Writing
Four things worth being clear about
Financial independence, net worth, Android, and what these apps actually do with your data. No listicles, no affiliate links, and nothing recommended because someone paid for it.
Financial independence
What FIRE is, where the 4% rule comes from, and why coast arrives first.
What FIRE actually means, and the four numbers behind it
FIRE is not about retiring at 35. It is four numbers — what you spend, what you have, what you add, and what it returns — and only two of them are yours to move.
The 4% rule: where it comes from, and when it breaks
The 4% rule comes from a study of 30-year US retirements. Here is what it actually said, what it assumed, and why early retirees usually use a lower number.
Coast FIRE: the milestone that arrives ten years early
Coast FIRE is the point where your investments will grow into retirement on their own. It arrives long before financial independence and it is the one that changes your options.
Net worth
One subtraction, and the two arguments people actually have about it.
How to track net worth without linking a bank
A quarterly net worth statement takes about fifteen minutes and needs no account aggregation. What to include, what to leave out, and how often to bother.
Is the house you live in part of your net worth?
Your home belongs in your net worth and does not belong in your retirement projection. Both are true, and confusing them is why some people think they are closer than they are.
Android
A third to a half of these markets, and a shorter app list than the round-ups suggest.
Privacy
What bank connections and inbox access actually involve, and what the alternatives cost.
Tracking expenses without linking a bank account
Manual tracking is more work than automatic import and better in ways that are rarely stated. What you give up, what you get, and how to make it survive a real month.
Why a budget app should not read your email
Some expense trackers offer to scan your inbox for transaction alerts. What that permission actually grants, why we ship it in India and nowhere else, and what to weigh.
Also here
Ten calculators, free, no account
FIRE, coast FIRE, net worth, emergency fund, 50/30/20, debt payoff, savings goals, compound interest, inflation and travel budgets. Every one shows its assumptions, and the arithmetic is covered by automated tests.
Last reviewed 20 August 2026.