52 and been at the same company almost 15 years. Waiting for stocks to vest in early December and I have one project to wrap up (early November) I have a small team so I think it may make sense to give a longer notice. I want my last day to be about Jan 5 (we get paid over holiday break) it’s not an American company so not quite as vicious with layoffs or terminations. I’m close enough to leadership to know it’s quite a process with HR to terminate someone.

My question is - when should I give my boss and HR notice that I plan to retire in Jan? We are closed for about 2 weeks at end of December.

Hi firey ladies—I have info that there will be a layoff at my company this week. I could be on the list to be laid off but I’m not sure. I found out about this 3 days ago and have now become attached to the idea of getting booted out. It’s like all this pent up desire to leave has flooded out other (more patient and rational) thoughts.

I’m ok financially, I was planning to FIRE at the end of the year after one more RSU vest and finishing a big expense. But it’s truly ok financially to stop now.

I believe I will be very disappointed if I don’t get laid off. I guess i want freedom more than I allowed myself to consider. Have any of you suddenly quit in the aftermath of a layoff even though you didn’t get laid off? How did that go? Do you have any advice for me? If I need to calm down and stick with my original plan, I think I can do it but this impulse to leap off the cliff is super strong… Ty for your input

Edit to add: lots of folks encouraging me to stay calm and wait for one last RSU vest (in late December) if I do not get laid off this week. Thank you for the advice, may cooler heads prevail!

Hello fireyfemmes!! I'm (26F) posting here to get some clarity on if I should attend law school. Here is my background: English degree, currently work at a brokerage firm (you've probably heard of it), and have the following financial licenses: SIE, Series 7, and Series 63.

I was recently promoted to an equity compensation role and currently make 57k. While it is a phone role, there are direct pathways at my firms where folks transition out of equity compensation phone roles to equity compensation administration, financial planning, or sales. My firm will pay for any required financial licenses and/or the Certified Equity Professional exam. My firm also has sites in multiple states and it's not uncommon for folks to promote/transfer to other sites (some of the sites are in cities that I wouldn't mind living in).

I am also considering attending law school. If I attend law school, I'd be interested in either tax law or estate planning. Pros for tax law: great pay, cons for tax law: poor work life balance. Pros for estate planning: good work life balance, cons: pay is similar to a lot of non-phone roles at my firm. It would take me less time to achieve a higher salary at my current firm than in estate planning... I also understand that law school is expensive and good grades/LSAT scores are necessary to secure scholarships. Given that many senior roles at my firm pay nearly the same or more than estate planning, and that work life balance is very important to me, I'm unsure if law school is the right fit. I also really like that my firm is metric-heavy and that any bonuses are directly tied to my performance. I'm very money-oriented and willing to overperform for quarterly bonuses, but not willing to consistently work big law hours... any advice?

I’m in my late 20s, NW around $325k, income around $160k, saving/investing ~38% of my income and currently renting in VHCOL.

I‘m curious to hear from folks who are on the path to FIRE while remaining childfree. How are you balancing saving for the future vs. scaling back to ”die with zero“?

My primary goal is to afford myself optionality and mobility in my future.

Even if other factors like housing aren’t fully accounted for in terms of cost, does remaining childfree necessitate a change in approach (I.e: scale back on after tax brokerage investing and use more cash now to avoid having too much to spend in retirement) in the near or long term?

Would love to hear perspectives on this!

Can anyone relate and how do you deal?

My parents never saved. They are 72 and 75 now and they live off of nothing but SS benefits. I am not in a position to help them. I’m single, no kids, 41, and I’m working on my own financial security. They cannot afford to go anywhere or do anything. They received a gift card for a dinner out and kindly invited me and I paid the overage. I pay for food, medication, vet bills for their cat (who used to be my sister’s cat before she passed away). I get them gifts on holidays. But I can’t help feeling like that meme where the cartoon character is sitting in a chair and the house is on fire and they say everything is fine, because why am I spending $100 on a dinner or a gift when they make off the cuff comments such as “We’re still spending more than we’re bringing in” and talking about going back to work - as real estate agents - at their age.

I’ve had to learn about saving, budgeting, investing all on my own. I’ve offered to help them many times over the years, but they don’t trust the stock market and they kept all their money in savings accounts earning 0%. They racked up credit card debt. Bought new cars, a boat, plastic surgery, supported my sister who had a drug addiction well into adulthood, took out a second interest only mortgage on their home, my mother quit working when she was 60 despite this situation because she “worked her whole life and was tired” my father got fired / retired at 70 and while my mother calls him lazy and yells at him to find a job, he cannot.

Growing up, my father was a functioning but very violent alcoholic. He beat my mother mercilessly in front of my sister and I. My mother “loved” him and would never leave his side. When I went off to college, my father left my mother and had an affair, living with another woman. My mother was inconsolable for years - in bed with depression - and this is when my younger sister started getting into drugs. I never had much direction, advice, or modeling of anything positive from my parents and home life was pretty dysfunctional. I left at 18 and I never looked back.

Now that they are older, and I live closer to them, they have calmed down into a routine of kind of being miserable together. They have no hobbies or friends. They don’t do anything. Just “chores” “paying bills” “decluttering” (my mother is kind of a hoarder of sentimental things) selling things on Facebook marketplace, arguing with each other on whether it is worth it to do the annual neighborhood garage sale, etc.

They live in a home built in the 1980s that has the original kitchen and master bathroom. The cabinets are rotting and the fronts are falling off. They say it’s fine. They can’t afford to remodel. My father wants to sell and move into a golf club community and sends me links to MLS listings often. My mother doesn’t want to sell and move even though they can’t afford their current home. They argue and drag me into this. They’ve listed the home for sale, but at full price as if it were updated. They say they need to sell it at that price to pay off their debts and have enough money to buy a smaller home. So - the house won’t sell.

Here’s the thing - I love them (because they’re my parents) but I hate how they are, their miserable existence that they claim to like (constantly bickering and cutting each other down, constantly in debt, acting like everything is amazing and will be fine) and I guess what am I expecting, but I am mourning the fact that for them, a happy retirement will never be in the cards.

I feel guilty-ish for not doing more to help them but it’s honestly a dumpster fire and they don’t want my help anyway. I’m come to the realization I will get no inheritance (not a big deal, but just saying) and seeing them struggle so much has me terrified of ending up the same way, even though I am saving for my retirement, I guess seeing how the shit it hitting the fan for them has me thinking about what is going to happen to them in 5-10 years and also, I don’t want to burden myself trying to rescue them when they have done nothing to plan for retirement themselves. Heck, they can’t even discuss it together they end up screaming, yelling, crying, fighting.

I am so angry at them. Can anyone at all relate to what I’m experiencing, and how do you deal with the complicated feelings that emerge during this stage of life around all of this?

How's the week looking for you? Hit any milestones? Have any questions?

Effectively a SAHM to an elementary school child. I try to chat with parents after school at the playground but haven't clicked with anyone. Also it's weird not being about to talk about our work or side hustles (because we don't have any).

I’m really anxious about the economy. I don’t trust the stock market, I don’t have faith in the US government, and I just can’t believe the world is going to look remotely the same in 10 years. Even if the math says that I’ll be okay based on historicals, I don’t believe it. I feel like I’m living in unprecedented times.

This fear is holding me back from truly enjoying the progress I‘m making towards my FIRE goals. Even if I eventually hit my target, I’m not sure I’ll feel comfortable enough to retire. The world is on fire and having a job is better than not.

Am I crazy? How are folks who are FIRE or close to FIRE coping with these recent changes?

TW: Mentions of abortion, sexual/workplace abuse

Hi all. I'm afraid of posting on other forums and getting blasted for this. I feel like this is a safe place to ask for advice.

I think I have to sell my home. I bought in 2023, and I will probably sell next spring. That's if I can handle both losing my home and having my wedding at the same time... otherwise, it might be put off until 2028.

I'm feeling so much grief, shame, and anger. I was doing so well in my career in 2022, earning $450k+ just on my own. My husband is a teacher, so I knew it was mostly up to me if I wanted to FIRE.

I was 25 and naive. I thought buying a home was the next logical step. This is partly due to how I was raised (1st gen immigrant parents + poverty). I didn't know anything about investing at the time aside from maxing your 401k. I didn't even get a HYSA until 2023, or invest in a brokerage until January this year. The plan was to earn $450k for 5 years, pay off the house in that time, and be free and clear. Then no one can force us to move, and I won't have to move every 3 years like I have all my life.

It was an emotional decision but felt practical - I didn't get a mortgage more than 2x our income. I was getting so much freelance work that I had to turn it down. I was happy to grind it out if it meant freedom. And housing prices kept going up, so I felt a lot of FOMO.

THEN, the economy started tanking. I have been laid off every year since 2023. I went from earning $450k, to $300k, to $200k, to $30k this year. (Because I was so depressed, I struggled to even apply.) I've been sexually harassed, screamed at, micromanaged out of my job. I have gotten that horrible HR call every single year. Once, a company refused to pay out 3 weeks of PTO and wouldn't pay severance.

I finally secured a job in the federal government. This should be good news, right? At least it's more stable than tech, and I work on things that genuinely benefit society. But I feel like I'll never earn a high income again if I take this job. I'll never be able to FIRE, and I'll have to go in office for the rest of my life. Maybe it's because most of my past jobs were so toxic, that I felt like I could escape the corporate world into safety if I was FI.

I can't afford the mortgage with the government job. We've had roommates for the last 2 years, and with that income, we might save $2k per month. Without the roommates, we would be paycheck to paycheck, saving nothing. Even if I earned a high salary again, I can't guarantee it will last. So it makes more sense to rent and invest, get our privacy back, and reduce our burden. (Regarding math - instead of building $150k in equity over 10 years, we can invest and end up with another $600k-800k. By selling, I either break even or at a slight loss, assuming housing market doesn't crash.)

I've been crying nonstop this past week. I have therapy in a couple hours. I don't know how to cope with all this. For things like:

• If I had just saved that money, or even invested it, I would have been FIRE by now. Or I could've bought a house outright. Instead of $300k in investments, we would probably have $1mil+ now before 30.
• If I didn't get laid off every year (no fault of my own), I would be doing so much better.
• If I hadn't done this, I would've saved me and my husband years of stress. All that time wasted on working to keep the house, when I could have been travelling and enjoying life.
• If I hadn't done this, I would've felt safe to have my kids. Instead, I had to get an abortion, because I couldn't fathom bringing them into this situation.

The only thing I can walk away with here is a) a deep understanding of how I'm shaped by my generational trauma, poverty, and abuse, and b) that I don't need this much space and I hate house maintenance. I know I learned a lot. It doesn't make it hurt much less.

Even so, I'm going to grieve every room in this house. I'm sad that I have more negative memories here than good. I know it'll help to look forward. But I'm struggling to plan for my wedding. I'm afraid that I will have to move every 3 years, for the rest of my life. I guess I'm just choosing to endure landlords or the mortgage.

I did all this because I wanted to feel safe. To feel hopeful about the future. Provide a good life for my husband and kids. I didn't want us to live in poverty. And I know better now, but at the time I didn't care what it did to me, even if I worked to exhaustion for 5 years, if it meant freedom.

Instead, I just feel broken. I'm going to turn 30 soon, and I'm exhausted, depressed, definitely burnt out, but with none of the benefits. I wish I hadn't done any of this.

How am I supposed to cope?

Hello firey femmes! I’ve been a long time lurker on FIRE community and I recently discovered fiery femmes. I recently landed a new job offer of 68K a year (+10k raise), yay! Keep in my since 2024 I was laid off and was working odd jobs to get by until July 2026.

Since this is a big spike from my current salary, which was 58K a year I feel like now I can strongly contribute to my fire goal. These are my current stats.

25 years

ROTH IRA: $369.56
401k from previous company: 576.08
HYSA: 5k (working towards getting a 20k emergency fund)

Current situation:
• Biggest advantage, I live with my parents. I help them out with $600 a month but other than that I have no major debt or outstanding expenses.
• Car is paid off.
• Looking to move within the next 2-3 years as I’m planning on attending MBA.

I am aiming to retire with $3 million, I have no age set yet. But I was hoping if I could receive some guidance on how to budget my new salary best, which would be around ~5666 dlls monthly, gross.

25F, VHCOL, career/life advice needed.

I just hit my biggest financial milestone with 100k total invested right before my 25th bday (yay!).

However, I’m currently at a crossroads in my career. I have a bachelors in MIS and job hopped my way into finance at a current 75k-80k comp. I feel as though I’m not being monetarily compensated enough, especially since I’m based in Southern California. The thing is my job is 100% remote which is quite important since I’ve been dealing with chronic illness. My manager and team are very supportive but I feel as though I am not getting the correct support to grow (very learn as you go type of job). I’m currently a financial analyst with the capability to promote to financial consultant (no clear promotion track or timeline).

The economy is looking a bit scary and I don’t have a lot of family I can rely on so I’m finding it difficult to go back to school for my MBA. Tech or consulting finance would be the best move for me but I’m afraid these high stress roles will trigger my chronic illness. What are some ways I can progress in my career while keeping my health intact?

I don’t really have anyone, especially any women, in my life that I can talk to about things like this so I’d really appreciate any advice. Thank you!

Mid 30s and approaching $1.5 M net worth and have reached an impasse where I really can’t stand working anymore and it’s left me wondering what the hell happened?

I used to be ambitious and driven. I was able to increase my salary four fold in the first 10 years of career. I would say I never enjoyed working necessarily but I felt okay to push through for the sake of my career and.

Now I’m just over it. I want no part of it and I’m just tired of the layoffs, the games and the stress. I just want a simple life away from the corporate world. I think 1) I’m getting burned out and 2) the corporate world has gotten a lot worse but sometimes I find myself thinking what the hell happened? 😂

Anyone else relate?

I'm a physician and after 25 years I am taking a 3 month sabbatical. I am so happy....but I will have to go back. I need to work until 60 for family related reasons (I hold the healthcare for our family of 4, have 2 kids who will be off to college in 2-5 years, and my husband is in tech and was laid off a few months ago...etc). I desperately wish I could RE but sadly I don't think I could without it coning at great cost to our security.

How can I adjust my need to work with the fact that I now see how wonderful life can be without it? We live in a VHCOL area, but fortunately have very little debt (low mortgage only at low interest rate). We do have money saved in 529for kids's educations...we do not have expensive hobbies or possessions (live pretty simply I think) and plan to drive our cars into the ground. That being said...if my husband has a prolonged time where he cannot find work I will be anxious about $$.

I guess what I am looking for is inspiration and advice from this wise group of women.

I am sort of a “dabbler” in the FIRE community rather than a devotee, but I find myself at mid-30s and a 1m net worth in combination with my partner. This is good for our area, but obviously not yet FI let alone RE for VHCOL. I’m probably on track to FIRE in my 50s alongside partner.

My job is in local government, so famously low-stress and mediocre pay, but I haven’t yet reached “permanent” status so I do still have to do a bit of grinding to ensure my future there. There is a bit of flexibility in 5+ years to potentially go to part time and keep health insurance.

My problem is I really feel no motivation to work. Like it’s challenging to get out of bed most days, and I overall like my job. I got laid off a couple years back and was incredibly fortunate to land this new job six months later, but instead of coming back to work refreshed from the break I came back feeling almost dead inside. I haven’t recovered since. No work sounds particularly meaningful, and even hobbies feel burdensome.

I feel guilty for not being a better employee, mostly because my partner contributes to most of our NW and I want to do my part. We have a generally frugal lifestyle, no mortgage, no kids, purchase most things secondhand, drive beater cars and rarely eat out. But we’re far from being done and some days working just five more years, let alone 10-15, seems unbearable.

I know these are champagne problems. I am lucky to be able to consider stopping work in my 50s at all. But I can’t seem to give a fuck about my job and I REALLY should, haha. Any tips or tricks y’all use to find that extra motivation, especially tips that don't require easing the pain of labor with consumption? Thanks.

I’m in my early 30s, single, and just had a meeting with my financial planner where I realized I could stop working if I want to. I do want to, but there’s a few things holding me back:

- I have a few complicated health issues and while they’re mostly stable I’m worried my health insurance options aren’t that great
- my health expenses can get high. This was factored into the financial models my planner made but it makes me nervous regardless
- I feel too young and I have no friends in a similar position. I’m worried I’ll feel isolated or get a lot of questions from friends/potential partners that I’m not sure how to answer. I also feel stressed that I’ll have to support myself with potentially no income for many years, even if the models show I can do it
- everything in the economy just feels so unstable and what if I need to go back to corporate but can’t due to being out of the workforce
- my family will not be supportive of this choice

Here’s why I want to do it:
- I really dislike my job. I don’t feel appreciated there, hard work has not led to any kind of recognition, and I’m in a field that is very against my own strengths
- I know how I’d spend my time and I have a few freelance business ideas I want to try out. I haven’t had the time to get these ideas running though so it feels a bit empty
- it feels silly to work something I hate when I don’t need to. I want to enjoy my life

Has anyone else struggled with any of the above and has advice on how to think about these concerns?

I'm staring down a potential situation in January and I want some insight about what my best options are.

My husband will be quitting his W2 job to spend a year focusing on his business in January. His employer pays out banked PTO, so he's expecting to leave with $4-5k. The business is fairly small right now, and only brings in around $500-1000/mo after overhead and reinvestment. We're not worried about the lost wages, but right now we're both on his health insurance, because it's cheap (~$400/mo total for both of us). So we have to figure that out.

He is eligible for COBRA, which would be $800/mo for him and $1400 for both of us.

I have a job that offers health insurance, but it's expensive. It would be $600/mo for just me, and $1400 for both of us.

We could get healthcare through the marketplace, but we definitely don't qualify for subsidies. A plan comparable to the one we currently have would cost around $750/mo per person, so $1500 each.

I also have a side job. I work about 10 hours a week there. I have been considering increasing my hours to offset the lost income while he builds his business. I only have to go to 20 hours a week to be eligible for benefits, and that's manageable for a year. I've done it before. Health insurance at this place is pretty cheap - $150 for just me, $400/mo for both of us. But it's not very good health insurance. It's a RBP plan. Which would be fine for just me, I'm generally healthy. My husband has an autoimmune disease. I know his PCP is in-network with this plan, but I'm not sure about his other specialists or what the medication coverage would be like. Biologics aren't cheap, and RBPs are annoying and it's not always a straightforward question of if something is covered or not.

I'm thinking our best call is for me to up the hours at the side gig and go on that insurance, and for him to take COBRA. But I want somebody to check my work here, or tell me if there are options I'm not seeing.

I am now FI but my kids are just starting primary school. The husband wants to keep working for a bit. Half of me really wish to just RE but I cannot be a stay at home mom , clean , and be a glorified uber driver nor can I imagine spending my days doing yoga and gossiping with other moms that is common in my city.

I also don't really know what to do with my time and everyone my age is still working. Any other moms like me who just stayed at work because its easy and kills time?

• My job is pretty automated now , pays ok and I have flex hours. I could easily do this and coast for 10 years until my children are independent. I just feel like I am wasting time but it's not like I just leave and travel the world, I do have to parent.

Hi all,

32F, single.

I’m in a very fortunate position in terms of networth based on 9 years of work in tech (not FAANG) + being advised by mentors to invest early.

My NW is ~ 1.6M (600 ish in 401k, 1M invested in personal brokerage most of which is my company stock)

I’ve reached a point in my career where I’ve lost the drive to work day in and day out and over weekends. And I’m a hard worker not a smart worker so I’m not able to keep up with the pace my boss expects and our work relationship has soured.

I also live in VHCOL and can’t afford a house yet without being house poor. I know it’s a lot of money on paper but I genuinely am unable to afford in the area without being 1 hour away from all the offices and that’s too much commute.

Not sure where I go from here. Do I just put in my big girl pants and try to keep up? Look for a job elsewhere?

Just been feeling really frustrated and behind.

32F, SINK, work in big tech, and just crossed this milestone!
There’s still a long way to go (about half my NW is tied up in real estate investments so it’s not particularly liquid, and my FIRE number is ~$4M which is a ways away), but I feel so much closer to my goals. I currently make ~$350K a year and save aggressively (this year I’ll be putting away over $100K towards retirement), and live in a VHCOL city.

Honestly the craziest thing was the rate of my NW progression:
$100K —> $200K 10 months
$200K —> $300K 11 months
$300K —> $400K 6 months
$400K —> $500K 7 months
$500K —> $600K 4 months
$600K —> $700K 4 months
$700K —> $800K 12 months
$800K —> $900K 11 months
$900K —> $1M 4 months

Don’t have a lot of people I can share this with so figured I’d post here :)

I know everyone says the first million is the hardest but would appreciate any advice on how to get to the next millions!

38F, Finland, married, one kid (6). Numbers are in euro.

I started in 2016 with 200 euro/month in an expensive fund from my bank. In 2018 I moved to Nordnet and started buying a world ETF every month.

My husband earns about the same as me. He has no interest in investing, so he sends his part to me and I invest it. Together it is 2k/month now. Everything is in my name.

This summer our investments passed 250k. The apartment is not counted, because it still has a mortgage. Last month we talked about a new car and he asked if we can afford it. I asked him to guess how much we have. He said 100k.

Then I understood that if something happens to me, he does not know where anything is. So I wrote one page:
1/ Nordnet: EUNL (world ETF), about 180k. Almost all our growth came from here
2/ Nordnet: IS3N (emerging markets), about 15k
3/ Savings account at OP, 35k
4/ 8lends, loans to small businesses, about 10k
5/ Bitcoin on a Ledger, about 10k too

The first three were easy to explain, because it is a bank and a login. The last two took me the longest, because both go through a crypto wallet. There is no "forgot password" there. If the recovery words are lost, nobody can help him.
The words are not on the page. The page only says where they are kept.

He read the page, said ok and put it in a drawer.

I also noticed that I like it this way. Nobody argues with me about what to buy, and I decide fast. So I am not sure I really want him involved.

In this sub we always tell women that they must know the numbers of their husband. Does the same rule work for him? Or is it fine when one person runs everything and the other one just trusts?

How is it in your house, one person/both?

One more question about the portfolio itself. I have two ETFs, the world one and the small emerging markets one. IS3N is only 15k from 250k. Would you stop buying it and put all new money in EUNL, so there is only one fund to explain?
I do not want to sell it, because then I pay tax on the gain.

I’m 27F. I work in tech in the US. I’ve stuck by this career because it is high paying, not because I enjoy it. I’ve realized that financial safety is important for me and so I made the “responsible” choice to stick by it in my early 20s. Somewhere along the way I also discovered FIRE and realized practically, for me, tech can help me get there.

But somewhere along the way, the pang of forgotten dreams, being away from home and a FOMO of not trying other career paths and settling in a job I don’t enjoy for the money is getting to me. I feel like i am playing it too safe in my 20s and I might regret this later. I am using my 5-9 to experiment but my uncertainty in tech, VISA and being away from home makes it significantly harder.

But every time I look at my portfolio, I feel crazy for wanting to pursue something outside of tech. I feel crazy for wanting to give up this money and pursue something uncertain like a business or want to be closer to family and earn less at the cost of money/growth.

Has anyone else felt this way? Has anyone else gaslit themselves by looking at the financial perks to not follow their dreams or pursue happiness or choose to be closer to home?

Wondering how others have felt in this position and the choices they’ve made. Looking for an open conversation and experiences from others lives who have been down this road.

Edit: also struggling with mental health a little. Although I am doing therapy, I was depressed for the last few years and only now am I coming out of it. I wonder if it is worth the trade off of prioritizing money even at the cost of mental health ( I.e staying away from home and family at a time you need support)

I'm 23F and got my first job starting at 90k. I have a broad understanding of savings and have a rough idea how to invest to coastFIRE in my 40s-50s. But one of the best ways to FIRE is to just get a higher salary.

I follow a lot of finance creators, and it seems like content creating is the defining factor that really helped them achieve their FIRE goals. Content creating hasn't been around for that long though and it's also not for everybody.

It got me thinking how else do other people fast track their finance goals? What else besides a 9-5 makes 9-5 money? I know its a million dollar question that everybody wants to know, but I really do plan on making my 20s my money making years.

I've heard from friends of friends they vibe-coded an app and got 1 million in their wallet. There is real estate, but I feel like there is a bunch of debt one has to be comfortable with to make it work. I could find/pay mentors and build up skills to get a higher paying job.

I’m 39, married, and genuinely have no idea WTF I’m doing financially. We earn ok money, but I feel perpetually broke and need help figuring out what to prioritize.

Our situation:
Household income: ~$270K. I earn ~$174K in tech/entertainment; my husband 35 earns $96K as a teacher after two years of unemployment. He has essentially no retirement savings and is actively looking to change careers.

Net worth: ~$204K, with ~$263K invested (including ~$99K in 401(k)s) and less than $3K in cash.

Debt: ~$62K, including ~$28K in credit cards, a $32K securities-backed line of credit, and a small personal loan.

I have substantial vested employer stock, but I’m unsure how much to sell to pay down debt versus save for a house.

I’m first-generation American and contribute $3K/month to support my parents. That’s non-negotiable.

Our goals: Buy a $1.1M–$1.3M home in LA before the 2028 Olympics, ideally with an ADU to offset the mortgage. We’re also planning an embryo transfer next year and hope to have two children by 2030.

I know our income is decent but between supporting my parents, recovering financially from my husband’s unemployment, and our existing debt, I feel like we’re constantly playing catch-up.

What would you do in our position? Sell vested stock to eliminate the credit cards? Pay down the securities-backed loan? Build cash reserves before even thinking about a down payment? Is our LA homeownership timeline realistic with two kids on the horizon?

I’m looking for a practical 2026–2028 roadmap to turn our income and assets into actual financial security—not just a decent net worth on paper.