Hi! We are Charlotte & Ryan.

We discovered the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) community in 2019 and spent the next 7 years diving deep into FIRE principles and following these basic guidelines:

  • Spend less than you earn

  • Invest the difference in low-cost index funds

A few years in we found that our natural propensity to frugality (read: scarcity) lent itself to living a less-than-fulfilling life, so we added this last principle from Ramit Sethi:

  • Cut ruthlessly on spending that doesn’t light you up, spend lavishly on what does

Retiring early, for us, is about slow, intentional travel. Following simple (but not always easy) financial independence principles is what helped us reach that goal, and retire at 44 and 50.

If you’re interested in learning more about FIRE, check out the Resources page or send me an email with your questions. (Yes, really!)

Our Adventure Buddy, Maya Lucy McGhee

Maya Lucy, or “Maya Lu” to her friends (so, everyone) has been with us since a few weeks after our honeymoon in 2014.

The rescue told us she was around two years old, the vet told us she was around one and half? Either way, she was perfect- and still is, at the ripe old dog age of 13-ish.

Maya loves to hike when it is frigid outside, and hates it after about 5 minutes if it isn’t. (Don’t worry, we purchased a doggy backpack so she’ll only have to miss an adventure if dogs aren’t allowed.)

She’s the best dog, like all dogs are, and even though she was born retired and won’t let us forget it, we love her so much. Obviously.