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For years Alejandro and Brady Muñoz followed a straightforward financial playbook: keep expenses low and save aggressively in order to buy themselves freedom later in life. They weren’t chasing luxury, but flexibility in the form of early retirement.
The Minnesota couple were committed to the FIRE movement, shorthand for “financial independence, retire early,” and for a while the strategy worked exactly as planned. Then life intervened, the couple told The Wall Street Journal, in ways many young families will recognize (1).
Two children arrived, paired with a job relocation, and the household shifted from two incomes to one. The dream didn’t disappear, but the timeline suddenly looked far less certain.
Before having kids, both Muñozes worked as engineers and lived on one salary while the other was put toward investments and retirement savings, according to The Journal. Today, Alejandro, 31, earns about $113,000 a year as an engineer and brings in roughly $9,000 more from part-time work at a local fire department. Brady, 27, cares for the couple’s 2-year-old and newborn after stepping away from her career.
Despite the income shift, they’ve built meaningful savings. Alejandro’s 401(k) holds about $220,000, bolstered by a strong employer match, and a second 401(k) contains another $140,000. They also have roughly $80,000 invested in brokerage accounts, $54,000 spread across two health savings accounts and about $52,000 in various IRAs. About $1,500 sits in a savings account, along with around $20,000 allocated to certificates of deposit. They also have 529 college savings plans for their children, funded mostly through gifts from friends and family.
As for expenses, they live in a home valued just over $400,000. Their mortgage runs about $2,800 a month, including property taxes and homeowners insurance. Outside of their mortgage, the only debt they carry is a $6,000 no-interest medical loan that comes with a $450 monthly payment. Their monthly expenses, which cover groceries, utilities, internet and phone service, transportation, car insurance, health insurance, child-related costs and eating out, come to around $2,650. The couple also gives around $730 each month to charities.
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