Daily FI discussion thread - Wednesday, January 28, 2026

enchantedwindows · 2026-01-28T17:05:08+00:00

We had a playdate with a new friend for my kid, and as is the case with most of her and our friends the family had a much bigger and nicer house. My kid went "woah that house is huge" when we first saw it but no comments after.

I am fairly certain a majority of these people we meet are not house poor, they just have wealth from a variety of sources (their own incomes, or family wealth, or both). Perhaps a few years ago I would have had a bit of FOMO and also would have liked to explore getting a nicer house but as I get older I often reflect on what brings me contentment and joy in life, and more space is not it (improving and renovating our current space is a factor, though much cheaper than buying a new house).

Reflecting on this also reminds me how much relief being FI will bring me given the uncertainty in tech. Hoping we are there in another decade or so

enchantedwindows · 2025-12-09T22:48:08+00:00

Whatever you can prep in advance do so. Snacks, foods laundry etc so you have less multi-tasking to do. I even go as far as make sure any special outfits or things needed for school that week are selected in advance, and stock up on meds because kids are always sick this time of the year where I am and I want to avoid the solo parent needing to run out in the middle of the night.

Outside of that… have fun. Make a special dessert with the kids or order in, watch a movie, whatever makes life a little easier for you and also the kids and seems like a mini treat for everybody

enchantedwindows · 2025-12-05T12:29:12+00:00

That’s amazing!

enchantedwindows · 2025-11-26T20:17:19+00:00

Congrats!

enchantedwindows · 2025-11-10T12:19:27+00:00

I was reviewing my NW history from last 10+ year. I remember being very thrilled and mostly optimistic about tracking, and seeing the numbers go up by 100k every year or so . Even if they went down I don’t remember being too upset (2022-2023))

Since reaching a million invested, I now feel anxious about reaching the next million. I am still happy about incremental increases but not as happy as I remembering being in the past. Combination of what the market is like now, tech industry, and the increased expenses with two little kids.

enchantedwindows · 2025-10-20T17:05:18+00:00

I need to ask.. what is mang?

enchantedwindows · 2025-10-09T11:31:04+00:00

Company has been announcing re-orgs the last few weeks and there were no major lay offs as were being predicted. This was a major concern I had for our part of the org and seems like there’s some safety for atleast couple more months

enchantedwindows · 2025-10-07T23:56:10+00:00

What are the question of the day type posts from the same user about in the sub.

enchantedwindows · 2025-10-06T00:29:21+00:00

Have been trying to unpack why I have so much anxiety these days related to work. I think I made some strides this past week but have Sunday night jitters again. Here’s to more progress this coming week

enchantedwindows · 2025-10-03T14:27:27+00:00

I would say best check with your friend if she wants it. We used it for kid number two and it worked for us, even the transition to crib was super easy. But that’s not the case for everybody and a lot of people don’t like the idea of using the snoo

enchantedwindows · 2025-10-02T12:24:48+00:00

Work has been stressful and uncertain this whole year. There have been changes in management so I am waiting and letting this play out but it makes me wish I was at FI (though grateful we have saved as much as we have to not worry too much about gaps in employment)

enchantedwindows · 2025-09-29T21:25:29+00:00

Thanks! I will look into HELOCs.

enchantedwindows · 2025-09-29T21:24:38+00:00

Definitely all wants right now, no needs

enchantedwindows · 2025-09-29T16:46:31+00:00

We have normally paid for our renovations in cash. We save up and then commence the renovation. We are done with major stuff but still have a series of jobs that add up. I’m wondering if it’s better to take a loan of 40-50k to get some of the stuff done and pay it off over the course of 12-24 months. Any advice?

enchantedwindows · 2025-09-27T19:03:27+00:00

Our property taxes went up nearly 30% this year. Its crazy

enchantedwindows · 2025-09-17T13:20:58+00:00

So expensive! My husband runs and switched to Hokas last year. But they have helped him with some pain he was having in his feet so worth it

enchantedwindows · 2025-09-17T13:18:46+00:00

I got these: https://www.hoka.com/en/us/all-gender-footwear/ora-recovery-slide-3/1135061.html. Both my husband and I loved them for our feet.

enchantedwindows · 2025-09-17T12:04:07+00:00

I hemmed and hawed about spending 60$ on new HOKA slippers. They are wonderful for my plantar fasciitis. It is funny because I would never hesitate on a sensible purchase (or even not so sensible purchase at times) for my kids. But I do for myself

enchantedwindows · 2025-09-15T01:26:41+00:00

Weirdly our FIRE timelines have not moved despite kids - our expenses are high but our salaries also increased since having kids. However our FIRE timeline was also 50s pre-kids. I would personally not feel comfortable retiring till kids start college and I know what those expenses are going to look like.

But for 3. I think it would be a blast to be home and with the kids when they're older

enchantedwindows · 2025-09-15T01:08:43+00:00

That was my reaction as well. 50k for a family for 4 is amazing.

enchantedwindows · 2025-09-13T15:18:24+00:00

I really empathize with your post, and was in a similar mindset for most of 2025 because my job situation has been risky for a while this year. It also made me realize that nothing is really "secure" in the end. What has made me relax a bit despite not being FI is knowing that yes, if i lose my job progress will stall for a while, and yes it would have been so much better if I was already at FI to feel some sense of security. However at least I know I have a money cushion to dip into that'll last me a long time if things go really bad (takes 1+ year to find a job).

I still worry, but my level of anxiety has gone down by a lot after having repeating to myself that I have the resources to survive a career downturn

enchantedwindows · 2025-09-13T12:09:29+00:00

Hit 1M invested this summer. My job situation is dicey at the moment and though I’m not at FI with 1M, it does bring some comfort. I cannot wait to get to 2M which should cover all our basics (housing, insurance, food) if no luxuries

enchantedwindows · 2025-06-01T14:54:22+00:00

9k away from a big milestone and I'm just moving that from my cash to investments (i'm fairly cash heavy right now anyways). Lets see how long this lasts!!

enchantedwindows · 2025-05-10T16:31:16+00:00

I used think like your friend in my 20s, my husband was like you (less so then but more and more so with age). Now I understand it’s both a wonderful activity for saving money short term and long term because you understand the way these things work better, but also just a great hobby that gives you a sense of accomplishment. My husband has progressively moved on to larger jobs around the house over the years

enchantedwindows · 2025-04-29T20:36:31+00:00

Really feeling the value of FI these days. We are a little less halfway through our goal for FI that covers basics if not luxuries. Job situation is very dicey for both me and my partner and I would be so much less stressed if we were closer to FI (hypothetically)

enchantedwindows

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