The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement is about more than just escaping the 9-to-5 grind—it’s about aligning your finances with your values to create a life that truly matters. For those fortunate enough to build wealth, FIRE offers a powerful framework to live intentionally, pursue meaningful goals, and increase our impact on the world.
When it comes to charity and making an impact, the possibilities are endless. Whether you want to donate more, transition to a higher-impact career, or perhaps even spend more on yourself, the challenge lies in understanding how these choices will affect your financial plans. And conversely, your financial situation may influence the way you choose to make an impact.
That's why I created the FI Purpose Planner, a FREE scenario planning tool designed to help you explore how different life decisions will affect both your Financial Independence and Coast FI timelines.
Here’s how others have used the tool successfully:
A computer programmer considering a move from a high-paying tech job to his dream role in the nonprofit sector was initially concerned about the significant pay cut. Using the FI Purpose Planner, he discovered he was already 80% of the way to Financial Independence. What once seemed like a huge financial sacrifice now felt like an empowered choice, giving him the confidence to pursue the career change.
A philanthropically-minded individual wanted to take a progressive pledge—gradually increasing donations as his income or wealth grew—but was hesitant to go beyond 10% of his annual income. After experimenting with different pledge amounts in the planner, he realized he could comfortably increase his donation pledge to 20%, with the flexibility to explore further increases over time.
A married couple was debating a move to a new city but uncertain how the cost of living in each location would impact their financial security. By using the planner to map out housing costs, they were able to identify which cities would be the best fit for their budget and long-term goals.
A young professional wanted to take some time off to travel but was concerned that she wouldn't be able to maintain her donations while on the path to FI. Using the FI Purpose Planner, she discovered that with a few adjustments to her savings rate, taking the year off wouldn’t derail her plans. In fact, she realized she was much closer to her financial goals than she had originally thought.
Other tips for using the tool
Don’t use this tool to find your optimal life scenario. The goal here isn’t to find the perfect scenario – in fact, when we prioritize perfect finances we usually end up sacrificing important things we want in life. Instead, build out a number of scenarios! Ideally you have a best case scenario and a worst case scenario and see where you fall in the middle. Then this can act as a framework to ensure you are financially secure while exploring various options. Again it’s not about “getting it right”, it’s about pointing your compass in the right direction.
Play around! Put in extreme variables. Increase your expected spending significantly! Change your income around! Work backwards towards a certain timeframe to FI! You might be surprised at the outputs.
Consider applying to our free coaching program to get an outsider's point of view on your financial plans. Who knows, maybe there are life scenarios that you aren’t even thinking of yet! We often find having a third party to walk through this template leads to amazing conversations about the art of the possible.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in the Yield & Spread website, course materials and all other related content is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to substitute for obtaining accounting, tax, or financial advice, and may not be suitable for every individual. Yield & Spread is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or a broker/dealer.