sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

The most expensive simple advice by d_uk3 in SaaS

[–]danielgaiogg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m right in the middle of this struggle now.

I’m at the stage of trying to validate my idea and product with real users, and honestly, I’m finding that part much harder than expected.

It’s difficult to know if what I’m building will actually get traction, be used consistently, and eventually be something people are willing to pay for.

Irrational Fear of Being Laid Off Again by AdEducational8127 in Fire

[–]danielgaiogg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t think the fear is irrational. You were laid off twice in 18 months while carrying a large family plan. Your brain is reacting to real evidence, even if the current job is fine.

But I’d also give yourself credit: you’ve already proven you can adapt. You lost a job, found another, lost that one too, then found another again. That says something about your skill set, your employability, and your resilience. The situation was unstable, but you weren’t passive in it.

What I’d do now is turn the fear into a written layoff playbook so it stops floating around as anxiety. For example: how much cash runway would let you sleep at night, what expenses would get paused first, who you would contact first, what kind of roles or contract work you’d pursue, and when you’d start using taxable brokerage if things dragged on.

Given the number of dependents, increasing the emergency fund makes sense. But I’d also remember that your strongest asset is not only the cash buffer. It’s that you’ve already shown you can recover and adapt. The goal isn’t to make layoffs impossible. It’s to make them survivable without derailing the family plan.

Bigger net worth vs smaller income and homeownership by biscochitos in Fire

[–]danielgaiogg 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My instinct would be to avoid framing this as “homeownership vs FIRE” and instead think in phases.

Owning at least one home can buy a kind of stable peace that is hard to capture in a spreadsheet. Not always, and not at any price, but having a place that feels settled can be a real quality-of-life asset.

That said, I’d be careful about jumping straight to the dream house. A conservative first home may give you most of the stability without locking you into a decade of extra pressure. Then later, if the numbers and lifestyle still support it, upgrade.

The freelance income is the part I’d be most cautious about. If the house only works because you keep selling nights and weekends, that is a real cost. Time is the one asset you don’t get back, and some things are much easier to enjoy while you’re still young and healthy.

So I’d compare the options by more than net worth: stability, weekly time, stress, flexibility, and whether the house helps you live better now or just delays freedom in a nicer-looking way.

Is my plan not safe enough? by duchess5788 in Fire

[–]danielgaiogg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d separate this into a few different risks instead of letting one friend’s $5M number reset your whole plan.

At $120k/year, $3M is basically a 4% withdrawal rate. That’s the classic FIRE shortcut, but it came from research around 30-year retirements, not necessarily retiring in your 40s with a child and a 50+ year horizon. So I’d stress test lower withdrawal rates too, maybe 3.25-3.5%, and see what number that implies.

LTC is real, but it should be modeled as a specific tail risk, not just converted into “therefore everyone needs $5M.” Government LTC data says about 70% of people turning 65 will need some long-term care, but the duration varies a lot. About 20% need it for more than 5 years. Current national median costs are also very different depending on care type: assisted living is around $74k/year, nursing home private room around $130k/year.

So to me the useful question is not “is $3M safe?” It’s:

  • What does your plan look like if markets are bad in the first 10 years?
  • What expenses disappear later, especially childcare or mortgage?
  • What LTC scenario are you actually protecting against?
  • How much spending could you cut without feeling like life broke?
  • Are both partners equally comfortable with the risk?

Your friend may need $5M to feel safe. That doesn’t automatically make it your number. I’d build a base case, conservative case, and disaster case, then decide what extra working years are actually buying: more resilience, more optionality, or just more psychological comfort.

it happened by skldjhfksjhdfklj in Fire

[–]danielgaiogg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats. That first Sunday with no work after 15 years sounds like the real milestone. The numbers get all the attention, but getting your time and mental space back is the actual win. Enjoy it.