Financial Freedom Blog

Take control of your money.Buy back your life.

Practical personal finance — and one founder's honest journey, built in public.

Dennis Vymer

I'm building MFFT solo and sharing the real numbers along the way.

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My path to Financial Freedom [FIRE]YNAB vs Monarch vs Rocket Money vs Mint 2026 (Tested)ChatGPT Personal Finance Review: 4 Red Flags Before Linking

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Is Rental Property Passive Income? I Own a Second House, and It's a Part-Time Job I Never Applied For
My Journey

Is Rental Property Passive Income? I Own a Second House, and It's a Part-Time Job I Never Applied For

Is rental property passive income? I own a second house, so no. Landlord-hour estimates run 3 a month to 31 — here's the division almost nobody does.

Aug 16, 202616 min readDennis Vymer

Start Here

13 articles

New to personal finance? Foundations, first steps, and quick wins.

Safe Withdrawal Rate 2026: Is the 4% Rule Still Right?

Morningstar says the safe withdrawal rate in 2026 is 3.9%; the 4% rule's inventor now says 4.7-5.5%. Here's why both are right, and how to find your number.

Jun 18, 202625 min readDennis Vymer
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Master Your Money

53 articles

Budgeting, saving, and everyday money habits that stick.

Job Hopping vs Staying in 2026: Both Camps Are Timing the Market

I mistook a good year in the market for a knack once, and it cost me. Job hopping vs staying is that trade with a résumé: the switching premium hit a record low in January, then widened again by July.

Aug 14, 202615 min readDennis Vymer
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Learn To Invest

11 articles

Investing explained from zero — terms, accounts, and strategies.

Your Fund Made 9.9% a Year. Its Investors Made 8.7%. I Used to Be the Investor Return Gap.

Morningstar says the average dollar earned 8.7% a year while the funds earned 9.9%. I was that gap once, with a crypto position I bought late and sold scared. What the investor return gap really measures, why the headline is overstated, and why the fix is fewer decisions, not more discipline.

Aug 13, 202615 min readDennis Vymer
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Invest Smart

12 articles

Deeper dives for investors: portfolios, risk, and market insights.

I Bonds vs TIPS in 2026: The Inflation Hedge I Almost Bought Twice

In 2022 I almost broke my boring autoinvest to chase a 9.62% I Bond. In 2026 the sirens are singing again, so I ran the real numbers on I Bonds vs TIPS. The math surprised me, and my answer wasn't 'buy either.'

Aug 8, 202613 min readDennis Vymer
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The personal side

My Journey

7 articles

Personal stories and lessons from the road to financial freedom.

Is Rental Property Passive Income? I Own a Second House, and It's a Part-Time Job I Never Applied For

Is rental property passive income? I own a second house, so no. Landlord-hour estimates run 3 a month to 31 — here's the division almost nobody does.

Aug 16, 202616 min readDennis Vymer
Show all 7 articles

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