If you’re in pursuit of Coast FIRE and aiming to do so via a one time windfall or burst savings, the way to think about this is: you’re hunting for “earnings density That means (1) high pay per month and (2) unusually low living expenses and/or (3) a structure that makes saving automatic (housing/food provided, … Read more
Most people love the idea of financial independence and retiring early, but these possibilities can seem remote on the standard path of saving and investing 10% of one’s paycheck. At the same time, though the FIRE movement offers proven approaches for early financial independence, it often comes with hefty sacrifice, and few people want to … Read more
Ten years ago, I decided to leave the United States and travel for one year. That year was one of the most fulfilling years of my life, and I enjoyed every month, day, minute, and second of the experience. So much so that when it was time to come home, I couldn’t. Now I can … Read more
Many people love the idea and possibility of financial independence, but in the current mix of average salary of ~$67,000 to average cost of living in the US, $60,000 to $70,000, that dream of retiring early can feel unlikely. With barely any financial room to breathe as is these days, the idea of stoic austerity … Read more
For the aspiring expat, aiming to leave their home country for a more comfortable life abroad, with a slower pace and more time, Colombia always comes up as an option – and with good reason. As an expat who has been living abroad for more than a decade, spent years enjoying South America, and spent … Read more
Many people fantasize about what life would be like if they could travel wherever they desired – financially secure enough to make such adventurous wanderings not just possible, but commonplace. In same moment, most people dismiss this “forever travel dream” as an impossibility. But as I sit in a public park in Montevideo, Uruguay, scouting … Read more
Calculate the portfolio you need for “semi-FI” — where part-time income covers part of your expenses, and your investments cover the rest. Enter your annual expenses, your expected part-time income, and your withdrawal-rate assumption to estimate your Barista FIRE number, then adjust the “dial” to see how much faster financial independence can become when you … Read more
Find Your “Travel-Funded FI” Number and Make the World Your Default Nomad FIRE isn’t “vacation forever.” It’s financial independence built for movement—living out of one or two bags, changing countries every 1 to 6 months, and using geoarbitrage to keep spending sustainable while still experiencing the world. If traditional FIRE is designed around a home … Read more
Expat FIRE is what happens when you use global living—not just frugality and index funds—to make work optional. Find Your “Two-Numbers FI” Target (Local and Global) and Make Geoarbitrage Real The core idea is simple: if your lifestyle costs less in the right place abroad, your “FI number” can drop dramatically. Not because you gave … Read more
Find Your FI Number Where Compounding Does the Heavy Lifting Coast FIRE is the moment your portfolio hits a size where—if you stop contributing—time and compounding can carry it the rest of the way to traditional retirement. In other words: you don’t have to “hit FIRE” today. You just have to reach the point where … Read more