About a Rich Frugal Life

Hi! I’m Mrs. Rich Frugal Life, the voice behind this blog. Thank you so much for stopping by!

We are a family of three living in Arizona (USA), pursuing financial independence and early retirement. Mr. Rich Frugal Life and I are in our late-30’s/early-40’s, with an an energetic preschooler who keeps life exhausting interesting.

Our FIRE Journey

We discovered the Financial Independence / Retire Early (“FIRE”) Movement in late 2018 and it was life changing!

Prior to that, we assumed that we had to work until our mid-50’s or 60’s. We had no idea that leaving the corporate world in our late 30’s or early 40’s was even possible, and quickly realized the FIRE movement was perfect for us.

Although we were financially secure in our accounting careers, the work was stressful and involved long hours. There was never enough time to actually enjoy life. Looking back, we were “successful” by many traditional definitions, but NOT living our ideal life.

In early 2020, we decided that we had enough financial freedom that I could permanently leave the workforce. With that, I retired from my corporate accounting career after 15 years to help our family transition to early retirement, and begin to build a healthier, happier and more fulfilled life.

Although we were not financially independent when I retired, we made this decision to use the financial freedom we’d already earned to make our lives better today.

Quitting my job ultimately didn’t slow down our journey as much as expected. We finally reached our FIRE goal of $1,000,000 in January 2022. Mr. RFL continues to work, but is now officially “work optional.”

I started this blog to chronicle our journey and to help normalize talking about money so that more people feel empowered to pursue financial independence. I’m also hoping it helps connect me with others in the FI community.

This blog follows our journey to financial independence and the transition to early retirement. In addition to our monthly financial updates, I also write about personal finance topics relevant to our journey as we encounter them, openly sharing everything we learn (and screw up) along the way.

Awards and Recognition

13th Annual Plutus Awards Winner (2022)

I am thrilled and honored to have won a Plutus Award this year for Rich Frugal Life!

WINNER – Best Financial Independence or Retire Early Content

12th Annual Plutus Awards Finalist (2021)

FINALIST – Best New Personal Finance Blog

FINALIST – Best Financial Independence or Retire Early Content

Rich Frugal Life has also been featured on:

Apex Money

Personal Finance Blogs

The Plutus Awards Weekly Showcase

Physician on FIRE – The Sunday Best

Women’s Personal Finance – Wednesday Roundup

All Star Money

Marriage, Kids and Money Podcast (Episode 316)

Ready for more? Head back to blog for the most recent posts, or start with these popular ones:

Spoiler Alert: The FIRE Movement Won’t Make You Happy

Is the 4% Rule for Early Retirement Officially Dead?

Do Kids Really Cost a Lot of Money? Here’s What we Spent in the First 5 Years

Financial Independence is Not a Destination, but we Made it!

Making the Transition to Early Retirement: Our 5 Year Plan

Health is Wealth: Want an extra $900k? Take a walk

How to Find Your Purpose in Early Retirement

FIRE Guide Series: How to Reach Financial Independence Without a Six-Figure Salary

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