Guides
22 plain-language guides to financial independence across the full picture, with a CPA's depth and a recurring cast of fictional characters who make questionable decisions so you don't have to. Educational only; verify current rules before acting.
Also: Glossary · FAQ · Calculators: FIRE number, savings rate, Coast FIRE, card fee break-even
Saving, spending & income
Your savings rate decides your FIRE timeline
Why savings rate is a double lever, with a years-to-FIRE table.
Track your spending and find your real FIRE number
Turn 12 months of real records into an honest FIRE number.
Lean FIRE vs Fat FIRE: budgets, numbers, and trade-offs
Three sample budgets, three targets, and the trade-offs.
Grow your income (and keep the raise) on the way to FIRE
The income half of the savings rate, and how to keep the raise.
Investing & your balance sheet
Index funds and asset allocation for FIRE, without the drama
Low-cost index funds, allocation, rebalancing and fees.
Pay off the mortgage or invest? The great kitchen-table debate
Guaranteed return vs expected return, with payoff math.
Read your own finances like an accountant: the personal balance sheet and cash-flow statement
Net worth and cash-flow templates, reconciliation and ratios.
Withdrawals & risk
The 4% rule: where it came from and where it breaks
Bengen, the Trinity study, and where 4% breaks.
Sequence-of-returns risk: when bad years show up first
Same average return, wildly different outcomes, and the defenses.
Cash cushions, buckets and the order you spend your accounts
Cash moats, refill rules and the order you spend accounts.
Getting to your retirement money before 59½: the five doors
Taxable bridges, Roth basis, Rule of 55, 72(t) and ladders.
Real estate
Rental real estate and FIRE: the cash-flow reality check
The full rental worksheet, leverage and honest risks.
Health care
Health insurance before Medicare: the early retiree's biggest gap
ACA premium tax credits, MAGI and the subsidy cliff.
The HSA: the retirement account disguised as a medical account
Triple tax advantage and the save-your-receipts strategy.
Taxes
FIRE and taxes: what a CPA wants you to know
Tax buckets, low-income years, early access and common mistakes.
Roth conversion ladders explained
Accessing pre-tax savings before 59 1/2, and the five-year rules.
Lifestyle & mindset
Geographic arbitrage: moving your money's address
Moving your money somewhere it stretches further.
Coast FIRE vs Barista FIRE: which fits you?
Two ways to step back before reaching your full number.
The FIRE blooper reel: common mistakes and how to avoid them
Eleven quiet assumptions that wobble FIRE plans.
The psychology of retiring early: what the spreadsheet can't see
Identity, purpose, structure and the one-more-year trap.
Credit card points & travel
Credit card points and travel hacking for FIRE: a hobby with a calculator
Cents-per-point math, fees, minimum spend and issuer rules.
Best credit card types for FIRE: a field guide to the card zoo
Card categories compared, from cash back to premium travel.