BiggerPockets Money Podcast Cruising to FIRE in Her 40s (After Living Pay Check to Pay Check!)
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Feb 24, 2026 Emily Egashira, a personal finance creator and certified money coach who grew up in poverty, shares her path to FIRE in her 40s. She discusses disciplined saving (45–50% of income), smart investing and staying invested through market dips. She also covers healthcare for the self-employed, dual-drawdown retirement planning, and shifting from scarcity to financial peace.
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FIRE As The Next Level Plan
- The FIRE movement became Emily's 2.0 plan after Dave Ramsey; it offered a faster exit by maximizing savings and investing aggressively.
- She shifted from 15% investing to full-on FIRE tactics after reading Simple Path to Wealth and running Monte Carlo sims.
Count Healthcare When Calculating Savings Rate
- Track savings rate and include real costs: Emily now saves ~45–50% but counts high self-employed healthcare as spending.
- She uses an HSA as a stealth retirement account while keeping a separate healthcare emergency buffer.
Buy Your Freedom With Frugal Choices
- Do live below your means and automate investing to benefit from compounding and time in the market.
- Emily cooked, avoided lunches out, bought reasonable used cars in cash, and invested monthly through market ups and downs.
