A 1992 personal finance book helped inspire the FIRE movement

The FIRE movement stands for ‘financial independence, retire early’

FIRE followers typically prioritize high savings rates, relatively frugal living, and aggressive investing strategies in an effort to work less and enjoy life more in the long term. They range from low-income manual laborers to high-income tech workers and doctors.

Watch Peter Adeney’s TED Talk

The Mr. Money Mustache blog, started in 2011 and written by Peter Adeney, gained a significant following documenting real people’s experiences trying out FIRE, and also helped popularize the concept.

Inside a FIRE follower's money diary

This podcast episode details a few days inside the bank account of a woman in Australia who set out to retire by age 35.

The pandemic forged new FIRE followers

The FIRE movement gained steam during the pandemic, when some were inspired to clean financial house amid an environment of global economic uncertainty.

Financial advice from America’s founding fathers

Several of America's founding fathers—Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton—espoused various financial platitudes during their lives. According to the financial publication Kiplinger, much of their advice holds up in modern times. This article rounds up a few wise words from the founding fathers (and even one first lady) about compound interest, taxes, and education. For money-management tips from America's early days, click here.

Seven early retirement lessons

After one year of retirement under his belt, financial publication Kiplinger's former editor has learned some lessons. Specifically, in this article, he shares his best early retirement advice, from when it makes sense to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth in early retirement, to how to prepare for retirement from a psychological perspective. Read more here.

Why financial literacy education in the US sucks

If you don't remember learning anything about basic financial literacy in school, you're not alone—that's the common sentiment among those who have passed through the American school system. This video explains the history of financial education in the US and points out what can be done in the future to make the financial lessons children learn in school stick with them past recess. Watch it here.

The values espoused in 'Lean In,' a book by a female Facebook exec, was part of the girlboss movement's doctrine

Sheryl Sandberg, a top executive at Facebook, published "Lean In," her career-advice book for women, in 2013. The book would go on to spend more than a year on The New York Times Best Sellers list and contribute to a cultural movement.

How to form lasting, healthier habits

James Clear's "Atomic Habits" is a bestselling book about making small, realistic changes to create healthier habits. This brief piece breaks down three key lessons from the book as well as four simple steps toward adopting its approach.

How couples today manage their finances

In relationships, shared bank accounts used to be the default. Not anymore. Many couples maintain separate finances for practical reasons or to retain greater independence, though many couples experience trust issues as a result. This article checks in on the status of relationship finances and highlights, among other insights, how attitudes toward money are often determined by family history.

One New Yorker saved $1,600 during her 'no-buy January'

A social trend in recent years encourages participants to buy essentials only for the month (an abbreviation of the even more radical no-buy year). Hannah Marder gave the fast a go, fastidiously dividing her purchases into wants and needs and managing to save roughly $1,600 over the month.

What is the 70-20-10 budget?

The 70-20-10 budget rule dictates that people should spend 70% of their income on needs, 20% on savings, and 10% on wants. It's a new take on the 50-30-20 budget, which claims people should aim to spend 50% of their income on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings. Learn more about this budgeting strategy by reading this article.

'If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.'

- Billionaire John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)

Time magazine named Ray Dalio one of the 100 most influential people in 2012

Dalio's profile, written by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, praised Dalio for his investment strategy and his deep understanding of economics, if unorthodox at times. Volcker particularly appreciated Dalio's support for the Federal Reserve's handling of the 2008 financial crisis. Dalio and Volcker were longtime friends—Dalio has referred to Volcker as "the most principled man" he knows.

'Diet for a Small Planet' popularized the vegetarian diet

Frances Moore Lappe’s 1971 book provided recipes for vegetarian dishes, introducing millions to soy, sprouts, and tofu. It also argued that a vegetarian diet was a political act that could solve world hunger by redirecting food from livestock to humans.

The 2011 film 'Moneyball' shifted ideas about sports and statistics

Based on the Michael Lewis book of the same name, the film starring Brad Pitt depicts the attempts of the 2002 Oakland A's to leverage data analysis to overcome their low-budget woes ($41M) and compete with big-budget teams like the New York Yankees ($125M). Other sports and leagues, including the NBA and NFL, would adopt a similar logic: find what the market undervalues and exploit it.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shifted his focus toward economic justice in his final years

In the late 1960s, Dr. King increasingly emphasized economic inequality, labor rights, and poverty, culminating in the Poor People’s Campaign, which argued that civil rights gains were incomplete without financial security.

Author David Foster Wallace's 'This Is Water' speech provides guidance for adulthood

Using cryptocurrency to turn traditional financial arrangements on their head

Cryptocurrency is poised to drastically change everything in the financial world, including financial arrangements. Decentralized finance makes it easier for virtually anyone to take advantage of financial markets without the need for a bank. However, there are new risks involved as well. Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics Kevin Werbach, an expert on Bitcoin and blockchains discusses it all in detail in The Conversation.

Roth IRAs were first introduced in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997

The Roth IRA is one of the most popular retirement accounts in the US. Nearly a quarter of Americans contributed to a Roth IRA in 2023. But this type of financial account hasn’t been around for that long.

How self-care led to Ozempic's success

Self-care has become a $1.5T economy that idealizes restraint and willpower, leaving behind those who can't shake off human nature. This article explores how Ozempic and similar weight loss medications pick up where self-care left off.

Jeff Bezos uses a ‘regret minimization framework’ for making decisions

When Bezos is making a decision, he asks himself a simple question to minimize regret: “When I’m 80, will I regret not doing this?” The decision-making framework has become popular since Bezos began speaking publicly about it.

'Freakonomics' celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025

The book 'Freakonomics' arguably changed the business landscape when it came out, and has since evolved into other forms of media and a cultural phenomenon.

In the 1970s, a former NASA engineer pitched remote work as a solution to an energy crisis

His name was Jack Nilles, and he wrote a book that is considered the "founding document of telecommuting" in 1973 called "The Telecommunications-Transportation Tradeoff," coining the terms "telecommuting and telework." Nilles argued that telecommuting could serve as an "alternative to transportation," helping cut down on gridlocked traffic and reduce society's reliance on nonrenewable resources like oil. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The political theory of Henry David Thoreau

The two years, two months, and two days that Thoreau spent living in a modest cabin at Walden Pond informed his beliefs that people should live simply, deliberately, and become self-reliant. Those beliefs were later articulated, in a political sense, in his landmark essay, "Civil Disobedience."

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600 in its famous catalog from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in roughly 10,000 'Sears and Roebuck houses' being built.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.