
Your ‘freedom number' might be smaller than you think
Anna Burgess Yang is the author of Work Better, a newsletter about the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn't suck.
Listen to this Article More info
0:00 / 3:33
You dream of quitting a toxic job, pivoting to a new career, or starting your own business. But there's a financial reality to such a move: can you afford to earn less?
In 2021, I quit a job as an executive at a tech company. I pivoted into content marketing and journalism, and, initially, I was earning about one-third of my previous salary. But I had spent months looking at our household budget, and was prepared to earn even less.
When you're determined to make a change, you'll look at your finances differently. You should calculate your 'freedom number' and understand the changes you need to make in your budget.
Subscribe to Work Better. Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn't suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more visit workbetter.media.
SIGN UP
Keep in mind that your freedom number is not your final destination. It's a transitional change in your income to pursue the career you want.
Why your freedom number matters
Your freedom number is the bare minimum you need to cover your essentials: rent/mortgage, groceries, insurance, utilities, etc. It's not the same as what you're spending to support your current lifestyle.
Calculating your freedom number forces you to think about what you're willing to give up—even temporarily.
Let's say you're earning $100,000 today and think you need to earn $80,000. But once you go through the numbers and cut everything nonessential, you might find that the number is far below $80,000. Knowing that makes it easier to navigate a career change, because you know what you need to get by.
The bare minimum is your freedom number.
Closing the gap in your freedom number
If you don't think you'll earn enough to cover your monthly expenses, there are ways to close the gap between your income and your freedom number.
You might build up some savings and draw from that account when you make your move. Or you could supplement your income with a side hustle.
advertisement
When I first changed careers, I took a new full-time job and freelanced on the side. The combination of my new salary and my freelance earnings helped me reach my freedom number. It meant working in the evenings and on weekends, but it was worth it to make the change.
Keep in mind that a lower income might be temporary. Within eight months of starting a new career, I took a new job at a much higher salary. I just needed to get a bit of experience on my resume, and then many more doors opened for me.
As you settle into your career change and earn more, you can add back the things you enjoyed about your lifestyle. The temporary squeeze is worth it to find a freedom number that makes a lot of career options possible.
Subscribe to Work Better. Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn't suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more visit workbetter.media.
SIGN UP
The super-early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, July 25, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anna Burgess Yang is part of the Creator Network at Fast Company, covering topics like work culture and the intersection of technology and work (including the impacts of AI).. Anna is a former tech executive who spent more than 15 years at a financial technology company, including roles as a product manager and the Director of Customer Success More
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNET
38 minutes ago
- CNET
I Leveled Up My Retirement Strategy Thanks to AI. Here's How
Some retirement tools have AI features that can help you craft the right plan for you. Getty Images/Viva Tung/CNET Three years ago, I left my cushy corporate job as a software engineer to write and explore my creative projects. I wasn't making as much as I had before, and sadly, I no longer had my shiny 10% employer 401(k) match either. I knew that leaving the corporate world meant I wouldn't be able to put as much money toward savings and retirement during my first few years freelancing. I still saved regardless, but I needed help figuring out how my retirement plans would shift with career changes. Come to find, artificial intelligence tools were excellent for this. Some AI tools can do a lot to help you plan for retirement. They can take your financial data and forecast retirement trends -- like job losses and market fluctuations. And the right prompts and queries can determine how much money you need to retire by a certain age, and even calculate your spending power at the time of retirement. But I found that AI has limitations. Here's how you can use AI to prepare for retirement and what I recommend if you're leaning on robots to help you plan for your financial future. How to use AI for retirement planning Different AI tools use different machine-learning models, and it's important to know which one to use and when. ChatGPT is a large language model useful for answering financial questions and performing dynamic planning through prompts and queries. For example, I like that ChatGPT can help project retirement timelines, especially when expenses, income, or taxes change. It may not be a financial adviser, but it's a great starting point when you can't afford one. However, ChatGPT is a general-purpose chatbot with limited capabilities compared to the AI tools used within banking and retirement software. The AI models that banks use in retirement apps are ideal for automated portfolio optimization and other financial tasks. So which one is best? It depends on how you want AI to help you plan for retirement. To get the most out of ChatGPT, use specific queries and include all of the important factors the model needs to analyze and answer your questions correctly. For example, I used the following query in ChatGPT: "If I currently have $200,000 saved for retirement at age 35 and want to retire at age 55, how much will I have at that time? Forecast with a monthly contribution of $500 and 10% interest rate." ChatGPT's response: "If you're 35 years old with $200,000 saved for retirement, contribute $500 a month, and earn an average 10% annual return (compounded monthly), by the time you reach age 55, you would have approximately $1,845,299." Then from there, I can ask clarifying questions to dig deeper, like: "How will that change if I can only save $200 a month?" "If my projected monthly expenses for my retirement age are $5,000 a month, what will that increase to in 20 years due to inflation?" "What would $1,845,299 be worth in 2045?" "If I have $1,845,299 at retirement and want it to last 20 years, how much should I spend per month? How would that change if I add $3,000 a month from Social Security?" An expert's take Jannese Torres, a fellow CNET Money Expert Review Board member and author of Financially Lit!, recommends using AI tools for financial guidance, too. Mainly, because of the transparency. "The truth is, AI is pulling from massive amounts of financial data and research to give you clear, actionable insights," Torres says. "It's not emotional, it doesn't have sales quotas, and it's not trying to upsell you on some shady investment like some unscrupulous 'advisers' do. That's a big win in my book." Torres pointed out that most of us didn't grow up learning how to plan for retirement. And figuring it out on our own can be overwhelming. That's where large language models can help, including ChatGPT and some of the tools I recommend. "It's like having a 24/7 money nerd who can break things down in plain English, no jargon included. You can ask anything, from 'What's a Roth IRA?' to 'How much do I need to retire by 55? and get an answer that makes sense," Torres says. The AI tools I trust to help plan my retirement Even though AI can help me plan for retirement, I still keep my money and data protected with my two trusted financial tools. My IRA and Roth IRA are with Fidelity, and I also have a brokerage account with M1 Finance. That being said, here are a few AI-featured tools that I use alongside the apps and tools I trust. AI tools and features I use for retirement planning Tool What it's used for My local credit union Monthly budget forecasting, spending analysis, and I'm able to securely connect my financial data to other apps, such as M1 Finance and Fidelity. Fidelity Retirement Planning Forecasts retirement readiness based on income, age, goals and assets. It can also estimate your future savings growth and recommend contribution strategies. Fidelity Go is a robo-adviser that automates investing and retirement portfolio management. M1 Finance Uses rule-based automation to rebalance portfolios and manage IRAs. Capitalize Helps users roll over old 401(k)s into IRAs using an AI-assisted platform that automates paperwork and finds forgotten retirement accounts. Empower Tracks your net worth and automates your savings. It also gives personalized retirement and investment advice in a dashboard. ChatGPT Acts as a personal financial brainstorming assistant. It can simulate retirement plans and understand complex financial topics through conversational AI. The risks of relying on AI for retirement planning Just because AI can help you personalize your plan for retirement doesn't mean it should be your only source of truth. There are two points worth noting before you use any AI tool to help you with your money goals, especially your retirement. AI isn't a safe place to store your data It's important to be cautious about how you're exposing your data when using any financial AI tool. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't use tools like ChatGPT. Even I use it. The trick is to avoid giving ChatGPT or similar AI tools any personal financial data, like account numbers or login information. One upside to using AI tools for retirement planning is that you're getting objective advice about your financial situation, and not from someone trying to sell to you or scam you. However, these tools aren't designed to securely store information, which risks your data falling into the wrong hands. So it's best to be cautious of any information you share and double-check any advice you receive with another trusted source. It lacks the personal, second opinion you need for your finances Relying on AI alone to plan your retirement can be dangerous. Between the lack of human understanding, accuracy (AI chatbots do sometimes "hallucinate" wrong information) and changes in retirement, it's best to have a second opinion. Using AI can make retirement planning more accessible, but it can't understand your emotions, values or life circumstances that shape your financial decisions. These tools cannot weigh the emotional trade-offs of retiring early to care for a loved one or the peace of mind you get from having extra savings -- even if the AI tool's algorithm says you don't need it. Satayan Mahajan, CEO of Datalign Advisory, an AI company that connects Americans with advisers, recommends a hybrid approach. "It's like having a tireless analyst who can crunch numbers all day. But it needs a human check. If you're trying to figure out how much you need to retire, AI should be your starting point. But it shouldn't be your only point," Mahajan says. It's best to pair AI with a professional, such as one through your bank, employer-sponsored retirement plan or similar, to make sure you're proceeding with your financial plans correctly. There's no one-size-fits-all in any financial plan. Above all, do what works best for you.


Fast Company
4 hours ago
- Fast Company
Meet the new meme stocks: Krispy Kreme, GoPro, and Kohl's shares soar as Reddit traders drive hype cycle
BY Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 6:03 Over the past several days, the share prices of three companies have surged 25% or more in a single trading session. Those companies are Krispy Kreme, GoPro, and Kohl's. Yet none of these firms have made any major announcements of late that support such lofty rises in their stock prices. So why are their share prices skyrocketing? It looks like meme stock mania is back. What is a meme stock? The term 'meme stock' first gained popularity during the early pandemic years. During the 2020-2021 period, many people were confined indoors due to lockdowns or a general fear of going out, so they turned to the internet to pass the time, often taking on new digital hobbies or joining new communities. For many, a new hobby emerged: online investing. As a result, many of these new investors turned to social media for advice on which stocks to buy. Perhaps the most popular social media community for stock advice was the Reddit forum r/wallstreetbets, and it is in this community where many consider meme stock mania to have originated. A meme stock is generally defined as a stock that is promoted by members of an online community, such as the one found in the r/wallstreetbets subreddit. Proponents of a meme stock buy shares of a stock at a low price—often in struggling companies with some brand name awareness—and then promote it, attempting to build hype and a positive narrative about the stock, as noted by Investopedia. The goal is to get in on the meme stock while the price is low, see the value surge as more people who are afraid of missing out on a 10x or 100x bagger buy into the stock, and then often to get out of the stock before the hype collapses and the shares crash again. As Reuters points out, meme stocks are often heavily shorted. The rise in share prices for these stocks force investors who had bet against the stock to sell their shares to limit their losses. In the early pandemic years, two of the most popular meme stocks were the struggling video game retailer GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) and movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC). But now, as of this week, there's a new trio of meme stocks sending a frenzy through online trading communities. Krispy Kreme Probably the most well-known meme stock among the new trio is Krispy Kreme (Nasdaq: DNUT), the donut company that loves giving away tasty treats. Over the past day or so, people have been talking up DNUT stock on social media, and as a result, Krispy Kreme shares have surged. Yesterday, Krispy Kreme's stock price jumped a staggering 26% in a single trading session. DNUT stock went up 87 cents per share to close at $4.13. And today the stock is surging again in premarket trading, as of the time of this writing. DNUT shares are currently up another 25%. GoPro Another moderately well-known brand name is also the newest meme stock. GoPro, Inc. (Nasdaq: GPRO), maker of the tiny portable cameras that are popular with extreme sports enthusiasts, saw its shares blast off yesterday. In Tuesday's trading session, GPRO shares leaped an asounting 41%. The company's stock price went up 39 cents per share to $1.37 by market close. And today, GPRO stock is trending even higher. As of the time of this writing, in premarket trading, GoPro shares are up another 56% to $2.14 per share. Kohl's The third meme stock in this latest trinity is Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS). The clothing retailer's shares jumped a massive 37% yesterday in a single trading session. During the period, KSS shares climbed $3.92 to $14.34. The volatility led to trading being temporarily halted, as CNBC reported. But as of premarket trading this morning, KSS shares aren't having continued gains. The stock is currently trading flat in premarket, according to data from Yahoo Finance. Fast Company reached out to Krispy Kreme, GoPro, and Kohl's for comment. A cautionary tale It's hard not to see single-day gains of 25% to 50% in a stock and not feel the urge to buy in. However, most financial advisors would advise against buying into a meme stock as they are considered a relatively high-risk investment. That's because meme stocks see their prices surge due to the hype online communities build up around that stock, not due to any firm fundamentals of the company itself. This online hype often leads many to buy into the stock, causing its price to surge. But if the fundamentals of a company do not support the stock's price, the stock will most likely crash, and investors who got in at the wrong time could see their entire investment washed away. Take one of the most popular meme stocks in history, for example. People went crazy for AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC) in December 2020. That month, the stock was trading for around a low of $20, according to Yahoo Finance data. But then meme mania bit, and by June 2021, AMC shares were over $566 each. Yet by the next month, AMC shares had declined to $370 apiece, and by December 2021, they were in the low $40s. As of yesterday's close, AMC shares are worth $3.50 each. The lesson here is that meme stocks can surge in price rapidly, but they can fall just as rapidly, too. The super-early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is this Friday, July 25, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.

Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Associated Press
Edward Jones Adds 53 Separately Managed Accounts to its Managed Account Platform
Firm nearly doubles SMA offerings in first half of year ST. LOUIS, July 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As Edward Jones continues to build out its suite of advisory offerings, including financial planning services, it is significantly increasing the number of separately managed accounts it offers, aiming to nearly triple the number of available strategies by year-end. Expanding the SMAs offered, exclusively through the Edward Jones Advisory Solutions® Unified Managed Account (UMA) Models advisory program, will enhance the UMA's innovative capabilities, such as a fully integrated direct index in its UMA, ongoing tax management and the ability to tailor portfolios to clients' values and preferences. 'We believe in supporting choice for our financial advisors and our clients,' said Russ Tipper, Edward Jones Principal and Head of Products. 'Continually evolving our product and service offerings emphasizes the firm's focus on increasing flexible, customizable investment solutions that align with clients' investment needs in connection with their financial goals.' Tipper said the firm expects to significantly increase client choice by adding more SMAs by the end of this year. Edward Jones first introduced SMAs as part of its managed account platform in 2011. 'We are committed to making our platform more flexible, accessible and tailored to the needs of our clients,' Tipper said. 'Our financial advisors consistently highlight how these enhancements help empower clients work toward achieving their financial goals with greater personalization and confidence.' One of the most distinct features of the UMA platform is the integration of direct indexing within a single UMA account, which Edward Jones has been offering clients since 2020. And as part of the expansion, it now offers eight Direct Indexing SMAs across different asset classes and styles that can be paired with other SMAs for more robust customization. 'This innovation allows clients to choose from expertly curated research models or design fully customized portfolios that seamlessly combine active and passive SMAs within a single account, delivering flexibility and personalization,' Tipper said. By combining multiple SMAs and other eligible investments offered in the program, like mutual funds, ETFs, and, for certain clients, alternatives, in a single account, clients have access to diversified portfolios of professional managers as well as automatic rebalancing, coordinated tax management strategies and ongoing monitoring. The firm does not charge additional fees to access SMAs available in the Edward Jones Advisory Solutions® UMA Models advisory program but does charge clients of this program asset-based advisory fees, a platform fee and passes through the underlying fees charged by the manager of an SMA, investment minimums apply. About Edward Jones Edward Jones is a leading North American financial services firm in the U.S. and through its affiliate in Canada. The firm's more than 20,000 financial advisors throughout North America serve more than 9 million clients with a total of $2.2 trillion in client assets under care as of March 28, 2025. Edward Jones' purpose is to partner for positive impact to improve the lives of its clients and colleagues, and together, better our communities and society. Through the dedication of the firm's approximately 55,000 associates and our branch presence in 68% of U.S. counties and most Canadian provinces and territories, the firm is committed to helping more people achieve financially what is most important to them. The Edward Jones website is at , and its recruiting website is Member SIPC. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Edward Jones