10 Tips to Survive Tech Layoffs
Lessons from getting laid off in late 2022 — how to stay financially flexible, technically sharp, and emotionally resilient in a volatile tech industry.
My Road to FIRE
A personal finance blog about the journey to financial independence and early retirement.
Latest posts
Trump Accounts: Free Money for Your Kids (And How to Maximize It)
The government is giving $1,000 per newborn through Trump Accounts. Here's how to maximize this new tax-advantaged retirement account for your kids—and potentially make them millionaires by 38.
5 Things I'm Focused On In 2026
2026 is the year I'm betting on myself. Here are the 5 things I'm focused on—from growing SpendSense to leaving my job and building things I care about.
How much did I spend in 2025???
It's that time of the year again! The annual spending review. I spent $76,154.80 in 2025 on credit cards alone, tracking everything with my new tool SpendSense.
Navigating Your Career in the Age of AI
AI is reshaping software engineering. The engineers who will thrive aren't the ones who prompt the best—they're the ones who can move fluidly across disciplines and make good decisions fast.
The Post-Financial Independence Life No One Talks About
I used to think hitting financial independence would flip some internal switch. That I'd wake up one day and suddenly operate differently—more sophisticated, more intentional, more _free_. I had a clear picture in my head of what post-FIRE life would look like. Turns out, the reality is messier than the spreadsheet ever predicted.
I’m Building a FIRE Tool — and I Need Your Input
6 years ago, when I started this blog I had a goal of retiring and spending part of my free time building tools and community for the FIRE audience. Many things have changed, goals have been met, even exceeded, but my desire to continue to give back to the FIRE community is still there. I achieved FI by earning a decent salary as a high earning 9-5 employee, being financially active, not…
Management vs IC: The FIRE Twist I Didn’t Expect
I’ve been a manager for 9 years, a Director for the last 3, running ~45 people across two orgs. By all external measures, I had “made it.” Titles, scope, social recognition, the kind of comp that makes FIRE possible years ahead of schedule. And yet, lately, I’ve been asking myself: **what if I went back to being an IC?** Not because I stalled out. Not because I couldn’t “climb higher.” But because…
2024 Year in Review - Top 6 highlights
Happy New Year! 2024 was another fantastic year for investors. Even though I barely moved any money around, I had my 2nd highest return ever. 2024 was also a year where I felt comfortable enough to move decent chunks of money into non-traditional investments. In this post, I will review some of my year's highlights. Are you ready? Standby.
3 things that make FIRE hard
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…
2023 year in review - top 6 highlights
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.
5 Tips on how to get promoted in a big company
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…
Is $4,000,000 still a good FIRE number?
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…
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…
3 Ways I Might make money in 2023
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…
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…
The American Dream - Episode #1
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…
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…
10 ways to succeed as an employee (Part III of III)
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…
10 ways to succeed as an employee (Part II of III)
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…
10 ways to succeed as an employee (Part I of III)
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…
Quick 2022 Life Update
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…
5 reasons why it’s hard to retire early after reaching Financial Independence
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…
FREE Financial Coaching from Road to FIRE
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…
Momma, I did it!
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…
5 things you should practice to become a multi-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…
Road to $1,000,000 portfolio (series) - Part 1
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**…
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…
How much did I spend in 2020???
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.
My $77,000 experiment portfolio -- year end 2020 update
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…
$3,000,000 in mistakes -- my 7 biggest money regrets
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…
My $77,000 experiment portfolio -- Nov 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 $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…
Road to $10 million - Retire by 35 and become a deca-millionaire by 50
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…
My $77,000 experiment portfolio -- Oct 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 $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…
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…
My $77,000 experiment portfolio -- June 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 $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…
5 tips on how to use 529 plans
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…
5 tips to land a high paying Software Engineering job during COVID-19
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…
Is this the end of the FIRE movement?
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…
How am I navigating COVID-19?
COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the global economy. Public health issues aside, it has changed how millions of Americans live every day. And in an economy where 70% of our GDP is based on consumption, if that consumption pattern is disrupted, we are bound to experience some turbulence in the stock market. In this post, I'll be talking about how I am navigating the COVID-19 stock market…
How is COVID-19 impacting my portfolio?
At the beginning of 2020, I started a new M1Finance portfolio where I picked 7 dividend stocks to compare against VTI. The goal was to have a similar appreciation, but better dividends. On Feb 24th, news about COVID-19 sent the US stock market into a frenzy. We have since seen 9 (as of 3/13/20) 1000+ point swings in the DJIA. In this article, I’ll share my M1Finance portfolio, how I’m doing…
The $77,000 Experiment -- My Dividend Aristocrats Portfolio
This is the blog post series where the rubber meets the road, where the pen meets the paper, and where my $77,000 meets its Dividend Aristocrat friends. In one of my previous posts, I had written about why I think Dividend Aristocrats is a great alternative to real estate, and in general, provides a great way of increasing one’s monthly cash flow.
How much did I spend in 2019
Now that 2019 has come to an end, I took some time to review my finances. The week between Christmas and New Year is my favorite week of the year. Other than the obvious reasons of getting to spend time with family/friends and getting a breather from work, I get to spend time reflecting and reviewing the previous 51 weeks. And I often learn something that significantly impacts how I operate in the…
Average net worth by age
Did you know that the average net worth for people between the ages of 30 and 34 is $95,235.53? And that the median for the same age group is $29,125? That is, half of the people from ages 30 to 34 have more than $29,125 and the other half has less. In this article, we will explore net worth by age through a fat FIRE lens.
How much did I make in Nov 2019 from this blog?
Lately, I’ve started to run ads on my Road to FIRE blog. It is to ensure that can achieve and maintain a cashflow neutral blog. And in the name of transparency, I plan to come out with a report every month or quarter (TBD). In it, I will highlight the costs associated with running this blog and how much I’ve made from the ads. And if you’re curious about what I plan to do with any excess profits,…
4 Mistakes that will keep you from becoming a multi-millionaire
When thinking about FIRE, people often ask me what should I do to fat FIRE? While an important question, an equally important question is what should I not do if I want to fat FIRE? I’ve had many money-conversations with people living in poverty, high-income individuals, low-income individuals, and HENRYs (a HENRY is someone who is a “High Earner, Not Rich Yet.”). The mistakes that I’ve deduced…
Get paid more every year -- Retiring with Dividend Aristocrats
As I prepare to go into early retirement, I am slowly changing my asset allocation to produce a higher cash flow. There are multiple good ways to do this. The most popular method is to own rental properties. But my preferred method is to own Dividend Aristocrats.
3 ways to maximize your 401K retirement account
Have you ever been given the advice to contribute 15% of your income into retirement? Or that you should max out your 401K? Or that you should at least contribute up to your employer match? Don’t worry, those are not going to be my tips to maximizing your 401K. In this article, I’ll share the most common mistakes you should avoid to not only maximize the returns but also protect your 401K account.
How engineers can FIRE in 15 years and have $4,000,000 in net worth
One of Silicon Valley’s prominent venture capitalists, Marc Andreessen, once said, “software is eating the world.” Profit margins for software are high, and at the same time, distributing software is becoming cheaper and easier. As a result, engineers are handsomely compensated in today's labor market. This is especially true in tech hubs such as Silicon Valley, Seattle, and New York City. In this…
In-state vs Out-of-state Universities — 4 things to consider
Choosing a college is a big decision, especially for a 17-year-old. I remember feeling excited, grown-up, eager, and free. But I also remember feeling nervous, scared, uncertain, and bounded by my family's financial situation. It was not only a 4-year decision but also a $50k to $150k decision for me. In this article, I'll step through the thought process of my 17-year-old self. I'll then follow…