Helping normal people with normal incomes reach financial independence.
If you want to work toward financial freedom but are on a tight budget, you can still build wealth if you harness the power of small progress. If you can’t invest 15%, 20%, or 25% of your income, the good news is that you could still make a huge difference to your financial future by … Read more
Maxing out your Roth IRA is one of your most powerful wealth-building tools, which is why you should make maxing out your Roth IRA every year one of your top financial goals. And even if you’re a first-time investor, maxing out your Roth IRA this year could make a substantial difference to your financial future. … Read more
Investing $100k as soon as possible is your most important financial goal, but reaching your first $100k often feels impossible if you earn a low or even middle income. That’s why you should break this goal down into smaller, more manageable steps. This guide will show you the specific numbers behind why saving your first … Read more
The maximum amount of money that you can contribute each year to your Roth IRA is $7,000 if you’re under age 50. While maxing out your Roth IRA is ideal, it’s not always possible—especially if you earn a low income. But if you can’t max out your Roth IRA, you can still make incredible progress … Read more
Your 40s is a crucial time for investing: If you’re not on track to retire, your 40s is really the last opportunity you have before investing for retirement becomes extremely difficult. That’s why if you’re in your 40s, you absolutely need to make sure that you’re on track to retire comfortably. Whether you’re in your … Read more
Whether you’re just entering your 30s and want to start investing or you’re approaching 40 and are worried about your retirement account balance, it’s still not too late for you to start investing. Your 30s are the second-best decade of your life to start investing because of the power of compound interest, so you’re going … Read more
Because of an obnoxious subset of FIRE devotees who tout extreme savings rates and brag about retiring in their 30s, the FIRE movement is often portrayed either as a ridiculous quest to live in utter destitution in an attempt to retire decades early or as a lifestyle choice that’s only accessible for high-income earners. If … Read more
Having a treat-yourself mindset is to blame for much of Americans’ financial woes: 74% of Americans report having an overspending problem and 55% of Americans admit to spending recklessly, even as 62% of American households live paycheck to paycheck as of 2024. And “Nearly half of Americans (46%) have missed paying a bill at some … Read more
Some people refuse to have a separate emergency fund because their money can grow faster in an investment or retirement account than in a high-yield savings account. They think that they can just use their credit card and sell off their investments to pay off their credit card debt. However, relying on your investments to … Read more
Many people do not believe they need an emergency fund because they think that a credit card should cover them in case they experience an emergency, and they believe that they will be able to get back into the workforce soon enough for their credit card debt not to matter. But replacing your emergency fund … Read more
If you want to be financially independent, you should make reaching 100k as soon as possible your top priority. Reaching 100k is your most important financial goal because if you develop the discipline it takes to reach 100k, then you have what it takes to reach financial freedom. Here’s why: Your first 100k will be … Read more
If you don’t earn a high income, you might believe you have too little money to make investing matter. However, this belief is not only false—it actively hurts your finances and can cause you to miss out on tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in future investment income. Investing on a … Read more
There is a massive, glaring problem at the heart of mainstream FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) content: Much of mainstream FIRE content presents achieving FIRE as a result of extreme savings rates that are utterly divorced from realistic incomes and real-world expenses. This type of content typically is peddled by out-of-touch men who make bloated … Read more