Problems with Extreme FIRE and Realistic Limits

This week's endeavor in free financial literacy for all, brought to you by:

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And on to the Show Notes!

Somewhere between "retire at 30" and "work until 70," there's a middle path. Tyler talks with Andy Hill, host of Marriage, Kids and Money and author of Own Your Time, about how he and his wife reshaped their financial life to work 20–25 hours a week while staying financially secure—without winning the lottery or selling a tech company.

This isn't a FIRE hype episode. It's a grounded conversation about tradeoffs, mistakes, marriage tension, and building a life that doesn't feel like a trap.

Tyler and Andy discuss why extreme FIRE often breaks down in family life, how "Coast FIRE" creates a realistic middle ground, why income growth matters as much as cost-cutting, how money conversations can go wrong in marriage, and what it actually took to leave corporate work without blowing up financial security.

Andy shares three concrete starting steps for anyone who feels stuck or burned out and wants to reclaim control over their time. This episode isn't about escaping work—it's about finding work you don't need to escape from.

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