A 30-year-old with $94,000 invested today — and zero additional contributions — would reach $1 million by age 65. No 401(k) match needed. No aggressive savings rate. No side hustles. Just compound growth doing what it does over 35 years. That’s coast FIRE in one sentence. Most people hear “financial independence” and picture decades of … Read more
An index fund and an ETF can hold the exact same 500 stocks, charge nearly the same fee, and deliver nearly identical returns. VOO and VFIAX both track the S&P 500 — one costs 0.03%, the other 0.04%. Performance over the past decade? Within 0.01% of each other annually. So the index fund vs ETF … Read more
Here’s a number most “how to start investing” guides won’t lead with: $100 per month, invested consistently for 30 years, has historically grown to over $226,000 — based on the S&P 500’s long-term average return. Your total out-of-pocket? Just $36,000. That $190,000 gap is compound growth doing the heavy lifting. And the barrier to entry … Read more
One number should change how you think about your FIRE savings rate: doubling your income — from $60K to $120K — while keeping the same 25% savings rate doesn’t save you a single year toward FIRE. Read that again. You earn twice as much. You save twice as many dollars. And you reach financial independence … Read more
