Reflection Time – 5 Years of Blogging and the FI Community in 2023

And just like that, Money Flamingo turned 5 years old earlier this month! This anniversary also coincided with a few other blogging/business milestones (more on this below), so I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to reflect on how the blog has grown and evolved since I started it in 2018. I’ll also share … Read more

The Road Trip – What Almost Everyone Gets Wrong On the Journey to FI

Today I invite you to do a little thought experiment with me. It reveals what most people get wrong on the path to FI. It will also tell you a lot about your own journey to Financial Independence. I call this thought experiment “The Road Trip”. I used it as an exercise in a workshop … Read more

ProjectionLab Review – New Planning Software for Financial Independence

Today I’ve got something a little different for you: a review of a new financial planning software developed specifically for the FIRE community. ProjectionLab was promoted on several prominent FI blogs and podcasts over the last few weeks – and for a good reason: the software is beautiful and flexible. A lot of FIRE enthusiasts … Read more

How to “Die With Zero” – The Math Behind the Mindset

The book “Die With Zero” by Bill Perkins is fast becoming a FIRE classic – for a good reason. Many in the community have adopted a Die With Zero mindset, which goes against many of the core pillars of the standard approach to Financial Independence like delayed gratification and frugality. Instead, Die With Zero is … Read more

Show Me the Money!

Want to know my numbers? This is the innocent little question I recently asked my subscribers. After all, I’ve run Money Flamingo (which is, at least in part, a financial independence/personal finance blog) for almost five years now without revealing our net worth or FIRE number. Instead, we use multiples of our expected future expenses … Read more

What Does F.I.R.E. Really Stand For?

F.I.R.E. stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early – or does it? Sure, the basic premise behind the FIRE movement is pretty simple: Spend less than you earn (or earn more than you spend) and invest the difference. Eventually, you’ll reach Financial Independence, which will enable you to Retire Early. However – and I’ve written about … Read more

Yearly Review and Goal Setting: 5 Questions to Help You Create Your Ideal Life

In this article, I’ll share five simple questions and some ideas to help you to move towards your ideal life (and not just towards your financial goals). Most Financial Independence enthusiasts have an annual review and goal-setting routine. We check how our investments performed over the last year, calculate our savings rate, review our spending … Read more

26 Alternatives to Early Retirement (that don’t require full FI!)

No matter where you are on the path to financial independence, there are many lifestyle design options you can use to create a better life for yourself and your family. They allow you to improve your life along the path to FI but are also great alternatives to early retirement once you reach your financial … Read more

The Retirement Lie and Its Unintended Consequences

Here is the standard FIRE blueprint: Step 1: Work hard, save, invest and … wait.Step 2: Reach FI, retire and sail into the sunset. We all know that’s not what usually happens (bear with me). Almost everyone (as in 99%+) of people who hit FI in their 20s, 30s, 40s and even early 50s will … Read more

The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Flamingo FI

One piece of feedback from the recent Money Flamingo reader survey surprised me. Many of you commented that I don’t write enough about our signature “type” of Financial Independence – Flamingo FI. The reason why I don’t write about the math and mechanics behind Flamingo FI that often is that it is a really simple … Read more