Free guides
Practical guides, with numbers and examples, to work out when you can stop working and what your current setup really costs you.
Pensions
When can I retire? How to actually work it outINPS pension age, future pension, spending and savings: a 5-step method to find your date.Italian retirement age in 2027 and 2028: the new requirements and what they change in your planOld-age, early and contribution-based pensions: the 2027-2028 requirements and what they mean for early exit.Early retirement: how much capital you really needBridge capital and top-up capital: a full example of stopping 12 years early.How much pension do you lose if you stop working early?How the contribution-based system turns contributions into a pension, and what stopping 17 years early costs.Italian pension with 20 years of contributions: how much you really getExamples from €15,000 to €50,000 salaries and the threshold below which the pension won't start at 67.Is buying back your university years worth it for an earlier pension?2026 cost, tax deduction, effect on pension age and amount: when it makes sense and when it doesn't.Pension fund or investment plan for early retirement?Tax breaks versus liquidity: how to use a pension fund and an investment plan together to stop early.Pension fund at 50: is it still worth opening one?Deduction, exit tax, RITA from about 62 and a numerical comparison with ETFs.Pension fund auto-enrolment in Italy: what changes for new hires from 1 July 2026Who it applies to, what gets paid in, the 60-day opt-out and how to decide whether to stay.TFR: keep it with your employer or move it to a pension fund?Revaluation, tax and employer contributions: where your TFR works best and how to pick a fund.End-of-career TFR: what to do with your severance payTax, priorities and gradual investing: how to handle your severance pay without rushing.TFR taxation from 2027: no tax hike, but worth understanding how it worksThe new tax code keeps the 2006 safeguard clause: what it means for TFR and for anyone cashing it in from 2027.Pension funds and FIRE for freelancers on the flat-tax regimeNo deduction, no TFR, a lower pension: when a pension fund still makes sense for you.Italian pension with 30 or 40 years of contributions: contribution-based and mixedContribution-based and mixed systems in plain words, with a table of examples and the steps for a real estimate.Italian survivor's pension: who qualifies, how much you get and when it is cutThe shares, the 2026 income thresholds and an example: what the surviving spouse receives.INPS voluntary contributions: what they cost and when they make senseWho can pay them, 2026 amounts, tax deductibility and the cases where they may make sense.
FIRE and living off investments
FIRE calculator: how much you need to stop workingEnter age, spending and target age: an estimate of your FIRE number, inflation included.FIRE in Italy: the 4% rule, taxes and the INPS pensionWhere the 4% rule comes from, its limits, and what Italian taxes and the INPS pension change.Living off €500,000 or €1 million: how much can you really withdraw?How much you can withdraw each month from €500,000, €750,000 or €1 million, after tax and inflation.Coast FIRE and Barista FIRE: the realistic kind of FIREHow much you need to stop saving or to work part-time, with examples and the INPS pension.How to withdraw from your portfolio: a fixed rule or flexible spending?Fixed amount, percentage or guardrails: pros, cons and what the latest research says.The bucket strategy: protecting your first years without a salaryHow much cash to hold, how to refill the buckets and why the first 5–10 years matter most.You'll spend less in retirement than you think (the "spending smile")Why real spending falls with age, what it changes for your FIRE number and where to be careful.
Living abroad
The 10 best countries for low-budget FIRE (under €1,500 a month)Cost of living, capital needed, visas, tax and healthcare: ten destinations compared for people who want to stop working early.FIRE in Thailand: how much capital you really need to live on €1,000–2,400 a monthThree real Chiang Mai budgets, health costs that rise with age, visas, tax and the capital you need, with and without an Italian pension.FIRE in Vietnam: South-East Asia's cheapest country, but no visa for people living off investmentsThree real Da Nang budgets, visas, healthcare, Vietnamese tax and the capital you need, with and without an Italian pension.Italian pension with contributions in Italy and abroad: how they add upEU countries, bilateral agreements and countries with no agreement such as Thailand: what happens to your contributions.
Home, debt and spending
Rent or buy: what makes sense if you want to stop earlyThe FIRE comparison: locked-up capital versus permanent rent, with a rule of thumb.Pay off your mortgage early or invest?Net mortgage rate versus expected net return: how to decide, including from a FIRE angle.The conscious spending plan: spending without guiltFour categories, few rules: the budget that works because it doesn't ask you to give up everything.ISEE and wealth: what counts and what doesn't (2026 changes)What counts as wealth, government bonds up to €50,000 and the new 2026 indicator.Term life insurance: when you really need it (and how to size the cover)Who needs it, how to estimate the right amount and what to check before signing.
Saving and investing
Emergency fund: how much to keep aside and whereHow many months of expenses you need, how to calculate them and where to keep them.Deposit account or short-term government bonds: comparing the net yieldNet yield, tax, stamp duty, liquidity and guarantee: the comparison step by step.Inflation: how much it erodes savings sitting in the bankISTAT data for 2022-2025 and what they mean for the purchasing power of your savings.What is an ETF and how to read its factsheetThe eight items to check on an ETF factsheet, explained in plain words.Regular investing or lump sum? What the numbers sayA concrete example, what research says and how to decide without regret.Asset allocation and rebalancing: how much equity, and when to rebalanceHow to decide your portfolio mix and how to keep it over time.Taxes on investments in Italy: 26%, 12.5%, stamp duty and lossesThe rates, stamp duty, capital losses and the difference between managed and self-declared regimes.
Money and couples
Why couples argue about money (and it's not the budget's fault)Money arguments are symptoms: what they hide and where to start changing.The first money conversation as a couple: structure and ready-made phrasesFifteen minutes, four steps and ready-made phrases to open the subject without a fight.Words to avoid when talking about money as a couple (and what to say instead)From phrases that spark a fight to phrases that open dialogue, plus lines for taking a break.Invisible beliefs about money: what you were taught as a childHow to recognise the money phrases you carry and rewrite them with your partner.Avoider, optimiser, worrier, dreamer: what is your relationship with money?A self-test with four profiles, with one tip for you and one for the person you live with.Your partner avoids money? How to involve them without dragging themClear expectations, gradual responsibility and boundaries: what to do when one chases and the other runs.Designing the life you want together: 4 exercises for couplesSentences to complete, irrational happiness, the perfect day and a ten-year list with automatic saving.Spend more on what you love and cut the rest: choosing your prioritiesFinding the items to raise and lower, with an exercise and a way to talk about it as a couple.Joint or separate accounts for couples: how to organise them (and why no secrets)A joint account, personal accounts and named goals: a simple layout, with the Italian specifics.The monthly money meeting for couples: a one-hour agenda (and the annual review)A 60-minute agenda, ground rules for tone and the annual review to do away from home.
Costs, products and advice
What your bank's mutual funds really cost youWhere to find costs in the KID and your bank's report, and what 2% costs over 20 years.Unit-linked and hybrid insurance policies: what to check before you signClass I, unit-linked and hybrid policies: real benefits, two layers of costs and a pre-signing checklist.Why investors earn less than their fundsThe behaviour gap, what the studies do and don't say, and how to avoid the costliest mistakes.Fee-only financial planner: what it is, what it costs and how to chooseHow advisers get paid, what fee-only really means and the questions to ask before choosing.