Technology Director by Day, Personal Finance Nerd by Night, and Mama All Across

As a woman pioneer of the FIRE movement, about five years ago Liz noticed a large part of the personal-finance blogosphere was being underserved. 

There were not enough voices for women raising families that educated on the values of investing. 

“All the personal finance blogs I found were by men,” remembers Liz, “or the ones by women were more about saving/spending rather than investing and financial independence.” 

This inspired her to launch the blog Chief Mom Officer, where she chronicles her mission to achieve financial freedom, including views and tips on passive investing, savings tips for growing families, as well as numerous interviews with other successful women. 

A self-described “technology director by day and personal finance nerd by night”, Liz lives in the United States with her husband, three boys, a dog, and a cat in a mortgage-free home.

This profile instantly set her apart from the majority of other well-known FIRE bloggers, and led to her being featured in Forbes, USA Today, CNBC and other media. 

Unlike FIRE bloggers that extol the virtues of extreme frugality, according to Liz, achieving a FIRE lifestyle really depends on you, and can and should be tweaked to fit every person’s unique situation. 

“I wanted to have a family and a place to call our home — but without falling into the trap where I endlessly pursued ever more and ‘better’ things at the expense of financial independence,” writes Liz. 

In this interview, Sarwa sat down with Liz to talk about her journey to help lower the barrier for entry to investing for women, her definition of financial freedom, her big tip for how to save money with a growing family, and what she would tell her younger self 20 years ago.

Sarwa: We have so many questions! What inspired you to start your personal finance blog? Were there any other women FIRE bloggers at that time? Any blogs that influenced you the most?

Liz: I was originally inspired to start my blog because I couldn’t find people like me writing about personal finance. When I started my own work and financial journey, reading the stories of successful women with kids was a huge inspiration to me. 

But all the personal finance blogs I found were by men, or the ones by women were more about saving/spending rather than investing and financial independence. 

Back when I started my blog in October of 2016, I wasn’t aware of other women FIRE bloggers. Of course they were actually out there but just not publicised in the mainstream media. Shortly after I started I found some other women who had also started financial blogs and was excited to get to know them! The community has grown a lot over the years, so today I’m honored to call many women in the FIRE movement my friends. 

Sarwa: A bit of a controversial topic. Popular FIRE bloggers such as Jacob Fisker preach extreme frugality, which include not starting a family and not buying an apartment. Your approach takes a very different avenue — including having kids and getting a mortgage. How can people still practice FIRE lifestyles without giving up everything in life, and what does “fun frugality” mean to you and your family?

Liz: I like to think of FIRE as something that everyone needs to tweak based on their personal situation and goals. Certainly the extreme frugality route can get you to FIRE fast – much, much faster than choosing to have a family or buying a home. However, retiring as quickly as possible and sacrificing every other goal in life in pursuit of financial freedom is not what everyone wants. It certainly wasn’t what I wanted. 

I wanted to have a family and a place to call our home — but without falling into the trap where I endlessly pursued ever more and “better” things at the expense of financial independence. 

Although my route didn’t lead to FIRE in my 20’s, it has left me in a position at 40 with three kids, total debt freedom — including no mortgage — fully funded college accounts and more than comfortable retirement funds. 

Sarwa: We like what you said. Different people define financial freedom differently. You mentioned that to you it doesn’t mean sacrificing your other goals. Can you elaborate on that? What does this term mean to you as one of the leading women in the FIRE movement?

Liz: To me, financial freedom means you’re free from money being the main driver behind your decisions. You may choose to work, but you don’t need to work to earn money to live. 

You’re free to send your kids to college without stress or strain about what it means budget wise. You’re free to live life on your own terms. 

I like to think of FIRE as Financially Independent, Retirement Elective — you may choose to retire or you may choose to do something else with your freedom. Ultimately it’s up to you to define for yourself. 

Sarwa: We are sure anyone reading would want to know: What are some of the most surprising and effective tips you have learned for cutting back on expenditures, especially those that involve raising a family?

Liz: One of the most powerful tips I have is to seek second-hand first. I have three kids and can’t count the number of clothes, toys, playthings, etc. that I’ve purchased and they’ve outgrown over the years. 

When those purchases are secondhand, you not only save money but you’re also saving the environment by keeping these things out of landfills. Although some things can’t (or shouldn’t!) be purchased second-hand, many things can — and the cost difference versus new can be astonishing. 

Also, kids mostly want time and to be with their parents. When they want to read a story with you, they don’t care if the book was bought brand new or came from the library. When they want to fly a kite, they don’t care if the kite is brand new from the store or you made it together out of newspaper (in fact they might have more fun making it!!). 

If you focus on what your kids really need you’ll often find it’s not as costly as you might think. Over the years my husband and I have had a variety of working arrangements with him working overnight, evenings, weekends, part time, and being a stay at home dad at various points in our 17 years as parents — primarily to save on childcare. So thinking creatively and out of the box can result in some real financial savings.

Sarwa: Wow. We love this. Those are some pretty awesome insights, and we know you’ve gathered plenty more from interviewing many inspirational “female breadwinners, six-figure women, and/or millionaire women” for your blog. What are some important lessons and insights you’ve learned from these women about achieving financial freedom while juggling family life?

Liz: I have learned a lot from talking with all these amazing women over the years. For instance, I learned that my family and I were not alone in some of the things we’ve struggled with, with my husband being the primary caretaker for the kids while I focused on work. 

Also, I learned there’s not just one recipe for success — the women came from all different family backgrounds, some were married with kids and others single or childless, they were in all different careers, but generally they were focused and determined. 

Some of my favorite stories are from older or retired women, who were breaking boundaries decades ago so women like me could do what we do today. All the interviews can be found on this page for those interested in checking them out.

Sarwa: Many women are just beginning to learn about passive investing in the UAE. What is some advice you would give to our women readers (as well as their family members) for starting their investing journey today?

Liz: I would say that a lot of people make a lot of money trying to convince you investing is complicated, or something you can’t do successfully by yourself. I prefer to invest passively in places like Vanguard that focus on providing rock-bottom cost investment options where you can automatically invest for years, in a tax efficient way, paying very little in fees. 

My strategy is re-evaluated around once a year but doesn’t change due to anything. Even during the pandemic I continued to keep my investments where they are, continuing to invest automatically every month towards my financial goals. 

I’m a firm believer that for most people most of the time, passively investing automatically over time — no matter what happens in the market — will compound for you over the years and let you live your financial goals and dreams.

Sarwa: On that point, emerging financial tools like robo advisors are lowering the barrier of entry to global equity markets for everyone. Do you believe investing should be for everyone, and what importance should stock market investing play in the life of those that are after financial freedom?

Liz: I believe it should be for everyone, but isn’t for everyone at every stage of their financial journey. When you’re first starting to get your financial life organised you need to know where you are now and where you want to go before you figure out if investing is the way to get there. 

At first you might need to work on your spending, debt paydown, or having an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses and job loss. Investing is a piece of the financial freedom puzzle but typically comes into play once you have set a solid financial foundation for yourself and your family.

Sarwa: Not so long ago, we did a series called ‘Money advice from future you’. What advice would you give your younger self about 20 years ago? What things should she do/not do/do again in order to achieve financial freedom, a happy family life and a comfortable road to early retirement?

Liz: I would tell my younger self that all those small amounts invested over time really did add up over the years. And that the discipline she was building at 20 with small amounts of money paid off many dividends by applying those same habits once she earned more down the road. I would advise her that she’s on the right path with savings for emergencies, because in 11 years her husband would lose his job and then almost die of septic shock – so ignore anyone who says emergencies can’t or don’t happen. 

I would certainly tell her to avoid debt wherever possible, because as soon as she lets her guard down to think something is affordable debt, an emergency will strike and make that debt a heavy burden. I would let her know that there are many routes to financial freedom, and just because some take longer than others, that doesn’t make one or the other the right one for you. 

And I would let her know that it would all turn out OK in the end.