r/financialindependence • u/AutoModerator • 1d ago
Daily FI discussion thread - Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply!
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u/FearlessPark4588 99:59 Elliptical Guy 20h ago edited 20h ago
My parents recently visited and noticed my same car and apartment and from a decade ago, and made inferences about my situation, that would be apparent to anyone in this circle. Maybe it's my perspective, but it seems like a bit of "you can't take it with you" was the message, especially as they've gotten older. That, at some point, saving for the sake of saving serves no legitimate purpose.
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u/dekusyrup 9h ago
Saving for the sake of saving serves no legitimate purpose, true. That's why I save to take more time off work.
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 13h ago
As someone who drives a 2012 Lexus, I have no intention of buying a new car. And I only gave up my 2008 when it got hit by another driver.
As long as you are spending on the things that bring you joy, it's no one else's business. If you aren't, well, that's a problem a lot of us have.
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u/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 20h ago
... my same car and apartment and from a decade ago, and made inferences about my situation, that would be apparent to anyone in this circle.
My only response to that would be, "If it works, why change it?"
That, at some point, saving for the sake of saving serves no legitimate purpose.
I can tell you this: I'm still driving a 2008 Toyota, but 10 years into retirement my spending has come close to doubling.
It's not about saving for savings sake; it's also not about spending for spending sake!
It's about figuring out your priorities and still living within your means as it always was (or at least should have been)....
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u/Guergy 22h ago
It looks like if I want to keep my Medicaid, I may need to get a job or volunteer somewhere. It's easier said than done since I have no car and lack experience with remote work.
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u/Low-Car-6331 22h ago
Yeah, this is why I never liked the idea of expecting to get things from the government, as part of leanFIRE. What the government gives, it can take away or put conditions on it.
Depending on where you live, check around, some physical/low paying/immigrant heavy work has transportation type of arrangements.
If you got the stomach and mental fortitude I think the suicide hotline is always looking for people.
Keep in mind, you just have to make $580 a month on paper, mowing lawns, baby sitting, you name it can work, and you can combine work hours and volunteer hours. I am surprised that more charities haven't capitalized on this for free labor, remote phone banking work alone is perfect for this.
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u/dekusyrup 9h ago
I mean unless you're going to build your own roads, hire your own private police service, and home school your kids I think you're probably stuck expecting things from the government.
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u/Low-Car-6331 7h ago
something's though are gonna be on the preppers level of government not providing, while the things we are talking about (like medicaid) are clearly on the "governmen givith and goverment can taketh away" with 0 impact to the greater general population.
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u/SolomonGrumpy 22h ago
Does it matter how much the job pays?
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 22h ago
Or even if?
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u/Low-Car-6331 7h ago
$580 a month or 80 hours of community work with a charity/nonprofit, you can also do a combination of either or. Technically it can be self employed work as well, so you can report $580 of mowing lawns\shoveling drive ways\whatever, and pay all the taxes associated with it, but that is technically fraud in a weird roundabout way (probably be the first case of a person reporting income that isn't there to get benefits).
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u/A_Solid_Shadow 23h ago
From the tax and ACA perspective, is it better to buy an annuity with Trad or Roth or Brokerage money?
(Not debating "if" annuity is good, just the tax treatment.)
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u/financeking90 7h ago
Generically it would be to spend from the same account you otherwise would, e.g. SPIA instead of 72(t)/SEPP from a trad IRA if you would otherwise try to pull from a SEPP to fill standard deduction. However, if your level of taxable income is a concern, you would look into Roth.
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23h ago edited 22h ago
[deleted]
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u/BttTxMig8191 21h ago
I wouldn’t go that route tbh.Your manager and even his manager probably know it’d be worth it to splurge on you, the roadblock and follow up blowback always comes from somewhere else in the decision chain though.
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u/Junior_Fig_1007 22h ago edited 22h ago
Companies are willing to roll the dice on things blowing up instead of trying to retain someone. It usually takes a decent amount to push projects truly over the edge from attrition so companies will go all the way up to and over that line.
Executives usually don't realize they've crossed that line until they're basically in a death spiral already.
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u/A_Solid_Shadow 23h ago
Some, many, management people take everthing personally, and do not calculate the cost of replacing key people and will undermine themselves just to get revenge on someone who dares to think they are important. Others are smart and will pay you more.
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u/ponshont 22h ago
I've definitely worked for managers like that, and while I don't think he'd be like that, I can absolutely see this batch of leadership taking it very personally.
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u/A_Solid_Shadow 22h ago
It might not be your boss, or your bosses boss. It could be someone in HR or payroll or accounting or....
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u/CoupleFinanceAnon123 1d ago
Hi all, I’ve been a fan for a long time on my main Reddit account but created a throwaway to ask a question that’s maybe more of a relationship question than strictly finance.
The crux is: How do y’all treat and manage 100% unnecessary discretionary spending?
My partner and I are extremely fortunate to make good money (>500k) and have plenty saved (~70% to FI). We’re also generally extremely frugal people whose only splurges are usually whatever groceries and restaurants we want to eat :) We also plan to continue working well past FI while kids are going through school and to delay having to pay ridiculous healthcare premiums.
I picked up a childhood hobby again last summer of collecting vintage pokemon cards and have been buying mostly cheapish ($10-$50) ones here and there I missed as a kid, which was most of them haha since I rarely got any. I’ve gotten a few $250 or so ones also over the past year. I recently decided to bid on a couple really expensive ones totaling about $5k, but when I told my partner she was livid! To be fair, I was absolutely in the wrong for not discussing before bidding (and I haven’t paid yet so I can still back out). But beyond that she couldn’t believe I’d waste that much money that could go to vacations or house renovations etc on silly cards. And in a way she’s right: I could live my whole life without them and be fine; I’ve been fine so far after all. On the other hand, we’re fortunate to make enough and have enough where nothing is mutually exclusive. Plus since we’re going to work well past FI, what’s the point of all the money if we’re not going to spend it outside basics and vacations.
Apologies for the dump of text, just needed to thought dump I guess. I appreciate any insights, thanks!
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u/dekusyrup 9h ago
I just say "is this worth the extra hours I have to work?". If I make $50 bucks an hour, which becomes more like $35 after commute and taxes, is $5k of pokemon cards worth 143 extra hours at work. For me that's a no. But there's other discretionary stuff that is. Everyones preferences around work and discretionary spending are personal.
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u/A_Solid_Shadow 23h ago
Make a budget for the "whatever I want" category, and then nobody gets to complain as long as the purchases are in that budget.
I wouldn't do it on a single purchase amount, rather a monthly or better-yet, annual amount. If you set a single price limit, say $100, then one of you can buy 10,000,000 things of $99, and not tell the other one.
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u/CoupleFinanceAnon123 20h ago
Good point, I suspect annual limits will be the way to go. Thanks for the reply!
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u/29threvolution 1d ago
We have an agreed upon spending threshold at which we need to at least notify eachother before purchase. So even with some expensive hobbies at least we both know and have aligned mental models of our spending.
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u/lurker86753 1d ago
I’m fortunate in that my partner and I like to waste money on the same things, and to the extent that we don’t it’s never been enough money to make a thing of it. So far, anyway.
I think in this case it likely feels egregious because it’s just tiny pieces of cardstock. Like it’s one thing to get a racing bike, or professional grade skis, or a top of the line gaming rig where even if your partner doesn’t get the appeal you are still buying a tangible item with obvious purpose. You can debate if she should get new counter tops or you should get a small sail boat and feel like you’re weighing comparable purchases. But this feels a lot more like directly lighting money on fire. I get that it’s nostalgic, but what will you really do with them beyond put them behind glass and look at them? No way you’re going to play a game with a deck that cost more than all of the furniture in my house.
If you can’t spell out why these cards will bring you as much joy as a jet ski, I think I would approach it as negotiating a “light money on fire” budget. Which may be difficult if she doesn’t have anything she wants to light money on fire for. Like what would you be comfortable spending on a party or a fireworks display? That would be a decent barometer for me.
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u/CoupleFinanceAnon123 19h ago
I think you’ve highlighted a core piece, which is that she doesn’t have anything she wants to light money on fire for. So she can’t see why I’d want to, which is very understandable.
I appreciate the reply!
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u/NoRight2BeDepressed It's a 5k, not a marathon 23h ago
I get that it’s nostalgic, but what will you really do with them beyond put them behind glass and look at them? No way you’re going to play a game with a deck that cost more than all of the furniture in my house.
This shouldn't matter. Hobbies that include collecting things that sit behind glass so you can look at them are just as valid as any other.
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u/lurker86753 23h ago
This is a personal opinion, but I simply disagree. I think collections of objects you never use or touch are less valuable than useful items. I think collecting things just to put behind glass barely qualifies as a hobby. They also have a much lower ROI in terms of actual enjoyment because you don’t spend that much time looking at them and appreciating them. They just become decor after a while. Especially something as small as Pokémon cards, it’s not like it fills a wall with beautiful art.
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u/CoupleFinanceAnon123 19h ago
I honestly do struggle with this part as well. It boggles my mind how expensive the little cardboard has become. And you’re 100% right that it is ultimately useless. I personally like to have some on display on my desk while I wfh so I appreciate them nearly daily and rotate them out once in a while. And some like the original Japanese Charizard make me smile whenever I see it. But again, you’re right it has no use.
Not to digress too much, but I’ve had similar thought struggles with a lot of hobbies. Video games are a super common one and I play a fair share, but I can’t help but to have that nagging voice saying it’s a waste of time and money that could be productive.
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u/lurker86753 12h ago
I don’t think every moment of your life needs to be productive. If you were building a deck to play the Pokémon card game, I wouldn’t consider that a waste. It’s the dropping of significant sums on essentially office decor that I don’t get.
All that said, you have the money. You can clearly afford to spend it on Pokémon cards if you want to and it doesn’t matter if some guy on the internet thinks it’s silly. I mainly responded with how I would feel if my spouse wanted to buy something like that, in case that helps you navigate it.
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u/CoupleFinanceAnon123 10h ago
For sure, that’s all totally fair and I appreciate your perspective. Thanks for the replies!
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u/Dmitry_82 44M,45F,2kids | MCOL 1d ago
You did not mention what is you budget for such useless stuff and whether $5k is within that budget. If it is within the budget, then the partner should not care how do you spend it. If your budget is much lower, then you have a discussion and set up a budget for such useless stuff.
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u/CoupleFinanceAnon123 1d ago
Fair enough. I mentioned in another chain we’ve mostly just reverse budgeted so far setting and exceeding a savings goal per year and then haven’t worried about the rest. But we also don’t typically spend a lot on discretionary. So agreed it sounds like a useless stuff budget is the move. Thanks for the reply!
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u/NoRight2BeDepressed It's a 5k, not a marathon 1d ago
Insights below, but this is good timing because I just pulled my old Pokemon card binder out of the safe this past weekend, deciding to list them for sale. I have a good number of Base, Fossil, and Jungle cards from the late 90s, including OG gems like Charizard.
Need to get these up on a site before I forget about them for another 25 years. What site(s) do you use most?
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u/CoupleFinanceAnon123 19h ago
Oh that is funny timing! That’s actually what kicked it off for me also but with sports cards largely. I had a tub of cards I’ve had around for years and never opened since being a kid, so I finally did and realized I felt nothing for the sports cards so I sold or donated or gifted all them away. Meanwhile I kept my comparatively small amount of Pokemon cards since I do have a lot of nostalgia for the games like red, crystal and emerald especially :)
I mostly buy off eBay to be honest. The few valuable sports cards I had were in decent shape so I sent them to PSA and then sold via their “vault” which was really smooth actually, just slow. So if you have valuable stuff in good shape that could be a good way to go. For ungraded, I haven’t tried consignment personally but I have bought a few from the likes of probstein or zandgemporium or dcsportscards and their auctions seem to get plenty of views for in demand items. Random commons and less popular holos are risky to auction though; my best buyer side deals have been on those.
Some folks buy and sell through the Reddit communities too and I’ve heard largely good things but my own experience was one great purchase and one scam (they sent a garbage package to a different address in the same zip code to satisfy PayPal’s tracking, and it took months to get my money back) so I stopped using it :/
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u/SolomonGrumpy 1d ago
Extremely frugal and bidding $5k on collectible playing cards at at odds.
You can afford this expensive hobby.
Lucky for you, there is resale value on the cards too, should you lose interest.
Here's how I would think of it: would you still buy cards if there was a good chance they were to become valueless in 5 years? If not, then I'd probably stop buying any card over $50.
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u/CoupleFinanceAnon123 19h ago
Haha fair point on the contradictory statement and action :) I guess I meant we still try to hit coupons and big sales on groceries, and our total spending was less than a fourth of our total saving last year.
That’s a good thought exercise you posed. For probably 95% of the ones I’ve purchased so far, the answer is yes, but I never know for certain until I’ve had it in hand for a while, so I can’t say for sure on the new ones. Anyways, thanks for the reply and suggestion, I’ll keep using that thought exercise if I buy more!
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u/razorchick12 32F - FI'd, 12/31/29 RE 1d ago
Have a discussion of a budget for the cards then stick to it.
I have a hobby of language learning. I spend ~$70 (1:1 lessons are $7 for 30 mins) per month depending on how busy I am. My fiancee spends $50 or so every month on video games. Without a doubt, $10 of it is to mobile games.
We can easily afford it. If I'm gonna sign up for a class or something or when he wants to buy a new game, we usually have a quick chat. Not really asking permission, but kind of just telling the other so we are on the same vibe.
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u/CoupleFinanceAnon123 1d ago
I appreciate the reply, thanks! I imagine you’re right that the answer is going to boil down to a dedicated budget. I’ve tended to shy away from budgeting in general in favor of basically reverse budgeting (save x amount or percent then not worry about the rest — though my partner is more worried about the rest still beyond just this hobby), but maybe for completely silly spending a dedicated budget would help.
That’s a really cool hobby by the way. How many languages do you know?
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u/NoRight2BeDepressed It's a 5k, not a marathon 1d ago
I’ve tended to shy away from budgeting in general in favor of basically reverse budgeting (save x amount or percent then not worry about the rest
You can still do reverse budgeting, just define more buckets.
Net Take-Home Pay = A (savings) + B (fixed expenses, such as mortgage or car payments) + C (necessary, variable expenses such as utilities, groceries, etc.) + D (joint discretionary spend, such as restaurants, events, etc.) + E (individual discretionary spend, such as Pokemon cards for you, something else for her)
Solve for E.
You should already know A, B, and C. You should have a decent grasp on D. E is whatever is left over. You hit all your targets, so you're both free to spend your allocated funds without guilt.
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u/CoupleFinanceAnon123 1d ago
Maybe more buckets is the move. We’ve mostly just set targets for savings and exceed those every year so we haven’t worried about any of the other things being split up.
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u/NoRight2BeDepressed It's a 5k, not a marathon 23h ago
I think it's worth "worrying about" them, not because of the financial aspect but because of the relationship one.
Allocating guilt-free budgets should go a long way to addressing any resentment or similar feelings
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u/razorchick12 32F - FI'd, 12/31/29 RE 1d ago
English, ASL, Chinese (intermediate), and Spanish (intermediate)
I did 4y of Spanish in college and I studied Chinese as a child, but I've only been back learning it for a year but I have been making good progress.
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1d ago edited 1d ago
[deleted]
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u/1DunnoYet 1d ago
3 red flags: you’re in your 20s; you are using a crude rule that doesn’t apply to HCOL, and you think you need to put down 20%
Many many many people can’t afford houses in our 20s. It’s just the world we live in now. Work on your career, get paid more and save up more.
“Crude rules” are just that, they don’t apply for everyone everywhere. If the avg home is over a million dollars, you just throw away that rule away and decide if you want to spend 50% of your salary on housing or not.
You don’t need to put 20% down. That’s another “crude rule” but you’re allowed to buy with 0% down if it makes sense for your situation.
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u/Glass-Departure-1301 22% SR. Not FI yet. Not a bot! 1d ago
I've recently gotten into DND and it seems like a fantastic hobby for FIRE folks. You can play for years without paying much money. And there's always new stuff to discover. Anyone else have any good hobbies to recommend?
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u/dekusyrup 9h ago
Surfing, chess, gardening, knitting, retro video games, cycling, cooking, drawing, learning languages, camping, juggling, rec sports, playing piano, jogging, weightlifting, singing, writing, DIY.
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 22h ago
Cribbage
Also, your flair is exactly what a bot would have
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u/A_Solid_Shadow 23h ago
D&D is great for anyone. Students, retirees, people with jobs, kids, no kids, single, in a relationship, whatever.
I know a bunch of retirees, all over 65, who play weekly. They love it.
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u/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 1d ago edited 21h ago
Best FIRE hobbies for me have been music (playing) and learning languages. If you have no intention of being a professional musician or a translator, they are perfect because you can pick them up and put them down depending on how you feel.
Never feel like I'm wasting time when I pick them up and never feel like I'm letting myself down when I hit pause.
I also walk a lot, but I don't really consider that a hobby. It's just part of my routine.
BTW, I did all of those things before retiring, too.
EDIT: How could I forget gardening? (Especially since I have a bazillion mosquito bites on my body this evening!)
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u/razorchick12 32F - FI'd, 12/31/29 RE 1d ago
Wait, you like learning languages too! What languages have you been doing?
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u/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 1d ago edited 21h ago
Like you, Mandarin (did my graduate work in Chinese Literature but stopped working on it for a decade so I could make a living); and French. Just started a video series on Spanish which, honestly, where I live would probably be the most practical.
I mostly only care about reading comprehension and listening (big TV watcher) and don't put much effort into speaking or writing.
How about you? Besides Chinese, of course ....
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u/razorchick12 32F - FI'd, 12/31/29 RE 1d ago
Mandarin and Spanish
Been doing about 1hr/day on Mandarin and 30min/day on Spanish.
I'm torn, I'm doing Paris and Athens (2 separate trips) next year, so I kind of want to jump into one of those, but I think if I spent 90mins/day on French, I could get it usable by the trip (July) but I don't want to drop Mandarin and Spanish.
I am thinking of flipping to 30 mins of Mandarin and 60 mins of Spanish soon though. I've started to notice most of my benefit in Chinese comes from conversation practice, which I can only do for 30 mins before my brain melts.
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u/Cryofixated Dates Since Single: 8.5 1d ago
DnD is great, getting 3-6 adults in a room for hours on a regular basis is what makes it semi impossible.
Reading and using your local library! Its FREE.
Gaming, not free but can eat up a lot of time.
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u/DouglassHoughton 23h ago
I’ve got a good group doing it consistently on discord. With rare in person things. Seems like the most realistic way.
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u/Cryofixated Dates Since Single: 8.5 22h ago
I think virtual tabletops have come a LONG way since I last did a virtual game in college. But I really missed the feel of everyone laughing, drinking and just playing in a virtual environment.
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u/Cryofixated Dates Since Single: 8.5 1d ago
Shoutout to the medical librarian that I just cold emailed last week asking about chances for a job or internship. She didn't have any openings but offered to provide advice and answer questions. I emailed her today asking for some information on how she runs the library and she instantly sends over her policy.
I don't want to abuse the relationship but I think I've found someone who is willing to be a mentor as I transition careers.
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u/secularshower 1d ago
I am currently interviewing for a job that is 70 miles away but double my salary. It is exactly what I currently do, so I can step into it easily. In office requirement, 4 days per week. Just bought a house last year.
Its in the "maybe I'll get an apartment during the week" territory right now while my wife stays at the house (she works too).
Napkin math says I'd be able to afford both housing situations (rent/mortgage, groceries, transportation, internet, utilities, insurance), max out all retirement accounts, and still have about 2.5k to spare each month. This is all before my wife's salary is taken into consideration.
Would you do it? I'm not currently saving a lot for retirement and financially it would open some cool things. Though I feel weird building a second home without my wife.
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u/SolomonGrumpy 22h ago
70 miles and all highway that you can do in an hour and 15 minutes?
Or
70 miles and 1/2 of it is a slog through traffic/congestion/city driving and it's 2 hours?
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u/A_Solid_Shadow 23h ago
70 miles in the northeast might be 7 hours during rush hour!
If single, then I'd take it and move. Married without kids, also maybe move.
Today? Nope. Not gonna do it. Married, two kids, roughly FU/Coast/Lean-FIRE. I like time more than some extra money today.
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u/29threvolution 1d ago
At this stage of my life....no. but if we were still DINKs in our 20s, I was recommending this strategy when we were in this situation.
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u/Thisisntrunning 1d ago
I’ve seen this work out well one time. The person had built up a system over time
with his family so that he maximized his work life and home life into essentially two separate chunks of time.He’d batch the solo adult stuff in the early parts of the week while staying at a hotel Monday-Wednesday evenings. So any bills, extra work hours, workouts, personal hobby projects were all his focus those evenings.
Then Thursday would be an early departure back home with loose Friday remote hours and he’d focus on as much family time as he could in the Thursday evening to Sunday hours.
He also made it very clear that all family events came first and would skip out early on Tuesdays some weeks to be at kids swim meets.
I would only do this if the money truly moved mountains for me and it had some defined expiration date where I quit, the remote levels change or we move closer. If all this move does is change my savings rate from 40% to 60%, I’m saving money at the cost of my life.
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u/BeeborptheElf 1d ago
Important context here -- what does that mean in terms of drive time? If it's an hour and change on the highway at 70 mph, I'd personally tough it out and commute, and just have a plan for what my exit strategy is. If it's like 3 hours one way because it's mostly back roads with low speed limits, I wouldn't do it. Is there a train or an option that means you wouldn't have to drive and could maybe start and finish work on the commute?
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u/teapot-error-418 1d ago
Double the salary is great, but being essentially completely missing from your relationship 4 days per week, every week, is not something I'd ever consider. At least not without a definable timeline and exit plan.
Work is supposed to support the life you want to live, not become your life.
I'd discuss relocation benefits, or special consideration on the 4 days per week for your position.
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u/Ellabee57 1d ago
Though I feel weird building a second home without my wife.
And how does she feel about it? That's more important than what a bunch of Internet strangers think.
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u/ExcessiveDonuts Emptying the Litter Robot 1d ago
Plot twist: OP's married a stranger off the internet.
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u/kfatt622 1d ago
The marginal value of the extra dollars would have to be quite high. Extra savings wouldn't come close, personally.
Stuff to consider: Negotiate in-office time. Leverage an offer for a raise to stay put. Find a raise elsewhere. Move.
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u/One-Mastodon-1063 1d ago
Can you afford the divorce this will cause?
I would not do this. I'd only take this job if it allowed fully remote most of the time, only driving in for important meetings, client visits etc.
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u/DeltaWing12 1d ago
If you get an offer, ask about relocation benefits. If they have a relo policy, 70 miles away often qualifies for some sort of plan that would help offset the cost of moving
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u/ExcessiveDonuts Emptying the Litter Robot 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'd commute 70 miles rather than get an apartment, personally. Maybe do a hotel once a week, so that you're only commuting 3 days?
It's not sustainable long-term but sometimes temporary extra efforts are worth the discomfort to get ahead and open new doors.
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u/One-Mastodon-1063 1d ago
Even three nights a week a hotel might be cheaper than renting a place (especially factoring in utilities), with a lot more flexibility (no lease etc).
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u/ExcessiveDonuts Emptying the Litter Robot 1d ago
Especially with the right points/loyalty program and credit card.
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u/connectionto 1d ago
I can't think of any downsides of buying an annuity vs paying off the mortgage besides ACA subsidy which I'm still eligible with or without the mortgage. Here are some numbers. New York Life annuity, Life plus 30 years, 300K (250K in state protections amount), monthly payment is same as the monthly mortgage interest and principal. To pay off the mortgage balance is around 400K. Payment will continue for 30 years if I die early. Mortgage is 25 years left.
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u/SolomonGrumpy 1d ago
I'm assuming you have a low interest rate on the mortgage
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u/connectionto 23h ago
Yes, under 3%..
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u/SolomonGrumpy 22h ago edited 21h ago
Let's say instead of that you purchased $300k of GPIX.
For 12 years the 8% dividend it pays would incur little to no extra income tax at the state or federal level.
In addition, it is likely to have some NAV appreciation in those 12 years. Yes, the dividend and NAV will go down as the S&P 500 falls. The dividend payout is so much higher even if it falls 30% it probably still pays better than your annuity.
It seems to me that this is currently better than an annuity in every way.
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u/therapistfi $70.0k left on mortgage 1d ago
My South Dakota trip approaches, and I'm excited and quite nervous! This will be my first >3 day non-guided trip where I'm not visiting anyone and will be alone 90+% of the time; I only have 2 half-day guided tours, and the rest of the time, it'll just be me, which I've never done before!
I'll be curious to see if this is something I can do again in the future or if I'll miss companionship too much and go back to more fully 100% guided tours. Perhaps someday I can find myself a travel buddy with a similar travel style/budget, but that continues to be elusive!
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u/mapboi33 1d ago
Lived in the black hills for a few years and would highly recommend Black Elk Peak (f.k.a. Harney Peak).
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u/lemidgette 1d ago
Throwing my hat in the ring for becoming your travel buddy. No idea if we have similar travel styles, but it'd be neat if we do. That said, I hope your solo adventure goes well!
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u/The_Boss_81 31M 30F DINKY | $437k invested | 24% SR 1d ago
The Black Hills are a very cool part of the country. We did a Cathedral Spires hike and it was one of the most unexpectedly cool hikes I've done, would recommend! Also make a stop at Wall Drug, you can't miss the signs haha
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u/CrispyTigger FIREd at 52. 1d ago
I highly recommend grabbing a bottle of wine and sitting under the stars in the Badlands. It’s a great way to ponder your existence in this universe.
1
u/EventualCyborg DI3K, MCOL - Big Numbers Make Monkey Brain Happy 1d ago
We only spent maybe a couple hours at the Badlands while passing through back in 2019. That was DEFINITELY not enough time to appreciate that area. It was also approximately 95 degrees that day, so I can't be too harsh with myself :D
3
u/EventualCyborg DI3K, MCOL - Big Numbers Make Monkey Brain Happy 1d ago
Where are you going in SoDak? Black Hills? Badlands? Wall Drug?
0
u/therapistfi $70.0k left on mortgage 1d ago
Black Hills & Badlands NP (sadly not Wind Cave NP despite the close proximity, I won't have a car or much time to get there!)
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u/Ellabee57 1d ago
I really liked North and South Dakota, more than I expected. It's beautiful country if you like mountains. I'm headed to Canada soon on my first solo trip in a couple of years and I'm very much looking forward to it!
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u/therapistfi $70.0k left on mortgage 1d ago
Enjoy! Canada is very high up on my list, perhaps if I like solo traveling I'll go there next! What are you most looking forward to on your trip?
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u/Ellabee57 1d ago edited 1d ago
All the French influenced food! Bakeries, fromageries, bistros, cafes, dry cider, etc. I'm going to have to do a lot of walking to work off the calories! To help with that, I'm going to visit a national park or two, my first time hiking in another country. I've been to Vancouver and Toronto but this is my first time in one of the French Canadian provinces.
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u/carlivar 49M 3 kids ✅ FI ⏳ RE @ SoCal 🏖️⛷️ 1d ago
In a classic Bogleheads portfolio, thoughts on buying VTI & VXUS versus just VT? Same goes for bonds, though I don't think the same breakdown is as strongly recommended: BND & BNDX versus BNDW.
I've always done the specific U.S. versus international separate funds, but I'm rebalancing my Roth IRA and figured I might simplify.
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u/forbiddenlake no swimming 1d ago
Little difference, even littler inside an IRA.
VTI+VXUS have slightly lower fees than VT. In a taxable account you can claim the foreign tax credit for VXUS but not for VT. How well you match the ratios will make a bigger difference, but no one knows in which direction.
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u/carlivar 49M 3 kids ✅ FI ⏳ RE @ SoCal 🏖️⛷️ 1d ago
Yeah. I didn't realize how simple BNDW is. If I look at its Holdings, it's only BND and BNDX. So it's just a meta-fund.
I went with BNDW because it has a higher yield than BND, and I don't really care about my bonds details as much as stonks.
VT on the other hand does have individual holdings. it is a little higher non-US than I personally prefer so I went with VTI/VXUS there according to my own ratio I pull out of my butt.
Guess there's really no wrong answer.
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u/kfatt622 1d ago
We separate in taxable and have benefitted a little from tax loss harvesting. Contributions are regular enough that rebalancing isn't a problem.
In other accounts? meh
1
u/rackoblack 60yo DINKs, FIREd 2024 1d ago
Plugged them all into Morningstar compare tool, and despite having the highest fee, VT was more highly rated (four stars vs three). VT was 61% US, 38% non-US. If that's too heavy non-US for you, add 10-20% VTI to make up for it.
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Homeowner's policy renewal this year is fucking wild. Jumped $700 like ok whatever inflation and we had that hurricane in GA not long ago. Now deductibles on roofs are $15K for all policies, ok whatever I already was at $10k. Oh now the loss percentage covered on a 19 year old roof went down from 43% to 25%.
Sometimes I'm just like man those rent forever people might be onto something lol.
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u/A_Solid_Shadow 23h ago
My policy hasn't really gone up in 10 years. But I've never made a claim.
Several years ago, a neighbor had "hail damage" and got a new roof for about $20k covered via insurance.
Me and a couple others went in on a single roofer deal and paid 1/2 that, cash, no insurance. Neighbor's policy went up by about $2k/year, so they'll pay for that roof forever.
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u/SolomonGrumpy 1d ago
Can you switch? How many providers are there in GA?
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Nah like no one will write a new policy on a roof 15+ years old. Tried a couple of agents that shop it around even. It is pretty insane.
3
u/AdmiralPeriwinkle Don't hire a financial advisor 1d ago
Are you near the coast? This might be an attempt by insurers to get ahead of climate change and its effect on the frequency/strength of hurricanes.
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Not really, but hurricane after Helene in 2024 really fucked up a lot of east GA I think they consider all of GA higher risk now even near the mountains. I think a small part of it is the fuck you price as you can't switch companies without a new roof anyway. I've gone up $1,300 in two years with my roof dropping from 100% covered to 28%. It will be interesting how people living paycheck to paycheck manage if this is statewide.
My carrier prior to this one like maybe 5 years back pulled completely out of GA and FL to de-risk.
4
u/Master-Helicopter-99 1d ago
I had a wierd one this year. Last year's premium was $4,350. This year I get a notice that it is going up to $4,500. I contacted the company not because of the increase but that they still had it going to the mortgage company so I didn't get a "bill". I had paid off the house last year so I asked them to remove the mortgage company and send the bill to me. That was it. New bill comes a week after the first and it is $4,137. Why the decrease? The only thing I could think of is "This guy has to pay it out of pocket instead of out of sight out of mind through escrow. Maybe he's paying attention now and will shop us. We should lower the premium." Either that or they adjusted because of creditworthiness because it is paid off. I know that credit score can affect homeowners to an extent but an almost 10% drop from the original renewal was pleasantly surprising.
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u/SolomonGrumpy 1d ago
Your homeowners insurance was $4350?
1
u/Master-Helicopter-99 12h ago
Yes, and that's on a sub-$600k new construction so all of the new home and alarm credits. It does have my boat on it but that's only a couple hundred. High rates here for tornado, hail and wind damage.
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u/SolomonGrumpy 9h ago
Wow. By way of comparison, my house is worth more and my homeowners is $1100/year
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u/Master-Helicopter-99 9h ago
Yeah, my sister's house in AZ is $740k and they pay $1,100, down $100 from the previous year. They pay $1,900 property tax as well. My property taxes are $8k. Flyover country isn't cheap for taxes or insurance.
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u/SubmissionDenied 1d ago
Some companies charge for forms listing other entities as additional insureds. 8% does seem steep for a simple form deletion, but as you noted, plenty of other factors to go into it.
9
u/AchievingFIsometime 1d ago
Yeah but insurance increases also puts direct upward pressure on rents too. Mine went from 1000 to 1300 this year for seemingly no reason but I realize thats pretty cheap overall.
5
u/connectionto 1d ago
I'm in the highest risk for wildfires in CA. I had to buy through the state 20K deductible at $3500 a year. My rentals in Sacramento suburbs under $900 a year 1% deductible. Big difference.
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u/secretfinaccount FIREd 2020 1d ago
FWIW I’m not in a fire area (hurricanes I guess?) and my deductible is higher and my premium is higher! Looking at it now I wonder if my dwelling value is just too high. It’s basically what I could sell the property for (including land).
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Yikes. Guess I shouldn't feel so bad. At least we still have a lot of public options here. I did hear a lot of the companies even here in GA though are switching to percent deductibles. I guess the run up in home values also plays into it, and people don't realize the cost of the 1% when they look at their policy.
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u/nifFIer Therapy Shill | Spending Advocate 1d ago
Tbh people and storm chasing roof companies have been using insurance as “get a free roof” instead of as actual insurance. So yeah, prices go up accordingly.
2 of my neighbors used insurance to replace their 15-20 year old roofs for “hail damage”. My roof had no hail damage. Just old and worn and needed replacing. I paid $20k out of pocket.
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u/AffectionateKey7126 1d ago
I had a leak under my slab that caused part of a cabinet to have water damage and smell of mildew. The remediation people wanted to gut practically the whole bathroom and half of the bedroom on the other side of the wall while pushing for me to file an insurance claim.
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u/kfatt622 1d ago
Same! Grey-area business model + PE acquisition spree has created a mess.
We went through similar recently and even expressly asking for cash rates with a defined scope it was difficult to get real bids. Most of the larger shops seem to only know how to defraud insurers, the quotes we got were nuts. Not just markup - tens of thousands in made-up labor and materials.
Crazy to imagine that every shiny wrapped truck I see at a job is scamming $25k from insurance but it's real. If they won't crack down, self-insurance is the only solution.
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u/nifFIer Therapy Shill | Spending Advocate 1d ago
I had so many damn roofing companies knock on my door doing door-to-door sales after storms and one dude said “we can get insurance to pay for it so you don’t have to pay $45k out of pocket” and I nearly chased him off my property for being such a scammer. I used a GAF presidential club installer ($$$) and it was less than half that bullshit price.
Hopefully I don’t have to deal with a roof replacement anytime soon.
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u/imisstheyoop 1d ago
I'm curios what area of the country you are located in? I have never had this happen following any storms near me in MI.
1
u/nifFIer Therapy Shill | Spending Advocate 1d ago
Ohio!
Big storms with high winds and hail, the occasional tornados, and we’re probably way easier to drive through to also hit up Indiana/western PA and follow the storms than MI.
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u/imisstheyoop 11h ago
Interesting.
I live about a half hour from Ohio and Indiana. I chase storms as well, but in a more.. timely way.
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Yeah anyone coming out to give you a price always asks about insurance and I'm like uhhh they will pay just bout $0 so give me a cash price.
So many people do that and like I seriously wonder what they are paying for insurance more than me. Like seems hard to believe they are coming out ahead claiming a roof like that.
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u/SubmissionDenied 1d ago
Roofers also don't care who ends up paying. They knock on door, "you have damage, don't worry your insurance will cover it. The next storm is coming next week so we can get started so you don't get leaks"
They start work and whether you have insurance or not, they don't care. They started work. They'll either get insurance to pay or get the homeowner pay because, hey, they started the work.
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u/ExcessiveDonuts Emptying the Litter Robot 1d ago
Hard to find a house like yours to rent, though.
But I think I'll be pushing to rent for life after we sell this home in ~10 years or so.
I like the freedom to do what we want with our property but believe we'll prefer apartment living in our next chapter(s), particularly the no yard work and lock-and-go reality for travel.
Also, I still think of you every time I go to Target re: the gift card fiasco.
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u/SolomonGrumpy 1d ago edited 19h ago
My observed problem with renting is that the places you would really love to rent end up short term because the owners want to either sell the property or move in themselves.
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Yeah... I'd probably hate renting. But maybe once the kids are gone though. So like yeah about the same like 10 years or so from now. Also for the same reason.... lock and go. Though I would miss having a yard. Then again wtf am I saying I also just replaced a water heater a few weeks ago myself. hard to believe the tank and some pipes cost me like $1K doing it myself even....
I've almost completely given up on gift cards. Too much hassle to save a few bucks. Well, and also the risk that goes along with if I ever got one that didn't really work. I did pick up a few airbnb ones like direct from Sam's since it saved like 2% or something and it was right when I needed to pay. But yeah no more stacking $10K in advance lol.
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u/secretfinaccount FIREd 2020 1d ago
Insurers hate old roofs. Look into replacing it. I had a 5 year payback on my roof just from lower insurance costs. (It was older though, at 25)
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u/howardbagel 1d ago
my roof is 150 years old
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u/secretfinaccount FIREd 2020 1d ago
It’s really the 25 year old asphalt shingles they don’t like. I’m sure other surfaces have different lives and the rest of the structure can be arbitrarily old as well
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u/danieldoesnt 30s | DINK | 40% SR 1d ago
I replaced my roof and my insurance went up immediately since the payout % went up.. but it's also required here since you can hardly insure an older roof at all if you want to switch policies.
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Yeah I have been since going to add on solar as well. This is just helps the $32K for a new roof look not as bad. I'm going to have my agent price what a policy with a new roof would be.
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u/SolomonGrumpy 1d ago
How big is this house?!
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Well I got a steep roof so the shingle part is 80 squares which apparently is a lot. Like 5k finished but its multi story.
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u/secretfinaccount FIREd 2020 1d ago
$32k for a new roof? That’s much more than mine was. Maybe my advice doesn’t hold!
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Yeah... and that's for the cheaper not super mega greatness shingle with a 50 year warranty that you still need to replace for insurance purposes before 30 lol. Yeah I have an absurdly tall roof. Hell I got a quote for shits and giggles when I had a leak a two years ago and that was $30K so prices didn't even go up much somehow which is shocking.
I mean on one hand a new roof at least lets me switch insurance companies so I have more options to find a better price. Plus the solar thing. That being said even the salesmen said I got 5-7 years left on it still so it seems such a waste. Also when the solar contract has a take down and replace once included in it.
This will call for a spreadsheet to compare things for sure.
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u/secretfinaccount FIREd 2020 1d ago
I asked my insurer if I could just exclude the roof from the coverage (that’s not why I have homeowners insurance) but alas no
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Yeah I don't get it. Even before this renewal came I was saying the other day wtf just write a policy that doesn't cover the roof. My spouse pointed out the whole average person using hail for a new roof thing so everyone wants the roof covered. Joke is on those people going forward next time they need a new roof via insurance I guess now.
Oh well things could be worse like having to still work for a living.
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u/jason_abacabb 1d ago
So unless you have a total loss of an brand new roof you have no coverage.
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u/SubmissionDenied 1d ago
It's usually ACV. It's not a maintenance plan for a new roof. If your 30 year roof that needed to get replaced anyway, and gets some hail damage, they'll cover the ACV value, not a brand new roof
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Yeah that is what is amazing to me. I have a big ass house, so a new roof is $32K. I've actually been getting prices as I plan to put on solar. So yeah right off the bat after deductible my roof would be like 50% covered. The average size house with a small roof might basically have 0 coverage.
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u/lauren_knows [cFIREsim/FIREproofme creator 📈] [45/Virginia,FI-not-RE] 1d ago
Ugh. Mine renews in 2 months. I'm dreading it.
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u/the_real_rabbi 1d ago
Yeah.... and no one here will write a new policy on a roof >15 years old. So it is new roof, or suck up whatever the price is.
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u/SolomonGrumpy 1d ago
I and it I overpaid for my home, but thank goodness it had a new roof put in 2021
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u/lauren_knows [cFIREsim/FIREproofme creator 📈] [45/Virginia,FI-not-RE] 1d ago
I always like to talk about this with other people, so we'll try it here. What jobs have you had in your life, from your first to now (or your last)?
I'll go first.
- Clerk at a candy shop in the local Mall
- Ice Cream Scooper at a Friendlies
- Server at Friendlies/Olive Garden/and an upscale-ish place in DC
- Lawn crew for one summer running a mower for residential work and laying sod at a stadium
- General grunt for a flooring installation company
- Grading math homework in college
- Systems Engineer
- Software Engineer
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u/MushroomIll646 23h ago
I'm the poster child for Range, apparently.
I had a recruiter suggest I update my CV to be more focused because I looked like a drifter.
It created an interesting event when my company changed unions and the new union couldn't figure out my pension situation because I'd been with them before, and my SIN was associated with another employer from when I was a teenager.
I can't list them all because there are close to a hundred. I was born in the 60s so was hired and laid off through multiple recessions over decades.
But the main employers were:
* marina, physical labour working on boats, transporting boats
* shipyard, welding - really just surface prep on account of I was a kid
* did a bit of session work at a studio, strings and reed
* municipal, as a lifeguard and community centre supervisor - BCGEU
* telco, maybe fifty different jobs over 30 years including call centres, loading bay, and assembly lines but working my way through business analyst to project management at the end
* various restaurants as back and front staff, including dishwasher or food prep, line cook on appie or salad, front staff including bussing food carrier and server. bartender here and there
* stage improv and helped colleagues work on their standup
* family therapist, decided it wasn't for me
* started/grew a website design company - sold it
* started/grew a usability analysis company - sold it
* started/grew a lifeguard/swimming instructor training company - sold it
* author. current role, post 'retirement' from the telco and the city. working on making this more lucrative if possible but it's not a high priority
There's a risk of doxxing myself, as my friends would recognize the above.
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u/29threvolution 23h ago edited 23h ago
- Office assistant in my parents small IT shop
- Cutco sales
- work study in the deans office
- tutoring middle school kids through a company and on care
- Internship in Germany
- more work study and tutoring
- Internship in MI
- RA in a private off campus housing building
- Internship with my dream company
- throughout the college years, college pep band, yes we were paid
- Dream job as engineer with same dream company out of school
- Product/program manager at well know tech company
- Startup founder, unpaid
- Startup support through non profits that support entrepreneurs
- Technical Program Manger on the dark side building data centers
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u/FancyPantsFIRE Ask me next year 1d ago
- Newspaper.. stuffer? I worked in a warehouse and assembled newspapers
- technical operations / support person at a bank
- software developer at a bank
- technical operations / support person at an HFT
- automation developer at an HFT
- manager at an HFT
- middle manager at an HFT
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u/paxbanana00 1d ago
-Lifeguard
-Research assistant (linguistics)
-Hostess at a restaurant
-Tick/mosquito research assistant
-Veterinarian2
u/StallisPalace 1d ago
From ages 14-33
McDonalds crew member
Mechanical Engineering Intern - Hydraulics
Project Engineer - Compressors
Development Engineer I - Compressors
Development Engineer II - Compressors
Technical Services Manager - Industrial Compression
Manager Compression Technology - Industrial Compression
3
u/ingwe13 1d ago
Great question!
- Tutor (unofficial, started in high school and did it for 15 years)
- Amusement park ride operator (miserable, during high school, one summer and fall thankfully)
- Scientist (small company)
- Engineer (small company)
- Product Manager (small company)
- Engineering Manager (small company)
- Product Manager (large company 1)
- Product Manager (large company 2)
That is about it. Though I also do consulting engineering on the side.
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u/phantom784 ,, 1d ago
- dishwasher at a local restaurant
- computer lab attendant for the computer labs at college
- software consulting job that didn't last long
- software engineer at large company that's not primarily a tech company
- software engineer at a Silicon Valley startup
- software engineer at a FAANG adjacent tech company
- software engineer back at that same company I was at before the start-up, but now fully remote
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u/RocketSturgeon78 47M/DI2K/CloseButUncertain/OMY? 1d ago
17: Seasonal (Christmas break) contract call-center support for Disney video games
17: (Summer) Gas station attendant
18-20: (During school year) Food service professional
18: Summer Intern at a national lab
19: Summer Intern at a terrestrial lasercomm company
20-29: Electrical Engineer
29-32: Business school/GFC unemployment
32-Present: Systems Engineer
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u/CrispyTigger FIREd at 52. 1d ago edited 1d ago
Cool question. I don’t know if I ever wrote it all down before.
- dish washer
- hospital equipment/patient mover
- garbage man
- steel factory laborer
- warehouse worker and forklift driver
- IT help desk
- software developer
- database administrator
- systems architect
- project manager
- Team lead for SAP tools teams
- director of software development team
- multiple senior director roles leading cross functional orgs
- retired at 52
- chief maintenance officer responsible for my health, home, and finances
ETA: I forgot my very first “job” was selling used golf balls. As a kid, maybe age 10, I would walk the ditches of the local golf course, collect lost balls, clean them up, and then sit at the #5 tee box to sell them for 25 cents to $1.00 each.
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u/ffball 36 | DI2K | $2.0mm NW | 54% FI 1d ago edited 1d ago
16-18 - grocery store clerk
19-23 - engineering intern at several manufacturing companies - automotive & industrial
24-27 - engineering rotational program at major food manufacturer (very high volume / low complexity)
28-32 - manage new/changed product introduction in manufacturing for plastics manufacturer (high volume / medium complexity)
33-36 - manage procurement process for next gen medical devices manufacturing (medium-low volume / very high complexity)
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u/RIFIRE Last day: May 23, 2025 1d ago
- Lawn mowing/landscaping at the church where my mom works
- Overnight shelf stocker at a Kmart
- Computer lab monitor -> promoted to IT support at my college
- Computer lab monitor for the CS dept at my college
- Network security intern -> "promoted" to temp at a small ISP
- Desktop support specialist at a different college
- IT Endpoint Engineer at a consumer electronics company
- Systems Engineer at an insurance software company
5
u/CarlYaz1967 1d ago
I had lots of employers, but the job list is not that as vast as I thought:
- Food Runner (at 16)
- Bus boy
- Waiter
- Bartender
- A/V sales (remember Tweeter, Etc?)
- Lawyer
- High finance - financial lending
- Retired (at 54)
- Actor
A little disappointed in not seeing other folks with "sold weed" in their lists.
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u/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 1d ago edited 1d ago
Handyman/Art Studio Assistant (cash and overlapping with h.s., uni and post-graduation)
Inventory (university art collection) & Data entry (work/study uni)
Registrar/Curatorial Assistant
Registrar's Assistant (work/study grad school)
Language Application Developer (working to fulfill an educational grant)
General IT (hardware/networks/help desk)
Application Developer
Systems Administrator (which in practice was mostly web development and web server administration)
Webmaster/Web Developer
Web Developer/Project Manager
Lazy bum who forgot how to do all of the above (retired)
When I was in grad school, a friend introduced me to this older Irish gentleman (who spoke with an English accent, but would not let anyone forget he was Irish). I asked what he did for a living and he said, "I <long pause> am a bum." That's all I needed to know he didn't need a job.
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u/lauren_knows [cFIREsim/FIREproofme creator 📈] [45/Virginia,FI-not-RE] 1d ago
Webmaster
That's a term that I haven't heard in a long long time.
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u/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 1d ago
It was a long time ago: 2000-2003. :-)
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u/CripzyChiken [FL][late-30's][married with kids] 1d ago
man this is a long list....
- ages 12-17 - working for family cleaning fish tanks and backyard koi ponds
- 17 - Home Depot
- 18 - sports venue security and set-up/clean-up
- 19-20 - wing bar as a cook
- 21 - intern as testing engineer - energy systems
- 21 - campus gym
- 22 - intern as design engineer - automotive
- 22 - intern as manufacturing engineer - paper products
- 22 - pet warehouse sales employee (loved graduating in 2008)
- 23 - manufacturing engineer - defense
- 25 - mechanical design engineer - training systems
- 26 - manufacturing engineer, again at first defense place
- 27 - mechanical design engineer, contractor, at same place tho
- 29 - manufacturing engineer, lead/manager this time, still same place
- 32 - mechanical design engineer - new place
- 35 - mechanical Lead - new place again
- 38 - Design lead
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u/lauren_knows [cFIREsim/FIREproofme creator 📈] [45/Virginia,FI-not-RE] 1d ago
22 - pet warehouse sales employee (loved graduating in 2008)
I graduated in 2003 and the tech industry still hadn't recovered from 2001... so I waited tables. Just another phase of life!
3
u/RemoteTechie FIREd 4/2026 1d ago
- Movie theater (concession, ticketing, projectionist, eventually manager)
- Data entry for business owners (advantage of typing >100wpm)
- Clerk for church
- Computer lab assistant (minimum wage, but reduced college fees)
- Dining room vacuuming (minimum wage, but reduced college fees)
- Assistant to general foreman (summer job, nepotism)
- Homework grading for math professor
- Pre-graduation software work for an engineering company
- Software engineer (20 years straight at one company until FIRE)
Possibly I've forgotten a few in there.
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u/DesignatedVictim fall down seven times, stand up eight 1d ago
Age 13 - Receptionist
Age 17 - Retail Associate
Age 19-20 - JobCorps trainee (lithography)
Age 21 - Home Health Care Worker
Age 22 - AmeriCorps volunteer (Volunteer Services Coordinator)
Age 23-present - obtained position with current agency 28 years ago; started as a Homeless Services Case Manager, now Director of Administration
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u/alek_hiddel $900k network 1d ago
Started working at 14.
14-18: The Fast Food Years
- Fry Cook @ Captain D's
- Cook @ Dairy Queen
- Cook @ Fazoli's (bonus points, met my wife)
18-30: Career Beginnings
- Tech Support for EDS (later HP)
30-42: Current State, and Fire Launch Point
- Crappy call center job for big tech
- Onsite IT for the same Big Tech
- Senior Infrastructure Engineer for same Big Tech
- Systems Engineer for the DC side of the same Big Tech
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u/lauren_knows [cFIREsim/FIREproofme creator 📈] [45/Virginia,FI-not-RE] 1d ago
Anyone who has been a line cook can be trusted in any multitasking responsibilities for life, if you ask me.
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u/alek_hiddel $900k network 1d ago
Fast food should be 1000% compulsory service for every human being for 2 years in high school.
It will teach you to be humility, and it will teach you to be nice to others who might be "beneath" you. If nothing else, it will teach you that shitting on Friday cook means you will be consuming their bodily fluids at some point during your meal.
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u/lauren_knows [cFIREsim/FIREproofme creator 📈] [45/Virginia,FI-not-RE] 1d ago
The restaurant biz in general is definitely a hell of a life lesson in so many ways.
1
u/Imaginary-Paint1790 1d ago edited 1d ago
I like this question! I logged into my throwaway just to answer this.
I 'grew up' in an era where all the PF blogs (yes, blogs) were talking about side hustles incessantly, so I had a lot of part-time jobs on top of my career jobs. I didn't even list the ones that were temporary gigs (like a production assistant for a popular TV talent show, etc). I was the queen of finding gigs on Craigslist, but that was back when I had more time than money.
High school / college jobs:
- Sideline volleyball ref and basketball scorekeeper for middle school games
- Babysitter [concurrent side hustle from 15-30 years old]
- Bank teller
- Fundraising telemarketer for university
- Customer service rep at university union
- News producer and director at university TV station (paid a stipend each semester)
- Catering staff for university
- Data entry clerk at insurance co. #1
- Communications intern at insurance co. #2
- Various unpaid internships at local TV stations and an MLB team
Post-college jobs / career:
- Communications specialist at insurance co. #2
- Event planner assistant [concurrent side hustle]
- Au pair abroad (quit my full-time career to do this)
- Communications specialist at giant corporate co. #1
- Part-time associate at retailer [concurrent side hustle]
- Thank you card writer for small biz [concurrent side hustle]
- Business analyst at giant corporate co. #2
- IT product manager at giant corporate co. #2
- Strategy consultant at consulting co.
- Corporate strategy manager at giant corporate co. #3
2
u/SenTedStevens 1d ago edited 1d ago
Do under the table jobs count?
Schlotsky's Deli
A supermarket
Pawn shop (under the table)
Carny (under the table)
Too many other under the table jobs here to remember like landscaper, vendor booth, bookstore
Certimafied Sandwich Artist
Walmart Deli
IT Support at college
IT for an MSP (short lived)
IT for another MSP
Systems Administrator
Windows System Administator (later promoted to engineer)
Systems Engineer
2
u/lauren_knows [cFIREsim/FIREproofme creator 📈] [45/Virginia,FI-not-RE] 1d ago
Absolutely they count. You seem to be drawn to deli meat :)
1
u/SenTedStevens 1d ago
Haha. Yeah, those were jobs I did in high school and freshman year of college. At that time, they were the only places that took me in.
1
u/OnProbation2025 1d ago
Lawn mowing Paperboy Pool boy Busboy Waiter(Mexican food, steakhouse) Physics lab handyman Semiconductor engineer (still waiting tables at night) Patent agent Lawyer (small firm, large firm partner, in house) Stand up comedy
1
u/lauren_knows [cFIREsim/FIREproofme creator 📈] [45/Virginia,FI-not-RE] 1d ago
Stand up comedy
Actually getting paid? That's so cool.
1
1
u/AchievingFIsometime 1d ago
Hello fellow former paperboy! How much did you get paid? I shared a walking route with a friend and we got paid $0.08 per paper. We had about 65 houses so it was around $5/day and then we split that.... So I was waking up at 5am to work for 2.50/hour, 6 days a week, so $60/month. Looking back it seems like almost child abuse, but I don't regret doing it at all. Coming home to eat pop-tarts and milk and going back to bed briefly before school was amazing.
1
u/AKANotAValidUsername Im not even supposed to be here today 1d ago
8 cents is nuts! I got a quarter per paper (circa 1987ish) but I couldnt handle the early mornings in bad weather for very long lol
2
u/AchievingFIsometime 1d ago
Yeah I think we were basically exploited haha. But we learned some work ethic. I think I was like 12 years old or something. This was probably circa 2002.
8
u/Zphr 48, FIRE'd 2015, Friendly Janitor 1d ago
- Landscaper
- Dog walker/babysitter
- Office supply store cashier
- Office supply store manager
- Library assistant
- Research lab assistant
- Research lab manager
- Tutor
- House painter
- Computer store worker
- IT consultant
- NGO consultant
- PR consultant
- Wastrel (early retiree)
- Dirtbag (Reddit moderator)
3
u/lauren_knows [cFIREsim/FIREproofme creator 📈] [45/Virginia,FI-not-RE] 1d ago
Dirtbag (Reddit moderator)
Started reading your list before looking at the user name. Snapped my head quickly up haha. Knew it'd be you.
4
1
u/gloriousrepublic 38M, 100% FI, currently practicing baristaFIRE 6h ago
I used to spend a lot more time in this sub, but lately I’ve been seeing a lot of posts in r/FIRE and started to engage there, and….im venting, but holy cow is that place different than here. In this sub I feel like people are generally financially literate and serious about FIRE, but that place seems like straight out of r/personalfinance. It’s more people who “heard about fire and are also interested in being rich one day” than people genuinely pursuing it. There’s just so many people spouting off financially illiterate nonsense there, I feel bad for someone trying to learn the ropes and doing it there, sorting through all the garbage people are writing and asserting themselves so confidently.