We recently finished watching a quirky superhero K-Drama on Netflix called Cashero. The show got me thinking about a topic that doesn’t come up often in FIRE conversations: how much your spouse or partner can affect your ability to achieve financial independence.

As part of our year-end tradition , my wife and I reviewed our Goals Bingo cards and reminisced about the places we visited and the things we did throughout the year. For fun, we also voted on our personal “Best of 2025” across a few categories—including Best New App. This year, we both chose an app that saves us money, helps the environment and businesses—and creates a little excitement. Our Best New App of 2025 is Too Good To Go. Note: I am not affiliated with Too Good To G

As the year comes to a close, I still find it hard to believe that we actually retired before turning 50  this year. When we were in our 30s, retirement at any age seemed like a pipe dream . Despite having low-paying jobs and no direction, we somehow still managed to cross the rat race finish line early. With less than a week left in 2025, we’re now making preparations for two annual traditions to close out the old year and ring in the new one. A few friends started copying u

As the six-month mark of my early retirement approaches, I’ve started looking back at how it’s gone so far. Before I retired, I pictured waking up late, spontaneous adventures, and maybe a new hobby or two. And while some of that has happened, the reality has been a little less “vacation mode” and a little more “figure out how to make retirement enjoyable” mode. Many people assume retirement is like flipping a switch—you leave your job on Friday and wake up Monday in permanen

Your 401(k) is one of your most powerful tools to escape the rat race and reach financial independence. But like any tool, using it correctly makes a big difference. Even smart savers sometimes miss out on thousands of dollars (and years of growth) because of a few small mistakes. Here are 10 common 401(k) mistakes  — and how to make sure you’re getting the most out of your plan. NOT UNDERSTANDING YOUR 401(k) TYPE When 401(k)s were first introduced, there was only one type. Y

Getting furloughed during the 2020 pandemic turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it helped me realize my wife and I needed to...

You know your current net worth and your average annual expenses. You also have your target number . So, now it’s time to start putting your financial independence plan together. And I’ll share my tips on creating a plan that will work, including my best tip that I learned watching basketball. You might be wondering if it’s even necessary to create a plan. Why not just wing it? Yes, I know making a plan isn’t always fun. I like to wing it  on most things myself, but I don’t

If you followed along in my last post, you would have calculated your net worth , which tells you where you currently are in the rat race. The next logical question is: How much to save for retirement? To escape the rat race, you must figure out your ultimate goal: What net worth do you need to achieve your Financial Independence Number? Why is it important to figure out this target number? Well, imagine if you were in an actual physical race, except that there’s no clear fin

It’s been roughly four months since I retired and almost six months since my wife did. We often talk about how this was a great choice, but early retirement wasn’t always the plan. As mentioned in my first post , I had doubts we’d be able to retire at all, let alone early. Back in 2006, we weren’t thinking of retirement. We were thinking of starting a family. One day, I was killing time at a Borders Bookstore—remember those?—when I came across a book about how to make money