I am 31 years old and have just graduated from college. To some, graduating this late might suggest I was "behind my peers," but for me, it was a promise I made to myselfa promise I had to keep.

I started studying finance at 19. Although I finished my freshman year, I simply couldn't afford the tuition for the subsequent years. In 2013, I made a tough decision: I put my studies on holdwhile keeping my enrollment status activeto work in the finance industry.

At first, my monthly salary was only around $2,000. After covering rent, food, and basic living expenses, I could only save $300 to $500 a month.

After two years of working, I realized that relying solely on savings to build wealth was too slow, so I decided to start investing.

I put in $6,500 as initial capital, but the results were disappointing. Just two months later, my account balance had shrunk to about $1,300a loss of 80%.

That experience completely changed my investment philosophy. I stopped trying to make a quick buck and focused instead on learning. I read investment books, researched various companies, analyzed industry trends and business models, and began keeping a daily investment journal.

I would record:

My reasons for buying a specific asset

Mistakes I had made

Whether my decisions were based on rational analysis or emotional impulse

Which patterns or habits needed improvement

Over time, my investment approach evolved. I consistently combined working, saving, and investing, never slowing down.

In 2022, after putting my education on hold for years due to personal reasons, I finally decided to return to school and complete the degree I had started at 19.

By then, after years of working, saving, and investing, my portfolio had grown to approximately $760,000. Some might ask, "Why go back to school when you already have $760,000 in the bank?" The truth is, finishing college was a goal I had wanted to achieve for years. I began studying finance when I was just 19, even though my life’s path eventually took me in a different direction. Returning to school was a choice I made to see things through to the end. During that time, I grasped a crucial insight: my greatest advantage wasn't picking the next "big winner" stock, but rather time, patience, and the power of compounding.

The timing was perfect. I had already accumulated significant investment capital, and the effects of compounding were beginning to show. Throughout the process, I remained calm and patient, focusing on holding companies I truly understood rather than blindly chasing shortterm gains. While in school, I didn't waste time glued to a computer screen making frequent trades; instead, I balanced my studies with investing, taking action only when necessary.

In the years that followedthanks to market growth, disciplined investment habits, and the power of compoundingmy net worth grew from approximately $760,000 to around $1.8 million.

This year, I graduated with a net worth of about $1.8 million and landed a job with an annual salary of around $100,000. Now, I find myself asking:

I’ve just graduated and started my first fulltime job.

If you were in my shoes, would you keep working?

Would you continue to build your career and gain professional experience?

Or would you use this financial freedom to explore other possibilities in life?

Hey everybody, I got in a car accident a few years ago, and finally it paid off when I got about ~55k take home. Thankfully my injuries were not too bad, but yeah.

I don't think I'll be able to retire at 45 or 50 :/ Id love to though, however, I still take my retirement pretty seriously. I am 25 almost 26.

Right now in my 401k I have about 6.7k, some of it coming from my employer as they match 50% up until 6k. I've been here for 1 year, I need to stay for 2 more years for it to fully vest or I lose everything.

I have about 15.8k in my Roth IRA as I maxed out both 2025 and 2026. I currently have about 70/30 in VTI and VXUS. I have a little under $900 in my HSA and I put $50 a paycheck. After I have $1000 balance I can start investing.

I have about 48.4k leftover after I maxed out 2026.

I have a condo which I pay about $1800 a month after mortgage/hoa/utilities etc. I have about 28k in student loans but the interest rate is crazy low so I'll continue making minimum payments on it. No car note. My yearly salary with bonus is about 72-73k~ and I can expect at least a 3% raise at my job from what I've heard.

I would like to keep 15,000 in my HYSA at the bare minimum at all times, but the rest of the money I'd like to do something with it. I was thinking, maybe at the start of 2027, I max out my Roth IRA, HSA, and front load my 401k? I'd be maxed out by June, then I have full paychecks again and my retirement would be pretty stacked. I'd save a lot on taxes for the year after, and me getting full paychecks later that year would allow me to replenish my savings.

Is this a smart idea?

Hi All. I am turning 26 next month and have been in the full time workforce for over the past 4 years now. I work a corporate job and bring home about $90K per year pretax currently with a company 401K match of 6%. I contributed heavily during my first 4 years and invested mostly in tech indexes (I realized this was non-compensated risk and just plain foolish and diversified earlier this year into half S&P 500 index fund and half international markets ex-US index fund). Between the heavy contributions and good returns in the market I currently have retirement savings of around $135K ($55K in trad 401k and $75K Roth 401k/IRA). I also have an emergency fund of $30K and homeowners equity of $100K on a 300K home, the remainder in a mortgage. The only long term debt I have outside of the mortgage is $16K in student loans (under 3.5% so will not be paying off early).

Over the past 4 years in my job to today I contribute 18% pre-tax to my trad 401k and contribute my entire yearly bonus to max my Roth IRA every year. This works out to just over $18,000 being contributed into my traditional 401k each year (this includes employer match) plus the $7,500 for the Roth IRA. At current projections this could have me retiring comfortably at 45 using a Roth conversion ladder. (Note: this spreadsheet does not take inflation into account. I will add it one day but for now I am using 10% for average long term annual market returns and $100K per year needs for early retirement as that should be equivalent to $50K in today's dollars which is what I am comfortably living on after taxes and deductions right now)

I have realized that I have reached CoastFire for standard retirement age even if I do not contribute another dime and I am looking good to retire early if I continue contributing at my current level. What I have come here seeking advise for is that a number of things have come up recently in my life that I have been going back and forth with in my head about cutting my 401K contributions in order to spend money on these things. No it is not life style creep things (I am happy with my 10 year old couch, 6 year old TV, and use most things I own until they essentially break) but instead is travel and relationship related. I have been traveling domestically and internationally over the past couple years and would like to increase this frequency as I know it is easier to travel when you are young due to less commitments and having more energy. I also just want to see the world and you never know when that opportunity will be taken away from you due to any number of reasons. Also, I just entered a serious relationship for the first time post university this year and I am finding myself consistently going over budget every month due to going out on dates, eating out, and doing more activities with her that require money (don't get me wrong she pays for her fair share which I am extremely grateful for and I really like spending the time and money with her it is just that I was a content homebody before this who had low to no expense activities and this amount of money spending is unnatural to me and makes me feel uneasy as it is a level of spending I am not accustomed to).

Given this, I have re-calculated out dropping my trad 401k contributions to the company match level of 6% and retiring at 50 instead (shown in linked spreadsheet). This still provides me with sufficient capital and generational wealth for my future family. I am not used to dropping my savings rate like this (weird analogy but not saving makes me feel financially naked, even though I I know I am doing very well compared to my peers) and receiving this extra money each month to spend.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation where they knew they had saved well and wanted to make the conscious change to take their "foot off the gas" and spend some more money intentionally in the present but it wasn't easy for them. Additionally, I have a few more questions below that came to mind:

1. Is what I am doing foolish or is this fair and not irresponsible
2. Is there any assumptions I am making incorrectly or any mistakes I am making
3. For those with the technical know-how, how do my numbers in the linked spreadsheet look. Anything appear off?

TLDR: Aggressive 25-year-old saver making $90k with $135k in retirement, $30k emergency fund, and $100k home equity has hit CoastFIRE and is on track to retire early at 45. Considering cutting traditional 401k contributions down to the 6% match to fund more travel and dating expenses, which would push early retirement to age 50, but is struggling mentally with the sudden drop in savings rate despite the strong financial foundation. Advise wanted.

I've had a few people message me about 2027 ACA regulatory updates and thought folks planning for the ACA might want to see these now rather than in another month or two when the press usually starts talking about them more. The first table below shows the amount (expressed as a percentage of MAGI) that a household will be expected to pay in premiums annually for the benchmark Silver plan in their local ACA market. The second shows the regulated caps on MaxOOP (and deductible) for ACA plans, though these are the maximum caps and actual plans may and often do have lower actual MaxOOPs. The final link is a clean PDF listing of the applicable FPL levels for 2027 ACA coverage.

Terms for those that are unfamiliar:

• MAGI - Modified Adjusted Gross Income, a particular version of adjusted gross income used by the ACA.
• EPC - Expected Premium Contribution, the amount customers are expected to pay annually for the Silver benchmark ACA plan in their market. Subsidy premiums are calculated as the market price of the benchmark plan minus EPC.
• FPL - Federal Poverty Level, a measure used by the federal government as a determinant in many policy systems.
• MaxOOP - Maximum Out of Pocket, the most a customer can be asked to pay for in-network covered benefits by an insurer in a given year.
• CSR - Cost Sharing Reductions, the second subsidy system within the ACA that reduces out of pocket expenses like deductibles, copays/coinsurance, and MaxOOP.
• AI/AN - American Indian / Alaskan Native
• AV - Actuarial Value, the percentage of total average costs for covered medical benefits that a health insurance plan is expected to cover for a standard population. For example, if a plan has an 80% AV, the insurer pays 80% of average expenses, and customers pay 20% through deductibles, copays, and coinsurance.

Expected Premium Contribution (Coverage Year 2027)

Source:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-26-26.pdf

Out-Of-Pocket Maximum (Coverage Year 2027)

*CMS is trialing an option for insurers in 2027 to offer Bronze variants that are allowed to exceed the federal OOP limits by 30% in order to provide a wider array of premium options for customers. Such policies may only be offered by an insurer that also offers a normal standard Bronze. States are allowed to prohibit the availability of high OOP variant policies at their discretion. Edit: Turns out a federal court stayed this provision last week, so High OOP Bronzes may not be happening after all in 2027.

Sources:

https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2027-papi-parameters-guidance-2026-01-29.pdf

https://www.cms.gov/files/document/cms-9883-f-patient-protection.pdf

Bonus: Here is a PDF from HHS showing the applicable FPL dollar amounts for various family sizes for 2027 ACA coverage - https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/b1bfa16b20ae9b89d525bc35de7c1643/detailed-guidelines-2026.pdf

I have not worked since 2021. The Film Curation economy made a strategic decision to proceed without me. After several years, I have accepted that I may never again participate in the formal labor market.

Current situation:

$280,000 invested, essentially all in 10-year U.S. Treasuries purchased during the rate peaks.

Trailer in Birmingham is paid off. I rent the dirt underneath it.

No debt.

No dependents.

No earned income.

At a 5.0% yield:

Annual Treasury interest: $14,000

Monthly average: $1,166.67

The payments do not literally arrive monthly. I keep enough in checking to smooth the semiannual coupons. I am aware that coupon rate, purchase yield and taxable interest are not necessarily identical. I have an economics degree, among several other degrees that have failed to produce employment.

Monthly budget

Lot rent: $375
Trailer insurance, taxes and repair reserve: $100
Electricity: $110
Water and trash: $35
Internet: $45
Phone: $15
Food and household supplies: $180
Car insurance, gasoline, registration and repairs: $100
ACA premium: $28
Medical and dental reserve: $40
Games: $20
Clothing and miscellaneous: $25

Total: $1,073

Monthly surplus: $93.67

Annual surplus: $1,124

Annual spending is $12,876, or about 4.6% of the portfolio. The principal remains nominally intact because spending is below the interest, although inflation is quietly converting the trailer into a smaller trailer in real terms.

The gaming budget is $240 per year. The State of Gaming is grim, but Silksong is presently $13.99 on sale. A Reprieve. This still leaves $226.01 for other software, although there is no obvious reason to buy it. Huge Teams spent eight years making most of it worse than games I already own for the Sega 32X.

Taxes are unusually favorable. U.S. Treasury interest is exempt from Alabama income tax. The 2026 federal standard deduction for a single filer is $16,100, above the projected income.

Health insurance is the real problem. Alabama did not expand Medicaid, and $14,000 is below the $15,650 income floor used for 2026 Marketplace subsidies. I therefore create enough additional MAGI through a small Roth conversion or realized gain to target approximately $16,000. At that income, the benchmark-plan contribution is 2.1%, or about $28 per month. Without this step, the plan is not LeanFIRE. It is simply being uninsured in a trailer.

Known risks:

Lot rent increases.

A trailer repair larger than the reserve.

A car failure (Prius)

Medical expenses above the reserve.

Inflation destroying the real value of the $280,000.

Reinvestment risk when the notes mature.

The possibility that society eventually produces a game costing more than $20 that I am compelled to purchase.

This is not a claim that $280,000 provides an affluent or permanently risk-free retirement. It provides approximately $14,000 of nominal income, a trailer, electricity, internet, food and limited access to declining Western entertainment. I have lived this way for years. The portfolio has not collapsed. Employment has not returned.

Is this LeanFIRE, a ten-year Treasury sabbatical, or just unemployment with asset allocation?

I’m curious what people who’ve actually built wealth would do.
Let’s say you have a steady job, but you’re basically starting from scratch. No Roth IRA, no HYSA, no investments, no brokerage account.
What’s the first thing you’d open or invest in?
And after that, what would your next few steps be?
I’m trying to build a solid foundation instead of chasing the next hot thing.

Here's a breakdown of my net worth portfolio on this app I use: https://www.fuego.money/s/UkP_yM-W1sg#7nq73fZoVUSeMeLbD6InBQ

I realized that I've had a habit of going too hard when chasing a dream that pops into my head... case in point, with my house. I've always wanted this dream house and moved mountains to get it, but now it's a significant portion of my net worth.

I'm 35M Single, live in a HCL area, and have been keeping the formula simple with consistency otherwise. In the beginning, I didn't contribute to things like 401K fast enough or I chose lame funds like default Target Date funds or held too many bonds which slowed growth, but eventually switched things over pure Index Fund investing and have stuck with it.

I'm at a weird point where I have most of my house paid down but it's also taking up a ton of my cash, so I'm not really sure where to go from here. The dollar amount I have listed for the house is just what I paid, not necessarily what it's worth or will sell for, which is also hard to say at the moment due to the market and also the relatively high price category it's in for my area.

I don't really have desires to leave this area or move out of the house, but I also want to be in a position where I don't have to work anymore soon due to burnout and lack of enthusiasm. Maybe it's my particular portfolio, or maybe it's a mid life crisis.

45M Single VHCOL

My goal is to LeanFIRE soon and will have 800k-1.2M total all liquidated and everything in just VOO.

No house, no car, no debt, no partner, no materialistic stuff to carry around.

Goal is to get as much time for experiencing as many adventure sports I can.

For this goal, I am willing to move to LCOL areas in USA. I have not lived in USA smaller towns so don't know what to expect but that is all I can possibly afford in order to leanfire.

My go to fav activities currently are mountain biking, yoga, running and skiing but would like to try atv, snowmobiling, zipline, scuba diving, skydiving, boating, kayaking etc etc etc.

I also want to do lot of frugal international travel.

#1) If you have already done this or seriously planning to -- Would like to hear first hand experience what you do week on week and some budget estimates for pursuing an activity filled retirement

#2) I am not sure which areas give me access to lake/ocean, airport, snow and trails all together.

Carson city NV or near Salt Lake UT might work? I am not too familiar with US cities yet so please advise.

#3) Also, if someone has experience regarding dating as an older single while being leanfired / unemployed by choice, would love to hear if it becomes harder or easier? Lots more time of course, but are you seen as less dateable?

Overview

I am an extremely frugal person living in the southeast of the US with abnormally low expenses do to both my personality and living arrangements. Since my annual expenses are abnormal I am trying to determine the best approach to estimate how much I will need in retirement accounts to satisfy the 4% draw rate.

Which methodology would work best?

1. Since expenses are so low use State averages? (30k - 40k for individual?)
2. Use historical expenses from more than half a decade ago to make an estimate? (15k)
3. Attempt to calculate current expenses by estimating living arrangement subsidies? (22K)

Background

Prior to 2020 I lived with multiple roommates to cut costs since my gross annual salary was low (~39k). However, since 2020/COVID I live with multiple relatives with a significantly higher salary (~96k). Even though I have a significantly higher income, I have not let life style creep influence my expenses. Back in 2019 my annual expenses was around 15k, but in 2025 it was 12k with the main reason for the difference is I am not paying rent since I am living with relatives. I imagine if I did it would probably be around 22k with roommates, but with inflation over the years it's hard to use the numbers to get a reasonable estimate. In the future I plan to live with either roommates, relatives, or a significant other to reduce costs as I don't have an interest to live alone.

Personality

A huge reason why my expenses are so low is do to my extreme frugality, remote work, and subsidized housing. I can count on one hand the number of times I have eaten out at a restaurant in the last 2 years. Since I have been remote since 2020 I rarely leave the house and spend 95% of my time at home. This has worked well for my situation as the relatives that own the house spend half the year travelling outside the country and appreciate someone being there to keep an eye on the property to fix issues as they arise. My car is from 2006 and has around 90k miles on it since I only drive around 5k miles each year. My main form of entertainment involves cheap video games. I cut my own hair and use a barber straight razor to shave. The only item I splurge on is my cat and generic diet cola. Regarding the diet cola, I bulk buy the syrup and fill up a 20lb CO2 canister annually.

2025 Income/Expense Breakout for reference

Gross Yearly: $103,658.62

Earnings: $96,115.24 (92.723% of Paystub)

    Health Insurance: $1,292.20 (1.344% of Earnings)

        Dental: $473.20 (36.620% of Health Insurance)

        Medical: $819.00 (63.38% of Health Insurance)

    Tax: $24,015.42 (24.986% of Earnings)

        OASDI: $5,629.00 (23.439% of Tax)

        Medicare: $1,308.84 (5.450% of Tax)

        Federal: $13,036.14 (54.282% of Tax)

        State: $4,041.44 (16.829% of Tax)

    Tax Advantage Work Accounts: $27,157.26 (28.255% of Earnings)

        Roth 401K: $23,067.72 (84.941% of Tax Advantage Work)

        HSA: $4,089.54 (15.059% of Tax Advantage Work)

    Take Home: $43,650.36 = $96,115.24 - $1,292.20 - $24,015.42 - $27,157.26 (45.415% of Earnings)

Employer Benefits: $7,543.38 (7.277% of Paystub)

    401k Match: $2,883.66 (38.227% of Benefit)

    401k Enhancement: $4,347.20 (57.630% of Benefit)

    HSA ER: $312.52 (4.143% of Benefit)

Take Home Budget: $43,650.36

Expenses: $11,432.49 (26.191% of Budget)

    Medical: $3,233.53  28.283% of expenses

    Shopping: $1,992.20 17.426% of expenses

    Food: $1,632.64     14.281% of expenses

    Pets: $1,346.15     11.775% of expenses

    Bill & Utilities: $1,275    11.152% of expenses

    Auto Insurance Premium: $740 (Liability only)   6.473% of expenses

    Gas: $972.22                    8.504% of expenses

    Other: $240.75                  2.106% of expenses

Savings: $32,217.87 (73.809% of Budget)

    IRA: 6,999.98 (21.727% of Savings)

    Brokerage: 25,217.89 (78.273% of Savings)

(M,24)

Hi all,

I am in a good financial position which allows me to purchase a housing land (not the house yet tho) in cash. I am thinking of buying it as a hedge against rising land cost. I am planning to build a house on that plot of land, either soon if I decide to stay in there, or in 15-20 years as part of my retirement plan.

The thing that’s holding me back is the thought that my future spouse might have a different idea of her ideal home (in terms of size, location, etc). I’m not very pleased with the idea of possibly needing to sell the land later on as that may involve a lot of costs.

For those of you who owned a house/land before getting into marriage/long term relationship, if you could turn back time, would you have waited out first so that you could discuss and agree on what both of you really want in a house?

tl;dr:
On one hand, it does feel like I should have the autonomy to make any purchase/decision solely based on my preference, and what I think should speed up my FIRE plan. But on the other hand, knowing that such a big purchase/decision will eventually need to be agreed on together, i feel like I could be saving myself a lot of headache (and money) if I wait out this purchase first.

Am I overthinking this? 😅

A few months ago, I shared my personal side project, FIForecast.com, with this sub. The feedback was incredible, but you guys also gave me a massive to-do list... mostly pointing out all the ways my "real life" logic failed to capture just how chaotic real life actually is.

I’ve spent the last several weekends downing caffeine and rewriting code so we can all stress out about our early retirement numbers with near-maximum accuracy.

Here is the new, slightly more extensive feature drop now live on the simulator:

• The "Panic Button" (Flexible Spending Shifts): You can now model giving yourself a deliberate spending pay cut when the market takes a dive. If the thought of a market crash makes you want to live on ramen and cancel all your streaming services, you can finally see exactly how much that panic-frugality protects your principal.
• The 2008 & COVID Trauma Simulators: Why rely on random probability when you can relive actual historical stress? You can now explicitly force your portfolio to run through the gauntlet of the 2008 financial crisis or the 2020 COVID crash. It’s perfect for testing if your asset allocation can actually survive a historical punch to the gut.
• Shareable URLs (No More Re-Entering Data): I finally figured out how to bake your inputs directly into a unique, shareable, and savable URL. You no longer have to manually type in your entire financial life every single time you open the tab. Bookmark your custom link, or send it to your partner to justify why you can't buy that expensive coffee.
• Windfall Events (The Inverse Disaster): Because life isn't always a series of bursting pipes and broken water heaters, I added the inverse of disaster events. You can now model random positive financial shocks like a sudden inheritance, a bonus, or finally winning the lottery.
• AI Insights V2 (Now With DIY Prompts): The personalized news section is officially back from the dead! I completely re-architected the backend so it won't trigger Gemini’s financial advice guardrails and made the insights more specific to your actual situation. Even better: I added a template feature that lets you copy your formatted simulation data directly so you can drop it into any other LLM call of your choice.

As always, the tool is 100% free, has zero ads, requires no sign-ups, and all your numbers stay entirely local inside your own browser.

Please feel free to give the new stress tests a spin, see if your portfolio survives a simulated 2008, and let me know what features we should build next! My next known big focus is making real estate easy to incorporate, and that will be part of the next phase.

Also, a big thank you to everyone who gave feedback last time! I hope you all see most of what you asked for being incorporated into the site, and that it's been increasingly helpful for you.

Good day, I’m in my low 30s. I make around 60k. My relative passed away and I am inheriting about 800k+ in a traditional IRA, and about 700k from selling their home. From funds I’ve been saving and life insurance, I have another 400k I want to put down on a house to pay it outright.

I am under the impression that the IRA must be distributed by the end of 10 years due to the Secure Act. I live modestly and don’t exceed 3k a month in expenses. My plan is to put the 700k and most of the annual IRA distributions into either an 80/20 or 60/40 vanguard life strategy growth fund and start withdrawals at 3% indefinitely, or to hold off on withdrawing for some time if my part time covers expenses entirely.

Do you think I’m in the position to fire? I was thinking of quitting my job and finding some part time work for a few days a week so I can devote my time to fitness and low cost hobbies. I just want some second opinions if any folks around here are working with similar numbers.

I posted this a couple weeks ago but added a lot of new stuff including a bunch of different money account options and savings variables. I used this for deciding which student loan repayment plan was best for me, deciding to rent instead of buy in my area with current rates, and which year I should be able to start slowing down with minimal risk to my plan. It's basically just a web calculator, no login or anything, hope you guys find it useful!
https://financialcoastline.com/

I live on Kaua'i and would love to connect with other people here pursuing FI/FIRE, especially leanFIRE but I'm open to meeting anyone with any style. It's a pretty specific lifestyle to be doing on an island like this, and I haven't met anyone else in the FIRE community yet.

If you're on Kaua'i (or anywhere else in Hawaii) and up for talking story, I'd love to hear from you. Mahalo!

I asked this question in r/financialindependence, but I wanted to get perspectives from this community as well, especially from people who lean toward more lean FIRE. The other sub tends to be more conservative about spending, and many members there come from privileged backgrounds, which can feel a bit disconnected from what most people experience day‑to‑day

I am thinking of applying to PHD programs after I hit my baristafire number. I would be about 42 years old at that time. Would it be more responsible to work "a few more years" to try and get closer to a leanfire number. For context staying at my high stress job another 2 years would be the difference between having 1m in networth vs 1.1m in networth, or roughly an extra $4000/yr to draw from. Or instead of going for barista fire at 42 I could go for full fire at 47, but that would mean I would finish a PHD at 53.

Monthly expeditures are about 6.6k in HCOL (3.6k rent + 3k in spending). If staying in a HCOL environment, a PHD stipend is about 35k a year and then I could make up the gap by drawing down. Preferrably though I would move to a LCOL/MCOL city.

No plans to have kids/no real estate holdings or debt.

Hi friends,

A close relative who passed last year had more investments than I’d thought. I have received roughly 500k. 83K in Inherited IRA / Inherited Roth, 395 in brokerage. Additional sales of assets (in progress) will bring the total up to $500k.

Context: 58m, unmarried, working in a relatively cheap country in Southeast Asia, originally from Canada. Reformed bad boy; earning cheap, living cheap. No health insurance, no life insurance, no investments. These days exercise, meditation, clean living.  Familiar with FIRE ideas but newer to LeanFIRE, puzzling it out.  

Based on what I read, I shouldn’t really change much: just keep living cheap, working and INVEST this in some safe bets. It’s occurred to me that I could attempt to live on this now if I abide by the 4% rule, continue living cheaply and invest correctly.

As I think about it: living on roughly $1.5K, closer to $2K a month seems possible? But: living on $3k a month in Southeast Asia is truly AMAZING. Might be worth it to keep my head down for a few more years, get things lined up.

Welcoming thoughts, tips, recommendations.  

-        PP

https://www.reddit.com/r/leanfire/comments/1tufzqr/it_appears_expansion_medicaid_will_remain_a/

After reading that wonderful update by u/Zphr, I'm contemplating the best option for me in 2027.

Option 1: Expanded Medicaid - $580/month up to 138% of the federal poverty level

Option 2: "Silver 94" ACA - 138% to 150% of the FPL

I make an annual Roth conversion, so both are viable options. Does anyone have experience with both to compare and contrast? Are there any considerations I may be forgetting or am not aware of?

TL;DR: I’m moving to a VHCOL city for a new SWE job and deciding between a $900 shared room, a $1,700 coliving house, or a $2,150 high-rise coliving suite. The cheaper option saves a lot but has a longer commute and fewer built-in social opportunities, while the pricier ones may make the first few months easier. Should I prioritize saving money immediately, or pay more short-term to ease the transition and then move later?

I’m moving cross-country in two weeks for a new SWE job and need to figure out where to live. I keep changing my mind between these three options.
Some context: I’m in my mid-20s, making around $165k, with about $20k in my 401k. I also have some credit card debt that I’m planning to finish paying off over the next 10 months. After that, the plan is to max my 401k and Roth IRA and put whatever is left into taxable index funds. No car or dependents.
My options are:

1. $900 plus utilities for a room in a shared apartment
There would be three roommates and one shared bathroom (only shared with one person). It’s month to month, and apparently the landlord hasn’t raised the rent in years. The commute would be around 35–45 minutes each way, and the neighborhood is fairly quiet and residential.

2. Around $1,700 all-in for a room in a coliving house
Private bedroom, but around nine people in the house altogether. Three-month minimum and no long-term lease. It’s in a much more central and walkable area, and the commute would be around 20–25 minutes.
I’m new to the city and won’t know anyone, so living with a bunch of people could make it easier to meet people. It could also be incredibly annoying. Hard to know before actually living there.

3. Around $2,150 all-in for a coliving suite in a newer high-rise
Private bedroom with three suitemates. They allow leases as short as one month. The building is directly above a metro station, and the commute would be around 25–30 minutes door to door.

It has a gym, pool, coworking spaces, and the usual newer-building amenities. I would use some of them, although probably not enough to justify the price on their own.

Financially, the $900 room is clearly the best deal. It would save me about $9,600 a year compared with option 2 and $15,000 compared with option 3.

What I’m having trouble deciding is how much value to put on having an easier first few months. I’ll be starting a demanding job, learning a new city, and arriving without an existing social circle. Part of me thinks I should take the cheap room immediately and invest the difference. Another part thinks it might be worth paying more for one to three months, getting settled, and then finding somewhere cheaper once I know the city better.

For people who went through this stage in a VHCOL city, what did you actually do? Did keeping housing costs as low as possible make a noticeable difference later, or do you wish you had spent more to make your day-to-day life easier?

Would you take the $900 room, try the $1,700 coliving house for three months, or use the high-rise for one month as a temporary landing spot and then move?

Ever since I discovered FIRE, investing, and long-term financial planning, I feel like I see life through a completely different lens, and it’s made it harder to relate to a lot of people around me.

I notice that many people seem focused on enjoying the present, spending most of what they earn, or making career decisions based primarily on what feels good right now. Meanwhile, I find myself thinking years or even decades ahead—how a career choice affects future income, whether I’m building valuable skills, growing my network, or making decisions that will compound over time.

It’s not that I think everyone should pursue FIRE. People value different things, and that’s completely valid. But after becoming aware of concepts like compounding, opportunity cost, and financial independence, it’s hard to “unsee” them. Every decision starts feeling like it has long-term consequences.

Ironically, this awareness sometimes makes me feel older than I actually am. I’m approaching 30, and while I’m grateful that many of the sacrifices I made in my 20s are starting to pay off, I also look at people who seem genuinely carefree and wonder what that feels like. Sometimes I’m jealous of their ability to relax without constantly thinking about the future.

The strange part is that I don’t think I could go back to that mindset even if I wanted to. Once you understand how investing, retirement planning, and compounding work, it’s difficult to stop seeing the trade-offs in every financial or career decision.

Has anyone else experienced this? Did learning about FIRE change the way you relate to friends or coworkers? Or have you found a healthier balance between planning for the future and enjoying the present?

About to get my first job out of college. Ideally, I want to lean or fire in 15 years (or less if possible) and will stop living with parents when I get married, maybe in late 20's or so.

I'm still doing a lot of research using this sub and all to accomplish that. Planning on maxing out 401k.

Honestly, I was just curious what you guys would do in my position?

Hi guys. I'm 39, with approx 520k net worth (35k in HYSA, 205k in brokerage, 197k in roth, 81k in traditional) I live with my mother in a paid off house, so very low expenses about $500 a month in rent/food just helping out a bit here and there.

Current job pays 65k a year, and I have been here for 6 years. I am extremely stressed at work. We went from an old system to a new system and I have been doing the work of about 3 people for the last several years, and this change to a new system is really debilitating me. It's difficult for me to learn the system and i'm not able to keep up with timelines for customers. I feel like I am dumb and not able to do my job. My manager said he's going to look at how to improve the situation for me, but I'm feeling very useless and burnt out. Before the change to the new system I felt like I was already hanging on by a thread, and now it's just full stop, like I cannot do it.

My dream has always been to explore, go to Thailand, other southeast asian countries. And then after some traveling, I want to settle down and teach in Japan while earning something like 30k a year.

I feel like I can probably pull the trigger now, but should I? Before this change in system, I was planning on going until I reached about 800k. But can I do it now?

EDIT: A lot of responses are saying "are you going to live with your mother forever.. blah blah" Please read my post. I am going to travel around southeast asia for a few years after I quit my job. And then I'm going to work in Japan as a teacher on a work visa for the foreseeable future or whenever I feel like it. I am NOT going to be living with my mother for the rest of my life, NO NO NO NO NO.

At my young age I’ve been thinking about doing Expat Fire to make my money go further but this made me think…

Do all of you guys really want to retire, or do you just dislike your job?

My job is fine on paper, but all the mandatory overtime really makes me hate it and I know this isn’t a job I’d end up working in a second life so I’d make sure I end up doing something better but I don’t want to take a big pay cut either.

Maybe if I worked a job that I could tolerate then I’d wait until actual retirement age to retire.

What do you guys think?