From money anxiety
to designing my own life

My story

I grew up in a single-parent family that never had enough money. From a young age I was anxious about money and promised myself I would get rich and change my family's fate. But my grades were average; almost no university would take me, and the one that finally did has since closed down.

When I started working I was carrying about NT$1 million (roughly US$30,000) in debt and working more than ten hours a day just to get by. At my lowest, I borrowed NT$200 — about US$6 — from a coworker to buy a pack of noodles and a bottle of soy sauce, and lived on them for a week.

I was terrified of being poor.

I chased money and worked myself to the bone, with no end in sight. A few years in, a girlfriend broke up with me. The reason: I was too poor. Poverty cost me a relationship and my self-confidence. After that breakup I told myself, “I have to become rich.” I never wanted to feel that poor and powerless again.

I started tracking every expense, taking stock of my assets and debts, and growing my cash flow. Through disciplined saving, investing and real estate, I turned my finances around step by step — from a million in debt to an eight-figure net worth in NT dollars. But once I no longer worried about money, I started to lose my way.

That was when I realized that after half a lifetime of hard work, I had never asked myself:

What kind of life do I actually want?

When I came across FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), it finally clicked: making money is the means, not the goal.

The real goal is to take back control of your life. Managing money isn't about getting rich; it's about getting free. Freedom means having more time for what I love, being able to say no to what I don't, and designing the life I want.

So I started FIRE University (FIRE人生大學), a podcast and blog where I share what I learn on the path of financial independence and life design. I hope these honest stories help more people see that financial freedom is not the finish line — it's the starting point for designing the life you want.

If you feel anxious about money or lost about the future, you are not alone. I've been there. I know the fear of being poor and the pain of feeling lost. Learning to manage money isn't about becoming someone else; it's about becoming a version of yourself you like more.

So I won't teach you to get rich quick. But I'll walk with you as you design your own FIRE life.