Episode 216 talks about how to pursue FIRE with a disability, featuring Hiroko Nishimura. Listen now!
Hiroko is a Special Education teacher turned IT Engineer turned technical instructor and published author. Money was not a topic she talked about growing up, and being a 1st generation immigrant, she had to figure out saving, retirement, and investing, when she got out of college.
In her mid 20’s, she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. When researching the “permanent disability rate” for the disease, it was extremely high, which is when she realized that maybe “working forever” wasn’t an option. She came across the FIRE community on Twitter, began investing, saving for retirement, and learning about wealth building.
Hiroko began small side hustles while working her 8-5 job in IT. At 30, she got married & quit her corporate job, choosing to focus on freelance work. Half a year later, COVID began, and she & her husband bought their home on her 31st birthday. They paid off their mortgage in less than a year after selling taxable assets. Their incomes increased rapidly and her freelance work went from $20k in 2019 to $136k in 2022.
Hiroko has created a career path where she can sprint when she has the capacity, and then focus on living when her body needs a break without a break in monthly royalty checks.
You can follow Hiroko on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Mastodon, Ko-Fi, 500px and YouTube.
Episode 216 Highlights:
- Her relationship with money growing up as a first-generation immigrant from Japan
- How she prioritizes her FIRE journey
- Undergoing brain surgery and being diagnosed with RA in her 20s and how that changed her mindset around financial freedom
- Building a side hustle to increase her income
- And more!
Thank you to Hiroko for sharing her journey with us. It’s really inspiring to know that despite the things that life can throw at us, including health conditions, when you find a way to pursue the life that you’re looking for, nothing is gonna stop you from making that happen. Thank you to Hiroko for giving us that message in this episode!
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Until next time, stay empowered, stay inspired and #staypoderosa ✨
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