With enough money, you can work or not work at your desire. Rather than relegating your hobbies, your family, and your health to the weekends, you can devote your time to the things that truly matter to you. If only we had enough money that we don’t have to spend our lives working, we think. If only we had so much money that we won’t need to worry about running out no matter how much we spend.

At WeFIRE, we wish we can promise to make you rich. We wish we can say to you, “Just buy our 1-month course and we will teach you how to become wealthy!”

It won’t be much different from what other people are doing after all. Everywhere on Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube, finance gurus of every kind flaunt their wealth. Young men in luxury cars, young women in designer dresses, all of them promise you wealth like theirs if only you followed their methods.

We can’t promise the wealth and grandeur they do, instead we advocate a much more mundane but also much more achievable approach: Financial Independence.

Clearer Targets Make for Better Aim

I recall a time when I was a child, a classmate of mine showed up one day with McDonald’s for lunch. The distinctly oily scent of fast food wafted across the room, the crinkling of the paper bag undeniable and irresistable. In that moment, Macdonalds for lunch seemed to me a great luxury. “Wow,” child-me thought, “Brandon’s parents must be rich!”

Much of our adult desire for expensive cars, mansions, and yachts today are driven by the same logic that made Brandon’s lunch so appealing to my child self. My own boxed lunch was nutritious and tasted great, but I was convinced that I wanted McDonalds because it was something I didn’t have. This kind of want is never ending; there will always be a bigger house, a better private jet, another thing we want beyond our reach. The instant we get the thing we want, we’ll always want more and better. So long as we chase this kind of want, we will never truly feel rich.

So what can we do instead?

What we need is something clear and specific.

In the late 1960s Dr. Edwin A Locke introduced the Goal Setting Theory, writing, “90 percent of the time, specific and challenging goals led to higher performance than easy goals, ‘do your best’ goals, or no goals.” By setting specific financial targets, we are not just dreaming about a vague notion of wealth; we are crafting a roadmap that guides our actions and decisions.

So what are our goals?

To be Financial Independent, not rich. Financial Independence is, in essence, the ability to sustain our desired standard of living for the rest of our lives without needing to work for money.

For example, if you want to retire with an annual income of $60k, you’ll need a nest egg of $1.5 million. With that, you can buy your future back from your boss. Furthermore, if you are able to save 40% of your current income (let’s assume $60k) and invest your savings to earn an average annual return of 7% (what you can expect from a broad-based index fund), you will achieve your FIRE number in 25 years.

By setting a clear, quantifiable goal, aka our FIRE number, our path to reach it comes into focus. Unlike “getting rich,” Financial Independence is not a wishful fantasy, it’s an attainable reality.

Genuine Wealth vs Fleeting Glamour

Morgan Housel, author of The Psychology of Money, puts it succinctly: “When most people say they want to be a millionaire, what they really mean is ‘I want to spend a million dollars,’ which is literally the opposite of being a millionaire.” Many former millionaires have become bankrupt due to prioritizing appearance over substance.

Consider Mike Tyson, who according to Forbes had an estimated net worth of $685 million. To put it in perspective, if you withdrew $685 million from the bank and burned one dollar bill every minute, it would take 11,416,666 hours, or 475,694 days, or approximately 1,303 years to burn through it all. Yet, Mike spent lavishly on things like a pet tiger and a $410,000 birthday party. After only ten years of his extravagant lifestyle, in 2003, Tyson filed for bankruptcy.

He’s not alone. As we know, top professional athletes are incredibly wealthy, yet a Sports Illustrated report estimates that around 60% of NBA players face serious financial troubles within five years of retirement, and about 78% of NFL players are either bankrupt or under financial stress within two years of ending their careers.

Why doesn’t owning huge wealth make someone wealthy? Because true wealth isn’t about how much money you earn; it’s about how much money you keep.

That is why the financially independent feel rich even when they don’t have even a fraction of what NFL superstars earn. FIRE enthusiasts can sustain their desired lifestyles for at least 30 years, or even longer, without working, simply because they were careful to save, careful to spend, and even more careful to invest.

Why is that? Because at the heart of FIRE is about achieving and sustaining financial independence. With a solid plan, you can rest easy and enjoy your new car or jewelry while knowing that your finances are in control.

We believe that this kind of security that comes with genuine wealth, is not only more achievable, but ultimately far more rewarding.

True Happiness

We all know the myth of King Midas and his golden touch. A power that seemed on its face so wonderful turned quickly into a nightmare. Midas’ food became inedible, and his daughter too turned into dead gold at his touch. This tale warns against reckless wishes, the way greed can lead us horribly astray. Money can provide ease and comfort, but it can also trick us into forsaking the things that really matter.

Research underscores the complex connection between money and happiness. In a 2010 study by psychologist Daniel Kahneman and economist Angus Deaton, it’s revealed that while an increase in income boosts life satisfaction for those with lower incomes, the emotional benefits plateau after a certain point. Kahneman and Deaton find that, “For incomes below $75,000, larger incomes were associated with greater experienced well-being, but beyond $75,000, there was no further improvement.” Adjusted for inflation, emotional satisfaction plateaus after an annual income of $105,000.

Because of this, efforts to “get rich” can feel like running in place. After a certain income you’re always chasing contentment, but that lasting happiness is always just out of reach. This is what’s known as the “hedonic treadmill.” It’s like being hooked on a drug – constantly seeking more money or buying new things for a brief period of happiness only to end up unsatisfied, looking for the next thrill.

In contrast, Financial Independence is about having enough. How much “enough” is may differ from person to person, but it is always a real and tangible number. Having enough money means you are able to do what matters to you, on your own terms.

As Angus Campbell, American social psychologist, writes in his book, The Sense of Wellbeing in America, “Having a strong sense of controlling one’s life is a more dependable predictor of positive feelings of wellbeing than any objective conditions of life.” This highlights that being in control of your life choices matters more for happiness than just having things. Morgan Housel agrees, pointing out that the real value of money is in giving you control over your time. It’s not about how much you have, but what you can do with it that counts.

Therefore, although the flashy “get rich” motto is a more enticing sell, WeFIRE chooses to value honesty over glamour. Beyond surface-level appeal, our mission is to empower real, lasting financial independence. We believe in creating value that remains stable for a long period of time, from your working years, to your retirement, to your children’s futures.

As Maya Angelou once said, “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” That is the heart of Financial Independence.

Welcome to WeFIRE and let us Learn, Earn, Act, and Prosper together.

It’s a question I hear everywhere, at meetings, during social events, even in casual chats. Why build WeFIRE?

“How did you come up with the idea? What problem are you trying to solve?” people ask.

“What makes your product different?” others inquire.

Every time I get questions like these, it’s like an invitation to share a secret. I find these questions incredibly pertinent and worth addressing, which is why I want to start by introducing the story behind our mission.

1. Finance Impacts Life

Ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to achieve financial freedom. Back in my younger days, I didn’t know the term ‘FIRE’ (Financial Independence, Retire Early), but the idea was there. I had this goal of becoming financially free by the age of 30. How? As taught by the conventional wisdom, it would be earning an advanced degree from some top university, landing some high-paying job and getting promotions. The tried-and-true path to success, right? So, that’s what I did.

I earned a master’s degree and found a job in a highly successful tech company. The cost of living was high but so was my paycheck.

But looking back now, I was all wrong. I could have become financially free a full decade earlier, when I was fresh from college. This is how: At that time, the city where I lived had reasonably priced real estate, only 300,000 for a three bedroom apartment. If I had taken a mortgage, monthly payment would have been around 1,000. But here’s the kicker – if I rented out the guest rooms, I could’ve made about 2,500 in rent. That’s a 1,500 profit every month, enough to cover all my living expenses in the city. In essence, had I been more financially aware, I could have achieved FIRE, my life goal, right after college. 

Ironically, by the time I hit 30, with an Ivy League Master’s Degree, a stint at Lucent, and a much higher paycheck, I found myself further from FIRE than ever. Why? Because by then, the real estate prices had soared. My potential passive income from that investment wouldn’t have been enough to cover my living expenses anymore. I was back to living on paychecks.

As it turns out, I’m far from alone in these sentiments. Throughout my life, I’ve had the privilege to discuss this issue with a diverse range of people. From CEOs/CFOs, to regular folks trying to make a living, all of whom agree on one common sentiment: If only I started investing when I was younger, I’d have achieved so much more by now.

This realization led me and my team to a profound conclusion: the impact of financial management on an individual’s life can be enormous. Understanding money management is a vital life skill. Yet, it’s not something we’re taught by our parents, nor our schools. If we can help even one person, just one, we can make a substantial difference in their life. How many opportunities do we truly have to make a genuine improvement in the lives of others?

In a word, we could make a huge impact.

2. The Popularity of “Financial Independence”

In the past decade, the growth of this realization has been astonishing. Beginning as a fanciful notion limited to enthusiasts and extremists, FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) has now bloomed into an undeniable cultural phenomenon.

Bold headlines clamor for attention on the front cover of major news networks and notable financial conglomerates. The New York Times, NBC News, and CNBC all reported on this trend as it gained momentum with the masses (source1, source2, source3). As quoted by Benefits and Pensions Monitor, “A recent survey conducted by Resume Builder revealed that 51% of Millennials and Gen Z advocate for lowering the retirement age” (source).

These articles, among many others, showcase the unmistakable public interest in the FIRE movement. Particularly during the pandemic, people had the opportunity to deeply reflect on their life choices. This societal shift towards prioritizing meaningful, fulfilling occupations over superficial work-life structures is the driving force. However, the traditional finance industry has gaps to serve this trend well.

Therefore, we’ve decided to step in.

1. Harnessing the Potential of AI

Akin to fitness, financial health requires long-term effort. Although everyone hopes that, like Popeye, they can gain superhuman fitness after a single helping of spinach, healthy habits must be sustained over a lifetime to achieve good health. Similarly, financial independence won’t result from a few lifehacks or secret codes; it’s about crafting a clear plan and executing it with precision and discipline.

Additionally, executing such a plan involves considerable work. One must attend to all aspects of personal financial management, which spans earning, spending, borrowing, investing, and taxes. These activities require complex calculations and tedious data processing. It’s undoubtedly a lot to ask, especially as most of us work full-time to make a living. To keep abreast of all these demands is a full time job all its own, and one we don’t have the time for.

For ultra-high-net-worth individuals with, say, over $50 million, they can turn to private bankers from UBS or Goldman Sachs for help. However, this level of personalized service, while universally needed, has been limited to the privileged few.

This is where WeFIRE steps in. Thanks to significant advancements in AI technology, we are now able to bring this exclusive service to the masses.

Imagine having a Copilot that seamlessly integrates with your financial life. In case of an unusual expense, it effortlessly sifts through hundreds of transaction records to identify anomalies. It alerts you to upcoming bill payments to avoid late fees, and gently nudges you to curb expenses so you can stay on track.

Moreover, it replies to your questions with personalized answers. Say you have a question about how much you spent on a category of food, all you need to do is ask and AskCopilot will respond with your exact expenses, ordered by date. You can also ask more complicated questions, like “should I buy or rent?” and “find a better mortgage rate for refinance” for a more in-depth analysis on your spendings and your savings.

WeFIRE can serve as a trusted partner in your journey to financial independence, transforming daunting financial management into a streamlined, empowering process.

This is how we plan to help.