How are people making less than $50,000 in massive cities working towards financial independence / early retirement?

We have Erin from Reaching for FI here to share her story.  She doesn't fit into the stereotypical FIRE mold (male, software engineer) which we say 50 times in the episode - whoops!  Erin is a twenty-something living on a modest non-profit salary in DC.

We chat with Erin about:

Her student loan debt
Budgeting
Her hesitance to share her FIRE date
FIRE dating
& more!

She was an absolute delight to speak with! Enjoy this chat with Erin from Reaching for FI and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Reaching for FI - Erin's blog!
Instagram, Twitter
Personal Capital - get $20 for signing up
Military Dollar's episode with us
The Mad Fientist - get the spreadsheet when you sign up for his email list
Saver's Credit, American Opportunity Credit, Student Loan Interest Deduction
Our episode with Dandan
Navigation Nowhere on Insta

Key takeaways from our chat with Erin from Reaching for FI
1 - Always get references
Gwen didn't get references on many occasions with her rental property and it ended up disastrous. In this latest unfortunate event, she ended up with the dingle house.

 



 
2 - While you don't always need a budget, you need to keep track of your spending somehow
Erin doesn't religiously budget but she does use the free app Personal Capital to keep an eye on her spending in various categories such as food, entertainment, etc.

This approach works for her and she's still crushing it.
3 - Increase your income to speed up the path to early retirement
Erin works three jobs at present and is a serious hustler.  Her day job pays less than $50k so she is working on weekends and now blogging (the latter has more of a hobby pay with a job commitment).

Increasing income is a way for people without six figure incomes to speed up the path to early retirement.
4 - Frugal friendly dates are cool
While asking someone you just met on a hike can seem creepy, other frugal friendly dates are OK.  Erin suggests asking someone out for coffee and a stroll to check out a new neighborhood.

She doesn't recommend coming across as too v0cally-frugal right off the bat.  Money talk is good but proclaiming your frugality might scare away the date!

 
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