Category: Reader Case Studies

John is in his late twenties and lives in a small southern city in the US along with his cat. He recently made the decision to go back to school to become a nurse. Previously he worked at a nonprofit and, while he was passionate about the mission, the work/life balance wasn’t tenable for the long term. John started his nursing program this month and is also working front-of-house at a restaurant to try and...

Puck works as a librarian and recently settled into a new job and new apartment in Boston, MA. Ve is also a writer and recently had vis first work of fiction published! Vis family immigrated to New York City from Ukraine in the early 90s and vis parents still live there. Today, Puck would like our help determining how to create a sustainable, mindful spending and savings pattern going forward. Ve is deeply generous and...

Eva and her husband Patrick live in Central Oregon where they both work as nurses. Their two children are now grown and Eva and Patrick are nearing traditional retirement age. Eva is concerned they may be behind on their retirement savings and would like our help analyzing their assets. A major concern for the couple is a family history of Alzheimer’s on Patrick’s side. Eva would like him to be able to retire sooner rather...

Erin and her husband Logan live in her hometown, a major metropolitan area of Nebraska, along with their six-year-old son and eight-year-old cat. Erin is a classroom teacher with 17 years of experience and Logan works as a media specialist at their local community college. While Erin loves teaching, and truly sees it as her calling, the stressors of the pandemic–and in-person pandemic teaching–are wearing her down. She’d need to work another 16 years in...

Lotus lives in the beautiful rural South of England with her partner, Rowan, and their 12-year-old son. She currently works as a communications manager for a nonprofit that supports vulnerable women and she’s had a varied and exciting path through life. With a PhD in music, a yoga teacher training certification and as a practicing Buddhist, Lotus enjoys a life filled with meaning, community, music, connection and love. What she lacks is financial security. She...

Amy is a former commercial fisherman and wildland firefighter turned nurse. After working on the frontlines of the pandemic in North Central Washington, this month she began her first travel nursing assignment. As she embarks on this new career path, she’s examining her finances–including her recent purchase of her first home–with the goal of making sustainable, long-term decisions about her future. Amy is a wilderness lover and adventurer and does just about every outdoor sport...

Sara is a PhD student in English Literature at a university in the midwest. She’ll graduate with her doctorate this May and would like our help determining what to do next. Sara notes, “In addition to the poor job market, I’m skeptical of academic work culture, and uncertain if I want to commit myself to a life of 80 hour work weeks and unending pressure to publish and produce. I love teaching, my intellectual community,...

Eve and her husband Gordon live in Lakewood, Colorado–a suburb of Denver–along with their two young sons and one guppy fish. Eve works part-time as a marketer and Gordon works full-time as an engineer. Four years ago they began working towards financial independence and an early semi-retirement. They’d like to have more time to spend with their sons and in the outdoors! Eve and Gordon are now debating selling their home and buying something cheaper...

Birdie and her husband Allan live in Gaithersburg, Maryland where they both own their own businesses and work from home. Birdie is a dog trainer and, at present, their condo is not cutting it in terms of space and outdoor access. Birdie specializes in a board-and-train model, which means she and Allan have a delightful (though often noisy) assortment of hounds living with them at all times. She loves and prefers this mode of training,...

Jen and her husband Marc live on the west coast of Finland along with their two-year-old son. They recently bought their dream home near the sea and are enjoying their new lifestyle outside of the city. While Jen likes her job as a product champion engineer, she has aspirations to reach FIRE (financial independence, retire early). She’s also interested in pursuing a real estate portfolio, starting by renting out the cottage on their property via...