Financial independence essays
Galen writes the new work. The original Early Retirement Dude's first-person story stays clearly labeled in the archive.
Galen Weston
The spreadsheet can say enough while your nervous system says absolutely not. The useful question is whether another year repairs a real weakness or merely delays an unfamiliar decision.
Galen Weston
A FIRE number answers a narrow question about spending and assets. It cannot tell you who you are without the paycheck, the title, or the familiar weekly machinery.
Galen Weston
If financial independence means choice, choosing paid work cannot automatically invalidate it. The useful test is whether the work serves your life or has quietly reclaimed it.
Founding archive
The original ERD account linked by The New York Times: a 48% portfolio loss, a cash buffer, and the decision not to sell into the crash.
Founding archive
The original ERD introduction linked by Big Think, restored without turning one household’s path into a universal formula.
Galen Weston
The books, research papers, blogs, and forums that shaped the financial-independence movement.
Galen Weston
What free net-worth trackers do well, how advisory offers fit the business model, and how to assess the two separately.
Galen Weston
Savings rate changes both how quickly assets grow and how large a portfolio target needs to be. The common FIRE table makes that relationship visible.
Galen Weston
I bought Early Retirement Dude. I don't believe in retirement.