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birb_cromble  8d ago (text post)   781 thread views

Weekly Finance Thread - 2026-06-13

A weekly thread to discuss financial matters - from personal all the way up to global.

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  • Remember that we're all just Internet randos. Don't bet your life savings on a hot tip from this thread.
  • Keep culture war in the culture war thread. Yes, global events may impact our personal finances, but that does not mean we have to incessantly harp on culture war aspects here. If you are going to discuss it, please stick to the practical impacts of it on an individual level.
  • Be kind. Remember that everyone here comes from different circumstances. We all have different resources available and different risk tolerances.
  • Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Better is better. Celebrate people when they take a step up and work to move their finances in the right direction. Don't flame out because they haven't followed what you consider the optimal path. Everybody has to start somewhere.
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How do you balance FIRE with not wanting to be a miserable tightwad? Most specifically interested in if anyone has thoughts on that in context of marriage + children + income gap (let's say 4 me:1 her). A particular potential (pun intended) Mrs. Lagrangian likes travel and activities more than I do and I have trouble thinking about that, especially in context of the income asymmetry.

If you're getting married and it's causing you to ask this question, you can forget about FIRE dude. Sorry. There are women out there who are the kind of savers who would be amenable to that lifestyle, but it's not likely you got one.

Turns out my wife likes saving money for the things it can buy. I like saving money so the pile can eventually get big enough to earn its own money. I could say that her financial goals are short-sighted, but I think the truth is I'm a homebody who doesn't need anything but an internet connection to be content. My goals to her seem intangible and optimistic. We have to manage around those differences.

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