The Spark Behind Our FI

When we tell people we’re working toward financial independence, we usually get one of a few reactions:

“You must make a ton of money.” (I mean I guess we do each have 3 jobs, yet still not over the middle-class mark)

“So you’re just… not spending anything?”

“That sounds great, but it’s probably not realistic.”

We get it.

We used to think the same thing.

Especially because we’re not high earners. Not even close.

In 2025, the American middle class is generally defined as households earning somewhere around $55,000 to $150,000 a year (huge range I know), depending on location. We fall right inside that range — two regular people earning normal wages, nothing flashy. And living in Minnesota, where taxes run higher than the national average, our paychecks don’t magically stretch further. If anything, they stretch less.

So when people assume financial independence is only for people with huge salaries, we almost laugh. Because the truth is simple:

We’re not high earners.

We’re not special.

We’re just middle‑class people who finally saw the math clearly.

And once we did, everything changed.

It started with one idea that felt almost too good to be true: if you invest your money, you can safely withdraw about 4% per year… forever. Suddenly, numbers that once felt impossible started to make sense. A million dollars meant roughly $40,000 a year. $750,000 meant $30,000. Half a million meant $20,000. Not from working — from your investments. It wasn’t about being rich. It was about building a machine that replaces your paycheck.

But the real breakthrough came when we realized your “retirement number” isn’t random. It’s tied directly to how much you spend.

Spend less, you need less. Need less, you get there faster.

Spend less, you save more. Save more, you get there faster.

A double win. (Aka the boomerang effect)

Then we stumbled into the savings‑rate math — the part that really messes with your brain.

- Save 10% → ~40+ years of work

- Save 25% → ~30 years

- Save 50% → ~15–20 years

- Save 70%+ → <10 years

Same income.

Same world.

Completely different outcomes.

That’s when we realized the path to freedom wasn’t about earning more. It was about understanding the math behind the life you want.

This wasn’t how either of us grew up thinking about money. Winnie grew up in China, where saving wasn’t a strategy — it was survival. You saved because you had to. I grew up in the U.S., where the mindset was basically: spend what you make, upgrade when you can, enjoy it now, figure it out later. Neither approach was wrong. They were just normal. But once we saw a different option, we couldn’t unsee it.

So we started small. No extreme cuts. No dramatic lifestyle overhaul. Just one simple step: “Let’s actually look at our spending.” That alone was eye‑opening. Then we added one more layer: “Let’s try to spend a little less next month.” That’s it. And something unexpected happened — it turned into a game.

Do we actually use this?

Could we go a month without that?

Can we beat last month?

No pressure. Just curiosity. Slowly, things started falling away: subscriptions we forgot about, habits we didn’t care about, bills that didn’t match our values.

Then the math came back — but this time it hit differently. Every expense stopped looking like dollars and started looking like time.

- A monthly bill → months of extra work

- A habit → years added to the timeline

- A purchase → a delay in the life we wanted

And on the flip side:

- Every dollar we didn’t spend was buying our time back

That’s when everything shifted.

We didn’t go extreme. We just kept going. We dropped the TV bill. Cut subscriptions. Simplified bigger expenses over time. People assume that feels restrictive, but honestly? It didn’t. Because what we got instead was something we didn’t expect: time. Instead of sitting in front of a TV, we started hiking, exploring, walking through malls just to get out (without buying anything), talking more, dreaming more, being present. People think we’re wild for not owning a TV. We’re okay with that. Because we felt more connected. More intentional. More free.

And then something else changed — something no one talks about. Once we focused on financial independence, we started noticing opportunities everywhere. Ways to save. Ways to earn. Smarter decisions. Better habits. It’s like when you buy a car and suddenly see it everywhere. Nothing changed. You just started noticing.

As your savings grow — even slowly — something inside you shifts. You feel less dependent. You take smarter risks. You speak up more. You stop feeling stuck. You start choosing instead of reacting. You have options. And options change everything.

Financial independence isn’t about being extreme. It’s about understanding this:

Money isn’t just something you spend — it’s something that can give you your time back.

And the sooner you see that, the sooner everything starts to shift.

If you’re curious where to start, keep it simple:

- Track your spending for one month

- Cut one thing

- Save a little more next month

That’s all we did. And it turned into something much bigger.

In future posts, we’ll break down exactly how we reduced our spending, how we built our investment strategy, and the small changes that had the biggest impact. But it all starts here — with the moment you realize:

This might actually be possible

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