#004 I hit my original FIRE number in 2024 - the one I’d been chasing for years - and the spreadsheet basically said: congratulations, you’re free!

But I didn’t feel free. Instead I felt a kind of panic.

Because almost immediately my brain went: What if it’s not enough? What if the future is more expensive? What if something unexpected happens?

That’s when it clicked: financial enough isn’t just a number.

It’s a relationship. A skill. A mindset. And most of us never learn how to build it.

In this episode, we go deeper than the spreadsheets and talk about what “enough” actually looks like in real life. Its especially relevant if you’re the kind of person who keeps moving the goalposts, adding “one more year,” and calling it responsibility.

We cover:

• Why hitting your FIRE number doesn’t always feel euphoric (and why that’s normal)
• The real reason “one more year” is so seductive and what it’s actually costing you
• How lifestyle creep quietly rewrites your definition of enough without you noticing
• Sequence of returns risk (and practical ways to build resilience: buffers, diversification, dynamic withdrawals)
• How to build emotional readiness alongside financial readiness, so the numbers can actually land
• A practical framework to define your floor and ceiling (stable vs “rich life”) and find your real enough in between
• Why your FIRE number should evolve as you do, and explore why changing it isn’t failure, it’s growth
• A simple reality check to assess whether you’re financially and emotionally ready for freedom

If you’ve ever thought, “I should feel safe by now… so why don’t I?” then this episode is for you.

The goal isn’t to chase safety forever. It’s to recognise when you already have it, and then learn how to live from there.

🎧 Follow Life After Enough for the next episodes as we keep building the full picture: money, meaning, identity, and what happens after the number.

#003 What if retirement wasn’t something that happened at 65? What if financial independence wasn’t about escaping work, but about reclaiming choice?

In this episode, I break down the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement from the ground up where it came from, how the maths actually works, and why it’s about far more than money.

This isn’t a hype piece or a promise of beachside cocktails at 40. Rather, it’s a grounded look at FIRE as a framework for designing freedom on your own terms.

We cover:

• How I first discovered FIRE during Singapore’s COVID lockdown and why it totally changed my life
• The simple maths behind early retirement (and why savings rate matters more than income)
• The 4% rule, the Trinity Study, and how to calculate your own “Enough” number
• The different flavours of FIRE: Lean, Fat, Coast, and Barista - and who each one suits
• Common myths about FIRE (it’s only for the wealthy, it means never working again, it requires extreme frugality)
• Why the FIRE movement is evolving massively from pure financial optimisation toward purpose, identity, and alignment

At its core, FIRE isn’t about quitting work as fast as possible. It’s about building enough financial stability that work becomes optional and life becomes something you actively design, not just endure.

This episode lays the foundation for everything that follows on Life After Enough - from emotional wellbeing, to identity, to what actually happens once the number is reached.

• Get Rich Slowly: the “stages of financial independence” framework
• Mr. Money Mustache: he Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement
• ChooseFI: early FIRE inspiration and community
• Trinity Study: the Trinity Study on safe withdrawal rates
• A Richer Retirement: updated research by Bill Bengen (who is the originator of the 4% rule) on withdrawal strategies
• Ramit Sethi: “Rich Life” philosophy on spending with intention

• FIRE is about options, not extreme early retirement
• Your savings rate matters more than your salary
• There’s no single “right” version of FIRE alignment matters more than labels
• Financial independence is the foundation not the finish line

#QT001 In this Quick Take, I reflect on my first day back at work after a sabbatical and consider why it didn’t feel wrong… but did feel different.

This episode is about what happens when you return changed but the world you step back into hasn't.

I explore the quiet dissonance of re-entering a familiar role with a new internal compass, why boundaries need to be built before pressure arrives, and how I’m choosing to treat this return not as a recommitment but as an experiment.

• Why returning to work can feel disorienting, even when nothing is “wrong”
• How sabbaticals change your relationship with work, not just your schedule
• The identity overlap that happens while growth is still integrating
• Why boundaries are built in advance, not in moments of stress
• How to protect the things that grounded you while you were away
• Reframing work as an experiment, not a lifelong decision

✨ You’re allowed to return to work changed

⚖️ Work should fit into your life, not the other way around

🪨 If something grounded you outside of work, it’s not optional. It’s essential.

#002 We spend years chasing a number. A salary. A net worth. A moment where everything is finally supposed to click into place.

But what if hitting “enough” doesn’t end the journey and actually starts a much harder, more interesting one?

In this episode, I unpack a realisation that surprised me on my own FIRE path:

Financial independence is foundational, but it’s not the whole story.

Enough isn’t a destination.

It’s the moment the real questions begin.

• Why “enough” is often treated as a purely financial milestone — and why that framing falls short
• The three pillars of Enough:

1. 🥇 Financial Enough — safety, choice, and breathing room
2. 🥈 Emotional Enough — peace, calm, and not living in survival mode
3. 🥉 Identity Enough — who you become when you stop climbing

• How focusing only on money can quietly drain meaning, joy, and direction
• What surprised me when I hit my original FIRE number, and why it didn’t feel like the finish line I expected
• Why freedom without emotional and identity work can feel disorienting instead of fulfilling

• You’re financially responsible, maybe even thriving, but still feel restless
• You’re pursuing FIRE and wondering what actually comes after
• You’ve achieved a lot on paper… and feel quietly unsure what it’s all for
• You suspect there’s more to “enough” than a spreadsheet can capture

Money can remove fear but it can’t create meaning.

That part has to be built alongside it.

Enough gives you permission to ask better questions about your life. What you do with that permission… is where everything changes.

🎧 Next episode: We’ll go deeper into Financial Enough - and unpack the myths, maths, and misconceptions around FIRE.

If this episode resonated, make sure you’re following Life After Enough so you don’t miss what comes next.

You’re not behind.

You’re not broken.

You’re just standing at the start of a new chapter.

#001 What happens when you do everything right…and it still doesn’t feel like enough?

In this opening episode, I share why Life After Enough exists and who it’s really for.

I’ve built a life that looks successful on paper. The career. The milestones. The financial stability. And yet, something still felt misaligned.

If you’ve ever looked around your life and thought: “Is this really it?” you’re not alone, and you’re in the right place.

This episode is an invitation to pause, zoom out, and start asking better questions about success, money, and how you actually want your life to feel.

• Why achieving traditional success doesn’t automatically bring fulfilment
• The quiet discomfort that shows up after you’ve ticked all the boxes
• What “Enough” really means, beyond just money
• Why financial independence isn’t the finish line, but the starting point
• The pillars that shape a life that feels intentional, aligned, and yours

• Your career looks great from the outside but feels hollow on the inside
• You’ve achieved what you set out to do… and still feel restless
• You’re financially responsible (maybe even thriving), but craving more meaning
• You’re curious about FIRE, life design, or what comes after the grind
• You want to build a life that fits you not one you inherited by default

This is a podcast about the space after financial stability and the questions that money alone doesn’t answer.

We’ll talk about:

• purpose and identity beyond job titles
• joy, time, and energy
• relationships, community, and belonging
• place - where your life gets to happen
• love, partnership, and family decisions
• and the messy, human reality of choosing differently

Some episodes will be reflective and personal. Others will feature conversations with people who’ve redesigned their lives on their own terms.

Not to copy their paths, but to expand what you believe is possible for yours.

We get one life.

Waiting until 65 for permission to enjoy it

feels like a gamble many of us don’t want to take.

You deserve a life that feels like your life.

🎧 Subscribe or follow Life After Enough so you don’t miss what comes next.

I’m really glad you’re here.

#000 Welcome to Life After Enough - a podcast for people who could keep climbing the career ladder… but are starting to question the view from the top.

I’m Nic, your host.

I hit the milestones I was supposed to hit.

The money. The stability. The title.

And yet - something felt misaligned.

This show is about what happens after you realise the traditional script for success doesn’t fit anymore.

We explore financial independence, identity, lifestyle design, purpose, freedom, and the messy, very human process of figuring out who you get to become when money is no longer the main constraint in your life.

If you’re curious about early retirement, building a life that feels intentional, or simply making space for the version of you you’ve been postponing - you’re in the right place.

Subscribe now so you don’t miss Episode 1.

Your life after enough starts here!