Allen Mueller, CFA, MBA

Welcome to 7 Saturdays!

I’m an engineer by training but have been a finance nerd ever since first encountering the subject in my MBA program. I vividly remember sitting in those finance, economics, and accounting intro classes with zero business background, being so intrigued to learn how all the pieces of the modern economy fit together – it felt kind of like getting a glimpse at the source code of the Matrix! At that time I was working in an engineering role that had zero flexibility (your butt is in the office 8 to 5 every weekday), and I knew I didn’t want to live that cubicle life for the next 40 years.

So, like any other millennial, I fed my concerns into the all-knowing Google – “How do I retire early?” This led me down the rabbit hole of FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) blogs and I started reading like crazy. I decided that I wanted to know everything there was to know about personal finance. My wife and I started setting ambitious financial goals and investing aggressively for early retirement.

After the MBA program, I decided to put those new skills to work and transitioned to corporate finance. I spent about a decade in this “second career”. Part of my professional development was to begin the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program to expand my knowledge of investing and portfolio management. After earning the CFA charter in February 2022, I started working toward the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation as well. You could say I’m a lifelong learner… or maybe I just can’t sit still.

I started this blog to share my thoughts on personal finance, and in 2022 I launched an independent firm – 7 Saturdays Financial to provide planning and investment management services at a flat fee. The core focus of 7 Saturdays Financial is helping high-performers retire with confidence. Thanks to growth of the business, I was able to exit the corporate world for good in July of 2023.

Other than nerding out on finance, I also enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, being outdoors, hunting, fitness, a good craft beer, and tax avoidance.

What does “7 Saturdays” mean?

7 Saturdays is my favorite analogy for “work optional” – the summit of the financial planning mountain. Most people achieve this milestone after age 60, but many strive for that goal earlier – even decades earlier. Once your passive income exceeds your living expenses, you’re financially independent.

At that point, every day is a Saturday because you have control over your time. You get to fill your days with activities you want to do, not what you must do to generate income (although many people choose to continue working in some capacity after financial independence!) Career changes, passion projects, entrepreneurship, and volunteering are popular modes of work once income is not the driving factor.

Learning to master money is critical. Diligent planning and efficient investing are the keys to reaching your goals at every stage – financial security, abundance, and eventually independence. It’s time to turn off autopilot and start being intentional!

So take a look around, read some articles, drop a comment and be sure to check out the Useful Links for some other great resources. Thanks for stopping by!