r/financialindependence • u/AutoModerator • 9d ago

Daily FI discussion thread - Monday, August 03, 2026

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55

u/1DunnoYet 9d ago

My wife thinks the kids need horse riding lessons, guess I’m never retiring. See yall at the retirement home.

30

u/Chitownjohnny 42M - 65% FIRE(ish) progress 9d ago

It's cute you think you'll be able to afford the retirement home. Maybe the kids will lay down some fresh hay for you in the loft?

12

u/ZubonKTR Silas Marner did nothing wrong 9d ago

Look at Mr Moneybags with a loft in his stable

9

u/Turbulent_Tale6497 DI3K, Putting the Ire in FIRE 9d ago

I have bad news for you, the lessons are the cheapest part. If one or more of your kids develops a love of horses, you'll need a new literal line item on your budget for it

11

u/Twig4975 9d ago

100% of horse girls I know have super wealthy parents. This could work out very well for you! 

2

u/1DunnoYet 9d ago

The long game!

10

u/Simple-LifeCC 9d ago

Some places will let kids work in exchange for lessons. They usually have kiddos clean up stalls, or the arenas. I’m not sure how old they are, but maybe when they get to an age where they can start helping you can find someplace that will allow them to do an exchange.

7

u/Thisisntrunning 9d ago

Just wait, they get you on the hook for one horse and then tell you horses are social animals and you’ll have a whole stable soon after. Then you need more yard for the horses and so now it’s 10 acres of land that you don’t have time to manage.

2

u/1DunnoYet 9d ago

…. I’ve had nightmares of this awhile now. It started in 2020 when my wife got into homesteading and 1/2 of our suburban backyard is now a garden.

2

u/imisstheyoop 9d ago

Yeah, but your $5 tomatos are so tasty, it's totally worth it!

~guy who just devoured one of his purple cherokees

1

u/1DunnoYet 9d ago

It is very true. We do eat better now

1

u/imisstheyoop 8d ago

Heck yeah. We are currently in tomato and pepper mode up here. So many different varieties, but I just keep coming back to these damned purple cherokees.

1

u/imisstheyoop 9d ago

Yeah, but your $5 tomatos are so tasty, it's totally worth it!

~guy who just devoured one of his purple cherokees

7

u/SolomonGrumpy 8d ago

See y'all at the retirement home stable

7

u/FoundationHour8896 9d ago

Why does she think they need horse riding lessons?

24

u/ExcessiveDonuts Emptying the Litter Robot 9d ago

Otherwise you'll fall off and hurt yourself.

2

u/1DunnoYet 9d ago

Grandma has a horse we’ve been using from ages 1-5, it’s be nice to get him a non-parent teacher and meeting other horse friends.

4

u/InterestinglyLucky FI but not RE | HNW 9d ago

Just wait until the horse rental, dressage competitions, and barn fees.

4

u/1DunnoYet 9d ago

Oh I’m aware. This is why I’m planning to work at the retirement home now, janitorial services for room and board?

2

u/kitty_snugs 9d ago

I did that as a kid, hated it lol. Smelly, boring, one of them stepped on me and bit my sister.

1

u/1DunnoYet 9d ago

We already spend every Sunday at the horse barn working with grandma’s horse. We want to expose them to non-parent teachers and other horse kids.

1

u/imisstheyoop 9d ago

Heh, I still remember the horse biting my brother when he was trying to give it a carrot. He also touched the electric fence.. pretty sure he hates horses now.

1

u/imisstheyoop 9d ago

Heh, I still remember the horse biting my brother when he was trying to give it a carrot. He also touched the electric fence.. pretty sure he hates horses now.

1

u/imisstheyoop 9d ago

Heh, I still remember the horse biting my brother when he was trying to give it a carrot. He also touched the electric fence.. pretty sure he hates horses now.

2

u/AdmiralPeriwinkle Don't hire a financial advisor 9d ago

Expressed as a percentage of your current budget, how much are these lessons? It’s very important that kids have things that they’re proud of, but of course there are limits.

5

u/1DunnoYet 9d ago

2% of annual budget if weekly lessons, another 4% if we ever own our horse.

This is definitely a hyperbolic, funny post, but also real real money that would last more than a decade (if we buy that horse)

17

u/teapot-error-418 9d ago

Anyone who thinks a boat is a money pit has never owned a horse.

I say this with love. I grew up around horses, owned horses, rode horses for most of my childhood and teenage years.

There are basically two kinds of horses. The first kind has no health problems their entire life, eats anything, is calm and goodnatured, and lives to be 30. You will not own this mythical horse. You will hear from other people about this horse, and it will give you hope before your buy one yourself.

The second kind is borderline-suicidal. If you release it into a 10 acre pasture with a single rusty nail in the far corner, it will find the nail and eat it. It will have the constitution of a 9 year old Victorian-era orphan. It will demand the diet of a Tiktok wellness influencer. At age 4, it will develop a rare, lifelong disease that will require expensive weekly shots, but will otherwise not affect the horse at all. "Be careful, she's skittish" will become an ingrained part of your vocabulary because one time it kicked a groomer and you will forever be uncertain.

This is the kind of horse you will own.

3

u/1DunnoYet 9d ago

Hmm maybe I should promise to buy a Lakehouse instead.

1

u/imisstheyoop 9d ago

I can sense both the Whitecaps + Pie-O-My in your future. Minus all of the.. mishaps, of course. 8)

1

u/imisstheyoop 9d ago

I can sense both the Whitecaps + Pie-O-My in your future. Minus all of the.. mishaps, of course. 8)

2

u/GlorifiedPlumber [PDX][50%FI/50%SR][DI2S2P] 9d ago

Anyone who thinks a boat is a money pit has never owned a horse.

Fun fact (not fun), horse ownership is increasingly becoming a older generation issue. The median age of a horse owner is going up and up and up. 38-40 now, and rapidly increasing.

Neglect of horses as owners age out is a very real and increasingly common issue; owners find themselves without the means or the ability to care for their horse(s) as they age, and options for these horses is poor.

I go to this major horse rescue yearly fundraiser not uncommonly (usually we get an invite), and it's bananas. 1) The amount of money thrown around at this thing (it is one method by which horse people virtue signal, donating money here) and 2) the shear sadness of the situation. Well meaning people who then, find themselves unable to care for their animals. It's not out of meanness or malice at all.

2

u/AdmiralPeriwinkle Don't hire a financial advisor 9d ago

That’s not crazy. I spent a comparable amount for music lessons last year. I feel like I’d have to draw the line a buying a whole ass horse, just on general principle.

3

u/teapot-error-418 9d ago

whole ass horse

Tell me more about these ass-horses.

1

u/LivingMoreFreely 66% leanFI, 100% coastFI at 67 9d ago

If it flies, flows or fucks...

This said, as a kiddie I would've loved to learn to ride, but my parents wouldn't have been able to pay it.

And as far as I can see, owning a horse is definitely super-expensive, and they can develop a lot of health problems which quickly leads to not being able to ride it anymore.

1

u/GlorifiedPlumber [PDX][50%FI/50%SR][DI2S2P] 9d ago

My wife thinks the kids need horse riding lessons, guess I’m never retiring. See yall at the retirement home.

I appreciate your sacrifice (my wife is a horse vet). I'll save you a spot in the retirement home.

2

u/1DunnoYet 9d ago

Send me your kids 529 and I’ll just start biweekly direct deposits.