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I don’t often take the time to share moments where I or the broader Habits team are featured in Newsweek, Forbes, CNBC, or other notable news publications.

But this one came as a surprise. Someone from my hometown shared the following with my younger brother as they stumbled upon it while taking a break at work. It’s a cool feature on a viral video built through data, conversations, and a product we’ve been building in stealth for financial advisors.

See the full article here.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’ve had my fair share of viral posts roasting the FIRE movement. And every time, the reaction is the same. Half the internet nods furiously and says “finally, someone said it.” The other half calls me a moron for suggesting that maybe, just maybe, sacrificing your entire 20s and 30s to retire by 35 is…not the flex people think it is.

But there’s a deeper truth behind all of this.

The FIRE movement isn’t just a financial framework. It has become an identity. And whenever you threaten someone’s identity, their brain goes into fight mode. You can literally show them arithmetic and they will still argue with you like their life depends on it.

What I want to offer today isn’t a takedown. It’s a love letter. A reality check. And a philosophy I’ve developed after talking to thousands of real people about their money, their fears, and the stories behind the numbers.

Because unlike the internet commentators, I’ve actually met the humans behind the data and spreadsheets.

I’ve met countless people who hit their “FI number” (financial independence) and discovered that the finish line doesn’t actually exist. It just moves. The anxiety doesn’t disappear. It compounds.

And every FIRE forum looks the same. A competition to see who can shrink their life the most. “I lived on 18k last year!” “Oh yeah? I lived on 12k!”

This is not wealth. It’s self-denial wrapped in moral superiority.

And what breaks my heart most is that the movement preys on fear: fear of layoffs, fear of healthcare costs, fear of instability, fear of not being enough. Fear convinces people that the only way to win is to erase their entire life today to secure a hypothetical tomorrow.

But you shouldn’t have to white-knuckle your way to freedom.

Financial independence isn’t built on fear. It’s built on structure, clarity, and a life you actually want to live.

Every spreadsheet, every budget, every plan starts with the same assumption:
more is better.

More income. More savings. More investing. More side hustles. More real estate. More passive income streams. And it makes sense. We live in a capitalist economy. The entire system is built around accumulation.

But the people I see doing the best financially are the ones who have actually stopped and taken the time to write down their definition of “enough.”

For example, one thing I always encourage young couples to do is simple. I tell them to open a bottle of wine, sit at the table, and ask each other one hard question.

“What is one thing you want for us in the next 10 years?”

And I encourage them to avoid answers like, “I want to make $300k” or “I want to have $1M in the bank.” Those are shortcuts. Lazy answers. Metrics disguised as goals.

The real answers sound more like: I want one of us to have the flexibility to be home with the kids. I want to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip before life gets too complicated. I want a job that doesn’t consume me. I want to live closer to my family. I want to buy a home and start a family…

People don’t want a number. They want a feeling. They want breathing room. They want meaning. And you can’t optimize your way into meaning. You have to define it.

Wealth isn’t a net worth. It’s alignment between how you live and what you value.

Maybe FIRE works for some people. Great. I don’t care if someone wants to live in a cabin and eat lentils for a decade. That’s their business.

But for the vast majority of people I meet, the real path to financial independence looks much simpler.

Define what enough means to you. Talk about it openly. Make decisions aligned with that definition. Get guidance when you’re stuck. Build a plan that supports the life you want today and the life you want later.

That’s it. No fear. No shame. No spreadsheets as personality. No superiority complex about your savings rate. Just intention.

Because the real goal in personal finance isn’t to retire early. It’s to stop feeling lost.

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