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Financial Bloggers Just Make Terms Up Now

When I was overseeing coverage of the financial independence, retire early (FIRE) movement for TIME, one community stuck out to me. Not only did they have the weirdest name, but they were also the most relatable.

FIRE centers around the idea that you can become work-optional ahead of typical retirement age by saving and investing large portions of your income. But the number you have to hit, your FIRE number, is massive for most -- well north of $1 million.

Additionally, people who adhere to this movement often rely on having rock-bottom expenses. So when they go to leave their jobs, and realize self-employed health insurance costs an arm and a leg in this country, they panic a bit.

As a result, some FIRE enthusiasts kept working, but in less stressful, part-time jobs. Some of them worked jobs just to get the health insurance.

This came to be known as “Barista FIRE” as a hat-tip to Starbucks, a company that offers health insurance for a 20-hour work week. Here's a new post on what it is and how it works.

🔗 Venti Wealth Goals

Medium Writing Academy Open Now

Sinem Günel's Medium Writing Academy is open now. As mentioned, I'll be doing a roundtable with Sinem this Tuesday at 10am ET. If you're free, join us!

Medium remains an untapped resource for writers, creators, and service providers. If you want to ramp up your Medium game in 2024, and know that having a community helps you stay accountable, this would be the way to go.

Check out the Medium Writing Academy below!

🔗 Learn More

Breakable Rules for Literary Journalists

Literary journalism is one of the most fascinating subsets of writing for creators and entrepreneurs to learn from.

This style of journalism communicates facts and/or experiences using all the most powerful mechanics of storytelling. From vivid descriptions to stylish, personality-filled writing, LJ breaks a lot of the basic rules of journalism. Feelings are more important than facts in this style, but the facts are still there. Think profiles in GQ, stories in The New Yorker, or rich, immersive features in a magazine.

This article from Nieman Storyboard outlines how writers can explore this style. Over 25 years old, it's still a fantastic essay from Mark Kramer.

🔗 Read on Nieman Storyboard

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Cheering you on,

—Nick