u/wesley_iles

I’m 29 and looking for some feedback on my plan to open a taxable brokerage account at Fidelity.

I’m currently maxing out my 401K, Roth IRA, and HSA, all invested 100% in VT. I also have around $65k sitting in SPAXX in my Fidelity Cash Management Account. My plan is to keep $30k as an emergency fund and invest another $30k into a taxable brokerage, with an additional $2k in monthly contributions.

Here’s the allocation I’m considering:

• 60% VT – Total World Stock Market
• 20% BND – Total Bond Market
• 20% SGOV – Short-Term Treasury Bills

My goal is to use this brokerage for two purposes. First, as a bridge account for early retirement, ideally around age 45-50. Second, as a flexible investment account that I can occasionally withdraw from for larger life purchases, such as a vacation, home improvements, or potentially a down payment on another house.

The home purchase isn’t a definite plan, so I don’t think I want to keep all that money sitting in cash for something that may never happen.

I understand that withdrawing during a market downturn isn’t ideal, but that’s part of why I’m considering a 60/20/20 allocation rather than going 100% VT. My thinking is that BND and SGOV would provide some stability and allow me to avoid selling stocks during a downturn when possible.

Since my retirement accounts are already 100% equities, I figured something more conservative would work for me.

A few questions:

1. Does 60/20/20 make sense for these goals, or am I being too conservative with a 15+ year investment horizon?
2. Would you recommend 70/15/15 instead?
3. Is holding BND in a taxable brokerage worth the tax drag, or would you structure things differently?
4. Does using one taxable brokerage for both early retirement and occasional major purchases make sense, or should I separate those goals entirely?

I’m trying to find a balance between growing my investments for early retirement and actually being able to enjoy some of my money along the way.

Appreciate any thoughts or criticism of the strategy!

For the navy reservist officers in this community. What are your designators and how much time commitment do you give to the Navy outside of the 1 weekend a month drill and 2 weeks a year AT? It seems like its hard to find much information about this.

- I am 28, Master's from Georgetown University in Cybersecurity Risk Management, GPA 3.7

- 4 years active duty Navy as an IT with two combat deployments, got out as an IT2 with multiple MP and EP evals and leadership positions like ISWO and Work center Supervisor.

- 9+ years of Cybersecurity experience (including the Navy), for Fortune 100 companies.

- CISSP and CISM certifications.

- Active TS/SCI

- Volunteers as a CyberPatriot Mentor helping mentor K-12 students towards a career in cybersecurity or other STEM fields.

I am wondering if this is what the IWC board is looking for or if I would even be competitive enough. The reason I ask is I am wondering if I need to show more leadership experience/potential. Are there any other DCO's in the IWC community who could potentially mentor me? I am looking at 1825 and 1885 for CSWO and MCWO designations.

I sleep 7-8 hours a night and generally have decent sleep hygiene but it’s still hard for me to get out of bed In the mornings and I just feel sleepy/tired most of the mornings/afternoons. My eyes and dark circles are also bad looking.

I had a sleep study and it found no sleep apnea.

Does anyone else experience this? Or is this something outside of VSS

Just moved into a home that is on a well but somewhat near a city water main hookup.

The well has been giving me tremendous iron and sediment problems since day one, so I have been shopping for how much a city water hookup would be.

For the county direct and indirect fees, it is $10200. The contractor then quoted me $16400 for connection to the water main, boring under the road, hooking up to house plumbing and disposing/killing the well and the associated systems with it. So $26600 in total.

Should I pursue the city water or spend that money trying to see what is wrong with the well? The well is 4 years old and 168 feet deep by the way, was told by the drilling company it was drilled into a lot of broken limestone and shale so it will probably always produce a lot of sediment but have not done a formal inspection of it yet.

Just moved into a home that is on a well but somewhat near a city water main hookup.

The well has been giving me tremendous iron and sediment problems since day one, so I have been shopping for how much a city water hookup would be.

For the county direct and indirect fees, it is $10200. The contractor then quoted me $16400 for connection to the water main, boring under the road, hooking up to house plumbing and disposing/killing the well and the associated systems with it. So $26600 in total.

Should I pursue the city water or spend that money trying to see what is wrong with the well? The well is 4 years old and 168 feet deep by the way, was told it was drilled into a lot of broken limestone and shale

Hi everyone,

I’m a 28-year-old who has been dealing with neurological symptoms for about 2 years now. My main issues are fatigue, brain fog and visual snow syndrome. These seemed to have started to progressively get worse after a covid infection back in January of 2024. About a month afterwards I began to have panic attacks and DPDR, then not long after these symptoms started to come on gradually.

Below are my symptoms:

Fatigue/Sleepiness:

• ⁠Always feeling like I need to take a nap even though I sleep 7-8 hours a night and have good sleeping habits (I do not have sleep apnea).
• ⁠Low energy and anhedonia.
• ⁠Lack of motivation
• ⁠Dark Circles under eyes

Brain Fog:

• ⁠Hazy and unclear thoughts and hard-to-picture events that took place
• ⁠Bad Short and Long Term memory
• ⁠Hard for me to do math or write essays as complex thoughts are unable to form
• ⁠Sense of humor is much worse now
• ⁠Feeling dreamy all the time.
• ⁠Everything looks weird, it is like my brain is not processing what I am seeing. Might be DPDR

Visual Snow Syndrome:

• ⁠Static
• ⁠Palinopsia/Trailing
• ⁠Severe BFEP and Floaters
• ⁠Light Sensitivity
• ⁠Night Blindness
• ⁠Tinnitus

Other Issues:

Ear fullness and popping
• ⁠Head pressure and headaches
• ⁠Waking up feeling tired and never fully rested even though I sleep 7-8 hours a night and don't have Sleep Apnea.
• ⁠Occasional dizziness and motion issues that I did not have before.
• ⁠Anxiety issues.

I have had an MRI, bloodwork and other tests done and it all comes back that I am very healthy. I have a good diet, sleep 7-8 hours a night, take supplements don't smoke or drink and I exercise and will be doing yoga and mediation soon to see if that helps calm my nervous system.

My questions is, does anyone else have these symptoms and what does this all sound like it is? Do I have long covid? Should I test for Lyme or other things? If so, what should I do with my life from here on out?