These days, Barbara Corcoran is probably best known for judging the start-up pitch show, Shark Tank. As a native New Yorker and real estate fangirl, however, I will always think of Barbara Corcoran as the founder behind New York City real estate agency, The Corcoran Group. After splitting with her boyfriend and first business partner, she went out on her own with half the remaining team (seven agents) and built the agency to become the largest in New York City before selling it for $66 million in 2001. You would think that after such a successful exit, Corcoran would be [...]

If you saw the press around how Jay-Z is hip hop’s first billionaire, you might have glossed over it for the entertainment value but missed how important it is to your FIRE plans. Sure, Jay-Z and other celebrities have outsized paychecks that bear little resemblance to the money you and I have to work with. However, the way he and other astute celebrities have managed their career, time and money yields important lessons. Be an owner, like Jay-Z Jay-Z isn’t just the worker; he’s the owner -- a musician who owns his catalog, a brand representative who owns stakes in [...]

After four full days in Provence and just under four days in Lyon, we had a 10+ hour road trip for our final stop in Paris. We were scheduled to spend our final days in Tours in the Loire Valley, but changed to Paris because of the heat wave. Temperatures were projected to exceed 100-degrees each day, and the Loire Valley activities would be mainly outdoors. In addition, our AirBNB in Tours would not be air-conditioned (most residences don’t have AC), so we opted for a modern, Marriott hotel instead. The heat didn’t keep us away from the Eiffel Tower [...]

After just under four days in Lyon, we hit the road for our next stop in Aix-en-Provence. We picked this region because lavender is in season June through August. As it turns out, sunflowers also bloom in July and August, so we would get to see both! We did see some impressive sunflower fields along the way, but as the drive was several hours, we didn’t stop for photo opportunities. We also loved looking at the classical trees that overhang many roads all over France as seen in the image at the top of the page. After checking into our [...]

Recently I wrote about making FIRE possible when your life partner isn’t as committed to FIRE as you are. This was inspired by several questions that came up from a survey of participants of our course, Making FIRE Possible. Another common concern was how to reach FIRE when you don’t want to pinch pennies or deeply cut your expense level. One course registrant mentioned she wants to save money, but “not feel deprived” – a reasonable goal. After all, isn’t the point of having all that FIRE flexibility so you can enjoy it? Extreme saving is a legitimate FIRE strategy. [...]

We have been to Paris once before for a few days, but exploring the rest of France was high on my bucket list. Thanks to the flexibility that FIRE affords, we were able to jump on a ticket sale and ended up paying just over $600 per Paris/ NY round-trip ticket in July! We scheduled 12 days in total to go around the French Alps region, the lavender fields of Provence, and the Loire Valley. Another movie marathon kicks off the trip As I tend to do in long flights (witness my 8-movie marathon going to the Philippines and my [...]

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We may receive compensation if you click one of those links and purchase a product. Not only are Scott and I working on achieving FIRE together, but we are also in business together. In fact, we are currently developing a new course called Making FIRE Possible, which covers the main strategies we have used to exit the traditional corporate grind and achieve our first stage of FIRE in Costa Rica. It will also expand your thinking about FIRE and explain why FIRE is relevant to you, even if you have [...]

I feel lucky that I have always had good money management habits – e.g., I don’t overspend, I save and invest regularly. Therefore, I don’t think much about basic money management strategies, and I don’t cover these tips in this blog. However, I was reading a great money habits post from PlanEasy, and it struck me how much the widely accepted good money management rules also apply to time management. I’m pretty good with my time, but I have had to work at it. When I’m anxious, I feel hurried, and I actually say to myself, “You have enough time” [...]

By Nate Matherson, Co-founder of personal finance site LendEDU, and a recent college graduate from the University of Delaware’s Class of 2016. As a student debtor himself, Nate is an expert in all things related to paying for college and student loan debt. Paying for college has become unaffordable for most families, so borrowing has become a necessity. And, it’s not just students taking out loans either – many parents borrow to help their kids afford to get a good education. If your children need your financial support to help fund their academic careers, you actually may have a few [...]