My Road to FIRE

Hello! Welcome to Road to FIRE. This is where you'll read about my journey to financial independence. Along the way, I share my learnings, struggles, failures, and wins. And periodically I feature friends who are also on this journey.

Who am I?

My name is Road to FIRE. I spent over a decade in the Bay Area tech scene, working my way up from engineer to engineering leader at Big Tech. These days, I live in Texas with my wife and four kids. We reached FI as a single-income household — proof that it's possible if you're in tech or any high-earning field.

I graduated college in May 2008 right before the 2008 financial crash. It took me a while to establish my financial foundation. By "financial foundation" I specifically mean having sufficient knowledge on how to build wealth and having the proper skills and opportunities to make a significant amount of money.

In 2015, my financial foundation was solidified when I decided to quit my startup job to join a Big Tech company. My road to FIRE doesn't contain the most exciting stories. In fact, it's probably very boring to most people. The good news is I believe it's easily repeatable for high income earners.

I'm 38 years old now. I've reached financial independence, but I haven't retired yet. I'm currently working at a startup because I genuinely enjoy the work, while thinking about what's next.

The FIRE Journey

My original FIRE target was:

$4,000,000

I've since surpassed that goal by more than double. You can read more about how I thought about my FIRE number here.

Life After FI

Reaching FI has given my family incredible freedom. We made the move from the Bay Area to Texas, and my wife can focus on raising our four kids without financial pressure. I get to choose work that I find meaningful rather than work I have to do.

Looking ahead, I'm passionate about two things: spending quality time with my family and helping others reach FI. We need more engineers in this world, so teaching Computer Science is still something I think about. But right now, I'm focused on enjoying this chapter and giving back through this blog.

If you've read this far and are interested in connecting, feel free to reach out through the blog comments or subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated on my journey.