"Bitcoin is just digital Beanie Babies."

Most people think FIRE is just about retiring early. But it’s really about one thing: Freedom from dependency. To get there, you need a clear plan. Here are the 3 pillars of a FIRE strategy that actually works—plus the assets I use to fight the broken system. 🧵 The “Why” behind FIRE I spent 12+ years in Corporate America. Good pay. Smart coworkers. Comfortable life. But I still felt stuck. Stuck in traffic, stuck in meetings, stuck in a career I didn’t intentionally choose. FIRE was an escape and a way to design my future. Building Block 1 – Know your expenses The first step in any FIRE plan? 📊 Know exactly what your lifestyle costs. Break it down: housing, food, healthcare, subscriptions, kids, travel—everything. You can’t hit a target you haven’t defined. And FIRE means replacing your income with your portfolio. Be ruthless about spending Once you know your costs, separate the wasteful from the essential. Cut what doesn’t matter. Trim what you can. Build an intentional spending plan. Not because you want to live cheap…but because every dollar saved = more freedom faster. Building Block 2 – Pay yourself first Treat your savings rate like a bill. Earn $5,000/month? → Save 10% = $500 → Live on the other $4,500 Start small and build up. The more you save, the sooner you’re financially independent. You’re the CEO of You, Inc. FIRE reframes your personal finances as a business. Your real job? Maximize retained earnings. That’s the capital you’ll use to buy your freedom. Building Block 3 – Buy good assets You can’t save your way to FIRE with dollars alone. Inflation eats fiat. Just look at: 🏠 Housing 🩺 Medical care 🎓 Education Everything gets more expensive. Fiat is a melting ice cube The cost of essential goods is exploding. 🔸 Housing has more than 3x’d in 25 years 🔸 Medical care keeps rising 🔸 Education? Through the roof You need assets that preserve and grow purchasing power. Fiat is a melting ice cube The cost of essential goods is exploding. 🔸 Housing has more than 3x’d in 25 years 🔸 Medical care keeps rising 🔸 Education? Through the roof You need assets that preserve and grow purchasing power. Why I chose bitcoin Most FIRE folks stick to stocks and real estate. But I went all-in on bitcoin. ✅ Fixed supply ✅ Unchangeable rules ✅ Immune to political games It’s the hardest asset on Earth. And it accelerated my FIRE path drastically. My mantra... 💵 Earn 💰 Save 🧱 Stack sats 🔁 Repeat Do this with intention and consistency, and you'll wake up one day with work-optional freedom. You don't need to retire early, but you need to own your time. Want to build a FIRE plan rooted in financial sovereignty? Wondering how bitcoin fits in? 🔥 Read the full post + subscribe for free weekly insights:

🛠️ FIRE Fundamentals

Issue #2 - The building blocks for financial independence

🚨 In January 2018, Bitcoin had just 100x’d in two years. It then crashed 50% in a matter of days. And one of FIRE’s biggest influencers wrote a piece titled: “Why Bitcoin is Stupid.” Here's why that moment—and that take—was so important. 🧵 When bitcoin moves, people notice. In late 2017, it had exploded from ~$200 to ~$20,000. The hype was deafening. And the critics came out in force. One of them: Mr. Money Mustache, a giant in the FIRE community. His post was dismissive, smug, & very wrong. But I get it. Bitcoin does seem stupid at first. A bunch of internet nerds mining magic coins? Sounds like digital beanie babies. Or tulips. 🌷 But that initial skepticism is exactly why bitcoin works. Bitcoin IS stupid…and it doesn’t try to be clever. 🔸 Fixed supply: 21 million 🔸 No central control 🔸 No bailout buttons 🔸 No fancy “smart contract” distractions It’s brutally simple—and that’s what makes it unbreakable. It took me years to figure that out. Here’s what my personal bitcoin timeline looked like: 🤔 2011: "Interesting" 😐 2014: Bought some. Stopped. 🙃 2016: Watched it pass gold parity. Still hesitated. 🧐 2018–19: Finally did the work. 😎 2020+: Fully convicted. 100% of excess capital to BTC. That delay cost me millions. I never thought bitcoin was dumb...but I definitely didn’t take it seriously enough. And lots of people fall into the same trap. Especially those in the FIRE movement. FIRE taught me the value of long-term thinking. Bitcoin gave me a tool to accelerate it. I went from hoping to hit FIRE in 10 years…to doing it in less than 5. Why? Because I switched from index funds to bitcoin as my primary savings vehicle. Bitcoin is stupid. It’s supposed to be. It can’t be changed, influenced, or corrupted. It just keeps ticking along—offering anyone, anywhere, the same rules and the same opportunity. That’s the magic and the beauty of it. If you're on a path to FIRE, or curious what bitcoin has to do with financial independence, then my newsletter is for you. 📩 Read the full issue and subscribe for free:

Why Bitcoin is Stupid

Issue #1

“Paying off my mortgage gives me peace of mind.” Sounds smart, right? It’s actually one of the most expensive emotional decisions you can make. Here’s why paying off your mortgage early makes you poorer (and less free). A 30-year fixed mortgage isn’t a ball and chain. It’s one of the best financial tools available: ✅ Fixed terms for decades ✅ Predictable payment ✅ Inflation eats away at its real cost Time and debasement work in your favor. Prepaying your mortgage locks up capital in bricks. That kills: ❌ Growth ❌ Flexibility ❌ Freedom And for what? A feeling. Let’s look at the math. Have $100K? Option 1: Pay mortgage at 5% “return” Option 2: S&P 500 (~10% historical) Option 3: Bitcoin (conservative 20%) After 10 years: 🏠 $163K 📈 $259K ₿ $619K “Peace of mind” could cost you $500K! And it gets worse: Broad money supply (M2) grew 7% annually over the last decade. Your “guaranteed” 5% return is actually a -2% real loss after inflation. “But it makes me feel safe.” Nope. You’re trading one risk for another: ✅ Less debt ❌ Less liquidity Need cash? You can’t peel off a piece of siding. You’ll refinance or sell...often at the worst time. Smart money = options. Keep the mortgage. Invest the difference. That gives you: ✅ Bigger portfolio that compounds ✅ Liquid reserves to cover mortgage if life happens More liquid assets = more security. FIRE + bitcoin is about freedom and optionality. You don’t get that by locking up cash for your feels. You get it by keeping your wealth working and outpacing debt. Poorer isn’t safer. This week’s FIRE BTC issue breaks down the full math and mindset shift: 👉 Why “peace of mind” is a costly illusion 👉 Why a mortgage is your friend 👉 How to build security without killing flexibility Read the full post + subscribe here:

🧘 Peace of Mind

FIRE BTC #40 - Why paying off your mortgage early makes you poorer

🧘 New FIRE BTC is live: Paying off your mortgage early feels safe. It feels like peace of mind. But poorer isn’t safer. This week: 🔸 Why mortgage debt is your friend 🔸 The math behind “peace of mind” 🔸 Reframing flexibility as security 🔗 Read the full issue here: firebtc.substack.com/p/peace-of-mind And subscribe to FIRE BTC for weekly ideas on financial independence, bitcoin, and building real freedom.

The Scottie Scheffler <> bitcoin corollary continues. Pure dominance.