On my road to FIRE, I’ve had to make a handful of big decisions that have had a material impact on my net worth. As I reflect, there are a set of decisions that were pure luck and others that were calculated. Regardless of intentional or not, they have significantly contributed to or enabled my net worth to be where it is today. As I list out the big money decisions, I’ll try my best to be specific about the numbers. Are you ready? Standby.

Money Decision #1 - Going to an in-state university to study Computer Science

Despite most of my close friends going to academically prestigious schools like Stanford, MIT, and Duke I ended up at the University of Kentucky. It was a tough pill to swallow at the time because, like all other 17-year-olds, I wanted to go out of state, badly. However, looking back, this was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Instead of coming out of school in 4 years with ~$100K in debt, I graduated in 2.5 years (i.e. 5 semesters) with ~$30K in the bank. The 1.5 years and $130K difference gave me a longer runway to find my footing in this very dynamic world.

Finally, it turns out that I hit the lottery in the profession that I chose. In 2005, Computer Science graduates in Kentucky were only making $45K a year. These days the top tech companies are paying $200K+ to new college grads. What I thought was a passion profession, turned out to be the most lucrative profession for the level of education!

Money Decision #2 -- Moving to the Bay Area

In 2011 I moved to the Bay Area to work for a startup. I was chasing the dream to change the world in a dramatic way. Even though my impact has fallen short of my expectations, it turns out that the Bay Area is the best place to make the most money for anyone in tech. Once I saw that the compensation trends in the Bay Area for tech were rising at an astronomical rate (e.g. $140k total compensation new grad in 2011 vs $200k in 2014) and that the ceiling for engineering leadership roles was well into the multi-million dollar range I knew I hit my second jackpot.

By physically positioning myself to be in the mecca of tech, I estimate that it’s allowed me to earn at least 4x what I would have earned had I stayed in Austin, TX for my first job.

NOTE: These days, NYC, Seattle, and LA pay are rivaling that of the Bay Area.

Money Decision #3 -- switching companies often

One of the advantages of switching companies often is that you get to build on top of your current financial position. For example, if you’re at Microsoft making $300k, competing companies such as Google, Facebook, Netflix will pay at least $300k assuming that you pass the interview at the proper level. So for most people, switching companies is actually the best short-term move they can make to increase their compensation. However, I wouldn’t advise this for people who have deep ties with leadership and are on a high growth trajectory.

Aside from always being at the highest end for my level by crushing interviews and negotiating hard, I’ve collected over $300k in sign-on bonuses. This is often overlooked because it’s money that you get the minute you join and can be immediately re-invested to capture the stock market boom we’ve been experiencing.

Money Decision #4 -- Not selling Facebook, Google, or Microsoft stock

Over the years, I’ve worked at companies like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft (LinkedIn). As a part of being employed, I receive RSUs. These RSUs make up the majority of my compensation. Normally, I would advise myself and everyone else to sell their RSUs and buy what is good value at the time. However, I was dumb and got lucky. I never sold any shares until they started to become more than 20% of my net worth. As of the writing of this blog, the stock appreciation has been 900% for Facebook, 379% for Microsoft, and 90% for Google.

Facebook and Microsoft now make up a significant portion of my net worth.

Money Decision #5 -- Investing heavily in tech stocks

If you have been following this blog, you know that I’m a big fan of dollar-cost averaging into index funds and dividend aristocrats. But there are situations where I see a market opportunity. In those scenarios, I generally invest in $20k+ lots. Here is a list of companies that I’ve invested in and their prices, sorted by how much I own:

AMZN - $278 (now $3,094)
AAPL - $32 (now $122)
TGT - $54 (now $198)
LYFT - $22 (now $63)
UBER - $15 (now $54)
TSLA - don’t laugh
TQQQ - $34 (now $96)
PLTR - $14 (now $23)
SHOP - $560 (now $1,106)
ZM - $140 (now $321)

Money Decision #6 -- Dollar-cost averaging into index funds

I’ve continued to keep my expenses low, relative to how much I make. Any pay increase is an increase in my weekly dollar-cost average, not an increase in lifestyle. There have been many dips in the last several years, but my DCA routine has never been discontinued. As a result, I’ve been able to capture the full bull market. The majority of my gains is not from my bet on AMZN or UBER, it has actually been from just being patient, detailed, and in general, disciplined.

It is really hard not think about splurging when many of my friends and peers at work are driving brand new Teslas, living in $2M+ homes, and going on fancy international trips.

Money Decision #7 -- Worked for Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn in my prime earning years

In addition to continuously investing, it’s important to invest a lot! By working for the best paying companies with the most generous refreshers I’ve been able to significantly amp up how much I dollar-cost average into the stock market. When I started on my road to FIRE, my goal was to invest $100,000 per year into the stock market. However, as I progressed I’ve been able to get that number to be north of $30,000/mo, including 401K contributions, DCA, M1 Finance portfolio for this blog, and individual stock investing. By earning high-end FANG compensation, I can meaningfully invest in all of those areas without losing sleep.

Featured

investing, fire, money, retirement

3 things that make FIRE hard

investing, fire, money, retirement

These days I hardly ever think about money. It is quite the contrast from before when I’d check in on the stock market every day, do back-of-the-napkin math on investment opportunities, and follow the Federal Reserve for macroeconomic movements like a hawk. But after some reflection, I must admit that I am a little stuck in my progression towards FIRE. In this blog post, I want to share the 3 challenges all FIRE people go through and how one of them currently has me in a pickle. Are you ready? Standby. (FIRE update at the end)

investing, fire, money, retirement

fire, money

2023 year in review - top 6 highlights

fire, money

2023 was a fantastic year for people who held on to their stocks–up ~25% for the year. Despite interest rates, the cost of housing, and the cost of cars still being high, it was an overall good year for investors. As long as you were in crypto, bonds, or stocks it was pretty hard to have lost money. In this post, I will go over some of the highlights of my year. Are you ready? Standby.

fire, money

career, coaching

5 Tips on how to get promoted in a big company

career, coaching

Over the last 8 years as a manager of engineers and having been in hundreds of conversations about promotion candidates, I have learned that there is a huge disconnect between employee expectations and reality. Specifically, there is a gap in understanding of the employee’s role in the promotion process vs their manager, of the employee’s impact vs how hard they work, and of the employee’s behaviors vs how they are perceived by others. If you are frustrated about your lack of promotion or just want to learn how the sausage is made, this post is for you. Are you ready? Standby.

career, coaching

fire, money

Is $4,000,000 still a good FIRE number?

fire, money

4 years ago when I started MyRoadToFire I got a good amount of readers because the FIRE community was defining fatFIRE as having a net worth of $2,500,000 but I, and many of you, believed that to be too low. In 2019, I strongly believed that having $4 million would comfortably allow a family to FIRE. Fast forward to the end of 2023, I strongly believe that having only $4 million would be extremely risky for that same family to FIRE. So was I wrong? As one of my most annoying managers used to say “yes and no.”

fire, money

Stock market is back to near all-time highs

It’s been 6 months since my last post and a lot of positive things have happened at the macro level. Inflation went from 6.0% in Feb 2023 to 3% in June 2023. The S&P 500 index rose 14%, FB up 121%, TSLA up 60%, MSFT up 39%, AAPL up 37%, GOOG up 36%, and AMZN up 31%. These are all significant gains and it makes me wonder if I should continue my long breaks in blogging to keep this streak going.

But I cannot not blog about my personal update tonight because I’ve reached another personal milestone. Are you ready? Standby.

money, fire, stocks, real estate

3 Ways I Might make money in 2023

money, fire, stocks, real estate

For many, 2022 was a disaster year. Especially for me. I was set back by $1.84 million–yikes! Many people believe we still haven’t hit bottom yet and even fewer people believe that we will recover to 2021 levels in 2023. My prediction is that SP 500 will continue to hover around 3800-4200, mortgage rates will continue to hover around 6%, residential real estate prices will drop, but tech stocks will boom. Based on those predictions there are 3 areas I want to put my money to earn a positive return in 2023. Are you ready? Standby.

money, fire, stocks, real estate

Time to Retire? – Winter of 2022

8 years ago when I put pen to paper, I had marked the Winter of 2022 as my target date to retire. Like most multi-year estimations, I was wrong. 8 years ago I did not have a wife. I did not have 3 kids. I did not own a house. And I understood very little about personal finance. In this post, I will talk about how far off I think my estimation was and the lessons that I’ve learned as a result. Are you ready? Standby.

millionaire, american dream

The American Dream - Episode #1

millionaire, american dream

I started this blog almost 3 years ago with the goal of sharing my personal finance story with the world. I took the dive not knowing if people will care, or worse, feel resentment towards my success. But through this blog, I’ve reunited with some old friends and I’ve been introduced to new ones. We all share the same optimism around our own personal financial success. Additionally, I’ve had the pleasure to sit down with some people to listen to their stories and understand how they have achieved the American Dream. It’s very humbling to learn about their unique challenges and how they’ve overcome them. These are the exact stories that are missing from today’s mainstream media but are silently happening every day.

millionaire, american dream

Sept 2022 FIRE Update: We moved to Texas!

Today is my last day of paternity leave. I can’t believe it’s only been 4.5 months–surprisingly it feels much longer. In the last 4 months, we invited the 5th member into our house, moved our family down to Texas, went to urgent care multiple times, changed sleep configurations 10+ times, and saw my net worth increase by at least half a million only to see it dissipate in the last week. In this post, I will talk about my FIRE update, my experience moving to Texas, and share a little bit about the cost of living in North Dallas. Are you ready? Standby.

career, millenials

10 ways to succeed as an employee (Part III of III)

career, millenials

Several months ago I was delivering what may be my last downward feedback to the engineers on my team. At my company, we go through a lengthy process of 360 feedback and several rounds of calibrating with other managers to ensure fairness. And as I reflect back on my 6 years of being a people manager, there are qualities of employees that are more highly rewarded than others. Unfortunately, the hierarchy of importance of those qualities aren’t known to most people. In this article, I will talk about 4 of the top 10 ways I believe will make you a successful employee at a big company, especially if you’re still young in your career. Are you ready? Standby.

In case you missed it, you can find the other 6 ways in Part I and Part II.

career, millenials

millenials, career

10 ways to succeed as an employee (Part II of III)

millenials, career

Just 2 months ago I was delivering what may be my last downward feedback to the engineers on my team. At my company, we go through a lengthy process of 360 feedback and several rounds of calibrating with other managers to ensure fairness. And as I reflect back on my 6 years of being a people manager, there are qualities of employees that are more highly rewarded than others. In this 3-part blog series, I will break down the behaviors that are needed at different stages of your career in a big company. This is part II of a III part series. In Part II, I will cover 3 more behaviors and skills needed to excel after showing some success at your job. You can find Part I here. Are you ready? Standby.

millenials, career

career, millenials

10 ways to succeed as an employee (Part I of III)

career, millenials

Just 2 months ago I was delivering what may be my last downward feedback to the engineers on my team. At my company, we go through a lengthy process of 360 feedback and several rounds of calibrating with other managers to ensure fairness. And as I reflect back on my 6 years of being a people manager, there are qualities of employees that are more highly rewarded than others. Unfortunately, the hierarchy of importance of those qualities aren’t known to most people. In this article, I will talk about 3 of the top 10 ways I believe will make you a successful employee at a big company, especially if you’re still young in your career. Are you ready? Standby.

career, millenials

stocks, fire

Quick 2022 Life Update

stocks, fire

It’s been a while since I last posted and a lot has happened since. On the macro level, the stock market almost went into a bear market (defined as -20%) since the start of the year, Russia-Ukraine war started, home mortgage rates went from 3% to 5%, and baby formula cannot be found in some cities. On a personal level, my family finally caught COVID, my new home construction has been delayed by 4 months, I went through a re-org at work, I sold a ton of stock, I lost over $1,000,000 in portfolio value, I paid my $85K tax bill (not a typo), and I am now a father of 3 boys. In this blog, I’ll expand on my $1,000,000 loss, why I’m not concerned for myself, why I’m concerned for the bottom 90%, and what my plan is for the next 12 months.

stocks, fire

millionaire, fire

5 reasons why it’s hard to retire early after reaching Financial Independence

millionaire, fire

I thought that when I hit my $4,000,000 FI number, I would immediately hand in my resignation letter and pack my bags the next day. After all, I’ll be financially independent. I’ll have enough f-you money to do whatever I want. Why would I care what my employer has to say? Well, I reached my FIRE number in the middle of 2021 and I’m still working 9 months later. Over the last year, as I quickly approached my FIRE number I learned a great deal on what it takes to retire early. I’ve been overly focused on achieving FI and it came so fast, that I was left ill-prepared to RE. In this post, I’ll outline 5 of the difficulties that I’m currently going through and why I haven’t been able to throw in that resignation letter…yet. Are you ready? Standby.

millionaire, fire

fire, coaching

FREE Financial Coaching from Road to FIRE

fire, coaching

Do you and your spouse make more than $150K a year? If so, I am offering free financial coaching to you! I know that personal finance is hard but there’s no reason why you need to do it alone. Your traditional Financial Advisors will not know how aggressive you need to be in order to achieve FIRE or have the proper experience to coach you through difficult financial decisions while still prioritizing FIRE.

fire, coaching

fire

Momma, I did it!

fire

8 years ago when I officially started my road to FIRE, I didn’t know what to expect. I can’t say that I truly believed it was achievable before 50 years old. And by “it” I mean amassing $5 million in net worth. If memory serves me, the original plan was $5 million by 45 years old. I remember telling my mom about this ridiculous plan to retire early. She didn’t give me much of a reaction. Kind of like when you told your parents you were going to the NBA in middle school or that you were going to be the President of the United States. It’s how parents react when they don’t want to bust their kid’s unrealistic dreams.

fire

millenials, millionaire

5 things you should practice to become a multi-millionaire

millenials, millionaire

Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a self-made multi-millionaire? Or does it feel too distant that it’s just a dream? Is the American Dream dead for millennials and Gen Zers? Unquestionably, the world is rapidly changing, and our generation is left to navigate it with very little guidance. The jobs that our parents’ generations did to become rich most likely won’t make our generation rich. With that said, I strongly believe that the American Dream is still alive and that the recipe for success is a set of behaviors, not a set of instructions. My family came to America in the late 1980s as refugees, and in one generation have been able to go from the bottom 5% to the top 1%. In this article, I will distill it down to the 5 behaviors, with examples, that I believe is the foundation for financial and career success.

millenials, millionaire

dividends, investing, portfolio, fire

Road to $1,000,000 portfolio (series) - Part 1

dividends, investing, portfolio, fire

In this series, which I’ll call “Road to $1,000,000”, I will be constructing a portfolio that is more aggressive but still mainly grounded in dividend aristocrats. At the beginning of last year, I set out to run a $77,000 experiment where I only invested in dividend aristocrat stocks. After some consideration, I will be reusing that same account in order to build up a $1,000,000 portfolio alongside the rest of you! To help me get there quicker, I have also decided to double my weekly contributions from $1,000 to $2,000. The rest of this post will be focusing on what is in my new portfolio, how long I think it’ll take until this portfolio grows to be $1,000,000, and some exciting news on where I’m at on my road to FIRE. I promise there is no April Fools joke in here. Are you ready? Standby.

dividends, investing, portfolio, fire

7 best money decisions

On my road to FIRE, I’ve had to make a handful of big decisions that have had a material impact on my net worth. As I reflect, there are a set of decisions that were pure luck and others that were calculated. Regardless of intentional or not, they have significantly contributed or enabled my net worth to be where it is today. As I list out the big money decisions, I’ll try my best to be specific about the numbers. Are you ready? Standby.

budgeting

How much did I spend in 2020???

budgeting

It’s that time of the year! I’m in the middle of writing annual performance reviews for my day job. And like all of the other managers, I needed a break from politicking. So I decided to spend a couple of hours reviewing my 2020 spending! Since I had a ton of fun doing it last year I thought I’d do it again. What a year! Standby.

budgeting

dividends, portfolio, fire, stocks

My $77,000 experiment portfolio -- year end 2020 update

dividends, portfolio, fire, stocks

Happy new year! A year ago, I started a new M1Finance portfolio where I picked several dividend stocks to invest in. The goal was to achieve similar returns to the SP 500 index but beat it in terms of dividends. As of the writing of this article, I’ve contributed $77,000 of my own money into this portfolio ($25,000 initially and $1k contribution per week). In this article, I’ll share the end-of-the-year results, how I’m doing against the market and my thoughts on the dividend aristocrat experiment. Finally, I will be sharing an update on what I plan to do during 2021--stay tuned!

dividends, portfolio, fire, stocks

fire, money, millionaire

$3,000,000 in mistakes -- my 7 biggest money regrets

fire, money, millionaire

I have spent a decent amount of time reflecting on my biggest money mistakes. 13 years ago I started on a journey to build wealth. I can’t say that I always did the right things. In fact, I made a lot of mistakes. And now looking back, those mistakes have amounted to $3+ million dollars in either lost opportunity or lost money. In this article, I’ll be talking about specific mistakes and try my best to quantify how much money was lost.

fire, money, millionaire

money, retirement, portfolio, stocks

My $77,000 experiment portfolio -- Nov 2020 update

money, retirement, portfolio, stocks

At the beginning of 2020, I started a new M1Finance portfolio where I picked several dividend stocks to invest in. The goal is to achieve similar returns to the SP 500 index but beat it in terms of dividends. As of the writing of this article, I’ve contributed $73,000 of my own money into this portfolio. By the end of this year, I will have contributed $77,000 ($25,000 initially and $1k contribution per week). In this article, I’ll share my M1Finance portfolio, how I’m doing against the market, my thoughts on the current stock market, and how I am doing against my FIRE schedule.

money, retirement, portfolio, stocks

fire, millionaire

Road to $10 million - Retire by 35 and become a deca-millionaire by 50

fire, millionaire

For those who have been following my story, you know that I plan to retire at 35 years old with a $4 million net worth. It has been over a year since I’ve started blogging and as I approach my FIRE number, I think I owe it to you guys on “what’s next.” Recently, someone asked if I planned to keep an aggressive, mostly-stocks portfolio or if I was going to rotate into bonds or an all-weather portfolio during retirement. The short answer is no. The nuanced answer is, maybe some real estate. In this post, I will talk about how my setup will allow me to retire comfortably, while still growing my net worth to $10 million by the time I’m 50 years old.

I will break down my Road to $10 million into 4 major components, explain how each one of them will play out over the next 15 years, and then bring it all together at the end.

fire, millionaire

fire, dividends, stocks

My $77,000 experiment portfolio -- Oct 2020 update

fire, dividends, stocks

At the beginning of 2020, I started a new M1Finance portfolio where I picked several dividend stocks to invest in. The goal is to achieve similar returns to the SP 500 index but beat it in terms of dividends. As of the writing of this article, I’ve contributed $66,000 of my own money into this portfolio. By the end of this year, I will have contributed $77,000 ($25,000 initially and $1k contribution per week). In this article, I’ll share my M1Finance portfolio, how I’m doing against the market, my thoughts on the current stock market, and how I am doing against my FIRE schedule.

fire, dividends, stocks

My $77,000 experiment portfolio -- Sept 2020 Update

At the beginning of 2020, I started a new M1Finance portfolio where I picked several dividend stocks to invest in. The goal is to achieve similar returns to the SP 500 index but beat it in terms of dividends. As of the writing of this article, I’ve contributed $62,000 of my own money into this portfolio. By the end of this year, I will have contributed $77,000 ($25,000 initially and $1k contribution per week). In this article, I’ll share my M1Finance portfolio, how I’m doing against the market, my thoughts on the current stock market, and how I am doing against my FIRE schedule.

fire, portfolio, stocks, covid19

My $77,000 experiment portfolio -- June update

fire, portfolio, stocks, covid19

At the beginning of 2020, I started a new M1Finance portfolio where I picked several dividend stocks to invest in. The goal is to achieve similar returns to the SP 500 index but beat it in terms of dividends. As of the writing of this article, I’ve contributed $48,000 of my own money into this portfolio. By the end of this year, I will have contributed $77,000 ($25,000 initially and $1k contribution per week). In this article, I’ll share my M1Finance portfolio, how I’m doing against the market, my thoughts on the current stock market, and how I am doing against my FIRE schedule.

fire, portfolio, stocks, covid19

college, retirement

5 tips on how to use 529 plans

college, retirement

The cost of higher education has gotten expensive over the years. This means that being financially prepared for those 4+ years of college is more important than ever. As a parent of 1.5 kids (yes, one is in the oven), 529 plans have been top of mind for me especially during a market pullback such as now. In the following article I’ll share with you the reasons and best ways to utilize your 529 accounts. But first, what is a 529 plan? A 529 plan is essentially a brokerage account that is used specifically for education expenses. Anyone can deposit money into that account, and you can then purchase mutual funds that the plan offers. The gains that are made in that account can be spent tax-free. It is similar to 401k plans, used for retirement, or HSA accounts, used for medical care.

college, retirement

covid19, silicon valley, engineering

5 tips to land a high paying Software Engineering job during COVID-19

covid19, silicon valley, engineering

It is sad to see a lot of talented, former colleagues of mine get impacted as a part of the broad layoffs at companies like Lyft, Uber, and Airbnb. There will be at least dozens of thousands of highly skilled tech professionals out of work when it’s all said and done. And those who are fortunate to not be laid off, have already seen pay cuts (e.g. Lyft cutting 10% of base pay) or will see decreased future compensation (e.g. no yearly bonuses, suspension of promotions). On the bright side, there are still tech companies out there who are still hiring. As of the writing of this article, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple are hiring. So if you’re looking for a new job, you still have the opportunity to earn the big $$$. The following are 5 tips I would give to anyone looking for a software engineering job today.

covid19, silicon valley, engineering

covid19, fire, stocks, real estate, figet

Is this the end of the FIRE movement?

covid19, fire, stocks, real estate, figet

The main concepts of the FIRE movement started from a book called “Your Money or Your Life” in 1992. And in 2011 Mr. Money Mustache amplified those concepts by giving the average worker hope. That as long as they can increase their savings rate through frugality, they can one day live off of a “safe” withdrawal rate of 4%. It has since become popular amongst millennials and has branched into different flavors (e.g. lean FIRE, barista FIRE, fat FIRE). But for the first time in its short history, the FIRE movement is being challenged. Since 2011, the real estate market has been booming, exceeding its 2007 levels and the stock market has averaged a yearly return of 13.6% from 2011-2019. In other words, it has not been truly tested--until now.

covid19, fire, stocks, real estate, figet