IndieDev FIREThe archive.
Essays on indie work, sustainable income, and the math of financial freedom.
- 02 min
Coast FIRE: the indie dev's cheat code
Front-load the saving. Let compounding finish the job. Then work only because you want to. The math is friendlier than it sounds.
- 02 min
Geographic arbitrage: engineering your burn rate
Same income, different zip code, half the burn. The single biggest one-shot expense cut available to a location-independent dev.
- 02 min
Lean FIRE vs Fat FIRE: pick the right number
Same word, different math. The wrong target adds a decade. Pick your number before you optimize.
- 02 min
Lifestyle creep is the tax on every raise
The raise lands. The car gets nicer. The rent goes up. Net wealth doesn't move. The mechanism, and how to break it.
- 02 min
Lumpy income survival: paying yourself a salary
Indie dev revenue isn't monthly. Your bills are. Smooth the gap with one bank account and a standing transfer.
- 02 min
Sequence of returns: why your first five FI years matter most
Two retirees, identical average returns, identical withdrawals. One ends with $2M. One runs out at 75. The order of returns is the difference.
- 02 min
Subscription apps as FIRE vehicles
A small subscription app is the indie dev's rental property. The unit economics, what it takes to build one, and why one good app can be most of your number.
- 02 min
The 4% rule, translated for indie devs
Multiply your annual expenses by 25. That's your number. Here's why the rule works, where it breaks, and how indie devs should adjust.
- 02 min
Your savings rate is the only lever
Income gets the headlines. Savings rate decides when you actually exit. The math is unfair to high earners who don't save.
- 02 min
The Solo 401(k) is the indie dev's tax shelter
Self-employed and not using a Solo 401(k)? You're paying tax on income you could be sheltering. The numbers are not subtle.
- 02 min
Financial Freedom for Indie Developers in Four Stages
First post. A short note on why this blog exists, and what to expect from it.