Hi all!

So please bare with me, I know there have been many posts about moving money out of the US but I will ask this here anyway. Here's my situation: I am from France, currently on an F1 visa which will turn into an H1B visa next year. My plan was to eventually obtain a Greencard and stay in the US for the rest of my life. My question relate to personal finance at large, but given that my concern is mostly with the future of women's rights in the US, I wanted to post it here.

However, given the election, I am not certain anymore and there are a few scenarios in which I would definitely leave (I am not concerned about being sent home as I am highly skilled and I don't see France as being on their "red flag" list). So here are my questions:

1. is it possible to just move the money directly from fidelity to a French brokerage?

2. almost all my money is in a regular brokerage account, not a retirement Acc. Is there any way of mitigating the taxation loss?

3.) would it make any sense at all to only transfer a certain amount to France as a nest egg in case shit goes down here? I am talking about no more fair and free elections in 2028, further cutting of women's rights/hostility, severe economic hardship due to Trump's policies.

I am only beginning to think through these things and so any input/ideas are appreciated. Even if it's just "sit back and wait it out" :-) thanks!!

I'm looking for thoughts and perspectives on my upcoming condo buying decision and to perhaps also uncover financial and non-financial considerations that I might be missing.

• I [F31] am looking to buy a condo in Jersey City or Hoboken area. This is generally VHCOL location, but on the flip side you don't need to maintain a car (and I have no desire to have one).
• My assets are roughly $800k cash, $150 brokerage, and $500k retirement. I've been moving $ from brokerage to cash in preparation for the purchase.
• I have a job I like in the ~$250k range. I am not planning to retire early because I'd get bored, but would like to have a financial buffer to switch to a lower-stress or remote job in the future.
• I'd say I keep low expenses and my only unusual ones are <$5k/year for an apartment that I inherited. I don't expect any other inheritance or any other significant cash flows in the future. I do expect, however, potential medical bills in 10-15 yrs based on a medical condition that is too soon yet to tell how much I'll be impacted by.
• I'm open to moving to other big cities in the U.S., but if I can make my plans come to fruition here I'd prefer to stay.

I'd like to buy a minimum 1BR1BA as I like to spend a lot of time at home and entertain. In my desired location this translates into $600-$900K price tag + $15k/ in annual property taxes +$10k in annual HOA/maintenance. Some of the things I want to discuss:

1. Given that I anticipate to have a remote job for a larger part of my life and being home a lot, should I look for a larger apartment and be prepared to take a mortgage to make up the difference between the $1M price tag and what I can afford? I know the general advice is to use the leverage that a mortgage is able to provide but I don't treat this purchase as an investment but more as a "peace of mind" purchase. Not having a mortgage would take a lot of stress away.
2. In the area I'm looking at I noticed there're apartments towards the top of my range (800-900k) that offer lower HOA+taxes and less expensive apartments (550-650k) that have higher HOA+taxes. I can't wrap my head around how to compare them in the financial terms, so for now I have been just focusing on which space I like more and see as my forever home.
3. Given that I expect significant medical issues that may render me disabled/blind, I want to live in an elevator building and keep low monthly expenses. I also want to bump up my disability insurance in the next few years, but most plans I found are offering only the equivalent of $10k/month payout, which isn't much to live on in my area. Are there any plans that I could take to make sure I'd be able to afford a nurse and other treatments? Are there any other precessions I could take that I'm not aware of?
4. Obviously this isn't purely a financial & medical decision, but I'd like to have a child in the next 5 years. This would likely be a single mother situation as I'm currently going through separation and not to be crass but the clock is ticking. I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford to though as my family is gone and I'd basically have to have a paid-for village rather than being able to rely in any way on anyone else for this.

Very open to all thoughts and suggestions - thank you!

My husband and I are 34 years old. We are new to FIRE. Are we on track?

• 401k:

$450,000 (me), $200,000 (husband)

• Income a year:

$200,000 (me), $200,000 (husband)

• RSUs granted a year:

Range $100,000-$150,000 (me) (About $350,000 to vest in the next 4 years)

• Bonus:

$20,000 (me), $20,000 (husband)

• Own house:

$1.7 million where $450,000 paid off (both)

• Sellable Stock:

1.3 million (both)

• Cash:

$160,000 (both)

• Net worth, including what we paid off on mortgage: $3 million (both)

• 529 account for kids:

About $20,000

• 18 months (toddler), 2nd baby due in the Spring

Let me know if I’m missing any other important information to determine it.

Hope your weekend is going well!

Any fun plans?

Feel free to discuss other matters in this thread!

Hey, Firey Femmes! I am a decently young, self-employed artist, who got fibromyalgia from being hit by a big truck at a stoplight back in 2020. I got $60k in the end--definitely not enough to fund medical care for a lifelong condition, but still a chunk of change to do something with.

I've done some research, and want to invest this money for my future, perhaps for retirement) ideally early!). I want to put it in something I don't have to look at often, but assures decent growth without penalty. What do you recommend? Index funds? CDs? High-yield savings bank accounts? A mix of all the above?

I live a pretty frugal lifestyle and make little to no net income (I'm often reinvesting in my business, nothing left with bills paid). Hence, I can't invest much into my Roth IRA. I have no loans, debt, nor kids--just a couple of cats. Working with fibro is hard, and I'm concerned about not being able to make income in the future--if my body feels this bad now, how will it do as I age? Overall, I'm not super financially literate, but have been smart with savings and adapted my situation to be financially sustainable-ish (for now).

Especially with election results sparking concern over further inflation and govt programs being cut, I want to be smart about this. I'm also on Medicaid and food stamps, and still rely on food banks.

Thank you so much for your time and contributing to this awesome sub!!

I am trying to get back on track with my finances after having to declare bankruptcy four years ago. Would appreciate advice from people more financially intelligent than me.

We have 2 cars. We have 10k in cash. It's enough to pay off the loans on both cars, saving us $750 per month (and a combined interest rate of 11%).

One car has 120k miles, but is in great shape. Other has about 90k and needs some maintenance work.

Any reason we shouldn't get rid of this debt? Having money to save/invest and not having expensive loan debt each month seems smart to me. Am I wrong?

Hello everyone.

I am well on my path to FIRE, currently Lean FIRE, about 8 years from total FIRE. And have always said when I FIRE I'll have two years living expenses in cash.

I currently have 9 months. The original plan was to invest, and then in my final year before FIRE, pile up cash.

But with price increases looking inevitable next year, I'm wondering if I should increase cash holdings now. I was thinking to 12-15 months.

What are everyone's plans with cash?

I want to start on this path mainly because I am starting verry late and I would probably retire by the normal retirement age.

Any Books blogs tips ? to educate myself in how to maximize my income and as a conservative investor, get more capital guaranteed options.

I know this is a very done deal here but I am in my 40s and would like to retire by 65 and have only 5 figure savings.

I'm remaking this post cause I worded it wrong before.

How do I get started to be FIRE?

I'm single and childless. My younger sister moved in with me. Previously she was living with our mother (who is horrible with money, my grandparents practically set her up if she was smart but alas) and was helping with bills, so my sister was behind on her bills. I've had to pay for her stuff as she has been getting back on her feet.

But, this has drained my savings quite a bit and my sister spends like she has more money. She has a new job that she starts tomorrow for third shift.

I need to rebuild my emergency savings and save in general. What can I do? With economic struggles in the future because the orange buffoon is there anything I can get started with? I own my own house (w/ fixed rate) and my morgage is my only debt. I order a new debit card to lock my sister out for now.

Happy Friday!

What sorts of things are you looking forward to in the near or far future?

Feel free to discuss other matters in this thread!

Is anyone planning to change their investment strategy at all due to the elections? This isn’t a “we’re going to have a recession in 6 months” kind of post, but I think it’s reasonable to assume that things may be very unpredictable for a while.

For context I’m about 6-8 years out from FIRE and have just recently started to slowly build up small bond and gold allocations for diversification. They make up a tiny portion of my portfolio still, about 5% combined, with a goal of getting that up to 20-25% by the time I retire.

Would you fast track the diversification or just keep going with my existing plan? Or something else entirely?

Understanding where we are on the trajectory towards the worst case scenario under Trump feels impossible (https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000009811484/trump-worst-case.html?smid=url-share).

I would love for a group of historians/ economists/ military leaders/ activists, etc. to create and maintain some sort of reality tracker tool. Essentially something that places us on a continuum with guidance on actions to take as a concerned/ vulnerable citizen.

Does this exist? Would others benefit from this?

I am only just now reaching a point of stability where my debts are paid off, my divorce is in the rearview mirror, and I can reasonably focus on investing. I have a net worth of less than $25K.

Anyone else in the same boat? Where FIRE is a far-off dream, but you follow this sub for tips/tricks/motivation/inspiration?

I thought I'd start a thread, in light of what just happened, to recommend some content creators or podcasts. Some of these are not money related, but a good source of information/ thought for women (esp in the US)

Sharonsaysso (content + podcast: Here's Where It Gets Interesting)

Emilyinyourphone (content, podcast: We've Got Issues)

https://emilyinyourphone.substack.com/

MoneywithKatie (content + same named Podcast)

Diabolical Lies (podcast only: Katie + Caro Claire)

Hello!

How is your day going? What are you thankful for today/generally?

Feel free to discuss other matters in this thread!

Now that Project 2025 is becoming a reality, can we talk about what may happen to women who have their own separate assets? There are people in Trump's circle who have openly spoken about overturning the 19th Amendment and restricting women from owning property/assets. Sounds crazy, but a few years ago none of us would have believed that Roe V Wade would be overturned and, yet, here we are. Is anyone preparing for a very scary future where we are prevented from having our own bank accounts or where we're required to turn over our earned income to our male partners? Should we consider placing our money in offshore accounts? I'm terrified that all of the financial freedom I've worked so hard for could be taken away.

I-35 female - am debating whether or not I should put all my assets into a trust and name myself the trustee vs leave my assets 550k in my "own hands" . I don't know if this is just post-election panic or if this would actually be a good idea but I'm just putting it out here because at this point I'm just looking for things to do to help protect myself... Not a lawyer so I'm just posting here mostly flailing and looking for something to do to make myself feel more in control. I may delete this later / this may get deleted as off topic

If, hypothetically, you wanted to start moving assets out of US banks, where would you look? Switzerland? New Zealand? Cayman Islands? Taxes a consideration, but access in the event of unrest/needing to flee is a greater one.

I'm a first-generation American, but my heritage country is in much worse shape than the US. So I'd have to find a third place, I guess?

Inspired by the memory of some older family friends whose mother was really sharp and got the family out of Germany in 1933 or '34, as well as those who were less sharp and lost everything during the Partition of India/Pakistan and Idi Amin's purges in the 70s.

I am 54 and don’t know much about money at all and have been a stay at home mom for 20 years. My husband works in healthcare but we both don’t know much about money. I want to become financially independent and in the meantime looking for a job. We have a joint account , live in a very high cost of living place and kids in very expensive high schools. My husband and I don’t have the best relationship and I have considered leaving him but I’m not sure! What can I do to become financially savvy and independent? What books are good to read? Or websites. My friend told me to put our money into fidelity or Charles Schwab?

Curious what advice you would have for a 35 year old who is just getting started?

Some quick about mes: I live in a MCOL (Southeastern US), I own my home. No debt apart from the mortgage. Single income no kids.

I was in grad school for a very long time, and then chose a public service career. Which means I can comfortably tread water, but not much else.

I absolutely love my career, so no plan to retire early but would like to build more financial cushion.

Thanks for any and all suggestions! I don’t have a lot of women in my life who are strong financially, so I’ve loved hearing your stories.

I am of course devastated, but I am trying to stay positive today. Over half the voters chose this, and I truly don’t believe they are all racist, misogynistic bad people. It seems many of them chose quietly if my social media is of any indication. The messaging of the dems just didn’t speak to them, and I can understand that. I’ve personally disagreed with the messaging of the dems after Bernie, but I digress.

So back to trying to stay positive: it’s only 4 years (fingers crossed), and he is really old even if he tries to eliminate term limits. In that time period, I think dems will have a bit of a reckoning on what the party stands for and hopefully some new leadership to ground it. This has got to be a wake up call. And midterms guys— we gotta get out for midterms.

As it relates to FIRE, I’m hoping that ACA is too popular to get repealed. It’s already popular enough to shed its Obamacare branding so let us keep hoping.

I think rampant government spending and inflation will likely get worse during the next four years especially with deportation and tariffs and tax cuts if any combo of those things happen, but that will probably also mean stock market is going to moon, so keep on investing (ironic for many of the people who voted him in).

Our support of wars abroad— I haven’t heard coherent messaging on this. It seems potentially devastating for Ukraine and a win for Russia, but an end in sight, at least for Americans. However, seems like support of Israel will go unchecked. This is depressing, but also big picture provides balance of power in Middle East. Honestly, this is a mess. I have tried to listen to people speak on both sides of the issue and they are so far apart with so much deep pain and fear that I have no idea how there can come a resolution here.

Ok well that ended on a sour note. Hah.

Help — please share any other thoughts that are keeping you feeling positive. If you voted for him, I’d love to know what really spoke to you and what you’re optimistic about.

I’m 35, and have been investing for 10 years. My portfolio has benefited greatly over the overall bull run of the past 10 years. I’m on track to fully retire at 50 if I choose to.

The peace of mind is nice - until i think about WHY our portfolios have performed so well. Corporations’ drive for profit , which while it can provide good to the world (jobs, innovation, taxes) can also be destructive. Exploitation, impacts to environment, greed.

Exploitation is probably what gives me the most guilt. A lot of companies’ wealth is built upon the backs of cheap labor. Given inflation and the cost of living crisis, it’s awful to know that many people can’t afford their own home, can’t escape a bad relationship because of COL concerns, are living paycheck to paycheck, can’t built up their savings, etc. All because companies will pay the least they can get away with. I mean, our federal minimum wage is laughable. Cost of homes and cost of education has risen by disproportionate multitudes compared to average income.

And yet …. My portfolio is sitting pretty. I give back in the multiples of thousands a year - and yet I could give more. But that still won’t make a dent.

So yeah. When I think of myself at 50 and if I’m ready to pull the trigger on early retirement - will I? How could I live a life of leisure when my wealth would have been built on the backs of others?

What are your thoughts as you push toward your FIRE journey?

We're getting through the week!

Any work-related matters you'd like to get feed back on or talk about?

Feel free to discuss other matters in this thread!

I have never compared my financial situation to anyone and have just always done my own thing and always worry I’m not making enough. But joining this Reddit and seeing people‘s similar posts has me feeling pretty good about where I’ve gotten myself. So thought I would say hello! I live beach front, work from home, travel often, have three cars, and enjoying a peaceful content life. I realized I’d hit 1m net worth earlier this year and felt odd to consider myself a millionaire. 😮 But it was a good feeling despite how inflated the economy is lately.

Hello!

Any recent triumphs you're proud of?

Feel free to discuss other matters in this thread!

Hey, everyone. Sorry if this is too r/relationships, but the details are ones that FIRE-minded folks can understand best.

I have a close friend of 20-plus years who will probably be getting engaged in spring 2025. She and her boyfriend will have been together for 2.5 years. They're both in their early 40s. No kids or plans for kids.

My friend is smart and financially responsible. She owns a modest home in an MCOL area. She works in tech but has chosen a career in nonprofits, so that's limited her earnings significantly. I think she likes her career, and I've never heard her express a goal of or interest in retiring early.

She has told me in the past that her boyfriend has saved a lot of money and wants to retire around age 50. I get the impression he lives frugally. And since he's a software engineer who's worked steadily for corporations for the past couple of decades, I think he probably has a lot more assets than my friend does.

In short, I think my friend needs a prenup. First, because they're living together in the house that she's owned since long before they met, and I would think a prenup would be needed to clarify the status of the house. But I'm more concerned about what might happen if he retires at 50 and she continues to work, and then they get divorced down the line. Most of his assets, which he would have earned before the marriage, would probably be separate property that he could walk away with, while at the same time potentially taking half of what they saved from her earnings during all the years she worked and he was retired.

As my husband points out, a prenup might also be desirable on the boyfriend's side, because if he retires early but then gets a divorce, a judge might perhaps impute a bunch of income to him that he never had any intention of earning and require him to pay alimony based on that income.

The thing I'm on the fence about is whether I should even bring this up to her. Prenups are a difficult subject, and I'd be surprised if anyone in our mutual circle or any of our parents have one. I don't have one myself. I doubt whether my friend has ever even thought about it. I'd hate to be responsible for introducing conflict into her relationship, and obviously you could argue it's none of my business. On the other hand, this is a close, longstanding friendship, so maybe I've earned the right to speak up about something like this.

Would you bring up prenups to a friend? Have you ever started a conversation like this with a friend/loved one, and if so how? I'd love some advice.

(Please no comments that are just about why you think prenups in general are good or bad, as that isn't the subject of this post.)

Hi! A little late to the FIRE game, and working on building my first emergency fund kept in a HYSA. I would like to learn more about what to do next. Any recommendations on books or sites to gain financial literacy?

Note: My life is "nontraditional". No interest in marriage (I'm poly). No children. Unconventional job. (Adult entertainer) So some literature hasn't been helpful because it assumes that I will be following a path of marriage, children, retirement, in a traditional role of wife/mother. And so it talks about budgeting with a partner and planning for future offspring. I'm happy with my life, and would like financial education on I can do as a single woman to plan for my own future! Thank you in advance for tips and suggestions!

I (32F) am considering applying for a 3-year hybrid part-time MBA. The huge plus is my company would pay for tuition (although the benefit is taxable). Getting an MBA could also set me up to reach senior level roles in my company or pivot to a different company after graduating (there are minimal retention strings attached to the tuition benefit, and an MBA would be valued or even pre-requisite for many senior roles in my industry). My main problem is balancing this with family planning. My partner and I are expecting our first child, who would only be 4ish months old when the program starts, and I'd also have to go back to work around that time (I do have some flexibility, like starting a few months later, working remote for a while, or ramping from a part time schedule). Even though we have good care options set up, it's hard to imagine taking on such a huge commitment so early in our parenting journey. I'm so excited to be a parent and I'm worried I'll regret being less available during that first year.

As an alternative, I could wait another year to apply, but at that point I'd be 34 when I start the program, and we'd likely be trying for our second and last kid by then (or within 1 year), as we've been discussing a 2.5-3.5 year age gap if possible. So I'd end up in the same situation (working, baby, part time MBA) eventually anyway.

What would you do and why? Parents, feel free to chuckle at my naivete! I honestly can't believe I'm even entertaining applying this year, but I value career challenges and growth and tend to be a bit over optimistic when it comes to taking things on. Also, I have tried looking for other similar posts, and it always seems to be men saying "I did it and it was totally possible!" While I respect that perspective, I think it's very different for the birthing parent and/or mom.

Hello, happy Monday :) How is the start of your week going?

What is keeping you motivated currently?

Feel free to discuss other matters in this thread!

I feel spoiled even saying this. I need to work my full-time, golden handcuffs job for 3 more years. I will be 50 at that point and can find some sort of light part-time job to cover expenses. Given the compensation package, I would be stupid to leave this job.

Here’s the thing. I worked my entire adult life to reach this pinnacle of my career, not even factoring the salary piece. I really enjoyed it for a few years. And now I hate being tied to a computer and meetings all of the time. The work also doesn’t interest me or challenge me anymore. So I took a roll that was slightly different and would be more challenging. It didn’t change how I feel about work and so I took my current role, which is back in what I know and I am very good at.

There is nothing wrong with this job. It pays very well. I have good coworkers. Most of its stress is probably of my own creation.

I do the job. I’m not slacking, but I don’t think I’m working so much that I should feel burned out? Even the rest of my personal life is in a pretty good place. I’m a busy parent like many, but I can say that I enjoy the rest of my life outside of work and do fun things and take trips.

So what is wrong with me? Or is this a career identity crisis? Is it the byproduct of the idea our work should be our passion? I rebuilt my entire life a decade ago, so it’s not that I’m ungrateful or unaware of how fortunate I am.