We are now over halfway through this decade of the twenties, and halfway through 2025. I’m kind of sad that this decade is passing by so fast. I’d been looking forward to finally reaching a decade with a catchy sounding ring to it, something better than saying “the teens” or “two-thousands” when describing a period of years this century. As a reader of history, the twenties, always had a nice ring to it and instantly makes me think of the 1920’s. There are some strange similarities between this “twenties” and that other “twenties” a century ago, the shiny technology, pandemics, booming economies; I can only hope our 2029 ends better than 1929.

The 1920’s certainly burst forth onto the world after the darkness of the Great War and Spanish Flu Pandemic. Cities glittered in light as electricity became mainstream. Automobiles filled the streets. Radios made communication instant. Planes flew overhead. The American dream glittered in department store windows and stock market returns. It was a time when everything felt possible for the well to do.

Now, a century later, we find ourselves halfway through another pivotal decade — the 2020s — also shaped by a global pandemic. The silence of lockdowns has given way to the noise of digital life. Where the 1920s had radios, we have algorithms; their jazz has become our streaming playlists and viral reels. A new age of machines is unfolding, not of metal and engines, but of code and consciousness. Artificial intelligence whispers promises and warnings in equal measure. Economies stutter, inflate, and surge in unpredictable patterns, while wealth concentrates in digital empires.

Culturally, we are equally as loud, if not louder, as that generation from the 1920’s; marching, posting, streaming our voices. The struggles of the past for equality, for identity, for belonging, still simmer, but under brighter lights and broader platforms. Just as the 1920s wrestled with the ending of the old world order post World War One, the 2020s are caught in the friction of tradition and transformation: gender roles evolving, borders questioned, truth itself debated in a sea of information and misinformation.

There is still a single thin thread dangling from the 1920’s to the 2020’s. It’s hard to glimpse, but it’s there, trying to tell us something.

The 1920’s encapsulated the budding consumer culture that has now engulfed our society. One hundred years later, consumer culture is still strong, especially so in America. I wonder if our version of the twenties will be so catchy and flashy as the last version a century ago? Probably not.

Who will our icons of this decade be?

Who were those people who lived during those roaring times one hundred years ago? These people in faded black and white photos. All of them are dead now, most of them nameless and lost to the pages of history, but the legacy of their time lives on.

For me, the 1920’s also serve as a warning that excess and abundance doesn’t last forever.

It wasn’t all glorified fun in the 1920’s. In other parts of the world; totalitarianism rose in Italy, the red terror rampaged in Russia, war in Greece, hyperinflation in Weimar Germany, extreme racism ravaged the US south. Two Immigration Acts of 1921 ( Emergency Quota Act) and 1924 (Johnson Reed Act) highlight the disdain for immigrants Americans held back then (another similarity to today).

I wonder how historians and culture will ultimately look back at our 2020’s? Our decade will certainly be well documented. But out of the mass of online and digital content from this era, what will remain? What will be picked out? Will this digital content even be around in the future?

Wouldn’t it be ironic if in some far off future, the 1920’s are the more documented era because of the hardcopies of everything from photographs and newspapers? While the 2020’s, if somehow the internet is lost, would be nearly entirely deleted with the internet?

2025 was always going to be a special year for me, solely because it was my milestone marker on this path towards financial independence. This is the year I was supposed to retire. Way back in 2020, when I started to consider FIRE as an option, my math worked out to hitting my FI Number in 2025 with a 7% return. So along with an FI Number to shoot for, I also had a target year.

My math worked out (helped by some awesome bull markets). I hit my original number in 2024, but in that time from when I decided to pursue FIRE to 2024, my FI Number had changed. I spend more annually today than I did in 2020. There’s a few reasons why I spend more now than in 2020. It’s vacations and inflation.

A good example is groceries.

In 2021, I spent $13,144 on groceries for the entire year. In 2024, I spent $18,934. This is a whopping increase of 44%! Grocery prices have always been a thorn in my side when it comes to my expense. I’ve experimented in the past with driving 8 miles farther to cheaper outlets like Walmart, but my after work obligations, traffic, and convenience have won out. The two biggest culprits in my increase are that my kids eat way more, and prices have gone up. I know I spend around $1500 per month on food, whereas before it was $1200.

All in my core spending has gone up around $10k annually. A $10k increase is another $250k needed, if we are using the 4% rule.

Then there’s the luxury expenses. Sailing. Vacations. Light roast coffee beans made by hipsters.

The biggest line item of my luxury expense is travel. Even through the most frugal hardcore saving of times, I’ve always spent on travel. It’s one of my biggest priorities and hobbies in life and gives me ultimate joy. Not just the time spent in x country, but the planning and anticipation that goes along with it is enjoyable for me. If I can, I love to also get in a novel or history book about the country I’m going to as part of my prep.

But it’s not cheap flying a family of four around the world. Prices have also dramatically gone up from flights to accommodations. This year I will likely spend $20k on travel. I went to Japan in April. Next week I’m flying down to San Diego/Baja California (using Southwest points and Venture X credits). In Oktober, I’m going back to Europe for two weeks (flying one way ‘free’ with chase points).

So my FI Number, inflation adjusted to 2025 and added travel is around $20k more a year than I originally had. Travel can obviously be cut down a bit. Especially so since my planned retirement is travel itself.

25 Years an Adult

My adulthood pretty much started at the beginning of this century. I turned 18 in 2001. I left home at 18, so I’ve been living on my own for the majority of this century (with a spell back home for a few months when I lost everything). I’ve done what I wanted to do so far in my life, which boils down to having a family and living in a good neighborhood. That’s all I’ve ever really wanted: security. A secure life, kids, a home, a good paying job.

Which brings to mind Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was a renowned psychologist famous for describing his theory of the order of human needs. If well being were to be boiled down into a few lines, this hierarchy describes what it takes. The pyramid that so famously associated with this hierarchy, one I’ve included below, wasn’t the creation of Maslow himself. In fact, according to Maslow, there is no rigid order in which the needs of humans must be met before another level can be unlocked or pursued. I think that’s important to remember. Everything is fluid.

Maslow did believe in an order of importance to the needs of humans. I’m not sure I’m at the top of this pyramid, even if I were, I wouldn’t see it as a permanent thing. But I do have some decent building blocks.

I think it’s impossible to base every decision you make with the thought that you must be meeting some predetermined hierarchy in order to be happy. Life is not that simple. Though for me, I think it’s healthy to reflect on this pyramid of needs from time to time. There are so many decisions we make, hundreds, maybe thousands of decisions daily, subconsciously trying to meet these needs. For me, I’m currently at the top of the bottom three, with the top two layers sometimes close, sometimes far, but within sight.

Saving money fills a huge section of this pyramid. Being a millionaire gives me the security I need, but it doesn’t fulfill the other essential human needs. Those are much harder to attain.

Looking back over my adulthood for the last 25 years, it’s been a tumultuous time, full of both personal challenges and accomplishments. I don’t think I’d have it any other way. After twenty something years, I’m doing alright…having endured the typical Millennial challenges that everyone in my generation has faced.

Bears and Bulls of the 21st Century

From a financial standpoint, the first 25 years of this century have also been tumultuous and extremely generous.

This century	Market Conditions	S&P 500 Return (in order of year)	Events / Themes
2000–2002	Bear Market	-10.1%, -13.0%, -23.4%	Dot-com crash, 9/11, early 2000s recession
2003–2007	Bull Market	+26.4%, +9.0%, +3.0%, +13.6%, +3.5%	Recovery, housing boom, low interest rates
2008–2009	Bear Market	-38.5%, +23.5%	Global Financial Crisis, Great Recession
2010–2019	Bull Market	Avg ~13.6%/year	Longest bull run in history, tech growth, low inflation (good times)
2020	Bear to Bull	-34% (Mar); +16.3% YTD	COVID crash and massive rebound, lockdowns, Fed stimulus
2021	Bull Market	+26.9%	Post-COVID reopening, meme stocks, strong GDP rebound
2022	Bear Market	-18.1%	Inflation surge, Fed rate hikes, recession fears
2023	Bull Market	+24.2%	AI/tech boom (Nvidia, MSFT), inflation cooling, soft landing narrative
2024–2025	Bullish (ongoing)	Gains continue	AI expansion, Fed rate cuts, moderating inflation, election uncertainty, tariffs

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All in, it’s been a good time to invest. Who knows if we will ever experience another sustained period of domestic market growth again? As I type this the markets march higher to all time highs while the latest economic data hints at trouble ahead.

Here’s a few updates from the Happily Disengaged household:

Bravo

My dog Bravo died a few weeks ago. He was a 16 year old Jack Russell. Even into old age that dog had a bunch of energy and was always playing and into something. I started to believe he’d never get old, but about a year ago, age finally caught up to him. In 2023 he started to get lazier than normal. Not worried about squirrels or chasing balls. This April is when things started to go downhill fast. He stopped eating. Lost a bunch of weight. Just wasn’t his normal self. Then he stopped wanting to drink water. When we took him in, he was in some serious pain, the vet said there wasn’t much we could do for him.

I’ve had that dog since I was 26 years old. He’s just always been around. And now he’s not. I think I’ve aged a bit since his passing. Bravo was a holdover from my youth; a life before kids, before home ownership, before I became serious at work, before I cared about investing. For my kids, they’ve just always known a house with a dog in it. He was my second Jack Russell. The first Jack Russell I owned, a dog named Rocky, I lost contact with and wasn’t around when he passed. So this is my first experience as an adult losing a dog. It’s different than when you lose a dog as a kid. I think it’s harder.

Summer Vacation

My oldest daughter graduated elementary school this year. There was a ceremony and celebration at her school.

This wasn’t a thing when I was in elementary school. You just moved on to the next grade. I don’t know when this started, but it was pretty cool to see and experience. I did feel really proud. So next year she’ll be in a middle school nearly right across the street from my house.

We do not have much planned for summer this year. My wife has a work thing in San Diego in July, me and the kids will go down and join. This was a hard decision because my PTO is low and I’m currently filling up a budget bucket for that fall trip to Europe I mentioned above. I used my Chase Sapphire points to get a free flight from United for the family to go to Munich in Oktober…this will be 3 years in a row making it out to my favorite beer festival in the world. My old self would have thought I was silly for going to the same place three years in a row, but my middle aged self says, when you like something, and can afford it, go for it.

Credit card points help too.

I’m finding out that SFO-Munich is the cheapest direct flight hub for United Airlines, to use as a jumping off point into Europe. Because this is my second international trip this year, it will be a ‘point’ heavy trip. My spending in Japan fueled the point earning that will pay for this trip. I just signed up for a Capital One Venture X card, and I’m planning to use the sign up bonus of 75k miles for the flight back. I’m also going to be using my Hilton Aspire card (I just upgraded from Surpass) for hotel stays.

All in, I will have taken one month of vacation from work in the year of 2025. I think that’s pretty good. I’m getting better at finding my balance of saving for the future and spending now on memories I’ll have with my kids when they’re young. For now, travel and family fun take priority.

Work

With my short commute to Berkeley and current role on my project team: life is pretty good right now. I get to leave a little earlier everyday than I used to in the past. I’ve taken on a more mentoring role at work. I deal more with ensuring my team is productive, following the right path, and client facing duties with the owner. I step in when I need to–most of this comes from having good people around me at work. It makes life easier and makes work fun.

I made a good decision to return to my old company back in 2022. All my years working there off and on since 2004 have helped with my network within the company. The “bosses”, vice presidents and senior managers, all have some connection to me from years past when they were up and coming, which really helps. The company in general hires good people, and those good people make my life easier.

There’s days where I can’t believe I’m in the position I am, after dreaming about getting here for so long. It’s what I always saw myself doing “at some point in the future”, well, that future is now. And I do not feel overwhelmed by it or in over my head. I’m exactly where I need to be based on my experience.

I realize that I get a lot of fulfillment from work: daily socialization, recognition, status, connection. I don’t take these for granted anymore. Work does provide benefits for me beyond a paycheck. I struggle accepting these facts, especially so because of my retire early plan and all.

But do I like work?

Sometimes.

Sometimes I hate it too.

I certainly don’t trust the company completely. I feel like they wouldn’t hesitate to let me go if the numbers didn’t work out, regardless of my connections or years with the company. I’ve seen it happen again recently. A twenty plus year, good employee, fired for no reason other than he was happy with his title and lacked ambition to get promoted.

And it’s a reminder that corporations can be a bit dystopian in a way. Everyone smiles and promotes the good the business does. Promotes how the company makes a difference. Everything is shiny and rainbows. Everyone is family and cares about you. Meanwhile, even if you are loyal and work hard, if you don’t fit the mold, if someone doesn’t like you, you get secretly axed. No company really cares about you or how many years you’ve spent with them. Sure, there might be individuals who care. Maybe they give out gold watches, company wide recognition, bonuses…but does the capital C company care about an individual? Fuck no, they only care about profits and legal protections. You either serve the machine or you get in the way of the machine.

This is why I save though.

Like Maslow says, safety is the second most pressing need for us humans after basic survival needs. My version of safety means not relying on a paycheck each week. In 2025 I might not be retired, but I don’t need to work. I want to work, and that’s the way it should be.

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What are your thoughts? 

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