Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe Barista FI is actually scaling back to part time work that includes benefits like health insurance for part time employees (Starbucks is one of these companies that offers health insurance to part time employees hence “barista” FI).

We are moving to Japan in May 2026. Come visit and make that goal a reality, Brad!

Just wanted to share a little 30 day freezer clean out challenge that is turning into a 52 day challenge. We are avid hunters, fisherman, and gardeners and for the challenge we didn’t want to buy any meat and limited grocery month for January that ended up turning into most of February (until we leave for a cruise)

We say limited because we do have a 1 and 3 year old at home that require milk and fresh produce, or there was the occasional small ingredient we needed for a meal.

This challenge caused us to inventory everything in our freezer and then plan out each and every meal. (Anyone who has owned a chest freezer knows how easily stuff can get lost).

Overall it cut our grocery bill by probably 80% and we had to be creative with a lot of our meals. So far it has really got us back into meal planning

As someone not in the US, I found it funny that you think it's like 10% US tax talk/US specific - it's way more 😅

Our goals for the year are a bit different, because after almost 10 years on the path to FI, with higher income every year, this year, our income is going way down. I've been working 50% instead of full time for over a year, and my husband took the leap in December 2025 to cut his hours from 100% to 60% (more, really, because he's stopped being on call, which was another 30% of work on top of full time).

This means we're cutting our income by half, so we'll have to make very conscious decisions about spending to keep a smaller savings rate (going from 50% to a goal of 15%). I see it as a fun challenge, and we're doing not things that don't cost as much. In return, my husband in particular gets better health, because his job has really taken everything out of him before. It's a good investment that isn't money...

So in short, our goals are less work, more time with our three kids, and better health. And in the background, the investments we've made over the years continue to work.

Really liked this episode and all the voice messages! Reminded me of the Year End episodes of yesteryear.

As for me…Hit 1 million invested this month! Almost all in 403b, 401k, and 457b. Debt free except for the mortgage. I’m about 60% to the FI number we want to be at.

My 2026 FI Goals:

• 1 Big Thing per month with my family…using travel rewards to help us get this done! May trip to a concert for me and my wife. 10 day Italy trip booked for our family of 4 in June. National Sports Card Convention in Chicago booked for July. Iceland or a Cruise in August. Taking my mom for her 70th bday to a Notre Dame football game (bucket list for her) in Sept. Need to plan out the rest, but I’m getting there!
• 10k in additional high yield savings. Already have the emergency fund set.
• 50k in brokerage (at 16k atm)
• Start chopping away at our mortgage (20k additional to the principal)

This blended approach is not as fun for me as going all in on just one…but I’ve had multiple people stress test it for me including my Financial Advisor (free through my work) help me get here.

Very fun episode! I can totally relate to Wilson's situation. I have looked into the CFP track but am not comfortable or ready yet to make the career leap. Wondering if there is a recommended path / intro course to "test the waters" per se. Also wondering if that could be something easy enough to do on the side (while working a 9-5) or if a good chunk of time off is worth it / necessary if the end goal is becoming a CFP. Thanks!

Super fun to be featured (also weird to hear your own voice - not something I’m used to), thanks guys!

Gotta love some goal setting!

My reading goals are less ambitious, but I do plan to read more books this year, as well as listen to audiobooks.

I started weight training and intend to keep up the 4-times a week routine.

One of my fun goals for 2026 is to get "20 tickets" - so basically going to 20 ticketed events, workshops, musicals, etc. It's fun, social, and being intentional about it also makes me anticipate the activities more, and keep looking for more fun things to do :)

Let’s talk about Dan and his great voicemail on reducing pre-tax contributions in favor of taxable investing. I think a lot of FIRE folks can relate to his situation of large pre-tax balances and relatively smaller Roth and taxable buckets. That’s a natural side effect of following the standard FIRE playbook: maximize accumulation and maximize tax advantages.

The question of where to put those “last leg” accumulation dollars is one of the most interesting decisions out there. At some point, the pre-tax bucket is already doing very well, and the real question becomes: is giving up some tax savings worth gaining flexibility?

If I were Dan, I’d probably agree with his thinking, assuming he’s in the 24% bracket or lower and couldn’t get much into a brokerage after maxing a 401k. Diverting $10,000 from a 401k to a brokerage account means paying $2,400 in taxes, but still getting $7,600 into a crucial bucket that is very important to his ladder goal in early retirement. Personally, I think that specific tax cost would be well worth the liquidity it creates. You do not want to run out of money during that five year waiting period.

Funny that Jonathan mentioned seeing his FI friend gigging at the Farmer's Market. Husband and I have formed a 5-piece band. All of us are retired and FI. We save our gig money and use it for band outings (sushi dinners, train ride to SF for day trip, etc.). So 1) we have a blast practicing, 2) have a blast gigging, 3) make a little money by doing it, 4) then have a blast spending the money together! Win-win-win-win!

For 2026 my goal is similar to Jenny! I'm a teacher, and I started the 25/26 school year with $100k in liquid assets, and by the end of this school year I want to have an extra $50k invested.

Hey Everyone - This is the first episode using the new approach. I hope you enjoy this episode

- the podcast player has been upgraded so you can safely travel around the site without losing your progress and everyone that contributed to this episode is referenced on the sidebar ( visible on desktop and mobile)

- so be sure to give them feedback and encouragement - this was a massive overhaul to get this in place this week - so there may be a few tech bumps as I do some retroactive quality assurance - but im hoping we will be in good shape !