I feel like I'm in the stone age! Ive been using spreadsheets forever and just feel a bit behind the ball. What is everyone's favorite budgeting app? And im talking budgeting specifically. Ive used Empower to track my networth my but it seems to lack true budgeting capabilities.

47 replies 49 minutes ago Read more →

Lifestyle Design J by JoeQ17

Books worth Reading

What book has influenced you the most in either FI money management, life style design or mental philosophy? Bonus points: share one idea that stuck with you.

31 replies 49 minutes ago Read more →

Retirement Withdrawal Strategies A by Anonymous

Does anyone else thinks we should adopt the 30x rules instead of 25x?

Given newer research on retirement sustainability—especially work incorporating sequence-of-returns risk (SORR), longerFI horizons, and updated return assumptions such as those discussed in recent analyses of Karsten (ERN) and others —the traditional 25× rule (4% rule) should be rounded up to the \*\*30× rule\*\*. It effectively lowers the withdrawal rate to about 3.333%, which meaningfully improves resilience against early negative market sequences and extends portfolio durability for early ret...

29 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Investing d by dm741

Financial Tracking Tool

I've used Personal Capitol (now Empower) for the last 10 years and am wondering what everyone else is using to track their net worth. I'm not so interested in budgeting as I've got a handle on that already, really just tracking overall net worth and investing. PC has helped me analyze my portfolio across all accounts (personal and work retirement) and make sure my allocation overall is where I want it. I'm currently testing a new tool call Origin since the first year is only $1. Recently PC has...

26 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Earning More J by Josh M.

Guidance for transitioning to CFP (from Army CPT)?

I’m an Army CPT planning to transition out in ~4 years (after transferring GI Bill benefits). I’ve grown pretty dissatisfied with my career path, and I’m exploring financial planning as a long-term career. Note, I'm in the brainstorming stage and am just looking at options. I enjoy personal finance, building plans, and teaching others, from the experience I've had. The end goal would be education-focused (workshops, classes, and/or hourly advice), and not AUM-driven. We’re currently at Coast FI...

16 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Real Estate m by mdhershberger32

Sell Home and Rent?

Hi everyone! Based on my own personal experience and reading others’ financial analyses of renting versus buying, I believe there are circumstances in which it makes more sense to rent than buy, and my husband and I don’t believe our current house will be our long-term home, so I’m trying to figure out if it makes sense financially to go ahead and sell now and start renting if that’s going to save us money over the long term. Does anyone have suggestions on how to do the math for this? I’m curre...

15 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

College e by elisabethmorgan

Vanguard 529: Target date Portfolios or choosing your own?

I don't mind putting in the extra legwork - just wondering if this community knows about how individual portfolios have done compared to the target ones that Vanguard supplies.

15 replies 49 minutes ago Read more →

Tax Strategies N by NickCincyFI

Full Traditional IRA Deduction vs. Low Effective-Tax Roth IRA

I feel pretty settled on my FI strategy overall, but one area I can’t quite reconcile is whether I should take the full Traditional IRA deduction (which I am eligible for) or instead accept a very low effective tax rate (~6%) and contribute to a Roth IRA. What feels paradoxical to me is that in order to qualify for the full Traditional IRA deduction, your AGI must already be relatively low — which often means you are paying low effective tax, a situation that (by non-FI conventional thought) usu...

12 replies 49 minutes ago Read more →

Military FI J by Josh M.

TSP Roth Conversions

This month, the TSP will begin allowing Roth Conversions. Previously, you would have to 1. Separate from service 2. Roll your traditional TSP balance into a Traditional IRA at brokerage firm (like Schwab or Vanguard), then 3. Begin the conversions. Now, you can do it all in the TSP ecosystem. See below details from the latest TSP email- "Optional Roth in-plan conversions available January 28 to all participants Starting January 28, 2026, [you’ll have the option to convert money in your tradition...

6 replies 49 minutes ago Read more →

Nomads and Expats s by spickarski

Private Health Insurance, etc.

As we begin really planning into moving abroad full time, the elephant in the room always seems to be healthcare. We will retire in advance of 65 (targeting 50), and we will need to go some other alternative than Medicare. How have you bridged the gap? What’s different, same, or unique to the experience? What lessons would you want to share to yourself starting the process all over again?

4 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Debt b by banjo_wolf

Where do I go for help?

Hello all. Situation is that I am helping my parents (both 66) with their financials. They have 60k ish in student loans. I am trying to help them with retirement/financial planning, but I think we need some guidance on how to deal with their student loans. Can you guys recommend some advisors or services that can assist with student loan counseling? Thanks!

2 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Spending Smarter b by bleve

Best cell phone plan as internet

We currently have a Verizon unlimited family plan with multiple lines split amongst family throughout the country. I'm interested in looking for a cheaper plan like Visible but the main thing that has me concerned is many family members use their cell phone as their only internet due to living in rural areas where broadband is not an option and something like Starlink is too expensive. Does anyone have first hand experience with the unlimited data plans from the second tier providers? Both for u...

17 replies 49 minutes ago Read more →

Lifestyle Design W by Westie

Female-focused podcasts?

I have finally binged my way through all of Money with Katie and there is a podcast-shaped hole in my heart. I'm a man, but I really enjoyed a more female perspective on all things money - it's not radically different from what I hear male podcasters in the personal finance sphere say, but it is *just* different enough to give me a new perspective on things. I know Katie is still out there doing things but she's moved on to more big-picture, systems level problems and I'd like to have a perspect...

25 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Retirement Withdrawal Strategies C by CailinS

How to account for large, irregular expenses in FI planning

Hi! As we get closer to FI (5-7 years if assumptions hold), I've been thinking about the best way to plan for large but irregular expenses. Things that pop up every 3-10 years like large house maintenance (washer/dryer, HVAC, roof, etc) and especially buying a car in cash. For assumptions let's say $25-35k every 4 years (two cars, each kept 8 years, staggered purchases) and for home maintenance costs maybe $500 some years and $5000 others. Currently, I 'budget' for home maintenance costs but als...

24 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Investing A by Anonymous

Increased investing?

I'm curious if there is anyone else that has actually increased their investing during the down market. Probably more specifically for those that are close to FI or are still accumulating.

20 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Earning More J by Josh M.

Self Publishing Input?

I’m working on self-publishing a short nonfiction book and would appreciate input from anyone here who has gone through the process. The premise: I graduated U.S. Army Ranger School a few years ago and kept detailed notes every single day during the course. I tracked food, sleep, weight loss, and wrote a daily journal about what was happening and how I was processing it. Over 62 days I averaged about 2.5 meals and 3.9 hours of sleep per day and lost over 30 pounds. Most Ranger School books are w...

15 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Real Estate A by AnotherControlsEngineer

Put minimum down on primary residence if you have a 20% down payment?

I recently ran across this idea, and wanted to get some input if people have tried this. We have 20% cash for a down payment, don't currently own a house and are looking to purchase. This idea is to make the minimum down payment of 3.5% or 5% (which theoretically gets you a better interest rate), close, then after some time period pay the rest of the 15% cash towards the loan, and then recast the loan and keep the lower interest rate. This strategy seems to assume a few things (interest rate is...

11 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

College C by Carrie Bach

HELOC/Life insurance

Good afternoon, Has anyone had experience with funneling college dollars through a HELOC and then through a life insurance policy that you then borrow from to pay tuition? ChatGPT sounds very skeptical about this but a friend is considering it anyway so I thought I'd ask here if anyone has thoughts/experience with it. Thank you, Carrie

6 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Tax Strategies A by Anonymous

How to minimize taxes and taxable income on RMD from inherited IRA?

My mother passed away and left me her IRA. Now I have to withdraw the account to zero in ten years, but I have two more years to pay off my federal student loans on an income-based repayment plan. How do I minimize my income to keep my monthly student loan payments from exploding while also trying to spend down the IRA?

10 replies 49 minutes ago Read more →

Military FI N by Nords

ChooseFI Honolulu meetup: 1:30 PM Saturday 21 March, Taps & Apps.

For those of you on Oahu (and any ChooseFI members who happen to be visiting Oahu this weekend), we're having another meetup at 1:30 Saturday 21 March at Taps & Apps in Mililani Mauka. \[ChooseFI Honolulu Meetup\](/member/events/7fc1d9f8-35bd-4075-92ae-489fc07425db) I'll be there, congratulating Clarence L once more on becoming an official military retiree! We're keeping an eye on the weather. This weekend's Kona Low Part 2 will hopefully be less severe than last week, but we'll know more by...

1 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Retirement Withdrawal Strategies A by Arcenis Rojas

To Roth or not to Roth

I recently wondered whether I should convert my traditional IRA and 401K accounts (including my current 401K contributions) to Roth. I spoke with a friend who advocated strongly for switching everything to Roth. While I recognize that Roth has great advantages (I have a Roth IRA presently) like no taxes on distributions and no required minimum distributions, I wonder if it'd be right for me. Below is a little bit about my situation. - I'm more interested in retiring with zero than passing anythi...

24 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

Retirement Withdrawal Strategies d by daposton

New Morningstar Article (Feb 26) - Very low Safe Withdrawal percentages

Hi ChooseFI community, I normally like and appreciate the Morningstar articles on personal finance. However, I just read one from Feb that pushes the standard safe withdrawal rate for a 40 year retirement to 3.2%. Does anyone have any feedback on that number? I would estimate a large percentage of this community is modeling a 40+ retirement period. Here is a link to the article. (FYI - Yes, I have read about risk parity. Yes, I have read the ERN SWR series.) [www.morningstar.com](https://www.mor...

22 replies 50 minutes ago Read more →

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