Episode 187

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Published on:

14th Jan 2026

How to Create a 3-Day Workweek (Before You Reach FI) | E187 Andy Hill

Everyone only gets 168 hours each week, and work quietly consumes the best of them. When careers sprawl into nights and weekends, health, relationships, and joy are usually the first things sacrificed. This conversation is about reclaiming time before burnout forces the decision for you, and proving that you don’t need full financial independence to start living with more freedom right now.

Andy Hill shares how he and his wife redesigned their lives to work just 20–25 hours per week while still supporting their lifestyle and long-term goals. Through practical examples and mindset shifts, Andy breaks down what it really takes to transition away from a traditional five-day workweek without feeling reckless or irresponsible. The focus isn’t on escaping work. It’s on intentionally designing it.

You’ll learn how CoastFI, part-time work, and solopreneur models can create flexibility long before you reach your FI number. This episode explores how to test reduced hours safely, set boundaries with employers or clients, and identify the moment when “more money” stops being the thing worth optimizing. If you’re craving more time but don’t want to derail your financial future, this is your blueprint.

Key Takeaways:

  • How to work fewer days without waiting for full financial independence
  • CoastFI can unlock flexibility long before retirement
  • Time freedom is built gradually, not all at once
  • One reclaimed day can transform how life feels
  • Part-time work can reduce burnout without killing progress
  • Clear boundaries protect your time and income
  • Small experiments lower the fear of cutting hours
  • Shifting your priorities toward time and health


Other Episodes You’ll Love:

Is Saving Too Much Holding You Back? | E179 Jesse Cramer

Mini-Retirements: Retire Often, Not Just Early | E177 Jillian Johnsrud

How to Live a FI Life Without the FI Bank Account | E170 Jess from Fioneers


Guest Summary:

Andy Hill is the creator of Marriage, Kids, and Money and the author of Own Your Time. After years of juggling a full-time job and a side hustle, Andy designed a solopreneur lifestyle that prioritizes time freedom while maintaining financial security. His work focuses on helping families align money with what matters most: time, flexibility, and intentional living.

Check out Andy’s new book: Own Your Time


Connect With Justin

Email me at Justin@FIMinded.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.


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About the Podcast

FI Minded - Financial Independence, Early Retirement & Lifestyle Design
Achieve Financial Independence & Have Fun Doing It
Pursuing financial independence, financial freedom, or early retirement often leads to the same questions: How do I become financially independent? How much should I save? What happens after I reach FI?

FI Minded helps you use money to create more freedom, without turning your entire life into a financial optimization project.

Host Justin Peters explores the decisions behind building a flexible, work-optional life, from reaching financial independence and navigating Coast FI and Slow FI to spending your money, changing careers, stepping away from work, and figuring out what comes after FI.

Each episode combines practical personal finance with conversations about early retirement, lifestyle design, work, spending, healthcare, self-employment, and life after financial independence. The goal isn't simply to reach FI as quickly as possible. It's to make progress toward financial freedom while actually enjoying your life along the way.

On FI Minded, you'll learn how to:
- Reach financial independence without burning out
- Build a flexible, work-optional lifestyle
- Navigate Coast FI, Slow FI, and other paths to FI
- Make smarter decisions about spending and saving
- Prepare financially and emotionally for early retirement
- Figure out what life can look like after financial independence
- Think through the tradeoffs behind major money and lifestyle decisions
- Make progress toward financial independence while actually living your life.

Some of our past guests include Carl Jensen (1500 Days), Jeremy Schneider (Personal Finance Club), Nick Loper (Side Hustle Show), Andrew Giancola (The Personal Finance Podcast), Jordan Grumet (Earn & Invest), Rachael Camp (Work Optional), Jillian Johnsrud (Retire Often), Sean Mullaney (FI Tax Guy), Jill Sirianni (Frugal Friends), Jackie Cummings-Koski (Catching Up to FI), Joel Larsgaard (How to Money), Cody Garrett (Measure Twice), Jesse Cramer (Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors), Jess (The Fioneers), Chris Hutchins (All The Hacks), Diania Merriam (EconoMe), Andy Hill (Marriage Kids Money), Fritz Gilbert (Retirement Manifesto), Maggie Tucker (Inside Out Money), Cody Berman (The Financial Independence Show), Joe Saul-Sehy (Stacking Benjamins), Doug Cunnington (Mile High FI), and and others helping you rethink how to approach financial independence.
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