About
Hello and welcome!
After working various jobs from landscaper to engineer, I achieved financial independence and retired at the age of 34. I didn’t get lucky picking stocks or starting a lucrative business, my wife and I just saved a lot more money than we spent and invested it in basic index funds.
My new office
The crazy thing is, while we spent less and less money, our lifestyle just got better and better. We still got to eat like kings, travel the world, and learn new hobbies. As our salaries grew, we avoided lifestyle inflation and focused on spending to maximize our happiness per dollar. This led to us becoming happier, healthier, and wealthier – all while depending on less and less money.
Just being on the path to financial independence made life less stressful. I sold my new car and didn’t have to worry about parking lot dings on my cheaper used car. With our bank accounts growing, I didn’t feel the need to climb corporate ladders. I even started wearing jeans and crazy kicks to work, and only worked on projects I enjoyed. Life just becomes less complicated when you’re not caught up chasing money.
It might seem impossible, but financial independence is attainable for everyone. I believe the most important part is honing the right lifestyle, and I’ve taken up writing this blog to share what ours looks like. My most popular articles are usually finance related (everyone loves money) but I write about everything.
While finance is an important part of the equation, I think lifestyle is the biggest factor when it comes to health, wealth, and happiness. That’s why I cover things like how we make pizzeria-quality pizza, grow food, travel for cheap, and brew beer. You’ll also see my latest hobbies and projects like my junkyard jackhammer and DIY greenhouse. And to give you an idea of what’s possible, we share exactly how much it costs us to do all of these things – last year we spent $38k.
I hope you’ll enjoy reading this blog as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. We’ve already met some incredible new friends, as well as become closer with old ones through it.
If you’re a first time reader, here are some of our most popular posts:
You Owe It to Yourself to Pursue Financial Independence
You Don’t Have Too Much in Your 401k, Here’s How to Withdraw Penalty-free in Early Retirement
What It’s Like One Year After Quitting My Job
My Journey to Financial Independence
The Ultimate List of Awesome Cheap Hobbies
Efficient Investing with the Three Fund Portfolio
Brewing Crazy Awesome Beer Cheap
Stop Leaking Cash – Easy Ways to Crush Your Energy Bills
The Secret to Pizzeria Quality Pizza
What It’s Like 6 Months After Quitting My Job
What I Would Do With Your Money
Screw the Roth, Max Your Pre-Tax!
Take a Picture, It’ll Last Longer
How to Retire Early – It’s About the Early Retirement Lifestyle
As featured on Business Insider.