By
Charlotte Cowles,
The Cut’s financial-advice columnist.
In addition to “My Two Cents,” she writes about work and parenting for the site. Previously, she was the senior features editor at Harper's Bazaar and a senior editor at the Cut. She was also the editorial director for MM.LaFleur. Her work has also been published in Glamour, Art in America, Politico, and other places.
Lauren, 39, retired four years ago after grinding through years of corporate work at a tech company and supplementing her income with any freelance gigs she could find. She didn’t get any crazy stock options or windfalls; instead, she’s a member of the FIRE movement, which preaches extreme frugality in service of saving and investing as much money as possible. She saved $1 million by the time she was 35; her husband is saving their second million, and he’s on track to retire soon too.
