- Trump Accounts: Are They a Scam? - October 6, 2026
- Reader Case: From Cancer Survivor to FIRE - September 1, 2026
- The FIRE Guide to America’s Health Care System (2026) - July 7, 2026
It’s been a while since I’ve done a reader case, so I thought I’d grab one from the ol’ inbox. So here we go!
Dear Kristy & Bryce,
Firstly- thank you so much for all you do! I have been reading your blog, then book for years and have been quietly inspired.
So my story is a little unusual, and I’d love your thoughts (I know, not advice!)… I started on the FI/RE pathway 10 years ago, as a Kiwi living in London who stumbled upon The School of Life (who knew it was a real place? Opened by philosophers and they run a bunch on interesting courses) as they ran a one-off session called Overcoming Financial Anxiety… well anxiety about finances was all I had- at that stage I was 36, single and working in biotech as a Project manager.
I had taken a contracting job to pay off my 60k student debt (NZD) and once achieved (hooray!) I realised that I had no idea what savings strategy to take. I had grown up with a low salary, single income family, where money was a huge source of stress (and also a topic that was NOT discussed in the family) so I felt utterly at sea.
The Overcoming Financial Anxiety session was run by a (great!) IFA, who talked about the psychology of money- this led to me having a 1-off session with him, he introduced me to Index Funds and Vanguard (plus you two), and as a diligent nerd, I complied. Put 50% of my salary into my pension and kept grinding.
The curveball came the next year- I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and then it happened again in 2018. This started nearly 10 years of treatment, including chemo x2, radiotherapy and a whopping 10 surgeries. Happily I’m 7years cancer free now!
Unsurprisingly, having kids is off the table -and in fact I’m still single, no parents alive, so I am my own safety net.
This is where the trickiness sets in… because I was blessed to have a very supportive workplace, I maxed out my pension and because I was doing nearly nothing outside treatment or work or recovery from other, over YEARS my savings grew. 10 yrs later I could be technically FI? But it comes with a lot of mental challenges… I feel so lucky that I could now take time off to enjoy life and explore alternate pathways from the grind of biotech- but I feel slightly guilty that its happened in part because I was unwell? Im not sure if that even makes sense, and there are other psych factors at play, but I’d really appreciate some realism re grading my finances and risk. I think my upbringing and diagnosis have made my RISK RADAR incredibly strong and I don’t want that to override an opportunity to live an amazing life for whatever time I have left.
I’d love you to math shit up for me… I can see a time where I’d quit my job, to try and live for now and to make up for the experience & years lost (just read Die With Zero which has put a boot up my *ss), but the One More Year Syndrome is feeling pretty strong. Id love thoughts on a Yield Shield situation, as Im 100% equities!
– Your gross/net annual income: £135,000 + approx £20k bonus
– Your monthly spending: £6,200
(Range of spending is £3.1k to 14k, the highest one incl a tax bill! This is a monthly average, thanks to the Rebel Finance School trackers. There are a few big purchases in this that raise the average, like trips back to NZ to see friends and family, and 2x expensive psychedelic retreats which were amazing for my mental health but not cheap!)
For any debts you have, please include:
The interest rate: 25%
Your minimum monthly payment: 1%
The outstanding balance: £5.5k
Any fixed assets you have (house, car, etc.): none
And investments or savings you have (cash, bonds, stocks, etc.):
Total is 1.6m (still shocks me!)
All are in index funds 100% through Vanguard, or similar to Vanguard eg for Aviva pension.
1. Personal pension: £832k (can access from 57 years old)
2. ISAs: £373k
3. Gen trading account: £320k
4. Defined benefit pension: will be £11k
5. Separate ISA if I choose to buy a first home with it: £12k (UK govt will top up approx 4k)
6. NZ-based KiwiSaver: £10k
Thanks hugely in advance- if you need any more info, please ask?
Very best wishes from a sticky London
Hannah
Hannah, you’re an amazing person. To go through all the shit you’ve been through, and to have emerged not only stronger, healthy, and somehow on the cusp of FIRE is nothing short of a miracle. Having dealt with my dad’s cancer diagnosis, a health issue like that tends to suck up all the oxygen from your life, so the fact that you were able to deal with that while thriving in your career is a testament to your strength. You go girl!
This also calls into focus a truth about FIRE planning that I’ve come to realize as I get older. Putting your head down and grinding at work to get to FIRE makes perfect sense when you’re in your 20’s and 30’s. You have lots of time, and energy. But in your 40’s, your health starts to become more important.
I know from personal experience that no matter how healthy you think you are, we’re all one bad MRI scan from having our life plans upended. Hannah is intimately aware of what that feels like. So if you’re in good health, and your finances can support it, don’t wait. Get out there and travel, live your life, and enjoy your health for as long as you can. None of us knows when it will end.
So without further ado, let’s…
Math That Shit Up!
Summary | Amount |
|---|---|
Income | £135,000 + £20k bonus |
Expenses | £6200 per month, £74,400 annual |
Investible Assets | £832k (pension) + £373k ISA + £320k (trading) + £11k (pension) + £12k (ISA) + £10k (KiwiSaver) = £1,558,000 |
Debt | £5,500 |
Having gone through the Rebel Finance School that our friends Alan and Katie Donegan have run, Hannah has identified average expenses of about £6200 per month, or £74,400 annually. As per the 4% rule, this would require a FIRE portfolio of £74,400 x 25 = £1,860,000.
So we can see she’s almost there, but not quite. It wouldn’t take her long to get there, given the fact that her savings rate is so high at 50%. At that rate, they would hit their target in…
Year | Balance | Contrib | ROI | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | £1,558,000.00 | £60,000.00 | £93,480.00 | £1,711,480.00 |
2 | £1,711,480.00 | £60,000.00 | £102,688.80 | £1,874,168.80 |
…Just 2 years.
Not bad right? That would suggest grinding it out for just a little longer and then pulling the trigger sometime in 2028 or so.
The thing is, I don’t think she needs to wait at all.
First of all, all her figures are in British pounds. Converted to USD, that’s over $2M, and in CAD, it’s nearly $3M. That’s more than enough for one person to not just FIRE, but Fat FIRE!
And second, she’s living in London, so all her spending is skewed towards one of the most expensive cities in the world. According to Numbeo’s cost-of-living comparison for 2026, London is #15 in the world’s most expensive cities in the world. She could move to any other country in Europe, or even to any other city in the UK, and she wins instantly.
Her current £1,558,000 net worth would support an annual spend of £62,320, or about £5200 per month, so that’s the target she should try to hit. What major city in the world can a single person live comfortably for £5200, or $7000 USD? I think she’ll find the answer is “most of them.”
So the first thing I’d suggest is for her to spend some time checking out Numbeo.com, which is a crowd-sourced database of the cost of living in various cities around the world. And the second thing I’d suggest is for the to start planning some trips! Go visit some of the cities that pique your interest and plan your next holiday there, but instead of going there to do touristy things, actually try living there for a few weeks and see how you like it. It’ll be the most fun homework you’ll ever be assigned.
Money Moves
There are a few money moves I’d suggest.
First of all, pay off the debt. With that much cash lying around, there’s no reason to be paying 25% on a loan.
And second, stop putting so much money into your pension. Pensions in the UK are age-locked, and if she wants to retire early, she’ll need more money that she actually has access to. Keep contributing enough off your paycheck to get any employer matching, because the first rule of building wealth is “never turn down free money,” but after that redirect further savings into your trading account and/or ISA.
Yield Shield
And finally, the yield shield. A 100% equity portfolio is fine while you’re working, but when you retire you become vulnerable to sequence-of-return risk, which is the risk of a major market meltdown in the first few years of retirement that forces you to sell at a loss to finance your retirement.
Selling equities and adding bonds to your portfolio is how you guard against this risk, since it gives you more income and makes your portfolio less volatile. A 60% equity/40% fixed income allocation is a good mix for this.
It’s best to hold bonds in a tax-deferred account like a pension, plus she won’t incur a capital gain from selling equities that have appreciated if done in the pension.
Before she turns 57, accessing that income will require her to do a cash-asset swap, which is a strategy that we describe in our book. Fortunately, she has enough assets outside her pension to do this. And after she turns 57, she can just withdraw from the pension normally.
Conclusion
One More Year Syndrome is definitely real, because every spreadsheet will always tell you that working longer = more money = safer retirement. But what the math can’t understand is that none of us know how much time we have. Especially time being healthy enough to travel. Hannah’s had some pretty serious brushes with cancer, so she’s acutely aware of how fragile life can be.
But where the math can work in your favour is by realizing there are other knobs besides working longer that you can use. Geographic Arbitrage and the Yield Shield are things you can do to tip the scales in your favour to make the numbers work when you’re close enough, and Hannah is definitely close enough.
So don’t wait, Hannah. You have FIRECracker and my permission to Go enjoy life.
What do you think? Is Hannah’s retirement safe, or would you keep working?
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Congratulations Hannah! I have also completed treatment for breast cancer recently and my perspective has changed completely-all the time I have I want to be around people, places and things that bring joy 🤩. Would you move back to New Zealand or travel around a bit more? I do have a child so for me we are leaning into fun experiences. It is some work to train your brain to overcome a scarcity mindset, and so worth it. Follow your joy! Love Tigermom
Thanks, Tigermom!
Congrats to you also for making it through. I hope the recovery path is smooth for you!
I am now realising I need to start making decisions for joy and curiosity now Im better, and so fortunate to be near-FI. I would do either, I feel like anything is possible (visas aside) but sometimes the amount of options feels overwhelming!
Big hugs to you!
What about the difficulty of letting go of work-based identity? Like many of us, I’m wondering if workmates may replace nuclear and extended family in Hannah’s daily life. I can imagine it could be hard for her to let go of the sense of purpose and community that comes from work we’re good at.
The answer isn’t necessarily geoarbitage somewhere cheap – if you’d rather work in London, Hannah, keep working! Maybe for you, joy and freedom mean using your financial security to become a philanthropist, work part time, teach in your field at a low wage or whatever.
So I say: if you don’t feel like stopping, don’t! There’s no extra points or added value for doing scary and “risky” stuff that takes you out of your comfort zone. Your only end goal should be *your version* of happy and free.
Good luck and stay healthy!
Thank you L!
You are 100% right, the work-identity was my constant while I was in treatment, so letting go of that now feels pretty intense. They have been my work-family for sure! I so need to ensure I’m moving to something and not just casting off into the ether, alone. The job is a tough one to do less than 100% though, so I’ll try 4 days/week initially to see how that feels. That will give me time to work out what my version of happy & free is!
Congratulations, Hannah! Have you considered pulling back from work slightly, like 50% and doing this for approximately 4-years until you reach your FI number. I stopped work 5 years ago to look after the kids (which was great) but have since gone back in a part time capacity cause I actually enjoy the work-life balance more.
Kia kaha fellow Kiwi
Aw thank you, Sarah!
I am going to 80% now – I cant do less at this company -so I’ll see how that works out over the next few months.
I think I’ll always need something to occupy my brain and give me purpose + social connections! Im too extroverted not to… 🙂
Kia kaha, e hoa!
62,000 pounds is so much, quit! That’s a bit hypocritical coming from me though, I have 1 more year syndrome so bad, I’ve been FI for 2 years and am still working, thinking I need to allow for inflation to stay high, and allow for you know who crashing the global economy!
That’s worked out for me though, my work is now doing redundancies (buyouts in North American lingo I think?), but that’s taught me that my job is worth over a hundred grand, which may make it harder to quit if they don’t choose me for redundancy!
Hey C,
Thanks for the reply… agree OMY syndrome is real!
Because of my non-trad path to FI, I think my approach to finances and understanding is a bit behind, I havent needed to be super-frugal and live that life. But also, I haven’t dug enough into SORR strategies to have something set up.
Sure if we do that, then the inevitable crash wont be as much of a concern, right?
HA! Yeah I def wonder if I could be made redundant (am UK based) as I also would get a good payout, but I think I will want to leave before that happens. Good luck to you, though 🙂
Loved the geoarbitrage advice. There are probably many lovely places in England that make more financial sense than London right now. And then there is the world!
As for the numbers, I would have checked that the money in taxable accounts would comfortably last until age 57.
Hi Riccardo,
Yes- that’s def on my radar to relaocte- though only once Ive left my role, as that’s tying me to one place. Freedom feels intimidating though…
I have checked and I think I can make it work through to 57, esp as I will soon max out the logical amount to be in my pension and then can redirect the cash to my GIA.
Congratulations Hannah on your progress and for being cancer free for 7 years. I think your numbers are solid for you to pivot and do whatever you want. The question is what is that you want out of life right now? What did you miss out on when you were getting treatment that you want to do now? You mention the guilt about being where you are because you were unwell and that they might be psychological factors at play. It might be worth exploring these through therapy if you haven’t done so. It could be that work gave you some normality and sense of purpose when life was uncertain. You are now on the other side.
Congratulations Hannah. So happy to hear you are cancer free for 7 years. That’s an amazing milestone to reach.
I’m not convinced you need to add bonds to your portfolio. I’m not sure if UK pensions are the same, but the defined benefits pension I will receive in Ontario when I hit 65 comes with a guaranteed monthly payout and has a cost of living allowance provision. No bond can match this for safety and security. Thus my DIY investments are 100% equities.
What a journey—and I can understand why the tension between “I’m financially secure” and “I need to make the most of my life” feels complicated. The One More Year instinct makes sense given everything you’ve experienced, but it’s also worth remembering that financial independence is ultimately a tool for buying back time, not an achievement that requires endless optimisation. The idea of building a Yield Shield while gradually moving away from 100% equities could be an interesting way to create enough psychological safety to actually use the freedom you’ve worked so hard to build. On the strategy side, I also enjoy comparing different approaches with a Blox Fruits item value checker.
What a powerful story, and I really appreciate the distinction between being financially independent on paper and actually feeling ready to use that freedom. The point about a strong risk radar turning into “One More Year Syndrome” really resonates—sometimes the hardest part of FI/RE is accepting that the goal was supposed to create options, not another decade of accumulation. I also like the idea of thinking about a Yield Shield alongside the 100% equity portfolio, because creating a deliberate buffer could make stepping away feel psychologically safer while still keeping long-term growth potential. For a lighter form of strategic thinking, Block Blast strategy and planning can even be a fun reminder that good decisions often come from balancing risk, space, and the next few moves rather than optimizing everything indefinitely.
Such an inspiring read. Overcoming so much and still managing to hit those FIRE milestones takes incredible resilience. It really makes you reflect on life, priorities, and taking a well-deserved breather from the grind—sometimes even a quick round of space waves game helps clear the head while diving deep into these brilliant financial case studies!
Your story really resonates with me. I’ve been focusing on financial independence too, especially since picking up some fun distractions like car games. It’s amazing how finding joy in simple things can shift your perspective!
This inspiring journey shows the true strength of resilience and smart planning when regaining control of life. Achieving financial independence offers clarity, much like unwinding with fun Easy Games during well-deserved breaks. Embracing simple strategies and staying focused on long-term goals truly builds a happier, meaningful future.
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Hitting pension maxes through 10 surgeries is insane. Her quote about her “risk radar” taking over was spot on—so hard to switch off survival mode once you’re out of the woods, but seeing that £74.4k spend vs the 4% rule really grounds the math.
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Your courageous shift from cancer treatment to seeking joy while juggling a child and the pull of New Zealand highlights how powerful a mindset change can be. A Florida Company Registry mirrors that feeling of sifting through endless choices to pinpoint meaningful direction, which you described as overwhelming. Rewiring from scarcity to curiosity creates room for fun experiences you crave without guilt. Letting go of a work‑based identity may feel like shedding a skin, but it also frees you to reinvent yourself. Keep following that joy; it’s fueling your next chapter.
Reading how Hannah turned her post‑cancer outlook into a deliberate joy‑first strategy really underscores the power of reshaping a scarcity mindset, and I admire Tiger mom’s encouragement to lean into fun experiences with her child Colorado Company Registration mirrors that same intentional reboot, reminding us that even bureaucratic steps can feel like declaring a fresh personal chapter. Deciding between returning to New Zealand and embracing a nomadic lifestyle is daunting, yet each option expands the canvas for identity beyond work. Keep trusting that curiosity, and let the new possibilities guide you.
The case-study format makes a complex financial journey easy to follow. Mistral Large 4 can be useful for writing, asking questions about documents, and comparing plans when people are organizing their own research. Mistral Large 4
Well done, Hannah! Sending you more healthy vibes.
Am I correct in understanding that Yield Shield for Brits is available only through bonds? How about Income(not accumulation) funds? I’m a bit confused. Thank you!
This reader story is a powerful reminder that financial independence is about resilience and having a plan that can adapt to life’s unexpected turns. The practical details make the journey feel honest and encouraging rather than abstract. I also use Instinct AI to turn ideas into visual project plans when I need to make a complex goal easier to see: Instinct AI.
This thoughtful case study shows how much financial planning depends on noticing the right questions at the right time. I also like the emphasis on tracking real-world signals before making a decision; Trends Monitor can help monitor rising search interest when researching topics and opportunities. Wishing Hannah all the best on the next step toward FIRE.
The discussion of sequence-of-return risk and the emphasis on building a flexible plan were especially useful. I also like the idea of creating repeatable systems for the long term; Flux Lora is exploring browser-based Flux LoRA workflows and a roadmap for models, generation, and training, which feels aligned with that mindset: Flux Lora. Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful case study.
The article makes a strong case for balancing the math with flexibility and quality of life. The reminder that a resilient plan should adapt to real circumstances resonated with me; Flux Lora is also exploring browser-based Flux LoRA workflows and a roadmap for models, generation, and training: Flux Lora. Thanks for the thoughtful perspective.