u/PedalMonk

Our plan 10 years ago(I was 44) was to retire at 58 with 3M (not including Mortgage or House).

At 50, we started aggressively saving 100K+ a year. At 51(2023), we hit my 1M. At 53, we hit 2M(2024) and we also pivoted from maxing out 401K, MegaRoth, regular Roth, etc...to putting 80K/year in superhero accounts(brokerage, HYSA, SGOV, etc...). Basically anything that wasn't pre-tax except where it made sense such as company match. And about another 20-40K in pre-tax because my wife gets 13% match due to history at company.

So far this year, we have put in almost 100K between various accounts. In May, we crossed 2.5M for the first time. Today we are at 2.65M. Thanks to an amazing 14%/YoY growth for the past 10 years.

Next year will be a good year for money. Besides salary, I should see at least 130K after-tax between now and next November (RSUs fully vest, ESPP, Bonuses). This doesn't include 26K into 401K Roth and the match going into pre-tax, which is about 8.5K, plus 2-3K in true-up.

If we can continue putting in 100K+ investing in ourselves and the market goes up about 7.5%, I will hit 3M in the October 2027 time frame. My last RSU's unlock November 10th, so I've picked November 12th 2027 as my retire date.

This will be a full 2 years 10 months earlier than planned. I would retire right now if I could, but the two things holding me back are, Rule of 55(Jan) and fully vested RSUs(Rule of 70 - my company only), which keeps me from access two big chunks in June and November.

If the market tanks before then, we may work just long enough to see signs of recovery and I will put as much cash as I possibly can in the market on the way down and back up. I will DCA down and up :)

My biggest regret is not putting money into superhero accounts sooner. I hope to have 300K in superhero accounts by end of next year. Looking back, I really need 600K. Why? because retiring before medicare forces you to do tax juggling to avoid the ACA MAGi cliff for medical, but if I'm using that money to help offset MAGI, if the market also drops, I need to use that same money for weathering the correction and recovery. So if you are in your 40's and you are on a similar path, save more money post-tax. You can still invest it aggressively until you are 1-2 years away from retirement.

So, it's possible to move your date up if you set your mind to it. Also, we still live life, we don't cut too many corners. But we never moved into a larger house, which is a big part of it. For example, I just paid cash for a 2026 4Runner (half trade in, half cash). We still go on vacations and eat out often. And as much as some people don't like this idea, I stare at my money everyday and make cautious moves as needed.

Regarding what I invest in. I mostly follow the bogleheads, but might dabble in other things once in a while, but mostly for fun. The one huge outlier is, I invested in AMD, not heavily, but I did make 100K or so profit. Outside of that though, everything thing is typical index funds with the majority of it in FSKAX

One more thing, FIRE doesn't have to be black and white. Just follow the principles and decide what's best for you. Lots of things will change by the time you FIRE. Don't get caught up in the weeds and bullshit people post online

Hopefully I'll be making my FIRE post in 13 months...

ACCOUNT BAR

BANKING $7,284.46

Checking $2,865.17

Checking 1 $2,480.02

Checking 2 $385.15

Savings $4,153.88

HSA 1 $2,603.84

Savings 1 $800.03

Savings 2 $750.01

Credit Cards $265.41

Credit Card 1 $356.86

Credit Card 2 $0.00

Credit Card 3 -$37.45

Credit Card 4 -$54.00

INVESTMENTS $2,643,016.78

Taxable $183,925.24

Brokerage 1 $120,695.76

Taxable 1 $55,051.50

Stock Plan 1 $8,113.13

Brokerage 2 $64.25

Retirement $2,459,091.54

401(k) 1 $1,765,655.37

403(b) 1 $322,639.62

Roth IRA 1 $179,603.31

HSA $62,351.71

Roth IRA 2 $58,222.14

403(b) 2 $37,287.82

Roth IRA 3 $33,331.57

PROPERTY & DEBT $834,316.41

Assets $1,014,631.00

Home 1 $916,000.00

Assets 1 $60,000.00

Assets 2 $38,631.00

Liabilities -$180,314.59

Liabilities 1 -$9,265.44

Home 1 -$171,049.15

SAVINGS GOALS $2,070.30

Goal 1 $1,070.30

Goal 2 $1,000.00

Feel free and AMA. I'm mostly an open book.

A few notes.

I have the OEM TRD 2.5" Lift. I installed the OEM air compressor. I'm running Toyo R/T Trail 285/75R17's with an +18mm offset.

Although most of the stuff is beginner off-roading, I saw a Land Rover get stuck in a few spots I didn't.

Crawl mode is amazing! Being able to dial in an exact crawl speed with the dial is a game changer. MTS, I left in auto. I engaged the rear diff in a few spots where I otherwise would have been stuck.

Considering this truck weighs about 5500lbs (Hybrid) and I probably had another 100lbs in the back plus 3 people, consider me completely impressed on how well it handled everything!

Hello Experts. I am humbly asking for advice.

3 days ago, my bedroom fan stopped around 5am. We turned it back on and it turned off again 5 minutes later, so we thought we had a bad fan. As an FYI, we can always turn it back on right away after it turns itself off.

So we bought a new fan and thought that was the end of it. Then the second night, same thing happened and then we realized that our living room alexa was rebooting and now the third night, fan turned, alexa rebooted and our fridge reset as well. I noticed the oven light blinking, so that must have been hit too.

The strange thing is, My wife's office and my office never seem to be hit (thankfully!).

So doing some searching, it's possible we could have a neutral bar problem, maybe a loose connection? Also, I traced two different circuits, so it's hitting a 20amp circuit and a 15 amp circuit. All the breakers look good, but i guess if it was a neutral bar issue, breakers wouldn't matter here?

Should I be calling PG&E next to come look before an electrician? I think that is my next step but wanted to get feedback first, thanks! I appreciate any pointers.

BTW, nothing new installed or plugged in at my house. We are in CA and the temps are hovering around 90f, if that matters. But why 5am up until 7am and then the problem disappears the rest of the day?

I've done quite a bit of research, but there is always something missed that usually you only know after you buy the vehicle, so I would appreciate any insight, gotchas, pros, cons, things I didn't think about. Thanks!

This is a spoiler, you've been warned.

I complete early access. I loved it, I wanted more. I can't wait for the next update!

However, somehow I completely missed the >!giant fucking clam!!<How the fuck did I miss it? And then I find out there is a >!portable fucking oxygen generator!!< WTF! I then load up creative and see I missed like 2 or 3 other items. Holy shit! And to be completely honest, I never actually saw the >!shiver leviathan!<. Sure, I saw the >!Collecter!<, backed away from it through the wall and was promptly >!munched by the shiver leviathan, but only saw the inside of it's mouth!<, haha!

Seriously though, I probably missed it because it's fucking scary next to the big deep hole, so I avoided eye contact, went to the wreck and what I needed and bailed and thought, good thing I don't have to go back there anymore.

I posted a week ago about how I moved my FIRE date 2 years sooner to Jan 2028. Since that post, I've decide that I want to retire ASAP. That means the soonest would be Jan 2027. Why? Because I turn 55. That gives me access to the rule of 55, Prop 19(keep same property tax on a bigger and nicer home), and all of my RSUs vest which is about 45K after taxes. I have one more unvested lot, but probably can't touch it until June of next year, so I may not get access to that one before I leave.

So yeah, now I'm obsessed on getting the fuck out! So sometime between Jan 2027 and Jan 2028 is the new time line. Honestly, it might be a bit of a struggle with money up front, but it's really 1st world problems. Oh no, 100K/yer instead of 120K/year!

I have 215 days to hit 55 and 570 days until 56, which is Jan 2028. it feels so far off yet so close at the same time.

About AI. I've been meticulously building my spreadsheet for 10 years. Every penny is counted, it tracks so much. It's really a hobby and constant endorphin rush. It's probably bad for my health lol. Now, with AI, it's gotten crazier! I have built 10 apps easily that keeps track of everything. I stopped using my spreadsheet completely because AI can do it all faster and better and nicer. I can download transactions to track everything, so now, on top of my Boldin clone, I am making a Quicken/Monarch clone. The one downside is, transactions are 1-3 days behind, but that's Ok for retirement, it only sucks for banking. That being said, that's the only downside.

If you are thinking about building something, I can tell you with absolutely certainty, that it is much easier than you think it is. I have a tech background, so that helps, but I am no programmer, I've only built rudimentary scripts in the past. I've canceled my MS 365 subscription, Monarch subscription and only keep Quicken for now. Once the transaction speed is fixed, I will ditch Quicken, too. I do pay for the $100/month Claude plan. I have not maxed it out ever, so I feel like I can do anything at anytime. when I was on the $20 plan, I'd max out in 3 days and I'd have to wait until the end of the week to use it again. I started buying more and more, and I was like, wtf am I doing? just pay the $100 plan.

I don't know what the future holds, but I do know it involves me getting out of the rat race ASAP, hopefully sometime next year.

What are your thoughts? Do any of you make your own apps? How has AI changed FIRE plans for you?

I absolutely loved it. Took me 36 hours which is longer than most, but I kinda of take my time and play slow.

Hopefully UW is listening to feedback. Here's my critique...

1. It's not scary enough. The leviathan class creatures in the game are scary, but the rest of the game isn't. The other creatures are just annoying. The leviathans are easily avoidable and once I figured that out, it was no longer something I was worried about.

2. Too much battery for the tadpole. I felt so relaxed about it and I stopped thinking about batteries until right before I finished the game, my tadpole ran out of battery and I thought the game was bugged. Took me a minute to realize it was the battery, and that's when I realized I had completely stopped thinking about it. In Subnautica 1&2, I was terrified to run out of battery for the vehicles

3. Maybe this is an EA thing, but the lack of depth of the ocean made me feel relatively safe. Hopefully this is just the first 25% of 50% of the game and it goes much deeper (which it sounds like from the end)

4. I think there needs to be more consequences for interacting with dangerous fish. I want to feel a little dread when knowing I'm around certain fish. Keep me on edge, like SN1.

5. Add more music that makes me think twice about going in any direction

6. The barriers need to be invisible and moved out more so you can decide if you want to brave the open ocean. Once I see the barrier, I am no longer afraid.

7. I never felt I was too far from anything and that I could save myself in a bad situation. Even when I tadpole ran out of battery, I had no trouble getting back to my base. Sure, I built it in a strategic location, but I was instantly terrified when I realized I was losing oxygen and my tadpole wasn't moving or saving me.

8. Too many things that give you oxygen under water.

OK, that's all I can think of for now. I guess the underlying theme here is I want to be more terrified and have to really think if I really really want to go that direction. I mostly felt calm and relaxed. That's not how I felt in SN1/2.

I'd love to hear what others think as well. Thanks for the awesome game so far!

We always hear about people pushing it down the road, just another year, etc...but I am so done. My spouse(56F) and I(54M) are ready! Our original date was Jan 2030, but after the most recent layoffs at my work and watching a friend struggle through laying off his entire team (5 people) and deciding to leave himself, I've changed my thinking.

Our new goal is Jan 2028. For anyone counting, that is 1.61 Years, 19 Months, 587 Days.

Of course, the market being insane has me a bit worried about the next correction, but we should hopefully have 300K liquid (183K now) when we FIRE, which should help weather sequence risk and market downturns.

Honestly, the older I get, the more I realize I don't want to waste anymore time working for the man.

Do we have enough? I have a milestone goal, but if we are close enough, that works too. We are about 450K away from meeting our mile stone goal, which I think is doable with a little luck from the market. But who knows.

I'm currently seeing 17.5% YTD with contributions, but only planning for 9.5%/year. Even at 7% it's close enough

I was looking at some pics of the drive label, and although they are synology branded, the model number starts with MG08, which is definitely a Toshiba drive family.

They are one of my least favorite drive vendors.

It took me almost 27 years to reach 1M (not including house or other assets). I accomplished this on 5/17/23. Almost exactly 3 years later, I have 2.5M.

I know the market could drop 30-50% in a matter of weeks, but for now, I'm riding the wave. I will be FIRE'd in 1-3.5 years, market willing. I can't wait!

I save all my money to cash/fixed income now. I still have a "risky" portfolio for someone close to FIRE, but feel like I need to keep trucking along for a bit longer. All new money is HYSA or similar (basically in the 3-5% range).

EDIT: My current allocation is 60% FSKAX(Total Stock), 10% SCHD, 9% SCHG, 10% QQQM, and the rest is in superhero (cash, brokerage, HYSA, bonds, SGOV, JPST, HSA, etc...) and a little in AMD.

Maybe this is old news, but I just got my first Synology a few weeks back.

So, as most of you probably know, there is a cloudsync app. You can connect to your google, onedrive, box accounts and more.

Cool, so it syncs between onedrive cloud and your nas. There are different settings for sync vs. one way only.

I initially set it up and the sync worked great, but I hated that I had a copy on my computer, nas, and onedrive account.

I also hated that I had 5TB more just sitting there for the family plan (my family has no interest in it and I get it at a discount $90/year).

So first thing I did was to make sure the account was done syncing, I then deleted onedrive off of my computer completely. Now, if I need temp storage, I just drop the file in my mapped drive in Windows. I always hated how ondrive worked on the PC, so getting rid of it was great!

OK, on to the star of the show. I wanted to utilize the extra 5TB I have since I'm already paying for office365. So I setup a second account in cloudsync and then created a symbolic link from my (on my nas shares) documents and photos and pointed it at the new onedrive cloud sync. Here's the key, when you setup the task, make sure sync direction is "Upload local changes only" and make sure to tick the box for "Don't remove files in the destination folder when they are removed in the source folder". Of course, you can encrypt the data as well. That's it! Now my photos and documents are backed up to the cloud without paying extra for more cloud storage.

EDIT: forgot to mention this is cheaper than doing say the 5TB plan through C2.

You can do $129/year for 6TB or $199/year for the 6TB plus access to copilot if that interests you.

Compare that to 5TB for $249/year through C2.

The big negative is that it is a little more hassle to go through the MS route, but if you don't mind a little extra work, I think it is worth it.

Some of my family members are lactose intolerant, so we buy Lactaid Milk. The side effect of making this milk is that it is sweeter. Been using it for more than a decade, so I haven't had regular milk in a while.

Fast forward to our last Costco trip, we see they have a new lactaid milk with less sugar. I'm thinking, great! Let's try it!

Nope, my coffee tastes bitter now. Not like Starbucks bitter, but not the smooth, nutty flavor of a good shot (I see you espresso circlejerk). So yeah, turns out I make terrible espressos lol.

The previous post

I finally got everything in a few days back! DS1525+ with 3 x 4TB WD Red Pro drives.

Other than some syncing with my onedrive account being throttled and slow, everything else is done, I think. Which is why I'm reaching out again. Please let me know if I've missed anything.

• I've hardened security. 2FA, Firewall, Auth app, allowing only one machine on my subnet to access the NAS, etc...
• I've migrated everything from my old NAS
• I've setup a 4TB USB backup for now
• Using Active backups, Hyper backups, snapshots, immutable snapshots and more!
• I'm using a 10yr old Intel NUC for compute for homelab/hosting, etc...

Yes, I'm using quickconnect and I'm syncing cloud drive such as OneDrive and Google Drive. I know this is a weak spot, but I'm ok with that.

What else am I missing? Oh! I'm currently using SHR1, will add bigger drives in slots 4 & 5 later. I'm using bout 2.7TB of my 7TB . Thanks for reading!