Rebecca Neubauer

Personal Finance Experience

Rebecca realized she needed to learn about personal finance when she graduated from college with $100,000 in student debt. She started a blog in 2016 about her debt-free journey and the money management lessons she learned along the way.

Rebecca initially planned to achieve Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) and retire by the age of 35. However, after a serious medical scare when she was 23, she realized that she did not want to pursue accelerated deferred-life plans like retirement or even early retirement. Instead, she committed to enjoying her life during a slower, more sustainable journey to financial independence.

She paid off $67,000 of debt in less than two years, saved and invested $100,000 by the time she was 26, and reached CoastFI with her husband in 2020. Rebecca left her corporate project management job to start her own business as a personal finance and science freelance writer.

She also practices sustainability and alternative living to save money on housing and travel. Rebecca lived and traveled in a self-converted Sprinter van for a year, and is now building a homestead, constructing a house with her husband, and growing a perennial food forest. Through these projects, she's developed many skills and saved thousands of dollars.