Side hustles · Saving · Investing
Money advice for people with a day job.
I'm Ryan — a full-time engineer and working dad. I test every tool and tactic on my own money first, then write up what actually held.
Your freedom number
$1.24M
Years to get there
17.2
Growth, not deposits
+$1.01M
One worked example — $1,100 a month at 7%. Run your own numbers, free and without an email.
Pick your problem
Where do you need help?
Six paths, in the order that actually works — stop the leaks, earn a little more, kill the debt, then let the market do the boring part.
Earn more
Side hustles and online income, including the flops.
9 guidesPay off debt
Snowball or avalanche, and which survives real life.
Read the planSave money
Cut $200 a month without living like a monk.
4 guidesGrow money
Index funds, brokers, dividends. The boring part.
5 guidesBudgeting
Fifteen minutes, and it survives contact with life.
Start hereFree tools
Three calculators and a quiz. No email, no catch.
Open the toolsFree · no email required
Run your own numbers before you trust mine
Three calculators, built by an engineer rather than a marketing team. Nothing gets gated, nothing asks for a signup.
- Compound interest, with real inflation adjustment
- Your freedom number and the date you could walk
- A two-minute quiz that matches a hustle to your life
Compound interest
$400/mo · 20 years · 7% return
Ending balance
$208,371
You put in
$96,000
Market did
+117%
Freedom number
$1,240,000
17.2 years to go
The framework
Six steps to financial freedom
Take control of your money, build wealth, and live the life you actually want. Roughly in this order — each one makes the next easier.
Manage your money
You can't manage what you don't measure. Work out what's coming in and what's going out, then give every dollar a name and a destination.
Save a buffer
Pay yourself first, then live on the rest. Start with one month of expenses, moved automatically — enough that a flat tire doesn't become a credit card balance.
Kill the expensive debt
Anything over about 8%. That's a return you can count on, which the market can't promise. Smallest balance first — finishing beats optimizing. Take the full 401(k) match first, though: free money outranks everything.
Earn more money
There's no ceiling on what you can earn — only on what you can save. Cut what you don't need, then add one income — one, done properly, not five at once.
Grow your money
Time in the market beats timing the market. Top the buffer up to three months, then index funds, consistently, whatever the market happens to be doing that week.
Give
Money serves something bigger than you. Your church, your community, a charity, your time. This one doesn't wait for step five — it's the point of the other five, not the reward for finishing them.
Start here
Ways to actually make money
Ranked by how fast you can start, not by how much I get paid to recommend them.
The 28 Best Ways to Make Money Online
Every method worth considering, with honest notes on which ones are a slog.
Side Hustles for Busy Parents
Ten that genuinely fit into evenings, after the house goes quiet.
How to Start a Blog and Make Money
The full setup, start to first dollar. This is the one I actually did.
Free download
The money sheet and dashboard I actually use
- Budget, bills, debts and investments in one sheet
- Debt payoff dates, and what paying extra saves you
- Built for Google Sheets: free, nothing to install
- Comes with a sample year, so you see it working before you type a thing
Straight to your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime. I don't sell lists.
Screens from the sheet itself, showing its sample year — not anyone's real accounts.