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    Half way there (updates)

    Awesome job. I'm in a somewhat similar situation (37 y/o, $1.2m net worth, 3 kids). But I started in 2015-ish as I got a STEM PhD which delayed things... a lot. With the small kids, I'd slow down for a year or two and just focus on hoarding cash and maybe putting some money in the taxable...
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    Crazy how much things can change in less than 10 years

    Absolutely. Not to mention, full-time daycare for an infant around here is like $2k/month, which means pre-tax you need to make $3k/month, or about $36k/yr. Her teaching job didn't pay much more than that and we weren't using any of her benefits. The only real financial "loss" is pausing her...
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    Crazy how much things can change in less than 10 years

    Been on here since 2015, right around when I graduated. In fact I just revisited my first post on here, almost 9 years ago, and my net worth was a whopping $46k. As of this week, we (wife + 3 kids) are now over $1.1m. And neither of us are doctors, lawyers, investment bankers, or have gotten...
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    Auto accident lawsuit

    Reading all these stories is freaking me out... and really making me miss the years I lived in Hong Kong car-free...
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    13 years later...need a push

    I also used to be fairly active but now mostly lurk here. I joined in 2015 and your post inspired me to re-view my first post 8 years ago. I was single, renting, unmarried and had no kids. My net worth was a whopping $46k and my dream was to retire in my early 40s. Now I am married, three kids...
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    Hernia update

    When I was doing some research on this, I was seeing estimates of $3-6k which means I'd still be on the hook for most, if not all, of my $4k deductible even if it's 'covered'. According to my PCP, people in less-fortunate countries often live with umbilical hernias for life without any major...
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    Hernia update

    Good luck to you OP - Mid 30s here with a small umbilical hernia. I'm in fairly decent shape (BMI of 23.7, longtime runner) and my PCP told me that my goal should be to "take it to the grave" ie avoid surgery as long as possible. Told me that hernia surgeries are a cash cow for surgeons and...
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    Why can I not stop thinking about paying off my mortgage?!?!

    I'm generally strongly in the "pay it off camp". We paid ours off - it was 3.75% with 1.5% inflation. No way I would pay yours off unless you have an edge case (e.g. you need home equity that can't be touched by creditors/lawsuits). You have an absolute bargain basement rate, equities have...
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    Reminder that your days are not guaranteed!

    This is why I just can't do boating anymore with my family. We were on a friend's boat during Labor Day some 10 years ago and nearly got hit by group of raging drunks. And last year we also decided to reduce our savings rate a bit an enjoy more of life now. I ran the numbers under two...
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    Has anyone here given up on public education in the past few years?

    I think ultimately the pendulum will swing the other way, or at least more towards the middle, but it's a shame that so many kids get shafted during these 'experiments' that are nothing but the latest fad in academic journals.
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    Has anyone here given up on public education in the past few years?

    I agree in theory, but colleges DO care about grades, tests scores, and how everyone ranks against one another. Obviously we don't expect perfection but I do think that giving props to good work is motivational
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    Has anyone here given up on public education in the past few years?

    We have considered it but we are at risk of the new district changing as well, and only have a more expensive home to deal with. We do tons of extra fun activities at home that are also educational. Last year, she was put in a math class one grade-level above (e.g. taking 7th grade math in 6th...
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    Has anyone here given up on public education in the past few years?

    The recent trend in middle/high public schools around here has been to slowly eliminate honors courses, switch from A-F grading to more of a pass/fail system, setting minimum grades of 50%, and substantially reduce the numbers of students suspended or expelled for major discipline issues. And...
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    Wasteful people (rant)

    Someone who was never taught properly is going to have to learn eventually. My upbringing was not great and I had to learn a lot of stuff on my own in college and later in life. I always appreciated when someone was a 'bro' about it, versus calling me out and acting like a wannabe tough guy...
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    Wasteful people (rant)

    If his upbringing was poor, that's not actually the guy's fault. Maybe he started to feel sick. Maybe the food just sucked (we're talking take out Chinese here). There are a million more tactful ways to get the point across without harshly telling him that if he does this again he's not welcome...
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    Wasteful people (rant)

    But but but his GF's dad paid for it, as was mentioned 2-3 times! He probably saved a nice $8 on take out Chinese LOL. Awesome way to forge a great relationship with a potential future son-in-law. :laugh:
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    Wasteful people (rant)

    Gotta tough guy here!
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    Wasteful people (rant)

    It's not even known whether it's food waste...
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    Wasteful people (rant)

    My opinion is to let it go and if it's a 'good' neighbor otherwise, just be happy. Be happy you don't have a truly bad neighbor - one whose house is in complete disrepair, or leaves a barking dog out all day/night, smokes near your open windows, builds a fence that encroaches into your yard and...
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    ghosting is the new normal

    For any sewer issues, I've had the best luck with companies that specialize in sewers & drains (they are not licensed plumbers). I have ancient cast iron drains + 3 ladies with long hair in the house, which means I need at least one unclog every 18-24 months that I can't do with my hand snake...
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    ghosting is the new normal

    Ghosting in the trades has always been an issue, I recall my dad complaining when they were looking to build a fence around their yard in the 1990s... same story - called 5 guys, 3 picked up, 2 came out, and only 1 gave a bid. If you have the time, learn how to do small jobs by yourself. For...
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    need to cut back on alcohol !

    I wouldn't even say it was an 'addiction' and by some definitions I'd be a moderate drinker at 'only' 1.5 beers/day on average... and there were weeks where I didn't drink at all. But even that was causing a major decline in my QOL as I found out over the past year. I can't believe I can still...
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    need to cut back on alcohol !

    I know this is an older thread, but when I read it last year, it inspired me to severely cut back on my drinking. I used to drink 6-10 beers a week (usually on the stronger side), and cut it down to 1-2 beers a week, sometimes less. Lost 20lbs in a year with absolutely no other changes. Went...
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    Cancer sucks!

    I'm so sorry for your loss. Seeing stories like this is what caused us to re-evaluate our urgency to retire early. We bumped up our target age by 5 years so that we can enjoy life a little more during these younger years. 3 years was a long fight. I hope you were able to get everything...
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    Non working spouse Medicare

    I'm a bit younger but have been thinking about this issue so I appreciate seeing a thread on this. My wife, who is a few years older than me, immigrated to the US in her 30s and while we don't need her to work, it seems like 10 years/40 quarters of work will make life so much easier down the...
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