Anonymous wrote:
Op, did you really right that your $5MM in assets is not "WAY more than we need." You literally have more than 98% of the population! Look around.

Anonymous wrote:Congrats, but let's be real. You didn't hit that goal making a combined $200K HHI. Inheritance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op... you sound nice...but boring. Live a little! I get that travel is bad for the environment, but in non pandemic times, you could have so much time and bond with your family seeing the world. I’m not religious— I don’t think there’s a big payoff after this life. yolo and all that. Maybe you would derive more happiness from doing more for the environment and for the poor. In your shoes, I might go start a school for poor kids in India (I’m Indian, but not that I think that matters as I was born here). There was a book, three cups of tea, that was about a guy who started a school in Afghanistan. Or maybe find a cause closer to home and dig in deep. I’m like you and have jobs that pay well and are ok enjoyable, not hard. I’m not working currently and in a meh stage of life. I’m also trying to find my higher purpose. I get that it’s tough.

Thank you. You really get it. I am boring, I’m afraid. And my first priority is my family so I don’t have a lot of flexibility to do things like start schools in foreign countries. Plus our assets may be enough to live on but it’s not like we have WAY more than we will need. It’s funny, sometimes I think we are in a weird place—more than what we strictly need but not enough to do the outlandish things. Agree that “living a little” is the right answer. I am atheist as well. We had two great trips planned in 2020. Cancelled. Kid should get vaccinated by next month and we will rebook a trip to look forward to. I am grateful for so much. My spouse has chronic and painful health issues that make me grateful that I am not uncomfortable all the time. We would trade all of it for permanent pain relief. Alas, it doesn’t work that way.

Op, did you really write that your $5MM in assets is not "WAY more than we need." You literally have more than 98% of the population! Look around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op... you sound nice...but boring. Live a little! I get that travel is bad for the environment, but in non pandemic times, you could have so much time and bond with your family seeing the world. I’m not religious— I don’t think there’s a big payoff after this life. yolo and all that. Maybe you would derive more happiness from doing more for the environment and for the poor. In your shoes, I might go start a school for poor kids in India (I’m Indian, but not that I think that matters as I was born here). There was a book, three cups of tea, that was about a guy who started a school in Afghanistan. Or maybe find a cause closer to home and dig in deep. I’m like you and have jobs that pay well and are ok enjoyable, not hard. I’m not working currently and in a meh stage of life. I’m also trying to find my higher purpose. I get that it’s tough.

Thank you. You really get it. I am boring, I’m afraid. And my first priority is my family so I don’t have a lot of flexibility to do things like start schools in foreign countries. Plus our assets may be enough to live on but it’s not like we have WAY more than we will need. It’s funny, sometimes I think we are in a weird place—more than what we strictly need but not enough to do the outlandish things. Agree that “living a little” is the right answer. I am atheist as well. We had two great trips planned in 2020. Cancelled. Kid should get vaccinated by next month and we will rebook a trip to look forward to. I am grateful for so much. My spouse has chronic and painful health issues that make me grateful that I am not uncomfortable all the time. We would trade all of it for permanent pain relief. Alas, it doesn’t work that way.

Anonymous wrote:OP, what about a Master's or Doctorate (practical doctorate is an E.dD) in education. Check out the Vanderbilt and Harvard Graduate School of Education. Or just go to your locate State U and see what there is. A lot of time you can get a master's in school Development or leadership as a second career.

I appreciate you are boring. I am too. We make more than you do but childcare, mortgage, and student loans means we are bogged down. So go do good with your money! It is a great privilege!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$17,091 Gross pay

$4,360 Taxes (Fed, state, FICA)

$3,178 401k's
$600 HSA

$475 Medical/Dental Insurance
$60 Limited Purpose FSA

$1,533 ESPP

----------------
$ 6,885 take home pay

Ok the insurance and ESPP were unexpected. This makes sense.

Nothing wrong with ESPP, but it seems a little silly to say $7000 is your take home pay. Really $8500 is your take home pay but you choose to buy company stock from your paycheck.

You're right. ESPP is brand-new as of April and I kind of forgot about it myself. I was planning to wash it though (sell right away) but it's already budgeted for as spending.

Budget is roughly below:

$1,200 food
$940 prop tax & HOA
$310 insurance (life, auto, prop, umbrella)
$170 gas/parking
$420 utilities (phone, internet, water, electric, gas)

$560 medical out-of-pocket (several health issues)

$870 home repairs and sinking fund for large expenses
$170 auto repairs and sinking fund for large expenses
$200 clothing
$120 entertainment
$100 gifts
$250 household supplies, pet care for lizard

$500 charity
$1,270 extracurricular activities, vacations, fun money for individuals, teen's allowance

$420 college savings
$1,000 Roth savings

------------------
$8,500 spending from take-home pay

Not a ton of wiggle room there to ramp up spending. We don't limi

Didn’t you say college was fully funded? Why are you still saving?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$17,091 Gross pay

$4,360 Taxes (Fed, state, FICA)

$3,178 401k's
$600 HSA

$475 Medical/Dental Insurance
$60 Limited Purpose FSA

$1,533 ESPP

----------------
$ 6,885 take home pay

Ok the insurance and ESPP were unexpected. This makes sense.

Nothing wrong with ESPP, but it seems a little silly to say $7000 is your take home pay. Really $8500 is your take home pay but you choose to buy company stock from your paycheck.

You're right. ESPP is brand-new as of April and I kind of forgot about it myself. I was planning to wash it though (sell right away) but it's already budgeted for as spending.

Budget is roughly below:

$1,200 food
$940 prop tax & HOA
$310 insurance (life, auto, prop, umbrella)
$170 gas/parking
$420 utilities (phone, internet, water, electric, gas)

$560 medical out-of-pocket (several health issues)

$870 home repairs and sinking fund for large expenses
$170 auto repairs and sinking fund for large expenses
$200 clothing
$120 entertainment
$100 gifts
$250 household supplies, pet care for lizard

$500 charity
$1,270 extracurricular activities, vacations, fun money for individuals, teen's allowance

$420 college savings
$1,000 Roth savings

------------------
$8,500 spending from take-home pay

Not a ton of wiggle room there to ramp up spending. We don't limi

Anonymous wrote:

I’ve really enjoyed reading this thread, though I’m very sorry to hear about your spouse’s medical issues. Like you and many PPs here, we are in a very good financial situation (in our early 50s) and not sure exactly how long to keep working and what we want to do once we stop. We have $6 million in retirement/brokerage accounts, a fully paid off house, and fully funded 529s for our kids, two of whom are already in college. And yet we still feel anxious about money. I’m a Fed and can retire at 58, but my DH was shocked recently when I said I might like to do that as opposed to waiting until after 62 when you get a bump in the multiplier used for calculating the pension amount. I don’t feel any need for a higher purpose though. I love my boring life working at a job I enjoy, reading a lot, and spending time with family and fiends.

We have friends and neighbors who actually are outlandishly rich (hundreds of millions) and do outlandish things like buy private planes and race cars and invest in sports teams. Those toys and luxuries do bring them joy, but I wouldn’t have any interest in that. Our favorite of our richest friends’ luxuries is the incredible backyard kitchen/pool/sport court they built and share generously with all their friends. I think that’s the direction we’ll go—while still working we’ll invest in places and travel that our kids and friends can enjoy with us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op... you sound nice...but boring. Live a little! I get that travel is bad for the environment, but in non pandemic times, you could have so much time and bond with your family seeing the world. I’m not religious— I don’t think there’s a big payoff after this life. yolo and all that. Maybe you would derive more happiness from doing more for the environment and for the poor. In your shoes, I might go start a school for poor kids in India (I’m Indian, but not that I think that matters as I was born here). There was a book, three cups of tea, that was about a guy who started a school in Afghanistan. Or maybe find a cause closer to home and dig in deep. I’m like you and have jobs that pay well and are ok enjoyable, not hard. I’m not working currently and in a meh stage of life. I’m also trying to find my higher purpose. I get that it’s tough.

Thank you. You really get it. I am boring, I’m afraid. And my first priority is my family so I don’t have a lot of flexibility to do things like start schools in foreign countries. Plus our assets may be enough to live on but it’s not like we have WAY more than we will need. It’s funny, sometimes I think we are in a weird place—more than what we strictly need but not enough to do the outlandish things. Agree that “living a little” is the right answer. I am atheist as well. We had two great trips planned in 2020. Cancelled. Kid should get vaccinated by next month and we will rebook a trip to look forward to. I am grateful for so much. My spouse has chronic and painful health issues that make me grateful that I am not uncomfortable all the time. We would trade all of it for permanent pain relief. Alas, it doesn’t work that way.

Anonymous wrote:Op... you sound nice...but boring. Live a little! I get that travel is bad for the environment, but in non pandemic times, you could have so much time and bond with your family seeing the world. I’m not religious— I don’t think there’s a big payoff after this life. yolo and all that. Maybe you would derive more happiness from doing more for the environment and for the poor. In your shoes, I might go start a school for poor kids in India (I’m Indian, but not that I think that matters as I was born here). There was a book, three cups of tea, that was about a guy who started a school in Afghanistan. Or maybe find a cause closer to home and dig in deep. I’m like you and have jobs that pay well and are ok enjoyable, not hard. I’m not working currently and in a meh stage of life. I’m also trying to find my higher purpose. I get that it’s tough.