I LOVE this podcast. Having recently retired at age 42, it’s very interesting to me and I’ve been binge-listening and find it so incredibly entertaining and insightful. Maggie and Mike are hilarious and I just love Mike’s laugh… they have a very natural and likable rapport and I plan to listen to every episode. Also very excited about Maggie’s podcast. Doesn’t get any better than this!!

I’m sorry I found this podcast after it stopped. It is so awesome. The casual conversation nature of this podcast comes across as a very caring relationship between two friends I would want to be friends with. The information in this podcast is very clear and helpful. Actual take actionable items is given without any advertising which is SO nice. Thank you both for sharing your experiences and information with us. Very helpful podcast.

Hi Folks, I stumbled on your show somehow, and I really enjoy it. As a parent to two young children, researching college, I appreciated your episode on dual enrollment. It sounds like a good idea, but I was surprised to hear your brother wouldn’t do it again. What is the realistic view that I appreciate. You guys have some good chemistry together. - Sam, Financial Samurai

Started listing to the podcast a month or so ago. Love the information and find Maggie’s context hilarious. ( No shade though, because I also give to much context )

Fantastic hosts, a variety of content around personal finance and financial independence. I always learn something or feel encouraged. One of my new favorites.

Mike and Maggie, I love your show!!! Every episode makes me laugh out loud while learning something new!! As a financial coach, I am starting a list of episodes that I can recommend for specific situations and would love to know what you consider your TOP TEN most important episodes for those newer to personal finance topics! I’ve joined the Facebook group, so feel free to reply to me there or via DM. Thanks!!

Hi Maggie and Mike, I made the decision to retire last year at age 54. My daughter is so proud and first introduced me to the concepts of the FIRE movement! My financial advisor had been telling me since before COVID that I had enough money to retire but I found it emotionally difficult to pull the trigger. Initially I felt guilty because my parents always believed in working until the wheels fall off. I know there is so much more to life and have started to explore areas of myself that I never had time to develop before like my creative side and volunteering for worthy causes. I assist at a local yoga studio in exchange for a free membership. However, none of my friends or my sisters are in my situation. Since retiring, I have found myself wishing for a way to connect with others out there in similar circumstances. When I found your podcast, I couldn’t believe how much i resonated with me! I must have binge listened to four episodes in one day. Since then, I have been going back and listening to all the old episodes from the pandemic until now. Love you guys ❤️ I have no idea how many listeners are following you but I hope you have a wide enough audience to keep going because you both are so relatable and talented at finding topics for your podcast that are entertaining and useful at the same time. Have you given any thought to doing a podcast on the value of software products like Income lab or Personal Capital’s Withdrawal planner? Or just about the value of a financial planner? Maybe what to look for in a financial advisor who supports the FIRE mentality? I’ve had the same financial advisor for many years but he doesn’t invest in more innovative software planning tools that clients can use themselves to track how they are doing throughout retirement and try to understand the best tax strategy for withdrawals over time. I spent much of my life saving and getting to the point where I can retire. Now that I am here, it would be reassuring to know that I am still on track and also that I am taking advantage of any tax strategies. I have always used TurboTax to do my taxes. Should I get a CPA to advise on this? It seems like there is a hole in this space since individuals can’t purchase Income lab or use similar programs (PC’s Withdrawal planner). You have to work with a financial advisor who has access to this. And I checked out your Etsy templates but they don’t have this focus or functionality. Thanks for being such an awesome inspiration! -Christina Brabham

Thanks for this great podcast. I love Mike and Maggie and their contrasting styles. I would like to see Mike and Maggie acknowledge their privilege more. On an episode about saving to retire early, they were like, save 75% of your income. Easier to do on a higher salary and living under your means than a much lower salary. Also, they have often discussed putting all savings into retirement funds but if you were to retire early, you need the money in taxable funds.

I absolutely love this podcast! I follow a number of personal finance podcasts but this one is my favorite. Mike and Maggie are a great duo! They complement one another perfectly! Together with her context and his factual side, they really help bring life to their content. And although I know they’re not married, the show reminds me of the old couple-caster vibe from podcasting’s early days (if anything, they portray siblings more than friends sometimes). I appreciate how they mix in personal lessons and how to help have these conversations with friends and loved ones (the whole point of the show). I look forward to listening to a new show every Monday!

My wife and I have been binging Friends on Fire and it’s totally inspired Im us to take control of our finances. Love the rapport, love the wisdom, love the empowerment!

This is my favorite podcast, thank you so much Maggie and Mike! I have been interested in financial freedom for a long time but now I’m motivated to retire and now planning to do so in a few months.

Maggie and Mike are next level excellent. I especially love that Maggie isn’t as far along in her FIRE journey as Mike, even though she’s successfully retired early and has achieved her many of her goals. It makes for a very relatable, actionable podcast that feels fun and also extremely useful at the same time. The juxtaposition of Mikes no nonsense advice and Maggie’s “context” is a perfect podcast host union. I’ve adjusted and changed our families financial lives for the better since finding this podcast and continue to learn more every episode!

Really great podcast with actionable knowledge on all things finance and money. Love that the hosts have different opinions and life experiences, it gives the information and advice a lot of depth.

Been listening since almost the beginning! Love the timeliness and relevancy to their topics. They have helped us tackle some of our financial “to-dos” by just bringing the topic up on the podcast.

Love this show!! Mike and Maggie are fun to listen to. They provide great insight and advice in an approachable conversation style podcast. Highly recommend.

I listen to this podcast every Monday morning as part of my ritual. I love how spot on the topics are. Maggie and Mike are super open about their perspectives, experiences and finances. I am always interested in Maggie’s perspective as she says what no-one else will say, is unfiltered and very intelligent. It is difficult to make finance a fun topic but somehow these two folks make it enjoyable to listen to. And yes, I also love how Maggie goes off topic to something even more interesting! This is a labor of love with no sponsors.., thanks for educating us on such an important topic. I have learned and applied so much from you… especially deferred compensation.

I have really enjoyed listening to this show. Love the conversational nature of it. I have learned a ton and implemented a lot of changes because of it. Thank you!

Friends on Fire is uniquely entertaining and thoroughly informative podcast that chronicles the personal journeys of two friends and their respective families. Through their experiences and stories, we get to hear about diverse topics that range from spending to saving, working in corporate America to early retirement, even from mindfulness to minimalism. I've only been listening for a few weeks but I'd love to go back and check out their old episodes. Maggie is chirpy, engaging and witty. Mike is cerebral, articulate 'n precise and financially saavy. Ultimately, these are two relatable, everyday regular people who give us a weekly podcast that's 100% fun.

Maggie and Mike have developed a lively and entertaining style while delivering actionable content to listeners. Keep up the good work!

Great for FI while enjoying your current careers and raising children. Hosts share same principled mission from two different styles/personalities.

I listen to A LOT of FI podcasts, and I put Friends on Fire in the top tier. They keep it real, share personal examples, and are a fun listen. While great friends, Maggie & Mike are very different, so it makes them the perfect yin & yang of FI. My two favorite things are hearing about Mike’s upbringing decades ago in a FI household (rare find in FI podcasting) and Maggie’s recent early retirement just outside her 30s. : )

I LOVE Friends on Fire, the banter between Mike and Maggie is always entertaining. I love the idea of friends being able to talk about finances, give and receive good advice and always willing to learn something from the other. Learned a lot from your podcast and have started to travel back my vacations. Always look forward to a new episode weekly.

I became a fan of this show a couple months ago, and have been listening to it in order and am to about show 55, having started at 1. Super informative podcast, I really like Maggie and Mike, the co-hosts, and place high value on the thorough and understandable advice they dispense. This show goes into significantly more detail on topics than many other shows do, which I really like. In some ways, it’s like a “user’s manual” to smart financial actions. The interplay between the hosts I find to be hilarious. Not sure how they find the time to devote so much one to this hobby, but super glad they do. I also like the lack of ads, it makes for a nice flow to the show. One thing I haven’t come across yet, maybe it’s in a future episode, is a good treatment of simple index-based mutual fund investing. That is sort of a fundamental concept of F.I.R.E and I’m glad I’ve done some other reading on that front like The Bogleheads Guide to Investing (excellent! Maybe life changing book.) These two show that with good habits and some discipline, you can secure a robust financial future, and in the process eliminate much worry from your life. In fact, by cutting spending so I can save more and trying to be more minimalistic (thanks Maggie!!) I feel considerably happier and less worried. Stuff isn’t the answer to happiness, but the freedom that comes by having your financial house in order is one ingredient to happiness, however. Keep up the good work Mike and Maggie!!

Happy Thanksgiving. Your friends who are starting fires appreciate you!

Excellent content and so enjoyable to listen to. The conversations with just Mike and Maggie are my favorites!

Maggie and Mike make conversations about money fun and educational. They give real world examples and tips that you can go act one. Very helpful!

Oh I love this podcast. My husband and I both listen to it at different times so we can talk about it! we have been doing fire for almost a year and a half now and were kind of getting bored with our other podcast until we found this one. We also live in Georgia so it’s great that we kind of know some of the places they talk about.

Love the idea of talking about finances with friends. As a recently divorced parent, just started a financial accountabillibuddy plan with another single mom friend. Love the inspiration from Mike and Maggie and the original friends on Fire! Particularly helpful to hear about complex blended families, how kids are involved, travel hacking, and reducing expenses.

I love how they both offer real life experience both on the financial and mental level. It’s great to hear success stories and how they have dealt with their financial situations. They are not selling anything nor are they promoted by anyone, just real sound advice.

I love Maggie and Mike’s banter back and forth. They give great tips on how to work on your finances (savings, investments, etc) and make it easy to understand. Thank you for this great podcast

Really fun podcast addressing financial independence topics including the hosts own journeys in real time. Thanks for doing this Mike and Maggie

Thank you for having the most inspiring podcast there is. This podcast feels like home.

Once I started listening to this podcast , I listened to like 20 in one day. I’ve heard all of them. I love it. It’s real people talking about real financial freedom.

I just recently discovered the Friends on Fire podcast, and I absolutely love it! I’m devouring all the past episodes and am gaining an abundance of inspiration and information! I now look forward to my commute to/from work, because I get to spend time w/ my new pod-friends, Mike & Maggie. They are real people who help their audience to know and understand that, regardless of your age, finance independence is achievable if you’re willing to put in the work and be proactive about your finances! Looking forward to many years of great content from this dynamic duo!

Found this from the Manager Tools podcast, and love the easy to digest dialogue.

Excellent show on financial independence. Love the friendly back and forth and enjoy the solid advice on money and life organization!

I’m a millennial working towards getting out of student debt and building up my EF. I’m excited to put Maggie and Mike’s strategies for FIRE to good use in another year or two, once I can shift my focus to building wealth. Most of their content is actionable and relevant to my life. I did want to write a review specifically to bring attention to their dynamic - which is enjoyable 80 percent of the time. But I don’t enjoy Mike’s condescension towards Maggie. It’s usually expressing annoyance at her long winded explanations or “rambling”, but I think this is something I really enjoy about Maggie. It’s a personality trait unique to her, and I don’t love hearing Mike make fun of her or express impatience about it. This happens often and really kills the vibe. He tends to talk over her, and it’s frustrating to hear. Sometimes I wish it was Maggie hosting with a totally different person. Otherwise, excellent show.

What a great podcast with real people who are actually Firing (one of the hosts fires in the 2022 episodes). Also, they aren’t the classic super frugal FIRE people who live what I consider an unrealistic life. They have real expenses and kids and deal with health insurance issues like more normal FI people.

I’ve been bingeing this show and learning so much. Beyond the content, I love that it’s well-organized but also casual and warm. I love it.

Great show! If you are new to personal finance or an expert, there is something to learn. I appreciate the practical advice on how to better manage your money.

Creek content. I enjoy listening to your podcast and it helps on my way to financial Independence.

Love listening to these hosts share their take on personal finance, values & priorities, and living a different financial lifestyle than the mainstream. Looking forward to more!

Love the casual, pragmatic, and humorous conversations between Maggie and Mike. Great conversation, advice, example and resources for families exploring or driving towards Financial Independence while also enjoying the adventure along the way. Friends on Fire has already sparked ideas to plan vacations, credit card points, mobile plans, investing and discussions of money with friends. Excited for the possibilities and examples of two families becoming financially independent in their 40’s!

Even if you’re not committed to FIRE yet, loads of great information.

I’ve love listening to Mike and Maggie. Finances are such a taboo subject even though it touches every aspect of your life. It is such a relief to find Friends on Fire. Their delivery is fun and casual and they help break down what could be a boring subject in an enjoyable way. The information is helpful to my own financial journey and listening to their episodes feels like having important conversations with good friends. They help keep me accountable to myself and my goals. They remind me weekly of my big Why. Thanks, Mike and Maggie!

I have tried quite a few FIRE inspired podcasts and Friends on Fire is HANDS DOWN the best! The reason is Mike and Maggie are down to earth, kind, funny and their approach to FIRE is accessible to anyone at any income level, age, or process in the journey. If you want to have the freedom to make life decisions that financial independence gives you, would highly recommend listening to this show. You can make small, incremental steps and before you know it you have improved your finances and the quality of your life without feeling it was a big effort. Congrats to Maggie on reaching early retirement, financial freedom!!!!!

What a great podcast!! I learned so much and have already saved hundreds a month.

Great information and advice!

Love all your topics

Content is enjoyable and applicable. Maggie’s humor isn’t too bad either 😉