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Hi Everyone, I’ve been a long time member - mostly a “lurker” - and wanted to reintroduce myself and seek some career advice. I am 34 and in a long term, same sex relationship and kids most likely are not in our future. I’ve been in the professional workforce for about 12 years now (9 years...

United is currently offering a flash sale (ends on 4/8) on mileage purchases, offering up to a 100% bonus on the miles purchased. If you buy 40,000 to 87,500 miles, you get a 100% bonus. Is anyone pursuing this? Or am I overlooking something? As fate would have it, my family and I booked a...

My Significant Other "SO" and I have moved in together after about 2.5 years of dating. To be more specific, I ended up buying a new home for us to live in together (with my own funds for the down payment, taking out the loan in my name and receiving the deed in my name). We are dating and not...

Hey all, I know this question is asked a lot. But I'll ask again :) I sold my home and bought a new one and ended up making a decent chunk of change. Combined with my year-end bonus, etc., I've got about $40k in extra cash on hand. Emergency fund is fully funded, and I will be maxing out my...

Well, I am starting off the new year with a bang! I'm under contract to purchase a new condo. I am mortgage shopping and curious to hear the ER community's thoughts. I originally intended to put 20% down and do a 30 year, traditional fixed but a new attractive option has come up. Assuming...

What is everyone’s thoughts on how the slowly rising mortgage interest rates will affect housing values? Will it decrease or increase housing values? Is now a good or bad time to buy? What about to sell? Just curious to hear the RE’s thoughts on the subject.

Curious to hear if anyone on the forum has any experience with boat clubs (like Freedom Boat Club)? If so would you care to share your thoughts on them....pros, cons, etc? I don't know much about them and have read both good and bad reviews online. It seems like a more practical way of boat...

I sold off about 18% of my portfolio to cash at the end of 2017. I was planning to buy a house but that fell through. I now am sitting on a sizable chunk of cash currently invested in an online savings account earning 1.6% APY. I have no plans to purchase a house nor use this money for any...

My car needs new tires and new brakes. I think both of these will cost about $1,200. Or more. Car has 50k miles on it and is a simple reliable compact car. I think it could easily last another 50k miles after new tires and brakes. The trade in value on the car is $5,500. Realistically...

I am under contract to buy a new condo for about $358k. The new place is a 2 bed 2 bath in Chicago. My current place is a 1 bedroom 1 bath also in Chicago. The new place is desirable because it gives me more room and is more realistic for a long term residence. I am curious to hear the...

I understand that, at its core, this question is basically a market timing question, but I'll ask it any way. If you thought you might buy a home in the next year or two (or sooner), and the funds you needed for the downpayment and closing costs were invested in the stock market right now...

I guess this is a post to try and help me justify my thinking and potential actions. Or you could say it is a post to help prove me wrong and that I am just looking for an excuse to spend $$. At any rate, I would value your opinion. I currently live in a major metro in a fairly small (but...

I'm curious if anyone has contemplated or carried out a small liquidation of their portfolio (not talking huge amounts, maybe 5% or 10% max) because the market is high to "lock in" some gains? With the intent to use the funds to pay down a mortgage a bit, for large capital expenditures, to...

My company makes the annual lump sum match after year end every year. The past two years, it was done in January and February. Each time it was made, a notice was sent out a couple days before saying that the matching contributions were going to be made. This year, as we approach mid-March...

In mid 2016 I was given more work responsibility, with the idea that I would be given even more work responsibility at the onset of 2017. I work for a small company, and my "predecessor" (i.e., another jr. employee who also held the same role that I did a few years ago) took the same path I've...

Hi All, I don't intend for this to be a "humble brag" post, despite what it may seem like. I haven't posted a "critique my plan" post in a while, but just curious if anyone has any suggestions for improvements on things I could change/alter for a better outcome, whether from a FIRE standpoint...

I am to hear what the ER community's opinion is on the Real Estate Crowd Funding investment world is. The concept is pretty self explanatory - thinking lending tree but with real estate. The minimum investment is as low as $1k and they are touting annual returns of greater than 13%. I have...

I'm curious to hear if anyone here has had any success in renting out an extra room (or their entire place) on airbnb as a means for extra income (presumably to FIRE)? I am especially curious to hear from those in major cities living in "hot" neighborhoods? I currently have a small 1 bedroom...

Hi ER Community! This topic has probably been beaten to the ground on many forums on the internet, but it is really beginning to bug me given my situation lately. I work for a small (but growing) company with few "levels" or "titles" to the top. Some may view this as not ideal for career...

Hi ER Community: I am traveling to Asia in August from Chicago. The first leg of my flight is 13 hours followed by a connecting 7 hour flight. Same for the trip back. I am fairly tall (6'2") and have been contemplating upgrading to a Economy Plus seat on United. The upgrade would be about...

Hi all, I have a decent chunk of change (>$35k), of which about $25k I will be moving to index funds eventually. The remaining $10k will remain in the savings account as an emergency fund. I was wondering if anyone knows of any promotional offers being offered for opening a new savings...

Hello All, There had been a thread posted early about a cash out refinance, which has got me looking into a refinance myself since rates are lower than when I closed two years ago. My condo was bank owned and I therefore got a "good deal". There have been direct comps in my condo building...

Hi All: As many of you who are still working are likely aware, it is close to the year end review season. Many of you likely despise these reviews, for good reason. In my experience at my current company, they haven't been a painful exercise and I've been impressed with the level of honest...

Curious to hear if anyone here has used a recurring (twice a month or once a month) cleaning service? If so, how did you justify the cost? Or, do you think it is a waste of money and one should do it themselves to save for FIRE? I never thought I would be saying this at the age of 26, but I...

Hi all, I have been considering becoming a landlord. I live in a new (~7 years old) condo building on the north side of Chicago in a popular neighborhood. I bought my unit in April of 2014 at a very good price since it was bank owned. Similar units in my building have recently sold for 12+%...