Welcome to FI School!
To learn more about FI School, visit the intro page.
Scroll through the lesson summaries below to get to the content that’s relevant to you. The topics are arranged in a natural progression—one building on the other. But there are no rules! Work through the content in the order you find most useful, at your own pace.
Unit 1: FI Basics
Get started, progress through the stages of FI, and reach your goals!
7 lessons
Lesson 1: FI 101
What is FI, and why pursue it? This lesson will answer all your questions and motivate you with inspiring stories.
Lesson 2: Frugality and saving
Looking for easy ways to get your FI journey started? Frugality and saving are the low-hanging fruits of FI and the simplest ways to get the ball rolling.
Lesson 3: Budgeting and tracking
Wish you could build your FI nest egg faster? You can—by putting every dollar to work. (Don’t worry—it’s easier and less boring than you think!)
Lesson 4: Income
Want to know what your greatest asset is? It’s you! Learn how to maximize your human capital, earn more money and reach your FI goals sooner.
Lesson 5: Early retirement planning
Ready for the fun part? Learn how to plan for your early retirement and make your FI goals a reality.
Lesson 6: Index investing
Looking for a simple, low-maintenance investment strategy to grow your FI nest egg? You’ve found it in index investing! Learn all about it in this lesson.
Lesson 7: Investing
Want to maximize returns, reduce risk, and have more peace of mind? Build your investing knowledge—because more knowledge equals more wealth.
Unit 2: FI Boosters
Learn about ways to keep and earn more income and boost your FI journey.
5 lessons
Lesson 8: Tax optimization
I love paying more taxes… says no one. Learn this FI ninja skill to (legally) keep more of your hard-earned cash.
Lesson 9: Side hustles
Day job’s not getting you to FI soon enough? It’s never been easier to earn money in your spare time! Learn all about side hustles in this lesson.
Lesson 10: Real estate
Want a proven way to grow your wealth? Try the FI community’s favourite business/investment hybrid: real estate investing.
Lesson 11: House hacking
Are housing costs delaying your journey to FI? Why not turn your home into an income-producing asset? Learn all about house hacking in this lesson.
Lesson 12: Travel hacking
Want to travel the world for free or cheap? You can with travel hacking! Learn how to get started with this lucrative hobby.
Unit 3: FI Extensions
The incredibly important—but often overlooked aspects of the FI journey.
4 lessons
Lesson 13: Happiness
Want to know the true why for FI? For most of us, it’s happiness. Learn how to build more of it into your life.
Lesson 14: Personal growth
Seeking greater happiness, health, and wealth? Continually growing and improving ourselves can lead us to all that we seek and more.
Lesson 15: Estate planning
Estate planning is a gift and act of love for those we care about. No one wants to think about it, but we all should. Learn how to get started, then take action!
Lesson 16: Conclusion and resources
Congratulations! You’ve completed FI school—now what? Here’s a list of resources and articles to keep your FI journey going.
A sincere thank you…
To the amazing content creators I’ve featured in FI School: Thank you for sharing your stories and your work with the world.
Without your contributions, there’d be no FI journey for me, no Eat Sleep Breathe FI, and no FI School. You’ve inspired, taught, and motivated me to pursue a life with more choices, freedom, and joy.
My hope is for others to discover your stories through FI School, and be likewise moved to change their lives (and become your newest fans)!
Support this blog
If you liked this article and want more content like this, please support this blog by sharing it! Not only does it help spread the FIRE, but it lets me know what content you find most useful. (Which encourages me to write more of it!)
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As always, however you show your support for this blog—THANK YOU!
10 Comments
Sam
January 26, 2019 at 6:47 amChrissy, this looks great. I am just sitting down today to consider my intentions for February and one of them is now to start making my way through all of this information. Thanks so much for all of your hard work on this.
Chrissy
January 26, 2019 at 8:25 pmHi Sam, thank you for stopping by to check out FI School. I’d love to get your feedback. Let me know what you think!
Kris
February 1, 2019 at 12:53 pmHey this is a great idea Chrissy!! Rounding all of these blog posts and turning into different FI lessons. I’ll check these out for sure. Big thanks for doing this!!
Chrissy
February 1, 2019 at 2:14 pmHey Kris, thanks for coming by! I’m sure you’re quite the FI expert already, but you can never learn too much about FI and money, right? 🤑
Savvy History
March 5, 2019 at 3:50 pmWow! Really impressed with how organized and approachable this looks. You’ve put together an amazing go-to resource. Thanks for your hard work.
Chrissy
March 5, 2019 at 5:18 pmAw, thanks Michelle! I really do want to help others discover FI, and hope this makes it just a bit easier and less overwhelming.
Bob Wen
December 26, 2019 at 9:06 pmFantastic resource! Clearly this took a great deal of time and effort. Many thanks.
If you add a miscellaneous/bonus page, here’s my suggestions:
– Playing with FIRE: The Documentary – movie trailer: https://youtu.be/kD8uNm5ck0Q
– Valuable Lessons from My Second Year of Freedom audio/podcast episode: https://www.madfientist.com/second-year-of-freedom/
– Warren Buffett’s 2017 Letter to Berkshire Shareholders, the section called “The Bet” starting on page 11: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2017ltr.pdf
– Investing Demystified (5 videos): https://youtu.be/_chiIIxMGl0
Chrissy
December 29, 2019 at 4:31 pmHi Bob, thanks for sharing your links. They’re all excellent, and I’ll find a way to incorporate them into FI School (probably in the appropriate lessons). I appreciate you taking the time to comment and share!
Bob Wen
December 26, 2019 at 9:11 pmRe: “Valuable Lessons from My Second Year of Freedom audio/podcast episode:” – It’s the audio to the first year of freedom (on the same page) that I found the most impactful.
Chrissy
December 29, 2019 at 4:34 pmThanks for clarifying. I always enjoy Mad Fientist’s shows and will relisten to this one.