r/financialindependence • u/AutoModerator • 4d ago
Daily FI discussion thread - Saturday, October 10, 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/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 4d ago
Beginning a new week of dog sitting tonight. Color me naive, but I'm really surprised at how many people ask if I get paid to look after the little guy. He is so much fun, the thought of charging never even occurs to me!
Maybe that is how one knows they are really FI! :-)
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 4d ago
I would charge a stranger, but not a friend or neighbor. I much prefer they bring me back a coffee mug or something from wherever they went.
That said, isn't there a "rent a dog" type business out there? Our lifestyle matches poorly with having a dog, but for a week or two it would be a good thing. And don't get me started about those "pet a cat" coffeehouse things.
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u/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 4d ago
Our lifestyle matches poorly with having a dog, but for a week or two it would be a good thing.
This is a perfect situation for me. I travel a fair amount every year as well and I absolutely cannot have a pet full time. But I still love the companionship when the opportunity arises.
In fact I almost had a panic attack last night thinking somebody is going to gift me a dog as a surprise because of how much I rave when I get to watch the little guy.
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u/bgottfried91 4d ago
This will be dependent on your local area and the shelters, but one really legitimately helpful option for this is taking dogs out on a weekend or few day sleepover. The shelters around me love this because it gets the dog out of the shelter for a bit to decompress and they can get some data about how the dog behaves in an actual home.
It's definitely a gateway drug to fostering full time though, so I'm not responsible for where it takes you 😅
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u/ExcessiveDonuts 4d ago
The market rate for in-home pet sitting is significant. Especially with multiple pets.
We've bought additional automated feeders and robotic litter boxes, in part to offset the cost of paying our sitter.
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u/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 4d ago
He comes to my house to stay. Last time my niece texted me saying he was getting excited in the uber because he recognized the route and knew where he was going. :-)
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u/Ellabee57 4d ago
Awww. I watch my niece's dogs and they are the same way. One time, one of them balked a bit at leaving when it was time for them to go home. ♥
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u/One-Mastodon-1063 4d ago
Maybe that is how one knows they are really FI! :-)
I've sort of adopted an unwritten rule where I don't do anything for money since RE. If I was going to watch someone's dog I'd do it for free.
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u/imisstheyoop 4d ago
I love this for you. Also for the dog and it's owners. Have a great week. 8)
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u/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 4d ago
I spoil the shit out of him and he knows it!
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u/imisstheyoop 4d ago
Lol I bet. Without knowing his actual owners I can only bet he's getting way more mileage put on him at your side.
We are the opposite and I feel so freaking bad when we have family watch our dog. He goes from a couple of miles per day with a good chance at the dog park (he's been 4 times? this week) to practically nothing. We gotta spoil him when we get back. Leaving him for a weekend here at the end of the month when we head up north and I'm already feeling guilty about it. Wish that we had a better sitter like you, but thankful for what we do have! I could never kennel the guy or annything like that.
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u/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 4d ago
He gets a lot of walking time in for sure, but he also gets more treats!
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u/imisstheyoop 4d ago
That's the one thing mine gets plenty of with his uncles and grandma. Takes us a couple of days to flush all of the soft-serve poo out of his system afterward haha.
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u/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 4d ago
I'm very strict about not giving him people food. When I take him to see my brother and mother I have to pound it into their heads to only give him doggie treats or he will puke and/or get diarrhea.
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u/therapistfi $69.1k left on mortgage 4d ago
That is very kind of you! What kind of dog are we talking? (They're all cute though)
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u/ac9116 4d ago
Yesterday I got a nice promotion with a 31% pay increase but we downsized our team from more than 30 to 11 so it feels bittersweet.
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u/cfi-2025 48M, FIRE 2025 4d ago
31% pay increase, 300% responsibilities & workload increase.
(In all seriousness, congrats on the huge pay bump!)
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 4d ago
I'm in the market for a new dishwasher. I have a newer house (6 years old), and the one we have can generously be called a "contractor's special."
So anyway, I find one that seems appealing on Lowes dot com, and it seems they are having a BOGO sale. I'm curious what I'd do with a 2nd dishwasher, but for the moment, it's appealing.
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u/Unlikely-Alt-9383 FIREd July 7, 2026 4d ago
If you haven’t decided yet, I love my Bosch 500!
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 4d ago
That's the one, actually! Bosch 500 Series 24-in Top Control Built-in Dishwasher ( Stainless Steel ) With Third Rack, Zone Wash and AutoAir , 44-Decibel
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u/Unlikely-Alt-9383 FIREd July 7, 2026 4d ago
AutoAir is the reason I bought the 500! I generally run it overnight and I have the visual cue of the open door to remind me to empty the dishwasher. My 80-something dad was impressed by the third rack. Had it for six years now and it works great.
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u/confabulist-spoken 4d ago
Our dishwasher gave up the ghost last year and decided it would be a fun way to go out flooding the kitchen. We bought a Bosch 500 series and really like it. It's very quiet, and the third rack is something I wouldn't want to do without - even considering that the capacity for the other two racks is squeezed a little. Opening the door to dry the dishes works better than the heated drying in our old machine. There is a leak sensor that supposedly will prevent floods too.
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u/Kat9935 4d ago
Hmm.. don't you know its all the trend. Though seriously the only place I ever see two dishwashers is in my Jewish friends homes.
I personally love my kitchenaid. Looked at the Bosch but it had like a 6 week lead time, was more expensive and surprisingly it also was a bit louder. With the entire downstairs open, all I cared about was quiet and it had a 3rd rack.
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u/MooselookManiac 4d ago
Dual dishwashers are popular in large vacation rentals too. I've seen them in a number of beach houses that sleep 20+ people.
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u/TheyTookByoomba 33 | SI2K | 20ish more years 4d ago
I remember seeing a post on reddit like a decade ago of a bachelor's custom apartment where he had two dishwashers side by side. Never put the dishes in the cabinets, just moved them from one to the other as he used them.
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u/MooselookManiac 4d ago
I bought a new KitchenAid dishwasher when we renovated the kitchen in our last house. It was awesome. SO quiet and the layout of the racks just made sense for what we needed. When we moved and then renovated the kitchen in our new house all the KitchenAid ones were backordered so we got a Bosch and while it does a good enough job, it's not as quiet and the overall feeling of quality isn't there.
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 4d ago
Do you know the model you have? I can ask Mrs. Tale to compare
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u/zaq1xsw2cde SI2K, 2 comma club, 77.23% FI :snoo_smile: 4d ago
Bosch makes a good machine too. We had to buy it because many other manufacturers vent hot humid air directly on our laminate countertops, causing warping through the top mount screws. Regardless of that, I am happy with the purchase
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u/MooselookManiac 4d ago
Long ago I followed someone's bachelor pad apartment renovation project (I think on Reddit) and he ingeniously installed two dishwashers so he never had to put dishes away. He would simply use them straight out of the clean dishwasher and put them in the dirty one. When it was full, he'd run it and then just repeat the process. He claimed that it meant he only ever put away a handful of dishes every few days.
Additionally, I found while renovating our kitchen that custom cabinetry is so expensive that buying a second dishwasher could actually be cheaper than putting a cabinet in that space.
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u/TheyTookByoomba 33 | SI2K | 20ish more years 4d ago
I remember that post! That had to have been at least a decade ago.
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u/MooselookManiac 2d ago
Oh, at least. Probably more like 15+ years ago. I wonder if I can find it....
Hah! Found it! https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1fysog/the_bikini_girls_on_the_counter_on_the_front_page/
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u/Cheap-Profile-9231 4d ago
I know a lot of households who treat two dishwashers as the default.
Clean dishes come out of the clean dishwasher, get used on the table, go into the dirty dishwasher. Every few days, they run the dirty and now that's the clean one, they switch roles.
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u/secretfinaccount FIREd 2020 4d ago
I feel like this thread is clueing me in to a whole class of people I didn’t know existed. Where are these huge kitchens coming from?
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u/True-Community-8778 4d ago
I have two. Big family. Best decision ever. We put in the second when we did the kitchen renovation. It's amazing. The sink can be heaped with dishes and they can all be done in one go.
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u/secretfinaccount FIREd 2020 4d ago
How large is your kitchen? That’s amazing.
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u/True-Community-8778 4d ago edited 4d ago
I live in a normal suburban tract house. When we renovated we didn't increase the footprint of the kitchen from what we had before, but we did improve the layout. Our kitchen island has a dishwasher, the sink, and a dishwasher on the other side of it and nothing else. We don't have much in the way of lower cabinets. I don't care. I'm constantly running into the garage to get extra pots or whatever but it's fine.
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u/secretfinaccount FIREd 2020 4d ago
You know the more I thought about it I could totally sacrifice a dishwasher worth of cabinet space. I don’t have the plumbing and it would be hilarious to have them 90 degrees across a corner so only one would be opened but I suppose it could work! Dishwashers are a kind of cabinet anyway
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u/True-Community-8778 4d ago
Yeah I'd rather have a dishwasher than a cabinet. I'm surprised more people don't do it during renovations. Honestly. It's not that much more expensive, especially if the plumber is putting in the setup from scratch.
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u/ZubonKTR Silas Marner did nothing wrong 4d ago
Yard sale day! I have been hauling things for the in-laws for 3 hours.
The things that are precious to you are precious because they are precious to you. With narrow exceptions, they are trash to everyone else. Use them, love them, use them up.
The people that are precious to you are precious because they are precious to you. 100 people just as worthy were killed this week in wars you haven't heard of. Love them while you have them.
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u/fireflowers_ 4d ago
I had a conversation with my mom very recently where she was feeling guilty about not being able to completely streamline her belongings because I will have to deal with them in the end. I ultimately said “look, I won’t have to argue with [beloved stepdad] about getting rid of each item so it’ll go faster for me”. She feels better about it, haha. They’re in their early 70s, they likely have quite a few more years to enjoy their belongings and I think they should.
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u/ochansensusu bean counter 4d ago
In my mid 30s with $1.1M invested or liquid (mostly with Vanguard index funds and some employer stock) and $60k/year expenses... think it's about time to put down the landing gears. Of that $1.1M, $60K is parked in the settlement account and am about to start building up some bonds.
For life background, I'm a mid-level accountant in a VHCOL area with ~$300K TC, DINK and no kids planned. We own a small home.
How are people approaching asset allocation as they get ready to pull the trigger? Like 1 year cash savings and like 2-3 years of expenses in bonds?
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u/PetraLoseIt Dutch, living in the NL, 47F 4d ago
There is a whole lot of discussion on asset allocation in (early) retirement and withdrawal strategies etc. Maybe time to read up on some of those?
Also, if you haven't already, time to read up on health insurance in early retirement, at least if you're both planning to quit.
To me, 1 year of cash and 3 years of bonds seems fine for your situation (no plans for kids, paid off house, probably still option to work a bit if necessary once retired, etc).
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u/rackoblack 60yo DINKs, FIREd 2024 4d ago
1.1m sounds light for an enjoyable retirement, imo, unless maybe somehow you don't have to pay for health care. Personally, I like the lifestyle that spending more can afford us.
We utilize very little bonds, and it's mainly as a way to preserve funds to invest at lows of any big drop, not for expenses.
We FIRED at 57 with over 3x that amount. I've always been an active investor, small amounts beyond our indexed investments at first, which has grown nicely. We've also always invested in both taxable and tax-advantaged. As such, we had about 1/3 of our nw in taxable as our income stopped. The first couple years, we've been booking LTCG to meet expenses. We'll do more of the same next year (also turned off automatic reinvestment, so living off the 4% or so thrown off by the taxable equities we own), and also start doing some Roth converting. After 2-3 years of Roth conversions, we'll be eligible for social security and will likely turn it on at 63-65.
We're DINKs, as well, so no one to leave kids to except nieces and nephews. We'll have more than we'll ever spend, so I may start a DAF or maybe fund a scholarship with some of it at some point.
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u/ochansensusu bean counter 4d ago
Oh definitely not FIREing off of $1.1M with $60K annual expenses, but just thinking about how I'll be in striking range soon since I'd need $1.5M based on a 4% withdrawal rate. So I need adjust my auto deposits to cash or bonds to derisk my portfolio.
I can see why you might not need to bother with bonds if your portfolio was already way more than enough though. Also really generous for you to leave some for family!
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u/rackoblack 60yo DINKs, FIREd 2024 4d ago
You've got a long horizon. I wouldn't recommend more than 10-15% bonds, that pile needs to keep growing.
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u/Colonize_The_Moon Guac-FIRE 4d ago edited 4d ago
$1.1M invested or liquid ... $60k/year expenses... think it's about time to put down the landing gears.
Not on that amount you ain't. However, with $300k TC and those expenses you will (market permitting) probably be on approach in ~3 more years. I would not want to roll into retirement on a shoestring budget with a 4% SWR. Build some fat in to your expenses, lower the SWR even with the fat built in, and be realistic about what you'll need for healthcare, housing, hobbies, travel, etc.
To answer your question from personal preference as I prepare for retirement in the next ~3 years... I'm rolling with one year in cash expenses and no bonds due to a pension. However, without the pension I'd want probably 3-5 years in bonds as well - the goal would be to ride out a prolonged recession without selling equities at depressed valuations. Bond dividends + stock dividends + CD interest (from the one year in cash) + selling bonds + drawing down cash would be my preference for mitigating SORR. I have drawing down cash as the last option because you never know if you will have a larger than anticipated expense, so the cash cushion is there to handle that while equities are down. That is, of course, just my opinion on how to proceed.
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u/ochansensusu bean counter 4d ago
Think my original post was worded poorly lol, I'm definitely not FIREing on $1.1M but as I approach $1.5M (minimum required for 4% withdrawal rate based on $60K/yr) and FIRE becomes within reach, I'm trying to adjust my auto-deposits from my paychecks away from equities to cash and bonds.
The question was just how much in cash and bonds, thanks for your advice and ideas. How much "fat" have you built into your expenses?
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u/Colonize_The_Moon Guac-FIRE 4d ago
Roughly a third of total planned retirement spending is fat. Mostly travel and QOL.
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u/zackenrollertaway 4d ago
I have made money hand over fist since I retired in 2018 - I am an investing genius.
Wait.....what?
(article in today's WSJ - Older Americans Get Much Wealthier)
The S&P 500 rose 78% from the end of 2022 to the end of 2025, and it has continued to rise this year, likely minting further wealth gains for these Americans.
So I have just been lucky??
On the other hand,
Wealth increased 37% for Americans 75 and older, while it declined 23% for people under 35. During this period, people 75 and older became the richest age group, with a median net worth of $505,000.
I am 64, but with a $2.1m portfolio, I have quadruple the median net worth of the wealthiest age group,
Less than a year away from dumping my $1,800 per month health insurance for traditional Medicare AND with two launched young adult kids who take care of their own business and do not ask me for money,
I am good with calling myself "wealthy".
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u/TheStigsFiCousin 45% Lean, Prepared by the Stig's BBQ Cousin 4d ago
I just remember the Mark Cuban quote, "Everyone is a genius in a bull market"
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u/FIREstopdropandsave 31M DINK | No target $'s 4d ago
Slightly related, but do you plan on continuing gifting to your adult children yearly? I know they don't need it, just curious if you did it before due to your nest egg getting large or if it's part of your yearly plans.
And yes I'd call you wealthy :)
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 4d ago
I struggle with this myself. I never want to be in a position where I'm telling my kids where to spend their money, and yet, I often disagree with their spending choices. For instance, I was disappointed to find out that money I was sending to one of my children was actually being used to pay for his girlfriend's deadbeat mother's rent. (The gf is fine, the mother is not)
Right now, I'm just directly funding IRAs for them, but I have a hard time with the blank check approach.
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u/MooselookManiac 4d ago
I have young children and I know I'll have to deal with this eventually (unless AI apocalypse). I plan on saving my gifts for house downpayment or other long-term investment use, not blank check daddy's money nonsense.
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u/zackenrollertaway 4d ago edited 4d ago
My "surprise kids!" portfolio benchmarks have been
+$500k since retirement
portfolio hit $2m
portfolio hit $2.2mGoing to cool my jets until I hit $2.5m, whenever that is.
My big change in perspective this year has been a shift from
"I am planning to spend my (currently $360k) Roth IRA NEVER - what a great gift to pass on to my heirs when I die."
to
"Let's send some of that Roth money out into the world NOW where it can do some serious good instead of waiting until after I die"
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 4d ago
In my experience, "surprise kids" turn out to be pretty expensive. The planned ones are too, but the oopsies can get rough.
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u/TheStigsFiCousin 45% Lean, Prepared by the Stig's BBQ Cousin 4d ago
Haha. I believe that they meant it as surprising their kids with big gift. But from what i've read a half a mil is about right for raising an oops as well.
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u/FlyingPandaHead Coasting as PreK Teacher / 100% LeanFI / 74% FatFI 4d ago
I (44F) am seeing a few men on the dating apps indicating that they are semi-retired and I love to see it!
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 4d ago
My daughter, 33F, hates that every guy that contacts her on dating apps seems to be "semi-employed"
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u/ExcessiveDonuts 4d ago
I don't wanna burst your bubble or tell you who to date but be careful. "Part-time job" does not mean semi-retired.
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u/anymoose [Not really a moose][moosquerading][RE 2016] 4d ago
"Part-time job" does not mean semi-retired.
I work a "No-time job" and have not found that makes me particularly attractive either....
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u/william_fontaine [insert humblebrags here] /r/FI's Official 🥑 Analyst 4d ago
My 70-80 hour job doesn't help much either. Or my face, but also the job.
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u/FlyingPandaHead Coasting as PreK Teacher / 100% LeanFI / 74% FatFI 4d ago
Oh, thankfully they all say explicitly semi-retired. One was a pro skater and another was in Tech, so both scenarios are very plausible!
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u/ExcessiveDonuts 4d ago
I don't wanna burst your bubble or tell you who to date but be careful. "Lives in mom's basement" does not mean ex pro skater.
Well, sometimes it does.
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u/FlyingPandaHead Coasting as PreK Teacher / 100% LeanFI / 74% FatFI 4d ago edited 4d ago
lol! Lives in mom’s basement sadly wouldn’t the worst date discovery. Once, I went on a date with someone who seemed to be in a manic episode!!! Thankfully, I am getting better at ruthlessly weeding these men out in the chatting phase.
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u/imisstheyoop 4d ago
Reading this comment and the replies and thinking about my own situation, I cannot help but find the humor in how we not only apply but in how we process all of these various labels, even self-selected, that we choose to put on ourselves. 8)
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u/ILikeTheSpriteInYou 4d ago
Hoping that's me in a few years. I'm (41M) on track for 55, but could comfortably pull the trigger by 47.
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u/thefeebster FIRE 2020 4d ago edited 4d ago
Moreso a rant, but I have been FIRE’d for approx 6 years. From relatives and close family, I get the constant “what do you do all day”. I often go with the investing explanation. But this does not satisfy them. They ask “take us hour by hour through your day”. I tell them I wake up late, read the news, make coffee, run errands, go for walks, prep&cook dinner, watch sports. But they are still not satisfied.
Just met a new relative (highly type A at a top investment company) who said he “could and would never stop working”. His wife then asked me again “how do you spend your day?” My dad shakes his head in what seems like disappointment and mumbles “I don’t know”. My stepmom scoffs too at this time.
My close cousin just asked me out of the blue “have you considered volunteering to pass time?” This cousin has been very understanding, but i believe the topic was on good bakeries nearby and croissants when this question was raised.
I just don’t think how I spend my time in FIRE should be such a concern for everyone. Why does it matter so much? How do I get these questions to stop?
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u/Dhb223 4d ago
I've chatted about it vaguely with older coworkers who have said they like working, couldn't retire, etc. I said I would love to be retired and they were like "oh yeah, but you have hobbies, that makes sense" which is nice to have the affirmation but also funny to think about how I've absconded with this secret "hobbies" treasure and no one else can have it
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u/imisstheyoop 4d ago
Save smoe hobbies for the rest of us why dontcha.. sheesh, some people's children!
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u/MooselookManiac 4d ago
Since the advent of the internet I have never once had a boring day. I absolutely love learning about new and interesting things every day - it's my lifelong passion. I can spend hours and hours just going down Wikipedia rabbit holes or discovering new places on Google Earth and designing elaborate international trips to go visit them (which occasionally turn into real life adventures).
And that's just when I'm bored! Of course I am also taking care of two children and cooking meals and going outside and exercising and meeting with friends and working on projects and hobbies and all that.
I have no idea how intellectually stunted and boring someone has to be to think that spending 40 or 50 hours out of a 168 hour week doing "work" is the only legitimate option - or that some sort of work-adjacent volunteering has to take place to fill that time instead.
It boggles the mind!
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u/ExcessiveDonuts 4d ago
Say:
"Masturbate vigorously. Moisturize (obviously). Recover. Masturbate again."
They'll stop asking.
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 4d ago
Wait, you don't moisturize FIRST?
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u/secretfinaccount FIREd 2020 4d ago
I’ve never really had people push the issue. Maybe they expect more from you than I’ve taught people to expect from me?
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u/RIFIRE Last day: May 23, 2025 4d ago
Maybe ask them more questions, turn the tables a little.
No one is all that interested in how I spend my days but I still feel a little defensive when I'm asked questions like that. But I've always been profoundly boring so it's not really new, I got the same kinds of questions about taking a week off that I never felt like I had satisfactory answers for.
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u/thefeebster FIRE 2020 4d ago edited 4d ago
I have started feeling defensive about these questions because they feel judgemental in nature, as if I have to prove that I am productive enough to their arbitrary standard. It doesn’t feel like simple curiosity.
I retired to get away from someone demanding the accounting of my time, only to be met with it by family. It’s been the only frustrating part of RE for me.
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u/513-throw-away SR: Where everything's made up and the points don't matter 4d ago
How do I get these questions to stop?
Stop being a pushover/pleaser and either tell them directly it's not their damn business/fuck off/don't reply. One of those should make them stop.
On my recent funemployment stint, I felt completely busy each day. Granted, I have a wife, dog, and kid. I'm also basically doing grad school full time in the evenings.
Between waking up, getting my son up and out to daycare, going to the gym, some chores/cleaning around the house, and showering, I was already at lunch time.
Throw in a few hours of studying or one errand/outing and I was already at daycare pickup time, dinner time, bedtime, our dinner time, hang out with my wife, bed. Rinse and repeat, but plenty full days.
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u/Cheap-Profile-9231 4d ago edited 4d ago
When I was a kid, I grew up in foster homes where TV was weaponized, and then later adopted into a family who were fine with 3 channels. I've never owned a TV.
It came up in conversation with various coworkers who were usually absolutely unable to grasp the concept.
"But what do you do when you're not watching TV?"
I eventually came up with the counter-question: "What do you do when you're not playing the tuba?"
Today, I don't have FB or those types of social media, and people ask what I do when I'm not scrolling FB or YT or Twitter, &c.
"Uh, I live my life?"
.
I just don’t think how I spend my time in FIRE should be such a concern for everyone. Why does it matter so much? How do I get these questions to stop?
Personally, I stopped hanging out with certain groups. Can't avoid it with relatives, though.
I was just at a gathering and people asked how I kill time, I was able to show them some photos on my phone of a completely disassembled engine hoisted on a pulley system I built with the mainsheet and boom. Basically a friend's sailboat that was stranded up the coast, he's not very mechanical.
That was a few days' labour and puzzle solving, plus a day before and after biking out there and back in this gorgeous fall weather. I still need to head back for another round, since I didn't have a spare for the broken part. Went swimming in the ocean every day while there, wrote a couple chapters for the next book I'm working on, did some sketching.
"You should post these."
Me: "No."
And there wasn't much of a conversation after that. It may have created some distance with that group, because I suspect they had planned some sort of 'gotcha' moment to launch an intervention about my mental health.
I think another gift is that I'm the type of person who's fine on my own for extended periods. Probably high functioning schizoid. I greatly value autonomy, and do not value other people's judgements much, so navigating away from these types of people is very easy for me.
Winter's coming and there's less hiking/camping/sailing for me, and I expect I'll be pretty 'boring' by most people's standards - sitting at my desk writing, drawing, maybe working on a programming project. The thing a lot of people haven't figured out is that a lot of great achievements are the result of thousands of hours of quiet solitude, and it does not get the respect it deserves.
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u/Bearsbanker 4d ago
If anyone kept harping on me I guess my reply would be " fuck off, retire yourself and find out. If you can't/won't ever retire then you're a nitwit that couldn't possibly understand. Have fun at the office Monday!" I've been fired for 19 months a no one has asked me that ..except on reddit!
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u/Walmart-Shopper-22 4d ago
Are they genuinely curious about your day (in the same way I would be curious about someone's job if their job was a "dream job" of mine), or perhaps do they think you are underperforming in life and are trying to make you see what they see? E.g. if you were living very unhealthily/solitarily and they wished you would spend some time being more active and social.
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u/thefeebster FIRE 2020 4d ago
I could see them thinking I am underperforming to their standards but my daily lifestyle really hasn’t changed transitioning from working to retired, as in no drop towards unhealthy in any area.
I have always been a homebody & classic introvert. I feel very content in my retired daily routine. Never expressed any boredom or displeasure with my time allocation. I live with my partner and that’s more than enough social interaction for me. Our weekends are fully booked, either a date day and/or seeing their parents & siblings, my relatives and friends. I feel content socially and I feel content alone (esp as an only child).
I would say RE has bettered me as a person. More freedom, less anxiety, learned to cook a lot more, travel more and when I want.
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u/Walmart-Shopper-22 3d ago
I suspect that if I end up retiring in my early 40's there are some people who will not be excited about it. It's the difference between retiring with a "completely comfortable" life while my kids are still little vs. being able to have a much nicer house, vehicles, prestigious schools, etc....but work for an extra 10-15 years. I actually see that view as kindof reasonable given that a lot of resources were invested in my education and I probably won't be able to replicate that level of investment for my kids.
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u/HordesOfKailas 33M | FI by 12.31.29 4d ago
You're way too nice. I'm direct and a well known dick. As a result, never get repeated questions that turn into an interrogation.
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u/fireflowers_ 4d ago
A conversation six weeks ago that kicked off a raise and role adjustment for me has concluded in an actual adjustment in the HR system. 13% on my base which brings me from just under 80k to 90k, and my bonus changes from 5% to 10%… in 2027. That part is hilarious to me.
This is due to being voluntold to absorb a senior role (that I relied on heavily for support and guidance) which is leaving us due to a divestiture.
I have mixed feelings. Part of me wants to appreciate the appreciation, but more of me is clear that shit will only get crazier from here and I need to focus on the career coaching path I’m on. It may very well take a while.
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u/ExcessiveDonuts 4d ago
I really hate when people use one social media thread to advertise a different one, or complain about what some internet moron said to them in some other idiotic conversation.
But I must say that last night's lentil breath comment in the Daily was pure gold.
No new content this morning from me. I'm going to bask in the glow of that beauty.
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u/Glittering-Owl-2344 4d ago
One of the first FIRE people I met in the wild really did live off of rice and beans. I remember he told us all at work he was retiring and it lasted a year or so. It's been almost a decade and I'm pretty sure the second time stuck.
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u/william_fontaine [insert humblebrags here] /r/FI's Official 🥑 Analyst 4d ago
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u/Zentaury want to FIRE to wake up late 4d ago
We eat lentils Monday to Friday, the VP of the company calls me lentil-man
A coworker told me when I came back from a Europe trip:
“You can afford it because you only eat lentils. Do you eat lentils on vacation too?”
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u/howardbagel 4d ago
I'm making lentil soup RIGHT NOW!
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u/LooseMoralSwurkey 4d ago
Would you mind DM'ing me the recipe? I'm trying to branch out with my fall soup recipes.
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u/ExcessiveDonuts 4d ago
I don't know why they call this stuff Hamburger Helper. It does just fine by itself.
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u/imisstheyoop 4d ago
You know, now that you mention it, I firmly believe that you both have some things in common..
Why I bet you're the type of guy to kidnap your BiLs boss and gift wrap him up real nice as a Christmas gift. Or gift some bitchin' blue shoes.
Anyway, hope those tornados and storms stay out of your area today/tonight! Stay weather aware.
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u/ExcessiveDonuts 4d ago
Today I opened a door into my face, again.
Enough to draw significant blood and need a bandage.
I feel like you can appreciate going through life like a bowling ball more than most.
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u/TheStigsFiCousin 45% Lean, Prepared by the Stig's BBQ Cousin 4d ago
I was reading up on protecting your assets as your net worth grows and learned that legally your 401k isn't actually yours. It's legally in the broker's name with the legal expectation that if you request a disbursement they make it available. Just kind of a weird nuance.
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u/financeking90 4d ago
That may not be entirely fair--AFAIK they're in a trust which imposes significant legal obligations on them.
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u/TheStigsFiCousin 45% Lean, Prepared by the Stig's BBQ Cousin 4d ago
Still not in my name which was the weird nuance to me. It makes sense, but just not how I thought it would be.
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u/financeking90 4d ago
I guess what I'm trying to communicate in laymen's terms is that "in your name" is not what you think it is. To be more technical, U.S. law is a common law legal system based on England's ancient legal system. In that system, there is always a split between "legal ownership" and "beneficial ownership." The former is title "in your name" and the latter is not, but they're still both ownership.
Again, this distinction makes it sound like you don't legally own something, but that's a misunderstanding. In the ancient English legal system, there were actually two sets of courts and rules: the church-based courts of equity and the king-sponsored courts of "law." The rules of equity and the rules of law were two components or sides of one legal system in modern vocabulary. In the U.S., courts and legislatures slowly merged the two sets of rules into what is today one unified set of rules, although lawyers still sometimes have to mark the distinction of an "equitable" argument. At any rate, in the ancient legal system to own something at law was to have direct title to it. But one could own the "use" of something that was legally in somebody else's name, which King Henry VIII tried to eliminate and which then morphed into trusts. In a trust arrangement, the trustee has an obligation to provide benefits to the beneficiary or "beneficial owner" which was originally enforced in courts of equity. So in that vocabulary, yes, you don't "own" it with title but the rights to a benefit were enforceable in courts (of equity). U.S. law eventually moved to even call one a "beneficial owner" instead of just a beneficiary.
So yes, you say "it's not in your name" but your assumption that having title in your own name is somehow the most meaningful or important aspect of ownership is a misunderstanding of the U.S. legal system in the first place. To put it philosophically, ownership is actually the rights a court will enforce, and since they will enforce your rights to 401(k) assets, then you own it, title or no.
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u/cfi-2025 48M, FIRE 2025 4d ago
I know the law grants great protections for money in a 401(k), like protection against creditors and bankruptcy. Maybe they need to have it NOT in your name to extend those protections?
Because those same protections don't universally apply to IRAs.
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u/TheStigsFiCousin 45% Lean, Prepared by the Stig's BBQ Cousin 4d ago
To my understanding that is the big reason. Apparently the big exception is if a felony is committed. There was some case that set precedence for that because the judge ruled that the funds should be siezed to pay reparations to the victim's family at the federal level. What I got out of it was there's a good reason ultra rich people don't drive, lol.
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u/secretfinaccount FIREd 2020 4d ago
IRAs are also trusts for the benefit of someone, and even all your investments in your taxable account are legal property of one company, scheduled to your broker who then notes its for your benefit.
But yet the system works.
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u/RichieRicch 32M | California | 1.5 4d ago
Recieved my bonus and salary increase last night. Also came with a title change and three direct reports. Almost the entire company got new titles so feels slightly fluffy. Our company did the best it has ever done its 70 year history. The salary increase was 35% but bonus was the same as last year - which surprised me. Is it a tone deaf move to try and push for a larger bonus after an increase like that? I feel the raise was warranted and correctly matches my current value within the company.
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u/joeshmo39 4d ago
I wouldn't push. The bonus is inherently discretionary and the company may not want to burn a ton of cash paying bonuses given all the changes.
The salary is forever and creates a great floor. All future negations, internal or external, will be tied to that salary. Over time, a one time salary increase will put far more money in your pocket than this single bonus cycle.
A bonus and a 35% raise is all good stuff. I wouldn't push the bonus talk just because. Unless you know internal or external peers got substantially more bonus comp, I don't see a reason to complain.
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u/RichieRicch 32M | California | 1.5 4d ago edited 4d ago
Appreciate that. The max raise company wide was 10%, I’m the outlier. Agree with everything you said. Will keep the trap shut on this one. I just know the money is there. Profit margins this year were completely absurd. Don’t want to seem greedy… Even though I am.
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u/joeshmo39 4d ago
You should absolutely get paid your market rate and if you're not, should raise that issue or leave.
But you could also think of this as a 20% raise then a 15% bonus paid out over a year in terms of salary.
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u/Green0Photon 4d ago
Software dev here. Since you run a SaaS I'm sure you've heard at least some of the chatter.
For me, I decided to use AI to the least amount possible so that I could maintain my skills. Even before AI, I could see the very obvious skill drops that happen very quick when I don't use e.g. a programming language I used to be an expert in.
Running everything you do through Claude runs quite serious deskilling risks via the cognitive offloading. Moreover, when asked what you're doing, you can't say you did all the things you used to and now it does, with you knowing them less well. So it's extremely hard to lie and help justify your job.
I'm not sure of the pressures you're under to use AI. My first guess is that you should have a greater ability to push back, as you're a higher up and not an individual contributor. But we all answer to greater masters, or even our peers, and if everyone else is using AI, doing things properly and correctly and with pride demonstrates you're not using AI nowadays, which pushes you out of that in-group. Which does actually backfire for me. It's hard to lie that you use AI when you don't.
One of the biggest useful parts of AI is when there's a validation layer to run the AI generated stuff against. Which is why there's success in programming and math, because compilers and proof validators can confirm what the AI generates. If your kind of work doesn't have something similar, suffice to say it's incredibly obvious that you're offloading.
But beyond the selfish desire to not lose my skills, I'd also warn of something you might be feeling already: using AI to work isn't actually pleasant. You're running around with way more tasks than before with no time to focus or fall into a flow state, constantly pulling the lever hoping the
gambling machineLLM turns up the result you want. It's intensely demotivating.So even though you might be fired for not using AI, well, you might be fired for using it. And there's way more unpleasantness in using than not using it. So consider not using it.
With relation to FIRE, it definitely is just "how long can I keep my job in spite of not using AI". Though for many, it seems to be "despite using AI". This has given some resolve and at least some light at the end of the tunnel. Idk what I'd do without being on the path to FIRE. Or LeanFIRE, perhaps.
Also, remember, there is a massive amount of misinformation tied up in keeping this bubble alive. It is intensely hard to figure out the truth. Even your own experiences can be deceiving, just like being deceived by a mentalist or scammer, that trick your own psychology. Or how a lot of the anti-AI rhetoric is Criti-hype, where they say it's bad in a way that makes it scarier.
I find AI scary not for what it can do, but in what the bubble forces me to do. That is, not program anymore and convince my bosses they don't need to keep me around. Idk if the latter can be controlled, but I can control the former. Perhaps that resonates with you, too.
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u/MooselookManiac 4d ago
As a fellow software dev, I can see your point about skill atrophy, and I agree, but I think you're kind of pissing into the wind here.
AI is not going away. It is literally better than the median software dev at writing most of the boilerplate/throwaway code that makes up 90%+ of most software jobs. I personally prefer working with AI to manually toiling over every single line of code, for most tasks.
In a few years, I believe hand-written code will have gone the way of hand-written assembly code. Yes, you can still do it, but why the fuck would you? It's just another step (albeit a large one) up the ladder of abstraction.
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u/Green0Photon 3d ago
The main difference with every other abstraction level is that they're all deterministic.
Any form of expression like art, math, writing, and software dev all has these tiny details. And any new tool lets you do the same thing every time, or sufficiently so, such that your brain can develop extremely fine grained yet unconscious control, so everything you're doing is deliberate.
With LLMs, there's too much randomness. Your ability to control those lower levels is blocked. Not because you can't go back and change that code, but because the way the tool works means you won't. Especially if your hypothesis is true.
Abstraction needs to be deterministic. The more the boundary leaks (i.e. if it's less deterministic), the more you need to know about the underlying layers, and the less your brain is able to express fine level control through that boundary. With assembly, some parts leak through so that some devs still need to use it. Using LLMs is by far leakier.
These boundaries are about expressing more via smaller movements. It's about being terse. LLMs aren't letting you compress your intention by letting you learn more, building on top of structure.
If this gets solved, we'll see. After all, the way Cyberpunk computer-human mind melding stuff is that it lets all these details be known and controlled by the human. But so far, I've not seen any indication of LLMs letting you do anything like what I'm looking for.
If you know a counter example, please let me know. All I want is some way to show I can use AI that isn't self destructive to me.
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u/MooselookManiac 2d ago
Well, consider early C compilers as an example. In 2026, compilers are reliable, but back in the early days, you could compile your C code twice with the same compiler and end up with different machine code each time, and sometimes one of those versions would just crash your machine.
LLMs have only been in wide use for coding for a couple of years, and the improvement in quality and reliability has been staggering. I think we'll get to the point fairly quickly where results are generally reliable enough (99.9999%) that we don't really worry about the lack of deterministic perfection.
I haven't even gotten into testing. Many devs in the past would skimp on testing because they were already confident in the code they wrote. Now, you can have a LLM generate more tests than you could even think of in a few seconds, and have it validate itself. I think many of the problems introduced by LLM code can also be caught and remedied by more LLM generated code.
I don't know - where am I wrong?
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u/Green0Photon 2d ago edited 2d ago
Ok. Say LLMs do get deterministic and it does become an actual skill where you can build up precise intuition of what exactly would get outputted given some specific input. Where you can exert great control with some really terse code.
Perhaps what occurs is that new/early attempts of creating something guide you to creating a precise output, refining prompts. I guess creating a more natural but terse yet somewhat magical programming language? That can easily guide you when you're missing stuff instead of having the LLM infer it?
Now, I do think this is reaching, since this goes very counter to a lot of LLM trends and is an incredibly hard hypothetical to describe. It's like, "imagine LLMs morphed into a magical Haskell/Rust hybrid that taught you the structure as you went along". Whereas the current system is all about creating detail you may or may not want, as the point.
And that would need to be eliminated to get that perfectly reliable results plus terse specificity. So you couldn't have your e.g. LLM generate all these tests without having it prompt you to specify exactly what you'd need.
I'm not sure I've conveyed my point if it's come to this tbh. I may as well be thinking of the hypothetical "what if LLMs magically became something they're not", when the trend is away from that. We've gone from human in the loop small bits of boilerplate to vibe coding to agents creating the whole project making assumptions all the way down instead of having you make every decision. LLMs being deterministic and having similar prompts lead to similar responses (I'm reminded kind of continuous/maybe differentiable functions, where small perturbations in x lead to small perturbations in y where everything stays local) still wouldn't sufficient to get to the idea I'm reaching towards.
I am going to need to think about this hypothetical more, but I'm kind of refusing to think we'd get there. LLMs would need a change in kind, like its initial leap in the first place, vs the continuous improvement it currently has. Maybe a different interface?
Thing is, as you make that interface more and more precise, you get closer to just wanting a normal programming language. So ig it's more like you'd want to merge the LLM and programming language, perhaps having a prompt be more like a macro, that can autocomplete that you can change if necessary.
Creating code with LLMs isn't bidirectional and modular. But if we could have sections readily reproduced from an original prompt (even if it's built via caching things), you could build out a big codebase then shrink it into smaller chunks you could reason about, and then blow things back up and down to see that things work as you expect or modify.
Like instead of writing e.g. some mapping filtering function, you can just describe the logic, have that code saved with ide showing one or the other.
I could see some version of this working better tbh. I don't think it's terribly likely, but it's not a bad idea tbh. I'm not necessarily sure it's a good idea cognitively, but at least parts of it preserve very good qualities to me.
Now, you can have a LLM generate more tests than you could even think of in a few seconds, and have it validate itself. I think many of the problems introduced by LLM code can also be caught and remedied by more LLM generated code.
I don't know - where am I wrong?
You're running into the same type of issue stemming from why you can't just use LLMs to train new LLMs, at least not wholly. Why they still need to get their hands on as much human created data as possible. The LLMs don't add, idk what it's called, but something to its output. Its output is statistically tied to its input and doesn't contain anything extra. It's either fully deterministic or with extra random data, not actually new information theory type information.
In order to train the models more, you need more data uncorrelated with the model you have, otherwise you'll get model collapse as it feeds upon itself. Likewise, your own codebase also runs into this limit. You add more data as you add to the prompts yourself, making choices, but you can't just always say fix things. No matter how good the models get, you hit a wall.
Because the model can only infer your intent from the limited info you give it. There are only so many possible outputs given whatever small inputs. Ultimately you're the one that needs to decide whether the tests are right or wrong.
You can have the model self validate until the cows go home, but ultimately you need to specify to some level what you think is correct behavior for it to follow.
This also assumes better hallucination behavior and reliability, which just makes that worse if not handled.
And, as you might see from my earlier idea, that's all about isolating and modularizing LLM outputs to have as much info dense outputs per input. The shorter yet terser inputs the better.
I'd love to hear feedback on my idea and any thoughts about how well I explained everything.
Edit: Found this article on HackerNews and it's describing a large chunk of what I've been trying to describe.
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 4d ago edited 4d ago
Also in software. We have strong pressure to use AI everywhere. But amusingly, we just disabled one of Claude's models because people were using it TOO much, and it was getting too expensive. People complained, and the answer back wasn't great.
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u/CoinOpCodeMonkey 4d ago
Yes.
I had essentially the same conversation with multiple coworkers this week, and we're all pretty much of the sentiment that we have maybe five good years left, possibly ten before our careers won't exist in their current shape and form.
I wouldn't say I'm an AI doomer - far from it - but I work in a field that's adjacent to the AI frontier and I literally talk to businesses every day about how they are implementing real world applications in production.
We're all quietly increasing what we're putting towards our investments and considering ourselves fortunate enough to have just enough runway left to hit our numbers.
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u/TheStigsFiCousin 45% Lean, Prepared by the Stig's BBQ Cousin 4d ago
It makes me glad that in the last few years I hit the point where my raw investment returns cover my expenses. Not as secure as being fi, but it's a massive buffer against career disruption as i make the slow march to 4%.
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u/MooselookManiac 4d ago
It's wild, isn't it? I wonder if our investments will even matter in 10 years. That's how fast things are changing.
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u/CoinOpCodeMonkey 4d ago
Oh there will be new jobs, different jobs and changed jobs and the economic wheel will keep turning in one way or another, I just want to be off it before my own job is disrupted too much.
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u/MooselookManiac 2d ago
We'll see! It's hard to see over the horizon if we are on the edge of "actual AGI". I'm still not convinced that we are, but we might be!
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u/TheStigsFiCousin 45% Lean, Prepared by the Stig's BBQ Cousin 4d ago
One thing i'd be more concerned about is what happens if there is a claude outage? You just vendor locked your entire job into a single software, aside from google meet or zoom or whatever. If they were to quadruple the price on you would you still pay it? Make sure that you have a business continuity plan and make sure to keep your skills sharp.
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u/MooselookManiac 4d ago
This is the same as asking what happens when there is an internet or power outage. You wait. AI is already almost as ubiquitous as the internet itself, and it's not going to go the other direction.
There is plenty of competition in the AI space - you can also run models locally if you have the hardware budget (any medium sized company would).
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u/forbiddenlake no swimming 4d ago
Is Claude correct? All the time?
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u/GraemeCPA 60% SR, 100% Happiness Rate 4d ago
it seems to be progressing down the march of nines rapidly
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u/IllPurpose3524 4d ago edited 4d ago
I've been dealing with a ground-up, AI accounting software and the agent is extremely good at trends, variance analysis, and reconciliations. Oddly enough, like other LLMs, it's not that consistent with its approach to things it really should be (example: it will read an invoice that says carpet cleaning and 1-3% of the time it decides to throw it into a HVAC account).
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u/CaribbeanDreams 100% FI/ 98% RE/ $7.5M Goal 4d ago
How do your auditors feel about your use of Claude in Financial Reporting? Things they do not like when you are a public company, thats for damn sure!
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u/GraemeCPA 60% SR, 100% Happiness Rate 4d ago
Depends how you use it, I'm sure, and how much human review remains.
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u/MooselookManiac 4d ago
I can absolutely relate. Saas is done. I know this, because I made a saas product prototype that would have taken me months to develop on my own in four hours.
Software that is distributed to end users is also done. I don't know how closely you follow this stuff, but AI tools now allow for reverse engineering and de-compilation of binaries for any apps that distribute them, allowing people to re-write the apps in whatever language they want and release them as open source. Adobe is done.
The IP moat no longer exists. Saas companies can continue as long as their app is not easy enough to replicate locally and has some real reason for existing in the cloud. Otherwise, it's all fucked.
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u/imisstheyoop 4d ago
I wonder about this.
Thinking practically, how long do we think that the powers-that-be are going to just blindly let large corporate SaaS providers, that they along with us are all invested in, be essentially reverse engineered and ripped off before the hammer begins to come down in order to maintain status quo?
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u/MooselookManiac 2d ago
Well, the giant saas companies like Salesforce and Atlassian have the benefit of customers who have decades of data and workflows entrenched within their platforms. It would be a hard sell to convince the long-term customers to jump ship or roll their own.
So, just because a perfect clone of the UI and platform can be made, doesn't mean any large company would want to take the risk or commit the effort to migrating. Then again, AI tools can make migration projects trivial too...
I can't see how "powers-that-be" can stop what's happening. The powers-that-be ARE the big tech AI companies now!
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u/Solid-Awareness-4486 46F | 4 years from FI? 4d ago edited 4d ago
Happy Saturday! Had a pleasant walk to the farmers market this morning for some coffee, pastries, and locally-grown staples.
The theme of high spending for the year continues... this week we learned that the drop in balance in my spouse's 401k (former employer) was a clawback of company match to the tune of about $12k due to not meeting vesting requirements. We knew that the requirements hadn't been met, but I guess we assumed that had been corrected when employment ended. It's about 4 years since they left that employer so I really wish we had rolled that one over-- they probably couldn't have done anything if we had. On the home front, our water heater stopped working this morning, troubleshooting yielded nothing, so now I have a technician on the way with the inevitable weekend surcharge. Boo.
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u/zaq1xsw2cde SI2K, 2 comma club, 77.23% FI :snoo_smile: 4d ago
Eh, or the rollover would’ve triggered a review at that time. That they came back four years later seems unexpected!
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u/Solid-Awareness-4486 46F | 4 years from FI? 4d ago
Yeah, you may be right that they would have figured it out at rollover. I was very surprised that they came after it after 4 years!
Update on the water heater, the tech couldn't find anything wrong and was able to get it running. He checked it thoroughly, tested it quite a bit, and stuck around to make sure it was working. So, I'm choosing to look on the bright side that, while we paid for a weekend service fee & diagnostic, at least we're not paying for a new water heater.
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u/513-throw-away SR: Where everything's made up and the points don't matter 4d ago
Yeah, you may be right that they would have figured it out at rollover. I was very surprised that they came after it after 4 years!
Someone has to go in and run a job to basically physically transfer the unvested dollars to forfeited funds.
Most plans let boomerang/returning employees return at the same vesting schedule (though sometimes capped at a certain time - like can only be gone 1-2 years), so many employers won't instantly claw the unvested match dollars back. It would create even more legwork to claw the funds back and then return them to an employee.
The vesting would've 1,000% been checked upon any request for a rollover though - likely by the system itself.
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u/zaq1xsw2cde SI2K, 2 comma club, 77.23% FI :snoo_smile: 3d ago
We paid $150 or $200 years ago to an HVAC company to repair the air conditioner. On his inspection, a plug had come loose. Reconnected and it fired right up. At least you got a once over of the heater to be sure it wasn’t catastrophic. Just know they tend to last 15 years and then bite the dust.
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u/hello00world01 SI2K | 2M | Goal 5M 4d ago
I was promoted to Staff about a year ago. Since then, I’ve become the unofficial technical person for a highly volatile, cross-functional program involving ~20 engineering teams across multiple orgs.
I’m getting visibility with senior leadership, and my skip has explicitly said this kind of work typically requires someone at a much higher level and that I’m doing great.
Despite all this, my annual review was “Meets Expectations,” with pretty average Staff-level comp. The written feedback was glowing, but the compensation doesn’t seem to reflect the scope of my work.
For context, my comp increased by about $70K when I moved from Senior to Staff.
For those who’ve been in similar situations:
Is this normal for a new Staff engineer?
Am I being set up for Principal, or just taking on more responsibility without recognition? My work hours have increased to 10 hours minimum daily.
Should I push for a promotion path, negotiate comp, or look externally?
I have about $2.35M invested, so I have some flexibility. I’m trying to figure out how to approach the next stage of my career strategically. Curious how others would approach this
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u/FIREstopdropandsave 31M DINK | No target $'s 4d ago
Typically first year in a scope change you just get an automatic meets. Management seems to think dropping into a new role and exceeding expectations somehow reflects bad on them and others they have in that role. If you were that good, why didn't management get you promoted sooner/why are your other staff devs not that good?
So the result, you get meets.
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u/hello00world01 SI2K | 2M | Goal 5M 4d ago
Right, I was informed of this rule now that year after review is always meets. My manager told me that they were going to make sure my effort was recognised and that I had an exceptional year before the review, so I feel a bit salty now
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u/FIREstopdropandsave 31M DINK | No target $'s 4d ago
Yeah, it feels so short sighted. Sure it can protect a recently promoted person from a poor performing year while they adjust to the expectations. But for your high performers? Absolutely asinine.
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u/persistent_architect 4d ago
I've been in this stage where I was getting recognized and promoted, but the salary was always lagging behind. I was a staff engineer in big tech in important projects, but barely making the equivalent of a new senior engineer in NYC/Bay area.
The only way out of this is to find a new job that pays you the true market value. You can use this to negotiate at your current job. If you have the leverage, they will match it or come close. If not, you can leave. Either ways, you get paid.
I was able to increase my salary by 300K couple of years ago by getting another big tech staff offer and my company matched it
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u/hello00world01 SI2K | 2M | Goal 5M 4d ago
I want to grow in the IC ladder. Since I was promoted last year, next level is few years out irrespective of my output.
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u/sensitivegru 4d ago
$70K is outstanding for moving from Senior to Staff. At my company the raise for promotions is at most 10%, so people may get a raise maybe 20-25K.
If you've just been promoted to staff it's unlike they would have given you anything about Meets Expectations, as you've been doing the new job only for a year.
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u/jocona 4d ago
Hard to say if you’re underpaid without knowing your pay. Have you spoken with your manager about your rating and plans for moving up to higher bands?
If you’re close to retirement, a move to another company might not be worth the headache. For what it’s worth, I’ve been at staff more a couple years and moved to another company. It took maybe 9 months to really settle in, before that I was working 60+ hour weeks.
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u/hello00world01 SI2K | 2M | Goal 5M 4d ago
My pay is 450k without stock appreciation, w2 is around 550k. Manager said rating would be exceeds if it wasnt year after promo and said next year will be different.
I have a few more years to reach my FI goal
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u/jocona 4d ago edited 4d ago
Gotcha, seems like good pay for staff but not quite top of market. That sucks about getting a poorer rating just for policy reasons. If you’re happy with the work, I wouldn’t let it be a factor in moving or not. It sucks it happened but you’ve already burned the time and it shouldn’t happen again, unless you’re worried that similar policies would block future pay raises or promotions.
Hop on levels.fyi and check salary bands for your level in your area. If you do want to move, you might be able to find slightly higher comp.
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u/hello00world01 SI2K | 2M | Goal 5M 4d ago
True. I am in the Bay Area. Comp is ~700k for similar staff level at other companies.
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u/MooselookManiac 4d ago
Thanks for sharing this. Comp is absolutely fucking wild out there. I FIREd in NC almost 10 years ago with less than your current portfolio as a software dev and I never made more than $200k a year.
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u/PersonalBrowser 4d ago edited 4d ago
How much have you spent on decorating your office? I get about $4,000 per year for other work expenses, but it doesn't cover office decor and stuff like that.
For example, I upgraded my keyboard and mouse, and I also got a lot of plants and some art work, and amenities like a speaker system, shelving, and a place to put family photos and stuff. All in all, I've spent about $1,000 on my new office and have really enjoyed the new vibe and it really is my "happy place."
I'd love to hear what ya'll's experience has been
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u/carlivar 49M 3 kids ✅ FI ⏳ RE @ SoCal 🏖️⛷️ 4d ago
What's an "office"? I do have a desk, barely wider than I am, crammed into a distracting open floorplan with everyone else.
I've spent nothing decorating it.
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u/Krish_1234 FIRED - Loving it 4d ago
When I had my own personal big cube, all I had was my lunch bag and a coffee mug, for almost 18+ years. I would be outta there in under 1 min when I get the pink slip.
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u/Cheap-Profile-9231 4d ago edited 4d ago
I think you'll have to elaborate.
Home office? Does this include proportional house renos?
Tough conversation, but I bought a recreational property with a mind to improving the environment for writing, we're talking seven figures. Decoration is irrelevant, I need extended periods without interruption.
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u/HoldOk4092 4d ago
$0, why the fuck would you spend out of pocket on some thing so inconsequential?
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u/PersonalBrowser 4d ago
I spend nearly 8 hours there 5 days a week, so being comfortable and enjoying my time there is worth it to me. It’s interesting how averse to spending money on that people seem to be when it’s not much different then spending money on a nice mattress or decorating your home.
To be fair, everything I bought (speaker, plants, keyboard, etc) is obviously mine and comes with me if I ever leave or when I retire, it’s not like I’m spending money subsidizing the company.
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u/Colonize_The_Moon Guac-FIRE 4d ago
I can only imagine having an office, let alone having space for plants, artwork, a speaker system, shelving, etc. I work in an open office workspace and don't even have desk space for a Keurig.
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u/livin_the_life 4d ago
Like $100. I bought some really nice fake plants (Cubicle in a laboratory and real plants are a no-no). Everything else is simply printed and tacked artwork.
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u/ra__account 3d ago
I haven't had enough physical desk space to consider anything like that since the early 2000s. But even then I was never really into decorating it. Speakers and shelves were provided and when I'm at work I'm usually head down in code or communication or actively talking to someone, so I rarely take notice of anything like photos and so just don't bother.
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4d ago
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u/jason_abacabb 3d ago
We're you trying to respond to someone?
Because that doesn't make sense to me.
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u/Glittering-Owl-2344 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yesterday, I got a bill for unpaid state taxes from a state I moved out of in 2020 and I slipped in fell into a street stream due to storm run off (it mostly broke my fall). So things are either okay (if they acknowledge I did pay state taxes to one of the states actually infamous for coming after you, I did not think this one cared, if my phone starts charging, but I already ordered a wireless charger just in case), or I am going to be in a bad mood the rest of the year. Even if they only make me pay a bit I will be in a bad mood.
The original bill is approximately a third of my entire 2027 budget, which is fascinating.
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u/forbiddenlake no swimming 4d ago
Wild non sequiturs here, are you ok, or are you a broken LLM? Slipped and fell? Where did the phone charging even come from?
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u/persistent_architect 4d ago
I'm not sure if this is a human or an LLM, but either ways, the communication skills are lacking. Maybe they hit their head.
I couldn't follow along with what was being said.
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u/Glittering-Owl-2344 4d ago edited 4d ago
My iPhone keeps showing liquid detected and won't charge when plugged in. I just spent 15 minutes holding it over a fan, so we'll see. I wish I was a broken LLM and not out possibly $12k lol (Be careful on European cobblestones in rain is the lesson).
(But thank you for checking if I'm okay! I sort of forgot about that part in all the annoyance. My hand is sore and I have some bruises but my backpack and the water broke my fall. So many people came up to check up on me which was nice but I was mostly embarrassed)
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u/william_fontaine [insert humblebrags here] /r/FI's Official 🥑 Analyst 4d ago
My iPhone keeps showing liquid detected and won't charge when plugged in.
Did you try the ol' bag of rice trick?
Edit: wait don't, Apple said it's a bad idea.
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u/Glittering-Owl-2344 4d ago edited 4d ago
I don't want to jinx it but after being held over the fan it is charging!!! And is at least to a point it could be used to make calls in an emergency!
And yes, Apple says no on it!
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4d ago
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 4d ago
Productive? Going to hack Hugging Face again, maybe?
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u/C_Majuscula 4d ago
Another one of my college friends just announced her retirement on LinkedIn - hopefully many more coming in the next few years before we hit 55.
Husband's and my date is either end of March 2027 or 2028.