174,721 tech layoffs in 2026 alone. This isn't about predicting the future — it's about applying the same discipline your old startup used on its cash to your own life, before you need to.
Source: 2026 tech industry layoff tracking. Note: how much of this is genuinely AI-driven versus AI cited as justification for cuts is debated in industry reporting — we're not asserting certainty either way.
Every startup founder knows their burn rate — how fast the company spends cash — and their runway — how many months until it runs out. It's the first thing investors ask about, because it's the thing that determines whether you have options or you don't.
Most people never calculate this for their own life. Low Burn Life is about doing exactly that: knowing your real monthly burn, and deliberately lowering it — not out of fear, but because runway is valuable no matter what happens next in your industry.
Your actual monthly burn — not your income, your spend. Most people have never calculated this precisely.
Housing is usually the biggest lever by far. Geographic arbitrage is the most powerful version of pulling it.
The goal isn't to assume the worst. It's to have real optionality if your situation changes.
Geographic arbitrage means living somewhere your money simply goes further — while keeping savings, remote income, or any location-independent income source intact. It's an established personal finance idea, not a new one. The difference is in the specifics: vague "move somewhere cheap" advice isn't useful. Real, verifiable options are.
The full breakdown of how to calculate your real personal runway.
Where the data in this page comes from, and what it does and doesn't tell us. (Coming soon)
The strategy itself — how it works, who it's realistic for, and common mistakes. (Coming soon)
Housing is usually the single largest fixed cost in anyone's personal burn rate — which makes it the biggest lever. Here's one specific, real example, not a hypothetical.
A city of roughly 4 million people in south-central China, on the Zi River. Modern elevator apartments, genuinely affordable, with a full cost-of-living structure well under what most tech workers pay for rent alone in the Bay Area.
The first step isn't moving anywhere. It's knowing your real monthly burn rate — most people never actually calculate it.
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