A few years ago I was at one of my lowest points.

We’d just suffered our third and final miscarriage. I had gained a significant amount of weight due to infertility drugs. And I was once again denied a work request to travel and add experiences to my resume.

I remember spending every evening just sitting in the recliner staring at the tv (I couldn’t tell you what was on), thinking, “is this it? Is this all my life has amounted to?”.

I was 35 years old, yet it felt like the best years of my life had already been lived.

Then one day on my 1 hour commute to work, I stumbled upon a YouTube video about breaking stereotypes of ultra-successful women.

The narrator had interviewed hundreds of women who were making at least $775K per year, and asked them what was the most cold-blooded advice they’d received that changed the trajectory of their lives.

“If you can’t leave it, or let it go, it has you. You don’t have it.”

I nearly drove off the road.

That was a mic drop moment if I’d ever heard one. 🎤

In that moment, driving somewhere I didn't want to be, doing something I didn't want to do, for reasons I didn't fully believe in anymore…

I realized my life had me, not the other way around.

That’s the exact day I started building my side hustle and prioritizing my mental and physical health again.

~

I've thought about that sentence almost every day since. And I’ve found it shows up in a lot of places.

Relationships. The friendship you've outgrown but can't quite end because she's known you since college and it feels like too much to untangle. The partner you've built an entire life around, even as that life stopped fitting. The one you're still furious at in the shower, three years later, even though you've “moved on."

Unforgiveness. Because unforgiveness is almost never about the other person. It's about needing to stay in control of something that already happened. You're still in the room, arguing with someone who left.

Plans. The version of your life you were certain you'd have by 45. The timeline you measure yourself against every January. The thing you thought you were going to do, or believed you absolutely had to do, and couldn't adjust when reality moved the goal post.

If you're gripping something you can't release, it's gripping you back.

So how do you apply it to your money?

A number in a savings account and having real financial options are not the same thing.

Plenty of people have savings.

Money sitting in a checking or savings account paying 0.2% interest? Technically it’s there, but doing almost nothing.

It might feel like it, but that’s not freedom. That’s a number that shrinks a little every month against inflation that runs 2.5-3%/year.

That gap between 3% and 0.2% isn't a rounding error.

But how do you close it?

Investing.

Specifically, investing in low-cost index funds inside tax-advantaged accounts is how you build the kind of wealth that gives you options.

The option to leave a job that's crushing you. The option to say no to things that don't fit your dream life. The option to stop negotiating from a position of need.

That's what quiet wealth is. Not a number for its own sake.

It’s options.

Your freedom number isn’t a savings goal, and it's not a retirement target.

It's the amount you need invested to make leaving an option.

So how do you decide what your number is, and how to achieve it?

Here's the formula:

Step 1: Calculate your annual expenses

Step 2: Multiply that number by 25. This is how much you need invested.

Step 3: Multiply the result of step 2 by 4%. That’s how much you can withdraw from your portfolio per year and, historically, never run out of money.

Researchers call it the 4% rule.

I call it the number that changes what "having" your money actually means.

Annual expenses of $60,000?

Your Freedom Number is $1,500,000.

Annual expenses of $80,000?

It's $2,000,000.

Annual expenses of $50,000?

It's $1,250,000.

That is the number at which earning more income becomes optional.

I know. That sounds like a lot of money. And it is.

But you don't need to hit it to start getting your life back. You just need to be moving toward it.

For example, a $200,000 portfolio invested in VOO, left alone, returning an average of 10% per year…grows to over $2.1M in 25 years without a single additional contribution.

Add in 10% of that promotion you recently got? A portion of last year’s Christmas bonus? That $35/month you saved from cancelling that TV subscription?

You get there faster.

Every dollar you invest is a dollar closer to your exit.

To choose. To have your life, instead of your life having you.

Calculate your Freedom Number.

Take your monthly expenses, multiply by 12, then multiply by 25. Write it down.

Don't panic at the number. Just know it.

If you don't have a portfolio yet: open a Roth IRA at Fidelity this week. It takes 20 minutes and you don't need to fund it right away. Just open it, so the option exists.

If you already have one: log in and see where you are relative to your Freedom Number. Not to stress. Just to know.

You can't move towards something you've never acknowledged.

Money should never be the end goal. At the end of the day, it’s just a tool.

Your endgame should be one thing: having options.

The option to leave something (or someone) that has you.

The option to stay somewhere, or do something that brings you joy.

The option to say yes to what fires you up, and no to anything that doesn’t.

That's what a portfolio builds. Not just returns.

And you won't get there by watching inflation quietly take your savings account apart.

🙏 If this landed, share it with one woman who needs to hear it. You probably know who she is. Forward this email. Drop the link. You might not know exactly what she's carrying, but this might be the thing that tips her toward starting.

Your wealth hype girl,

-Charlie

📌 P.S. If you haven’t seen the emails, enrollment for the next Quiet Wealth Academy is opening on May 15th. This is my signature, live, 4-week small group investing program to help get you unstuck and actually on a path to achieve your Freedom Number faster.

If you’ve been waiting for someone to hold your hand through the whole investing process and get you started on the right foot, or help you find fees and other hidden costs that would be costing you $1,000s, keep an eye on your inbox. I only open it to 30 people, and newsletter subscribers get first dibs.

🏦 The top 10 IRAs to consider opening in 2026 — If this week's newsletter made you want to open a Roth IRA or consolidate old accounts, this is the best place to start. I went through this list myself before recommending it — no BS, no fluff.

📊 The stock market is doing something for only the 4th time in the past 156 years — this Motley Fool article outlines how the market is doing something it's done only 3 other times in 156 years. Before you panic, read this — especially the last paragraph.

📖 The books I've been (re)reading: When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy by Sam Vander Wielen. I met Sam through a newsletter cohort I was apart of and we’re working on some exciting collab articles for later this year. Her book is a practical, no-BS guide to successful online entrepreneurship. It pretty much lives on my desk.

🐷 On the farm: Our barn is (finally) getting concrete this week! This is a huge step in being able to move our pigs (and eventually my horses) to our place. This has been 6 years in the making, but hard work and patience pays off!

📈 On the market: SanDisk (SNDK) has been a top performer in my portfolio this year. I’m up 155% since February. I also hold shares of Micron (MU) which I’m up over 100% in just the last 30 days. This past week I took some profits from each and will continue to do so if the run continues. If you’re interested in how I take profits from my investments let me know, and I can do a future article on my strategy.

📬 From the inbox: I heard from a few of you this week that the job market continues to be a real struggle. Having graduated college during The Great Recession, I feel you! My advice if you have a job right now: hang onto it for dear life. If you want to make a move, start a side hustle or find a way to make extra income, and only exit when you’ve doubled your monthly take-home pay for at least 6 consecutive months.

You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.

If your way of tracking your investments looks like my brother’s room growing up, it’s time to get your s$%^ together my friend!

My Stock Tracker & Portfolio Balancer does exactly that.

It's a simple Google Sheet, fully customizable, and it costs less than 2 cups of ☕️.

Once you’ve got everything in one place, ask yourself: is my most tax-inefficient investment sitting in my most tax-protected account?

If not — you've just found some hidden money!

That's it. 20 minutes. Could be worth $1,000s over the next decade.

If you want to sit down together and map out your specific asset location strategy — which investments go where based on your exact accounts, income, and tax situation — that's exactly what my 1:1 private strategy sessions are for.

No pressure, no pitch. Just your numbers and a clear plan.

Disclaimer: this content is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not legal, financial or investment advice. Always do your own research before investing, and consult a licensed professional. Charlie and OJD LLC are not responsible for any losses or decisions made based on this content.