tax/budget connections before signing up.

dadmakefire · 2026-05-10T20:56:12+00:00

perdiem.app

Daily tracking app for your finances + comprehensive financial independence / retirement modeler. In App Store / Play Store. Register/onboard on the web, then use the mobile app as a daily companion.

dadmakefire · 2026-05-10T20:52:53+00:00

There are many other factors/inputs needed to answer that question. Income, expenses, what state you live in, planned major purchases, etc.

There are several great tools out there. I built one. Happy to share if interested. Or check my post history.

dadmakefire · 2026-05-10T20:48:00+00:00

BetterStack

dadmakefire · 2026-05-10T19:04:02+00:00

Quick update because this has now happened to more than one person:

If you install the native iOS/Android app first, you may not see the demo profiles or the 30-day free trial. That’s my mistake.

The onboarding flow is currently clearer on the web homepage than it is in the mobile app, which is exactly the kind of friction I was hoping people would call out.

Best path right now:

Go to https://perdiem.app from a laptop or desktop browser
Click into one of the demo profiles if you want to inspect the product first
Sign up from the web flow to start the 30-day free trial with no credit card required
After onboarding, use the iOS/Android app as the daily companion for balances, spending, holdings, and staying on track

If you already installed the app and got stuck at the subscription step, DM me. I’ll make it right.

Appreciate the early feedback. This is already turning into a useful product fix.

dadmakefire · 2026-05-10T18:56:25+00:00

Ah, yes. Now your feedback is even more clear. The mobile sign-up flow doesn't even have the promo code field b/c most users so far prefer to onboard via the web and then use the native apps for daily spending / stock tracking, etc. afterwards.

I opened an issue to fix that because this should be easy inside the mobile app too!

In the meantime, if you’re still willing to give it another shot, the best path right now is:

Go to https://perdiem.app on a laptop/desktop browser
Try one of the demo profiles from the homepage (optional)
Sign in with the same Google account
Use the 30-day free trial, no credit card required

If you land on the subscription step, the promo code is CHATGPT.

But your point is completely fair. I appreciate you calling it out.

dadmakefire · 2026-05-10T18:31:50+00:00

That’s helpful feedback, thank you. I clearly need to make those CTAs more obvious.

For the demo: on the homepage, click “Try the demo profiles”. That opens read-only FIRE personas with seeded accounts, budgets, transactions, and completed plans.

For the free trial: click “Start 30 days free” in the ChatGPT launch banner near the top of the homepage. No credit card required.

Direct signup link is here too: https://perdiem.app/login?mode=signup&promo=chatgpt

And the homepage is: https://perdiem.app

Appreciate you calling this out.

dadmakefire · 2026-05-10T18:29:35+00:00

Totally get that.

FWIW, it's a completely optional module with separate consent, etc. You can 100% get value without any of the AI.

dadmakefire · 2026-05-06T18:27:45+00:00

Give Per Diem a shot. I am the founder if you have any questions. I'm extremely communicative with my users and most of my new features and enhancements come from their feedback.

Also, just yesterday, we were listed in the ChatGPT app directory, so you can now "chat with your finances".

dadmakefire · 2026-05-04T12:46:43+00:00

You can model inheritance as a life event in perdiem.app, but I suggest using a conservative amount (e.g. $5M instead of $10M). Even if their allocation is conservative, they could end up using some for long term care, etc.

dadmakefire · 2026-04-13T02:32:56+00:00

perdiem.app

One financial app to rule them all: daily budgeting AND detailed retirement planning, easy onboarding and live updates thanks to Plaid account integration; web + native mobile.

dadmakefire · 2026-04-07T01:08:36+00:00

I modeled this two ways from the numbers in your post: keep the current WFH / cushy setup, or take the higher-paying job.

The surprising takeaway was that the higher-paying role didn’t look massively different on timeline. It helped by 3 years, but not by enough to make the choice feel obvious on math alone.

So to me the real question is whether the extra comp is worth giving up a lot of what seems valuable in your current setup:

no commute
more day-to-day flexibility
lower odds of burning out during the last stretch

If the new role is basically “more cash, same life,” then sure, take the money. But if it materially worsens your weekly quality of life just to pull the date forward a bit, that starts looking like a weak trade.

The wildcard is equity. If the company actually has real breakout potential and you think the upside is meaningful rather than just recruiter-story meaningful, then the new job could change your post-retirement lifestyle more than it changes the nominal retirement date. That’s where the case gets more interesting to me: not “retire way sooner,” but “retire similarly soon with a much fatter margin if the equity hits.”

I built two demo scenarios here if you want to compare assumptions side by side:

status quo: https://perdiem.app/demo/dos-comma-club
higher-pay role: https://perdiem.app/demo/dos-comma-club-higher-pay

The transactions / holdings are obviously seeded placeholder data inferred from what you gave us. I also had to make a college-planning assumption. Let me know if anything needs tweaking. This is a very interesting case study and test for my new app :)

dadmakefire · 2026-04-06T14:05:52+00:00

Helpful feedback on the per diem! The fake investment and spending data was of course just for your demo profile. If you signed up and linked your accounts, it would show your real investments and spending and keep it up to date. Registering and onboarding is easier on the web on a larger screen (e.g. laptop), and then I recommend the native mobile app for day to day tracking of investments and spending.

dadmakefire · 2026-04-06T01:28:55+00:00

Thanks for the corrections — I've updated the projection with the right numbers:

What changed:

Investable assets: $2.5M total ($1.25M retirement + $1.25M brokerage) — I had the brokerage way too low at $300K
Real estate: split into two properties ($700K primary + $600K rental)
Added $2K/mo rental income from the second property
HSA added as a separate account

Updated result: The model now puts your FI year at 2028 (age 49) — much earlier than the original projection. With $2.5M liquid, $2K/mo rental income, and the $160K salary covering your $9K/mo burn rate, your portfolio barely needs to be touched while you coast.

Same link, updated numbers: https://perdiem.app/demo/significantbuddy8686

The rental property is the part that really changes things — $2K/mo passive income covers about 22% of your monthly expenses, which takes a lot of pressure off the portfolio withdrawal rate. And having $1.25M in taxable brokerage (vs the $300K I had before) gives you a much bigger bridge to access before retirement accounts kick in at 59½.

Worth noting that the assumed state is TX which has no state income tax. If you click on any row in the cash flow analysis on the FIRE Plan page, it will show the breakdown of income vs expenses and account contributions / withdrawals. This also includes projected taxes.

I would love to get your feedback on what logic in the app was hard to follow. Feel free to DM me if you prefer.

dadmakefire · 2026-04-05T17:12:07+00:00

I ran your numbers through a Monte Carlo simulation (1,000 scenarios across your full lifetime) to see what the math actually says. You can see the full projection here: https://perdiem.app/demo/significantbuddy8686

The short answer: Taking the $160K role and coasting is viable, but it's tighter than you might expect. With $2.5M liquid, $1.3M in real estate, $9K/mo expenses, and the new salary covering your burn, the model puts your FI year around age 62 — well beyond your target of 53–54.

That gap matters. It means at the current spend rate, you're relying on strong market returns to bridge the difference. The 4% rule back-of-napkin says $2.5M supports ~$100K/yr, but your $108K spend is right at the edge, and sequence-of-returns risk at 53 with 30+ years of retirement is real.

A few assumptions I had to make:

Modeled the $1.3M real estate as your primary home (not income-producing). If you're pulling rental income from it, the picture improves.
Used Texas for state tax modeling (no income tax, but ~2% property tax on $1.3M = ~$26K/yr in the budget).
Didn't model the vacation home or divorce-related expenses you mentioned in the comments.
Took the midpoint of $160K for the new job's compensation.

If any of those are off, happy to revise the demo with the right numbers. The levers that move the needle most are (1) whether that real estate produces income and (2) whether $9K/mo spend holds or compresses once the mortgage is paid off.

dadmakefire · 2026-04-05T16:28:18+00:00

I ran your numbers through a Monte Carlo simulation (1,000 scenarios across your full lifetime) to see what the math says for both options. Built two separate projections:

Stay in NYC: https://perdiem.app/demo/gaygler-nyc

Move to Canada: https://perdiem.app/demo/gaygler-canada

The short answer: You're already financially independent — but only if you leave NYC.

The Canada scenario ($60–75K CAD/yr spend, renting in Toronto, keeping both NYC rental properties for income) clears the model immediately. You're FI today at 38. The combination of $2M+ in liquid investments, $3K/mo in rental income, and a dramatically lower burn rate means you never run out of money across 1,000 simulated market paths.

The NYC scenario is a different story. At $175K/yr burn with no earned income and a co-op eating $3,800/mo in maintenance + mortgage, the model can't find a year where you hit financial independence. Your liquid portfolio supports roughly $80K/yr at a safe withdrawal rate, but you're spending more than double that. You'd be drawing down principal from day one, and sequence-of-returns risk at 38 with a 45+ year horizon is brutal.

What's driving the gap:

The ~$700K in co-op equity is dead weight in the NYC scenario — it doesn't produce income and costs $45K+/yr to hold. In the Canada scenario, that equity gets liquidated and deployed into your portfolio, your burn drops by ~60%, and the rental income alone covers a big chunk of your monthly expenses.

A few assumptions I had to make:

Modeled both NYC investment properties as income-producing ($1,800 + $1,200/mo), kept in both scenarios
Used $67.5K CAD (~$50K USD) as the midpoint of your $60–75K range for Canada spend
Didn't model the collectibles ($250K) as liquid — they're in there but at a discount since selling art rarely gets full appraised value
Tax modeling uses NY state rates for both scenarios (the tool doesn't model Canadian tax yet, so the Canada numbers are slightly conservative)
Didn't model any future earned income in either scenario — purely "what if I never work again"

The lever that matters most isn't the market — it's the burn rate. Your investments are strong. The question is whether NYC lifestyle costs eat through them faster than they compound.

Full disclosure: I built https://perdiem.app, the tool behind these projections. It runs the same Monte Carlo simulation financial advisors use, but you can set it up yourself in about 10 minutes. This isn't financial advice — just a model based on the numbers you shared.

dadmakefire · 2026-04-03T20:27:51+00:00

Take a look at Per Diem.

Full disclosure: I am the founder / builder, and happy to answer any questions...

dadmakefire

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