Retired Before 50: A Look at Her Real Finances, Numbers & Strategy | Andy Panko Crossover | 186

18 snips

Dec 24, 2025

In this enlightening discussion, Jackie Cummings Koski, a personal finance educator and author of FIRE For Dummies, shares her journey of retiring before 50. She reveals how she reached a $1M financial independence number while managing a $40K annual lifestyle. Jackie delves into clever strategies, like utilizing ACA subsidies and 72(t) withdrawals for early retirement funds. She also discusses the nuances of different FIRE variants and her experiences with medical tourism in Bali. With humor and practical advice, Jackie inspires late starters to embrace their financial future.

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ANECDOTE

Late Retirement Turned Life 2.0

Jackie retired from her corporate job at age 49 in December 2019 after 21 years at a global data company.
She then pursued a master's in financial therapy and later became a CFP while building media and education projects.

ANECDOTE

Divorce Sparked Financial Education

Jackie woke up to personal finance after a divorce revealed a large retirement savings gap.
She joined an investment club and taught herself investing to never feel financially ignorant again.

ADVICE

Calculate Expenses From Paychecks

Measure expenses by subtracting retirement, HSA, and taxes from gross salary to estimate living costs.
Use that residual as a conservative baseline to calculate savings rate and FI timeline.

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Catching Up to FI co-host, Jackie Cummings Koski crosses over to Andy Panko's 'Retirement Planning Education' podcast for a funny, deeply practical masterclass on what FIRE really is (and what it isn't). Jackie is single-mom late-starter, FIRE for Dummies author, and "I retired but I'm still busy" money nerd. She rewinds her journey of retiring before 50 and walks Andy (and listeners) through:

How she hit a ~$1M FI number with ~$40K annual spending
Managing healthcare premiums by understanding how ACA subsidies really work
Tapping her pre-tax IRA before 59.5 using 72(t) without blowing herself up
Qualifying for ex-spouse Social Security benefits
Medical tourism in Bali funded by her HSA
Why most 401(k) menus are quietly sabotaging regular people

They finish with Jackie's second act: two books, a CFP, a master's in financial planning & financial therapy, and co-hosting Catching Up to FI to help late starters realize it's not too late.

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