Is the coffee at least good?

My question of the week: For people in the boring middle, what are you doing, if anything, to make life better now? Doesn’t have to be financial.

Should’ve gone with a lower withdrawal rate. 😞

I’d say FI but not RE. We’ve got enough money saved up where if you squint the numbers kinda maybe work. In practice it’s unlikely I pull the trigger for another few years.

Are you thinking in terms of fixed and flexible spending and eyeing something like VPW to budget the flexible spending or are you thinking more in terms of a fixed withdrawal rate that’d cover your expected fun budget too?

I’m in the chubby camp. I want to have a big enough pile to have options. In some of the other communities I’ve been in I’ve heard it phrased as having enough money to do almost anything, but not everything and that resonates with me.

My main goal is to have enough money that we can do some fun stuff, help out the kids if needed, and just not need to worry or think too much about money otherwise.

I’ll guess I’ll kick off this week’s discussion thread with some questions. Where does everyone see themselves on the FI spectrum from lean to fat? Assuming you’re focused on early retirement, what are you optimizing for in retirement?

I have a couple of spreadsheets but primarily I just use empower because I’m lazy and it (mostly) works. I’ve got six years of history in it and the zoom out is good for a dopamine hit.

I’m 16 years in and also burnt out right now. I think it’s pretty normal to go through bouts of it. Best to find a way to recharge if you can. I’ve got a lot of time off to book over the next six months and I’m hoping that helps for me.

As important as your current expenses, where are you in life? By which I mean, is there a likelihood of radical life changes still (marriage, kids, etc) that might completely upend your calculations?

Unclear, but I know it’ll involve more exercise than I’ve got time for now, more “fun” tech projects that I don’t have the time/energy to work on now, and of course, more time with family. I’d also love to pick up more “practical” skills that I lack now, I’m anything but handy around the house once you get beyond very basic plumbing.

I realize I’ve created more of a wishlist than a daily routine. 🙃

Hi all, I found my way here after the whole Reddit third party app fiasco. I’m coming from r/financialindependence where I was an off and on regular. Anyone else following the same migration path? If so, how have you found the adjustment to lemmy?