Page 16 - Kiplinger's Personal Finance - November 2018

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entrepreneurial streak that makes family live on about $34,000 a year siologist from Brainerd, Minn., counts
them well suited for a life outside the (see “A Visit With Mr. Money Mus- himself among the last group, and he
traditional, corporate mold. One popu- tache,” on page 40). has been edging toward retirement.
lar source of income is blogging about Naturally frugal, Dahleen says he
their path to financial independence. DIFFERENT FLAVORS started his Physician on FIRE blog a
The more-successful bloggers pull in a FIRE isn’t one size fits all. There is couple of years ago because he didn’t
nice paycheck and may even snag book “lean FIRE,” which emphasizes a goal see much written for high-income pro-
deals. Perhaps the best-known FIRE of living on less than $40,000 a year in fessionals like him. (This year the blog
blog—and the one that introduced retirement. “Barista FIREs” are those will earn six figures, half of which
thousands to the movement—is the who are nearly financially indepen- Dahleen donates to charity.) He cut his
one by Pete Adeney, also known as dent but still need a part-time job to hours and his $400,000 salary by
Mr. Money Mustache. Adeney, a for- make ends meet. And “fat FIRE” fol- about 40% a year ago. He expects to
mer software engineer, started the lowers aim to accrue enough savings quit work next year and spend several
blog in 2011 after he “retired” at age to generate annual retirement income years traveling the world with his wife
30, through frugal living and smart in- of $100,000 or more. and two sons, ages 8 and 10.
vesting, to Longmont, Colo. He and his Leif Dahleen, a 42-year-old anesthe- “There are certain things I will miss
about the profession,” he says.
“But in general I don’t think I
will miss the stress, the late
nights, the calls, the 72-hour
shifts once a month.” The
Dahleens plan to “roadschool”
their children (that is, home-
school them while on the road).
John and Bethany Bush of
Rockford, Mich., are part of the
lean FIRE crowd. John, 28, is a
financial adviser and Bethany,
26, processes public-assistance
paperwork for the state of
Michigan. Their combined in-
come is $85,000, but the couple
and their two children live on
$3,800 a month, with a big
chunk of that going toward a
mortgage that will be paid off
in five years. John figures they
will be financially independent
in seven years.
“We know every penny we
spend and monitor it closely,”
says John, adding that he and
Bethany are thrifty by nature.
“Some of the clothes I wear at
home are from middle school,”
he says. The couple buy food on
sale, get hand-me-down clothes
for the kids, and find free toys
and other items on Craigslist
and Facebook. They wait to
make nonessential repairs on
the house, and they weigh each
purchase decision longer than
most people do, John says. They

PHOTOGRAPH BY LOGAN ZILLMER 11/2018 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE 37

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