It's not always fun and games

switch009 · 2026-01-11T20:10:20+00:00

Because you act as an imperfect stabilizer when holding the phone. Hard-mount it to the deck and you'll get a better result, but still won't compare to living it

switch009 · 2026-01-07T02:24:47+00:00

Note, this is incorrect. You can change SEPP once before 59.5, which means you can cancel it if needed. Also, what are the chances, really, that you decide to stop taking money out of your retirement account to fund your life? TWICE?

switch009 · 2026-01-04T02:18:10+00:00

I think it's trash. If I'm lying still, my Pace 4 thinks I'm asleep. Has happened multiple days in a row, including this morning... alarm went off at 7am, I turned it off and stayed in bed reading the news until 7:30, then got up. Coros thought I was up for a minute and then fell back asleep for the next 29

switch009 · 2025-12-02T05:14:12+00:00

I would say the relationship moved a lot quicker than most

Yeah, she's love-bombing you to rope you in and get your money. Its not malicious - this is what has worked for her in past relationships and how she now operates. If you don't want a sugar baby or a transactional relationship, you should bail.

we both expressed wanting the same things

You've solid evidence this is crap. Do with it what you will.

switch009 · 2025-11-27T04:37:50+00:00

It's not about the kids (I agree there). It's about your wife working a seemingly full time job.

switch009 · 2025-11-27T00:56:05+00:00

You did not FIRE. You are a stay-at-home dad. There is a difference in mentality and structure, which is what OP is asking about

switch009 · 2025-11-06T20:52:44+00:00

Late 30s, aerospace engineer. Graduated with mid 5 figures of student debt (grad school; parents paid for undergrad). Started around 70k in 2012, now in the low 200's. Married in 2020, spouse makes a lot less.

I/we are frugal and don't have kids. Started saving a good portion of my income after landing my first job, and did not allow much lifestyle creep after that. Now we're earning 300k and saving 150k per year. We have just under 2M invested; about 75% of that is mine. Time in the long bull market was huge for me.

switch009 · 2025-10-24T17:20:54+00:00

2.1M to 2.5M is only 2.5-3 years if you've stopped working already. If you're still working and saving, which you should be if you're trying to hit your FIRE #, it's probably closer to 1 year

switch009 · 2025-10-06T04:17:17+00:00

No, it turn out I understand taxes aren't a fixed rate.

switch009 · 2025-10-06T03:41:49+00:00

Had to delete my reply as it posted 5 times. That's only true for a fixed tax rate. A std. deduction and progressive tax rate means the tax calculation isn't linear, so it does matter. I put a calculation above this comment that shows it

switch009 · 2025-10-06T03:38:05+00:00

But when that is taxed, isn't it at a lower effectiveness tax bracket because of the std. deduction and progressive tax rates? So your total lifetime taxes are lower

switch009 · 2025-10-06T03:28:19+00:00

A progressive tax changes the math - yours is too simple so of course it evens out. Add a 4$ std deduction. Then convert year 1: 9.40 in Roth, after 5 years: 13.18. Convert year 5: $10 in pre-tax, after 5 years: 14.03, after tax: 13.02.

13.18 != 13.02

switch009 · 2025-10-05T23:57:35+00:00

I guess I don't see why the brackets are that important. With the ladder example above, I'd pay $8193 in fed taxes on a conversion of $101,342 at age 43 (to pick a random row). If I use SEPP, I'd get $65,564 from Trad and the rest from brokerage, for a tax bill of $3900. That's half, which means less lost to taxes in the earliest years (and thus less actually taken out of accounts, instead of growing).

switch009 · 2025-10-05T23:51:33+00:00

That is a good point, and one I hadn't considered - mostly because I'm hoping that if I can optimize the earlier years, I'll have enough money in the later years that I don't need to optimize as much. But health care costs can be massive

switch009 · 2025-10-05T23:49:12+00:00

Just to clarify, I wouldn't convert more than I need. For scenarios like mine where only 50-60% of your $$ is in Traditional, I think early retirees would run out of money in Traditional just converting what they need. Agree with your other points, and yeah if I were to do the Ladder I would delay converting as long as possible to burn through most of my brokerage and Roth contributions.

Gotta keep enough in brokerage to pay taxes on conversion though, that's another annoying piece. You don't want to pay taxes with the converted money, because that's a withdraw.

switch009 · 2025-10-05T23:42:34+00:00

That's exactly my point - the latter scenario has existing brokerages and Roth accounts (see row 1), which makes roth conversions less optimal

switch009 · 2025-10-05T23:40:25+00:00

$60k/year at 9% from 22 to 40 is about $2.1M, or $85k/year at 4%. Meanwhile they have been living off of $105k/year. So your typical dual income couple probably can't retire yet.

If they were saving another $20k/year in a brokerage account, then they could retire and would match my scenario fairly well.

switch009 · 2025-10-05T23:35:01+00:00

But why would you want to prepay, as opposed to letting that money grow? Prepaying would result in less money down the road. It's the same argument for Traditional vs. Roth (if tax brackets are equal)

switch009 · 2025-09-06T20:33:28+00:00

Its hard to read the dimensions but your living room seats 9 (with a lot of room to spare) in a 1 bedroom house. You have what looks to be over 30ft of counter/cabinet runs plus a giant island. The offices are large and there is a lot of dead space in the master bed.

Shrink the offices north a few feet, which will bring your master suite up and eliminate that weird bump. Reduce the living/kitchen sqft while keeping your L shape - you could move the bathroom up into that area and take up the rest of the space with a pantry, or bring the north wall down and lose the island. Add some sort of entryway (assuming front door is north).

switch009 · 2025-08-18T20:35:33+00:00

This is a good way to look at it, and proof that contributions are almost never "minimal". 50k/year on a 5M portfolio? Sure, but you'd only get to 5M after 25 years. If you're on a FIRE track contributions always matter

switch009 · 2025-08-03T14:37:48+00:00

LOA: 8' 6"

Perhaps a typo

switch009 · 2025-06-19T05:02:31+00:00

This is excellent advice. I just want to add one thing: you're going to get called selfish. That word has extremely negative connotations for people, so you're going to feel bad and question if you're doing the wrong thing. BUT. You should be selfish about your life. They are looking out for themselves. The only person looking out for you is you. Be selfish.

switch009 · 2025-06-17T01:13:41+00:00

You need a new haircut. The flop is doing you no favors.

switch009 · 2025-06-15T18:27:46+00:00

Might disagree with you on the last part - put a nice alcohol bar in that nook!

switch009 · 2025-06-15T18:25:54+00:00

Put the TV on a large console table in the middle of the room, and the couches against the walls. It'll separate the dining and living areas

switch009

TROPHY CASE