You should be happy with every day that goes by where the US government doesn’t buy bitcoin.

I have it in good authority that you are not bullish enough.

It’s cute to think the Fed is independent. The reality is that they exist at the pleasure of the government and will always fall back to facilitating its whims.

Buying a rental property is an extremely risky, difficult, and highly leveraged way to make an extra $300 per month.

🏰 Remember grinding through Mario levels as a kid? Personal finance is like Mario in the real world: • Collecting coins🪙 • Fighting bosses (debt, inflation) 🐉 • Seeking power-ups (side hustles, investing) ⭐ • Searching for secret warp pipes 🚇 That’s why this week’s FIRE BTC issue compares FIRE + bitcoin to playing Super Mario. 👉 FIRE gives you the map to reach the castle. 👉 Bitcoin gives you the warp pipe and Star Power. In the fiat game, the princess is always in another castle. With FIRE + bitcoin, you can finally save her. 🔗 Read the full newsletter here:

🍄 Pipe Dreams

FIRE BTC #43 - Pursuing FIRE like Super Mario

Remember grinding through Mario levels as a kid? 🍄 Personal finance is the same: 🔸 Collecting coins 🔸 Fighting bosses 🔸 Seeking power-ups 🔸 Finding secret warp pipes You’ve grinded this far. Don’t let Bowser steal your coins at the castle gate. 🐉💸 A new FIRE BTC drops tomorrow! Subscribe free before the next level opens up 👇 firebtc.substack.com

As public companies add bitcoin to their balance sheets, index funds gain exposure by default. That means passive capital flows into these stocks, fueling more bitcoin buys. It’s a feedback loop, and it’s happening in real time. This flywheel is already spinning. 📈 Index inclusion → passive flows 🪙 Passive flows → more BTC buys 🔁 More BTC buys → price appreciation I break it down in this week’s FIRE BTC newsletter. 🔗

🛌 The Era of Passive Bitcoin Flows

FIRE BTC #42 - Bitcoin exposure for everyone

💧 The era of passive bitcoin flows has begun. 401(k)s, ETFs, and corporate treasuries are piping bitcoin into portfolios. Millions will soon own BTC without lifting a finger — or even knowing it. This flywheel is unstoppable: Index buying → more BTC on balance sheets → bigger index weights → more inflows → repeat. Even the FIRE crowd stacking $VTI already owns bitcoin today, whether they like it or not.

🛌 The Era of Passive Bitcoin Flows

FIRE BTC #42 - Bitcoin exposure for everyone

gm You can just stay humble and stack sats

A $9 TRILLION retirement system is about to collide with the hardest money on earth. When 401(k) plans can buy bitcoin, the flow will be automatic. The bid will be steady. And the effects could be massive. The Trump administration just cleared the way for employers to offer bitcoin in 401(k) plans. That means steady, automated contributions could start stacking sats every paycheck—whether the market’s up, down, or sideways. Why does this matter? 401(k)s are a core pillar of retirement planning. Tax advantages, employer matches, and high contribution limits make them powerful. Now, those same mechanics could start funneling billions into bitcoin. Quick 401(k) 101 ✅ Tax perks (Traditional or Roth) ✅ Employer match (free money!) ✅ Higher contribution limits ($23,500 in 2025) ✅ Creditor protection ⚠️ Locked until 59½, limited investment choices, and fees to watch out for. For people chasing FIRE, liquidity matters. I grab the match (always), optimize taxes if it makes sense, and keep the rest flexible—usually in spot bitcoin I control. Some 401(k)s offer a “brokerage window.” If yours does, you can buy bitcoin ETFs or bitcoin treasury companies (MSTR, etc.) It’s not cold storage, but it’s the next best thing. Now imagine bitcoin isn’t just a hidden option. It’s right there on the menu next to the S&P 500 fund and target date funds. Most people will “set it and forget it.” Contributions and company matches flow in—creating a constant, passive bid. And there will be other second-order effects... 🔸 HR teams & plan admins have to learn about Bitcoin. 🔸 Some get orange-pilled just doing their jobs. 🔸 Seeing BTC outperform sparks personal buys in IRAs, brokerages, cold storage. $9T sits in 401(k)s today with zero bitcoin exposure. Even a 1% shift over time = $90B in new automated demand. Week after week. Paycheck after paycheck. Bitcoin in your 401(k) is yet another channel of bitcoin adoption playing out in real time. Read the full breakdown + subscribe here:

💰 Bitcoin in your 401(k)

FIRE BTC #41 - A new $9 trillion source of demand is coming online

Chad knows all about bitcoin, and it’s going to zero.

"Bitcoin is just digital Beanie Babies."

Most people think FIRE is just about retiring early. But it’s really about one thing: Freedom from dependency. To get there, you need a clear plan. Here are the 3 pillars of a FIRE strategy that actually works—plus the assets I use to fight the broken system. 🧵 The “Why” behind FIRE I spent 12+ years in Corporate America. Good pay. Smart coworkers. Comfortable life. But I still felt stuck. Stuck in traffic, stuck in meetings, stuck in a career I didn’t intentionally choose. FIRE was an escape and a way to design my future. Building Block 1 – Know your expenses The first step in any FIRE plan? 📊 Know exactly what your lifestyle costs. Break it down: housing, food, healthcare, subscriptions, kids, travel—everything. You can’t hit a target you haven’t defined. And FIRE means replacing your income with your portfolio. Be ruthless about spending Once you know your costs, separate the wasteful from the essential. Cut what doesn’t matter. Trim what you can. Build an intentional spending plan. Not because you want to live cheap…but because every dollar saved = more freedom faster. Building Block 2 – Pay yourself first Treat your savings rate like a bill. Earn $5,000/month? → Save 10% = $500 → Live on the other $4,500 Start small and build up. The more you save, the sooner you’re financially independent. You’re the CEO of You, Inc. FIRE reframes your personal finances as a business. Your real job? Maximize retained earnings. That’s the capital you’ll use to buy your freedom. Building Block 3 – Buy good assets You can’t save your way to FIRE with dollars alone. Inflation eats fiat. Just look at: 🏠 Housing 🩺 Medical care 🎓 Education Everything gets more expensive. Fiat is a melting ice cube The cost of essential goods is exploding. 🔸 Housing has more than 3x’d in 25 years 🔸 Medical care keeps rising 🔸 Education? Through the roof You need assets that preserve and grow purchasing power. Fiat is a melting ice cube The cost of essential goods is exploding. 🔸 Housing has more than 3x’d in 25 years 🔸 Medical care keeps rising 🔸 Education? Through the roof You need assets that preserve and grow purchasing power. Why I chose bitcoin Most FIRE folks stick to stocks and real estate. But I went all-in on bitcoin. ✅ Fixed supply ✅ Unchangeable rules ✅ Immune to political games It’s the hardest asset on Earth. And it accelerated my FIRE path drastically. My mantra... 💵 Earn 💰 Save 🧱 Stack sats 🔁 Repeat Do this with intention and consistency, and you'll wake up one day with work-optional freedom. You don't need to retire early, but you need to own your time. Want to build a FIRE plan rooted in financial sovereignty? Wondering how bitcoin fits in? 🔥 Read the full post + subscribe for free weekly insights:

🛠️ FIRE Fundamentals

Issue #2 - The building blocks for financial independence

🚨 In January 2018, Bitcoin had just 100x’d in two years. It then crashed 50% in a matter of days. And one of FIRE’s biggest influencers wrote a piece titled: “Why Bitcoin is Stupid.” Here's why that moment—and that take—was so important. 🧵 When bitcoin moves, people notice. In late 2017, it had exploded from ~$200 to ~$20,000. The hype was deafening. And the critics came out in force. One of them: Mr. Money Mustache, a giant in the FIRE community. His post was dismissive, smug, & very wrong. But I get it. Bitcoin does seem stupid at first. A bunch of internet nerds mining magic coins? Sounds like digital beanie babies. Or tulips. 🌷 But that initial skepticism is exactly why bitcoin works. Bitcoin IS stupid…and it doesn’t try to be clever. 🔸 Fixed supply: 21 million 🔸 No central control 🔸 No bailout buttons 🔸 No fancy “smart contract” distractions It’s brutally simple—and that’s what makes it unbreakable. It took me years to figure that out. Here’s what my personal bitcoin timeline looked like: 🤔 2011: "Interesting" 😐 2014: Bought some. Stopped. 🙃 2016: Watched it pass gold parity. Still hesitated. 🧐 2018–19: Finally did the work. 😎 2020+: Fully convicted. 100% of excess capital to BTC. That delay cost me millions. I never thought bitcoin was dumb...but I definitely didn’t take it seriously enough. And lots of people fall into the same trap. Especially those in the FIRE movement. FIRE taught me the value of long-term thinking. Bitcoin gave me a tool to accelerate it. I went from hoping to hit FIRE in 10 years…to doing it in less than 5. Why? Because I switched from index funds to bitcoin as my primary savings vehicle. Bitcoin is stupid. It’s supposed to be. It can’t be changed, influenced, or corrupted. It just keeps ticking along—offering anyone, anywhere, the same rules and the same opportunity. That’s the magic and the beauty of it. If you're on a path to FIRE, or curious what bitcoin has to do with financial independence, then my newsletter is for you. 📩 Read the full issue and subscribe for free:

Why Bitcoin is Stupid

Issue #1

“Paying off my mortgage gives me peace of mind.” Sounds smart, right? It’s actually one of the most expensive emotional decisions you can make. Here’s why paying off your mortgage early makes you poorer (and less free). A 30-year fixed mortgage isn’t a ball and chain. It’s one of the best financial tools available: ✅ Fixed terms for decades ✅ Predictable payment ✅ Inflation eats away at its real cost Time and debasement work in your favor. Prepaying your mortgage locks up capital in bricks. That kills: ❌ Growth ❌ Flexibility ❌ Freedom And for what? A feeling. Let’s look at the math. Have $100K? Option 1: Pay mortgage at 5% “return” Option 2: S&P 500 (~10% historical) Option 3: Bitcoin (conservative 20%) After 10 years: 🏠 $163K 📈 $259K ₿ $619K “Peace of mind” could cost you $500K! And it gets worse: Broad money supply (M2) grew 7% annually over the last decade. Your “guaranteed” 5% return is actually a -2% real loss after inflation. “But it makes me feel safe.” Nope. You’re trading one risk for another: ✅ Less debt ❌ Less liquidity Need cash? You can’t peel off a piece of siding. You’ll refinance or sell...often at the worst time. Smart money = options. Keep the mortgage. Invest the difference. That gives you: ✅ Bigger portfolio that compounds ✅ Liquid reserves to cover mortgage if life happens More liquid assets = more security. FIRE + bitcoin is about freedom and optionality. You don’t get that by locking up cash for your feels. You get it by keeping your wealth working and outpacing debt. Poorer isn’t safer. This week’s FIRE BTC issue breaks down the full math and mindset shift: 👉 Why “peace of mind” is a costly illusion 👉 Why a mortgage is your friend 👉 How to build security without killing flexibility Read the full post + subscribe here:

🧘 Peace of Mind

FIRE BTC #40 - Why paying off your mortgage early makes you poorer

🧘 New FIRE BTC is live: Paying off your mortgage early feels safe. It feels like peace of mind. But poorer isn’t safer. This week: 🔸 Why mortgage debt is your friend 🔸 The math behind “peace of mind” 🔸 Reframing flexibility as security 🔗 Read the full issue here: firebtc.substack.com/p/peace-of-mind And subscribe to FIRE BTC for weekly ideas on financial independence, bitcoin, and building real freedom.

I just did a short demo of the Apple Vision Pro, and it was…. RIDICULOUS Like, ridiculously good. Damn.

We might hit Longevity Escape Velocity sooner than you think. This week’s FIRE BTC just hit. How will living for 300 years instead of 80 affect your life and your finances? I explore this thought experiment here 👇

♾️ Bitcoin and the End of Time Scarcity

FIRE BTC #39 - What if you live forever?

Don’t forget to subscribe free!

Most people treat FIRE like a finish line—you’re either free or you’re not. But what if you could front-load the hard part and start living free sooner? Here’s how a 4-year sprint with bitcoin can buy you decades of freedom. Introducing The Stacking Sprint... The traditional FIRE mindset is all marathon. Grind for 10–15 years. Delay gratification. Save every dollar. But marathons are hard to sustain. They wear you down. And worse, they often delay freedom longer than necessary. What if you sprinted instead? I call it the Stacking Sprint. A focused, 4-year stretch of ruthless saving and intentional living. Why 4 years? 🔸 It aligns with bitcoin’s halving cycle 🔸 It’s short enough to stay motivated 🔸 It’s long enough to change your life Here’s the secret: In the early days, every sat you save matters more. A 10% boost on 0.1 BTC is just $1,200. You can grind that out in weeks. But a 10% boost on 5 BTC? That’s $60,000. Much harder. And that’s if bitcoin’s price stays flat. It rarely does. This is the law of diminishing returns. The bigger your stack, the harder it is to grow through brute-force saving. Each new sat makes less of a difference. Your effort becomes less efficient over time. Unless…You sprint when stacking is easy. That’s why the Stacking Sprint works. You maximize savings when it matters most, then let compounding and bitcoin do the rest. Once your foundation is solid, you can loosen up. Spend more freely. Say yes to life. Without sabotaging your FIRE goal. It’s a combo of math and psychology. Most people who “make it” in FIRE still struggle to enjoy their money. They never shift gears. The Stacking Sprint builds that shift in from the start: 1️⃣ Front-load the hard part 2️⃣ Then intentionally coast Sprint first. Coast later. The Stacking Sprint reframes FIRE as a two-phase game: Stack with focus, then enjoy with confidence. Let your bitcoin stack compound. Let your lifestyle expand. And get to freedom faster. You don’t need to “hit your number” to start living well. You just need a plan that acknowledges the inflection point. That’s the power of the Stacking Sprint. It gives you permission to live like you’re free—even before you technically are. Want to explore this more? I break it down in detail in the latest issue of my newsletter FIRE BTC: The Stacking Sprint -- Four Years to Financial Freedom with Bitcoin Read the full post + subscribe here:

🏃‍♂️💨 The Stacking Sprint

FIRE BTC #38 - Four years to financial freedom

At some point in your FIRE journey, the momentum of your savings starts doing the heavy lifting, and adding more doesn’t move the needle as much.