Read These 4 Personal Finance Books to Launch Your FIRE Journey

Many people have asked me where to begin on their journey to become work optional. For me, it all began with a book, and that’s why this is the starting point I recommend to people. Whether you check them out from a library or buy it for your own, these 4 books below are my absolute must reads in this specific order.

P.s. Some links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

1. Shift your Mindset • Read: Rich Dad, poor Dad

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki opens your mind to thinking like RICH people do about money. A huge factor in beginning your financial journey is being in the right mindset. Shift your frame of mind to how the wealthy think and get in the mindset that you too can become wealthy!

Don’t work for money, make your money work for you. – Robert Kiyosaki

This book was so eye opening to the power of being in control of my finances and adding ASSETS (things that make you money) versus LIABILITIES (things that lose value).

Buy on Amazon

($5.39 on Amazon at time of publishing.)

2. Learn Finance Basics • Read: I Will Teach You to Be Rich

To build a house of wealth, you must first have a solid foundation. This no-bullsh*t book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi, is a crash course on finance 101. It touches on everything from negotiating bills to credit cards. It’s funny, actionable, and doesn’t encourage living like a pauper, but rather designing a rich life.

Spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t. – Ramit Sethi

I bought this book for my two younger sisters who just started working. One bought 12 copies to give to her friends as graduation presents. If that doesn’t emphasize how much of a game changer this book is, I don’t know what will convince you.

Buy on Amazon

($8.79 on Amazon at time of publishing.)

3. Invest your money • Read: The Simple Path To Wealth

Read The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins when you’re ready to begin managing your own investments this guy breaks down how to do it simply and easily yourself. He talks about why you MUST be investing to have FU money, basically the concept of Financial Independence

I may not have owned a Mercedes, but I owned my freedom. Freedom to choose when to leave a job and freedom from worry when the choice wasn't mine. – JL Collins

TL;DR he talks about why you should be investing in low cost total US stock market index funds and total bond market index funds. That’s what I do!

Buy on Amazon

($14.39 on Amazon at time of publishing.)

4. Become Financially Independent/Retire Early • Read: Quit Like A Millionaire

I loved Quit Like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen on FI/RE for several reasons—She’s a woman in a male dominated FI community, she’s makes is conservative in her estimates, and for her breakdown on what to do when once you actually crossover to FI.

If you understand money, life is incredibly easy. If you don’t understand money, like the vast majority of people, life is incredibly hard. – Kristy Shen

This is a must read for anyone pursuing financial independence and wanting to retire early. Her belief aligns 100% with mine in that no matter your circumstances, everyone can retire early (no gimmicks, luck, or trust funds required!).

Buy on Amazon

($10.79 on Amazon at time of publishing.)

I’ve read manyyyy other FIRE books from Your Money or Your Life, Work Optional, and more, but these are the ones that stood out from the library of books I’ve read and continually point people to them whether their just beginning they are finance journey or somewhere in between!

---

Disclosure: By using some of these links, at no extra cost to you, I may earn a small commission, which helps me help you! xo

April 2020 Savings Rate

Holy cow! 🐮 I earned more in this one month than I did my entire first year post college ($12K). 😯 My savings rate increased dramatically from March due to several factors, which I go into detail below. Plus my 401K finally opened.

Here’s more deets on April’s savings rate:

April Income: $14,213.20

That’s wild! I’ve hit my second lifetime 5 figure month! Last time was in October 2019.

This is in part due to two things—1. a couple of freelance projects got paid (finally!) and 2. I received some stimulus check money.

Unfortunately, I’ll owe taxes on the freelance work, which is not accounted for here, but for now I feel rich!

💰 Paycheck: $8,817.16

👕 Resale: $40.65

👩‍💻Freelance: $4,450

💵 Cash Back: $37.35

📈Interest: $14.55

🎁 Gifts: $837.65

📈Dividends: $5.84

April Expenses: $1,726.40

With my stimulus check money windfall, I gifted half of it to organizations fighting the cause and effects of COVID-19—the World Health Organization and my local food bank.

The other half went into my emergency fund which I am trying to increase to a years worth of expenses. My expenses are still very low this month because I’m at my parents house.

I was able to treat my family to dinner and Starbucks a few times this month too!

🏡 House: $850.00

💡 Utilities: $0

🚕 Transportation: $0

🥦Groceries: $20.95

🍽 Food: $141.20

🍹Drinks: $0

💻 Work: $141.20

🎥 Entertainment: $0

✈️ Travel: $0

🚙 Car: $0

🏥 Health: $66.12

🛍 Shopping: $37.90

🎁 Gifts: $473.25

🤷‍♀️ Misc.: $0

April Savings: $12,486.80

Finally! I’m 401K eligible. My contribution level is 65% per paycheck, so I’m hoping to max it out by July. I don’t get a company match, but am still going to get value by reducing my taxes slightly.

401k: $3,165.76

HSA: $0

IRA: $0

High Yield Savings: $2,105

Brokerage: $3,500

Checking: $6,881.80

Right now my savings rate goal for the year is 60% but I think I’m able to actually do closer to 70%. I also think I’m going to be posting a little less frequently than monthly on my savings rate progress. I think there will be better insights to pull if I follow up quarterly!

xo, Catie

---

Disclosure: Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

March 2020 Savings Rate

Amidst the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic 🦠 we’re facing, I’m so grateful to be on this journey to financial freedom. My savings rate increased dramatically from February due to several factors, which I go into detail below. I think now more than ever, it’s apparent that in order to weather the test of unexpected emergencies 🚨, it’s vital to save, and invest, and plan financially for whatever may come.

In other pandemic revelations, I’ve also discovered the deep, deep black hole that is TikTok. Honestly, I feel like I need to step away from my 📱, lest I start creating them myself HAH. Anyway, here’s more deets on this month’s savings rate:

March Income: $6,705.21

I have to count my blessings because prior to the coronavirus situation, I took a 40 hr/wk contract for 1 year. I’ll admit, I had some reservations, but I’m so grateful to be gainfully employed during these times. The universe truly provides. 🙏✨ So far it seems promising that it’ll continue and they won’t just end the contract early.

Prior to March, I was 💯% freelance designing and it would have been EXTREMELY stressful to not have this job. Although I had some invoices paid this month, I still have about $5,000 outstanding, no small change! 🤞Crossing my fingers they get paid in April…

💰 Paycheck: $4,653.31

👕 Resale: $16

👩‍💻Freelance: $2,000

💵 Cash Back: $0

📈Interest: $28.84

🎁 Gifts: $0

📈Dividends: $7.36

March Expenses: $1,201.84

Since we’re all sheltering in place, I haven’t been going out for drinks 🍸 or brunch, I haven’t filled up my gas tank ⛽️ or traveled, and my $213/mo Equinox 💪 membership is on pause. Because of these atypical circumstances, my expenses are wayyyy down—about $1,000 less than last month.

I’m still paying rent for my LA spot for the next 3 months until my sister sublets my room. Fortunately, since I’m currently living with the rents I’m not paying double rent PLUS I also get meals here! (I still help cook and clean, but it’s a very lucky situation.)

🏡 House: $950.00

💡 Utilities: $249.95

🚕 Transportation: $0

🥦Groceries: $0

🍽 Food: $25.57

🍹Drinks: $0

💻 Work: $161.33

🎥 Entertainment: $0

✈️ Travel: $20

🚙 Car: $0

🏥 Health: $152.69

🛍 Shopping: $0

🎁 Gifts: $0

Misc.: $0

March Savings: $5,275.89

Since I boosted my income dramatically this month, I’ve been able to save and invest despite this recession we’re in. I maxed out my traditional IRA for 2020! 🎉 Contributing to a traditional IRA is an optimal strategy when achieving Financial Independence 🔥, but I didn’t realize a key 🔑 detail. I make too much.

Honestly, it’s a blessing 🙏of a problem to have, but it negates the effectiveness of contributing to a traditional IRA. I potentially should have just contributed directly to a Roth IRA. I’ll have more details on my oversight in a future post and I’ll update with a link here once I put it together.

Starting in April I should have access to a 401K. I’ve run a few calculations and I think I’ll be able to contribute 65% of my paycheck while still making enough to pay my living expenses. I potentially can stretch that to 70%, but I’m planning on putting 65% and then adjusting.

401k: $0

HSA: $0

IRA: $4,000

Emergency HYSA: $5.00

Travel HYSA: $30.00

Big Event HYSA: $30.00

Brokerage: $0

Checking: $1,408.37

I’m finally making progress on increasing my yearly savings rate. Since I’ve been cooped up inside these last 3 weeks, I think I’ve spent way too much time trying to optimize my savings. 😂Going to start watching that crazy Netflix docu-series, Tiger King. Hopefully, that will keep me occupied for a bit instead.

xo, Catie

---

Disclosure: Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

February 2020 Savings Rate

Finally made a small, but positive move towards my yearly savings rate goal of 60%. Honestly anything is better than January’s savings rate of 0%.

Savings: $815

I continued to contribute to my Traditional IRA since that’s the only available tax advantaged account I have. Starting in April I should have access to an HSA and 401K again. As a FI member, I can’t tell you how excited I am about that!

401k: $0

HSA: $0

Traditional IRA: $750.00

Checking: $0

Emergency HYSA: $5.00

Travel HYSA: $30.00

Big Event HYSA: $30.00

Brokerage: $0

BFF Brokerage: $0

Income: $2,950.72

My income this month is mostly made up of my 2019 tax refund (see cash back category). Although I’m typically team owe, this year’s refund was really a blessing in disguise. 🙏 I have a lot of cash coming my way for hopefully the month of March. My outstanding design invoices total over $9,000. Fingers crossed 🤞 that everything will be paid by the end of March so I can hit my target savings rate of 60% for the year.

💰 Paycheck: $0

👕 Resale: $199.14

👩‍💻Freelance: $500.00

💵 Cashback: $2,012.56

📈Interest: $33.28

🎁 Gifts: $180

📈Dividends: $25.74

Expenses: $2,284.36

My expenses are still relatively high for me, but hopefully they’ll be going way down since I moved in the my parents. More on that later… My goal is to try to keep it under $2K for March.

🏡 House: $850.00

💡 Utilities: $54.67

🚕 Transportation: $55.47

🥦Groceries: $25.88

🍽 Food: $194.11

🍹Drinks: $27

🛍 Shopping: $19.97

💻 Work: $161.33

🎥 Entertainment: $213.73

✈️ Travel: $220.65

🚙 Car: $123.14

🏥 Health: $243.27

🎁 Gifts: $0

Misc.: $95.04

It’s been a bumpy start to 2020, but I’m still manifesting a 6 figure (pre-tax) year.

xo, Catie

---

Disclosure: Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

January 2020 Savings Rate

A liiiiiitle bit of a scary number that has me thinking WTF did I do jumping into freelance life?! 😬 But I’m still confident that I’ll reach my goal of making 6 figures this year and saving 60% of that. I have 7+ months of emergency funds saved up, which I’m trying not to touch. Recently Sherry of @saverspender was talking about freelance life and said something that really resonated with me:

If you want to freelance but your money management is a mess, please don’t. If you can’t handle high cash flow and then NOTHING…this life isn’t for you.—Sherry, @saverspender

I am very confident in my ability to handle money well, but I think for this exact reason (a basically zero income month), Sherry is 500% right. I’m still a little freaked out about my high cash flows then nothing, but I’d be PANICKED if I didn’t have a fully-funded emergency reserve. Anyway, on to my January money diary breakdown….

Savings: $1,680.00

Even though I had no income, I still am trying to contribute where I feel comfortable with my different accounts. I don’t have a 401K or HSA right now and am prioritizing my tax-advantaged Traditional IRA.

Why a Traditional IRA instead of my Roth IRA? So I can do a Roth Conversion Ladder when I reach Financial Independence. Not going to go into the nitty-gritty of Roth Conversions Ladders, but essentially it’s to minimize taxes. Google it.

In other major news, I opened a brokerage account in my name for my BFF. She’s not the best with money so I’m going to invest $200/year for her birthday/Christmas and then give her slowly when she needs it in the future. She’s aware I’m doing this in lieu of presents. I’m hopeful that eventually, she’ll be better with her finances and then I can even do it earlier to handle on her own.

401k: $0

HSA: $0

Traditional IRA: $1000.00

Checking: $0

Emergency HYSA: $50.00

Travel HYSA: $215.00

Big Event HYSA: $215.00

Brokerage: $0

BFF Brokerage: $200

Income: $450.94

It may seem like I’m doing nothing all day, every day with this pitiful income, but I’ve actually been working on several design projects. None of them have wrapped so I’m still waiting to send invoices. Hoping that everything will be done by the end of February so I can flow in some cash.

💰 Paycheck: $0

👕 Resale: $235.05

👩‍💻Freelance: $15.00

💵 Cashback: $55.51

📈Interest: $31.94

🎁 Gifts: $0

📈Dividends: $0

Expenses: $2,227.75

My expenses relative to last month are down by $736.36, but still relatively high for me. I’ve been going on (small) weekend trips that added up to ~$200. I wanted to take full advantage of my flexibility and jetting off on three-day weekend trips because I can! This month I’m cracking down on superfluous spending.

February is going to be a month where I’m spending on friends birthdays and more travel, so I’m going to be extra mindful of my spending until paychecks come in. I’m really not big on budgeting, but the goal is just to not eat out and

The goal is to keep it under $2K. I think this is doable since water/power bills aren’t due this month. Look at that utility bill! Everyone I’ve talked to says we’re spending way too much. I know Courtney (@eoab__) would just die. I’m embarrassed to share with her how much we pay for electricity bimonthly! I’m thinking I need to call the energy company to see if they can do an audit of our home.

🏡 House: $950.00

💡 Utilities: $258.82

🚕 Transportation: $14.03

🥦Groceries: $18.62

🍽 Food: $71.43

🍹Drinks: $32

🛍 Shopping: $46.89

💻 Work: $146.72

🎥 Entertainment: $28.41

✈️ Travel: $194.84

🚙 Car: $55.99

🏥 Health: $395.59

🎁 Gifts: $14.30

Misc.: $0.00

Here’s to manifesting a high-income month in February. I need to get that money honey to stay on track for a solid 60% savings rate!

xo, Catie

---

Disclosure: Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)