Our Journey to Financial Freedom with Barista Fire From Dreaming to Doing

Financial freedom is a dream that so many people are trying to achieve and that is getting more and more popular as goal, yet most of us are not willing to consistently spend time, energy and especially money to actually get closer to that dream.

After our marriage in 2016 it became clear it was something that we wanted to really go for. But like many others, we started without a clear roadmap. Here’s how our journey to financial freedom with barista fire began, and how you can start yours, too.

How It All Started

We first met in 2013 during an international course through our employer. He’s Dutch, she’s Hungarian, and from that moment on, our lives became a beautiful mix of two cultures, constant travel, and shared dreams. With both of us working in finance, we understood the basics, but we had no clue about investing .

Despite our shared enthusiasm for the numbers, we weren't actually starting to invest. Always there was something more important, like buying our first house together and saving up for our wedding. Also we were (are) still young and haven't seen much of the world and all those social media posts are triggering some envy :)

Why Financial Freedom with Barista Fire ?

For us, financial freedom with barista fire isn’t just about having more money—it’s about choices. We have seen friends and family struggle with paying the bills, dreaming about amazing trips or not be able to keep the house after divorce. We want the option to completely uproot our lifes, not limited by our financial situation. It means having the means to live a year in any country if we wishes to do so, be able to help friends and family to reach their dreams, and enjoy simple pleasures, whether it’s dining out or a cozy night in with our favorite takeout.

Financial independence is not just about numbers and spreadsheets; it’s about making money work for you so that you can focus on what truly matters. Our goal is to reach a point where our income isn’t tied to a job or a salary, giving us the ability to make decisions based on happiness and fulfillment (or sudden impulses ;) ).

The Turning Point

In the beginning we had no idea what we wanted to achieve or how we wanted to achieve it. We just wanted to stop working at fast as possible. In 2016 we started to educate ourselves on the topic. But it was still not in a structured way and more of less a coincidence.

After our wedding in the summer of 2016, we were ask to train an audit team in India (Hyderabad) for 6 months, we would both have a team of 25 persons to train.

Beside that this period was for us the most fun of our career, it was also the period we learned the most, personally, professionally and also regarding investing.

Normally we say we want to read a lot, but we never do (damn Netflix and social media!). But in India we spent every day more than a hour per day in a taxi and used that time to read all kind of books, including investment books.

Especially Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Richest man in Babylon really inspired us. We quickly realized that true financial freedom requires a strategy. We continued educating ourselves more deeply—reading more books and listening podcasts.

We decided to reassess our finances and our plan and retire early (at 50) with barista fire (but only after India, "Because first we need to enjoy ourselves, we are only here once!"). We decided that we needed to determine what financial freedom meant to us and mapped out the steps to get there (Which we only did 7 years later actually!).

This process of self-discovery and financial planning became the foundation for our website, where we now share our experiences, mistakes, and insights to help others navigate their own paths to financial independence.

How You Can Start Your Own Journey

If you’re feeling stuck, know that you’re not alone. If you have made mistakes, know that all the mistake have been made by either us or somebody else. There is no mistake you cannot overcome. Getting further in a financial journey is not limited to the lucky few. Many people dream of financial freedom and fire but don’t know where to start, or are too afraid to start.

Here are some steps to help you begin your journey:

1. Define Your Why – What does financial freedom mean to you? More time with family? The ability to travel? Early retirement? Identifying your motivation is key. Don't let your motivation be determined by somebody else. Everybody is different and that is okay. Without a strong why this journey will be almost impossible because the journey to financial freedom can be long and boring at times.

2. Assess Your Finances – Take an honest look at your income, expenses, savings, and debts. Understanding where you stand financially is the first step to improvement. In our opinion always focus first on debt, getting rid of your debt is the most freeing feeling you can achieve.

3. Set Clear Goals – Whether it’s saving a specific amount, investing consistently, or paying off debt, having defined targets will keep you on track. But try to start off small. Set easy achievable goals in the beginning. Our first goal for example was, increasing our income with 1 euro per month (which means an investment of 250 euro per month for around 5% interest). It is as simple, achievable and very clear goal and because you can easily achieve it, you will be more motivated to continue.

4. Educate Yourself – Read books, follow financial blogs, listen to podcasts, and learn about different investment strategies. You will learn of other peoples mistakes and you will learn to optimize your finances. (But just starting and keeping it simple is waaaay more important)

5. Track Your Progress – Use budgeting tools, spreadsheets, or financial dashboards to monitor your journey. We don't think you have to start with that, because it can be overwhelming at first. So just start with saving a fix amount, then investing a fix amount, and then tracking everything.

   
   

Join Us on the Path to Financial Freedom

Whether you’re just beginning or looking to refine your financial independence strategy, we’re here to share our journey and learn together. Our goal is to make financial freedom fun, achievable, and inspiring.

We invite you to follow along as we navigate this adventure—sharing our wins, challenges, and lessons learned. Together, let’s take control of our financial future and turn dreams into reality.

Are you ready to start your journey? Let’s do this together!