THE COMPOUND
EFFECT
"The Community That Retires Before The Headline Fades."
$1.2M NW at 34
Software engineer, FAANG exit
D. Nakamura — Seattle, WA
Coast FI in 26 months
70% savings rate, no regrets
M. & R. Okafor — Austin, TX
March 2024 — First free month
ICU nurse, 8 years of compounding
T. Lindqvist — Portland, OR
$847K at 31
Mega backdoor Roth, index-only
P. Ramirez — Brooklyn, NY
This is not a subreddit.
It is not a course.
Compound is a working studio. A private atelier where the people who've already done the hard math — the ones who've maxed the mega backdoor Roth, run the Monte Carlo at 3am on a Sunday, and actually handed in their resignation letters — come to refine what comes next.
"A 70% savings rate buys something no PTO policy ever could."
T. Lindqvist — ICU Nurse, Portland
847
Active members
Engineers, nurses, dual-income couples — all running the numbers.
$2.3M
Median member NW
Among members who've reached their FI number.
The rhythm here alternates between intimate and rigorous. A member's handwritten FI number on a napkin beside a coast FI calculator. A withdrawal strategy thread next to a portfolio breakdown that reads like a short story. Every number tells the story of a life being quietly, deliberately reclaimed.
What's inside
- Withdrawal strategy workshops
- Savings rate leaderboard
- Coast FI projection calculators
- Tax optimization deep-dives
- Monte Carlo simulation threads
- Member portfolio autopsies
A glimpse through the door.
Three cards unlocked. The rest require a seat at the table.
The 4% Rule Is Dead. Here's What We Use Instead.
A 3-part deep-dive into variable withdrawal strategies — guardrails method, Kitces ratchet, and dynamic spending floors. With real portfolio stress-tests from 2000, 2008, and 2022.
Posted by J. Nakamura · 47 replies · Pinned
My FI Number, On A Napkin
$1,847,000
Written at a diner in 2019. Hit it in March 2024.
T. Lindqvist · Portland, OR
Savings Rate Rankings · Feb 2026
Coast FI Calculator
✓ You've already reached Coast FI.
Run your own projection →
From $0 to $1.2M: Every Decision Documented
Mega Backdoor Roth: The Complete Playbook
Sunday Morning Simulations: Q1 2026
Handed In My Notice at 38: A Retrospective
You've seen the room. Now claim your key.
Numbers from the field.
$284,600
Coast FI number hit
"Coast FI reached. Still going to work tomorrow — but now it's optional."
Amara Osei
Staff Engineer · San Francisco
4.7 years
To FI at current rate
"The withdrawal workshop changed how I think about sequence-of-returns risk. Completely."
Derek Callahan
Senior PM · Chicago
68%
Combined savings rate
"Two nurses, one spreadsheet, one date. April 2027. We're on track."
Mia & James Tran
RN + Anesthesiologist · Houston
Every number above represents a life being quietly, deliberately reclaimed.
Yours is next.
Claim Your Seat
at the Table.
Founding members get permanent access to every tool, every workshop thread, and every portfolio autopsy — at a price that never increases. We're opening 63 more seats before the door closes.
Lifetime rate — never repriced
All tools & calculators, no paywalls
Private portfolio review threads
Monthly withdrawal strategy workshops
Access to the savings rate leaderboard
"I ran the Monte Carlo on a Sunday and handed in my notice on a Monday. This community was the signal in the noise."
P. Ramirez — Principal Engineer, Brooklyn