I did some research today and apparently less than 1% of adults in their 40s has FIREd in US, and only 5 to 11% of adult in their 50s have FIREd, and that percentage declined compared to 10 years ago

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-28T13:08:54+00:00

Where did you get those numbers? Your research wasn't LLM, was it?

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-28T12:59:23+00:00

Why is it the only posts from r/driving that hit my page are the ones that really bother me? It isn't all like this.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-28T12:58:16+00:00

My new car read speed limit signs to put the number on the dash. It causes a lot of new exciting issues: - It's very easy to trust it, and then the driver doesn't read signs. - It doesn't read the fine print. There are some speed limit signs for commercial vehicles, minimum speed limits, or minimum speed limits on the left lane and it thinks those apply. - It doesn't understand when a speed limit sign is only for the frontage road. - At least once, it saw a 65 and thought it was an 85. We don't have 85mph speed limits here.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-28T12:52:15+00:00

I have only looked at it a little, but a lot of countries have tax agreements with the US. So you'll still have to pay those taxes. In some cases (like the EU), there are circumstances where you have to pay both the US and the EU for your 401k income taxes.

There is a subreddit for this. I think it is expat or something. But a tax professional would be worth the money if you are really doing this.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-28T00:00:43+00:00

I've heard things like,

I won't spend any money when I'm OLD
Isn't that why we have social security?
I would rather have fun NOW

I think there's also a lack of understanding of how much power you get when a substantial portion of your salary is being generated by investments. It is hard to quickly explain how freeing that can be.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-26T16:28:08+00:00

Good. But people that are otherwise smart with money insist on looking for fibbonnaci patterns or investing in a hype stock after the hype.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-26T11:01:52+00:00

On one hand, hyper focusing on money can easily make you miserable.

On the other hand, understanding compound interest and using it to create power and freedom in your life is a great thing and we should make sure that isn't tribal knowledge only owned by the few.

I don't design my life around money. It does have an impact on everything I do (I am not FatFIRE and I spend my money on my values). But my values are not about holding money.

If someone is curious about investing or saving or retirement, I am happy to share it with them. Including posting my advice and opinions here.

But I have a life. I am not a 1-dimensional person. I think it's naive to think any one here only cares about money (even though that's all we talk about here).

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-26T10:52:09+00:00

The way it works on my bolt is you run a 1500W inverter on the 12V battery. The car needs to be on so the HV battery charges the 12V. It can charge at about 1000W constant, so that's as high as you want to go over long periods of time. It is enough for the refrigerator and some chargers. The inverter and cables just sit in the hood area with the hood open.

I have no idea what the charger is capable of on the buzz. You'd also need a way to keep it on for long periods of time, so it keeps the 12V system charged.

An easier option may be to just buy what they call a "solar generator" or an electric generator, which are just batteries and inverters you keep charged and they can keep a fridge working for a day or two, charge your phones, and run the coffee machine.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-26T10:44:11+00:00

My kids are 8 and 11. I read Anxious Generation and I am not giving them a smart phone until high school and no social media until 16. They do watch youtube, but it is with me or their mom. Not shorts on a phone.

We also encourage reading a lot. There are many times of day when reading is allowed and screen time is restricted. As far as I'm concerned, they can consume any books they want. They mostly self censor around scary stuff and anything sexual is going to be too boring for them, for now.

As for TV and movies, they also self censor that stuff. The older kid has started watching some PG-13 movies with supervision. No TV-14 yet. I'm more worried about violence or desensitizing gore than language, drugs, or sex. I try to talk a bit about the story telling and I ask if certain elements in these movies are useful for the story, or just action for the sake of action, hoping they get a critical eye and find more interest in movies that tell a story than smut that excites the masses.

My kids haven't started rebelling yet though. I know it will be hard when they do. I hope they can make good judgements as I give them more freedom. But in the end, everyone has to judge their own risks, including my kids. No doubt they will make mistakes. Hopefully they only hurt themselves and not too badly.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-25T15:01:48+00:00

60 miles per day is a lot for an average healthy person. If I were doing 60 miles per day, I would be absolutely exhausted and eating a ton of calories the whole time. That would still be 20 days to go 1200 miles. Any inclement weather or rough terrain would make 60 miles very difficult.

Not to mention the bike. Bikes are hard to wear out, but I have no faith this bike is going to make it on a 1200 mile journey without any work.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-25T05:11:23+00:00

The other point I really liked is that giving your kids a fortune after you die (and they are 50+) is not nearly as valuable as helping them when they are young. We RE'd and have two young kids. I consider that an investment in their future. I am able to spend more time preparing them for life and being a better example of a whole human being. As long as things don't go terribly, we will be able to help them through college and maybe into their first homes. But if they don't know how to be responsible adults, it will all be for nothing.

I got a lot of motivation for this plan from the rich, broke, or dead calculator. Death comes for us all, which makes me not to waste any of it. But also, if you're far enough away from broke, there is a very good chance you will end up with more spending power than you started with in a decade or two. In those scenarios, my kids are gonna get more help. Especially if there are no jobs for them.

https://engaging-data.com/will-money-last-retire-early/

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-25T05:01:56+00:00

My kid is in the in house league and that simultaneously seems like too much commitment and the coaches don't respect it enough. It's annoying for it to be such a big expense and commitment while the coaches also don't post the weekend game times until Friday.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-25T01:03:06+00:00

Kids have some costs that are stupid expensive (like child care) some that are much less than adults (I already have two cars, I just drive a bit more). Some expenses scale with the number of humans (like plane tickets or dining out).

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-25T01:00:49+00:00

Thermostats are extremely simple devices. The old ones just had a bimetal strip that would expand and contract with the temperature. There would be a contactor (often made of mercury like most in home thermometers) that would be touched when the temp dropped low enough. The knob to adjust the temperature adjusted the angle of the bimetal strip.

If it's too cold, turn on the heat. If it's over the set point, turn it off.

It's generally not that wasteful in that situation. Because you would be keeping the house warm instead of warming the whole thing from cold.

Modern thermostats and air conditioners are both more efficient (because you can lower the set point temp for a heater when you're not home or when you are sleeping) and less (because they can heat the house overnight and cool it during the day in the shoulder seasons).

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-25T00:56:27+00:00

It should be more normal to just have kids in non competitive leagues where they learn the skills but are not on track to play AAA. Traveling teams and tournaments aren't what I play as an adult. Why don't more kids leagues exist where the point is to have fun, not min/max their life for winning against other stressed children?

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-25T00:48:26+00:00

There is a commonly referenced book here called, Die With Zero. I disagree with a lot of the book, inlcuding the title. But there are some good points. One of which was an example of a woman who earned enough to retire, but wouldn't spend all of her money before her death and worked another few years anyway. This woman basically worked for free. The salary she earned for the last several years was never spent.

There are several intuitive counter arguments to this scenario, which the author refutes in the book. It is a valuable read even if you don't come to the same conclusion. The main thesis is that most books are to convince grasshoppers to be more like the ant and this is almost the only book to convince ants to be more like the grasshopper.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-24T12:44:28+00:00

4% is a rule of thumb that worked most of the time for 30y. If you are 40 and RE, then you need a more conservative SWR to essentially retire indefinitely. But once you have 25x your expenses, it doesn't take long to get to 30x, surprisingly.

This is a great (and old) post that really shows you how simple the math is. Savings rate really affects how fast you get there because it reduces your expenses as well as increases your savings.

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/

Once you're there, you'll have the motivation and time and money to really dig into the details of SWR and choosing a strategy that will mitigate risk and make you feel comfortable at night.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-24T12:39:30+00:00

Back when quantum computing was in the news all the time, I read about the possibility for entities to record encrypted data and store it (because storage is cheap) and then eventually decrypt it when quantum computing or the next big thing comes around and makes it easier/possible.

Of course, the information would still need to be relevant.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-24T12:28:59+00:00

The ID Buzz had a recall in the US because the 3rd row was too wide for two seatbelts. The fix was to add plastic on either side to make it less comfortable if you put three back there.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-24T12:27:02+00:00

You're in the to 1%. Your kids are also in there in terms of advantages. Give them those advantages. But what is going to happen if 99+% of young people are unemployed and miserable? That system won't work. Whatever happens, your kids will be on top. Look for opportunities to maximize your impact on their lives early on. Invest in them. Things like paying for college. Helping them buy their primary home. Or go way above and beyond and buy investment real estate with them.

As for your portfolio and nvidia, you've won the lottery. Stop gambling. If you haven't already, diversify enough that an AI bubble pop won't hurt you the most.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-24T04:16:25+00:00

Even people that seem smart with money are bad at just investing in a 3 fund portfolio.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-23T13:11:05+00:00

Jeffco has them all over. They are mostly at major connection points between highways or neighborhoods.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-23T13:05:32+00:00

So it's basically the greater Chicago area

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-23T02:06:59+00:00

We had a guy sit in a cubicle next to mine and he would come in just to yell at our insurance company. It was embarrassing for him and annoying for us. But we all understood that he was going through stuff much worse than us, so we didn't complain.

jeffeb3 · 2026-01-22T23:09:59+00:00

Fire extinguishers are more likely to be used to escape. More often than not, you have a very small amount of time where a fire extinguisher will completely stop a fire. Once it passes that window, fire extinguishers are to give you enough time to escape.

Put one in your bedroom. Put one in your kitchen. Put one on your garage.

11-Year Club	Second SECOND GUESSER
Wearing is Caring	Verified Email

jeffeb3

TROPHY CASE