Alan and Katie are part of a small but growing global movement called Fire, which stands for “Financially Independent, Retire Early”.

From a little-known concept 15 years ago, there are now almost a million members of the main Fire discussion board on social media site Reddit, and mainstream financial institutions now publish numerous guides on the topic.

The central tenet is that you live extremely frugally during your working life, so that you can retire as soon as possible.

For most of us, being able to quit working life early is just a dream. From the current high cost of living, to elevated property prices and student debt, we will be working longer not less. The statistics back this up.

Last year, average retirement ages in the UK hit record highs of 65.8 years for men and 64.7 for women, official data showed., external

It is a similar situation in the US, where the average retirement age for men and women has increased steadily since the 1990s, to 64.8 and 63.3 respectively in 2025, according to one long-term study., external

Yet Fire devotees such as 49-year-old Amy Minkley are committed to their goal. The American middle-school teacher was able to retire when she was just 44.

To help achieve this she worked abroad at international, private schools in Japan, Singapore, India and Thailand, where Minkley says she was able to earn more money and enjoy much lower living expenses than back home in Texas.

She also spent as little as possible. “I wasn’t interested in keeping up with a certain expat lifestyle,” says Minkley.

“I rarely bought expensive clothing, kept electronics until they gave out, cooked most of my meals at home, and paused before any significant purchase.

“Having a housemate while living in Singapore and India allowed me to save even more, and in several countries I didn’t need a car, which kept my expenses low,” she says.

Minkley now lives in Bali where her retirement income goes further than if she had moved back to the US.

Three in five homes listed for sale since January remain on the market, according to property portal Zoopla, as high mortgage rates frustrate potential buyers.

A lack of demand from buyers, as well as some high asking prices from sellers, have left homes in some areas unsold.

Agreed sales were 7% below last year, Zoopla said, but the picture varied across the country with sales down 12% in Wales and 11% in the East Midlands.

First-time buyers were most exposed to high mortgage rates, although there are now signs of greater competition among lenders who are lowering rates.

A jump in mortgage rates in April – prompted by financial upheaval caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran – added an average of £125 a month to a typical mortgage at its peak compared with January.

In London, the peak saw £232 a month added to the average first-time buyer’s costs.

The average two-year fixed rate jumped from 4.83% at the start of March to a peak of 5.90% on 12 April, according to the financial information service Moneyfacts. It has since dropped to 5.54%.

The increase was a major factor in pushing down demand from buyers in the UK by 15% compared with a year earlier, according to Zoopla’s report which considers the market to the end of May.

However, in the north east of England mortgage costs for first-time buyers were only £66 a month higher over the same period.

“The national picture can only tell you so much,” said Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla.

“For sellers still waiting for an offer, the conversation to have is about price. Correctly priced homes are selling, while overpriced homes are sitting.”

However, he pointed out that recent cuts in mortgage rates were a positive for buyers.

“For buyers, rates are falling, there is more choice of homes for sale than a year ago and motivated sellers are willing to negotiate. If you are ready to move, conditions are more favourable than they were three months ago,” he said.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

McDonald’s shares fell again Monday, extending a steep slide that has pushed the world’s largest restaurant franchisor down more than 20% from its early-year highs, even as the company’s underlying sales trends have continued to strengthen.

Shares of the Chicago-based company were trading at $266.33 as of noon EDT, down $3.43, or 1.27%, on the day. The decline keeps the stock hovering close to its 52-week low of roughly $270, a level it first touched on June 22, and well off its 52-week high of $337.56, reached in late February. The roughly 20% drawdown over the past four months stands in contrast to a business that has, by most measures, continued to perform well operationally.

McDonald’s first-quarter 2026 results, reported earlier this year, showed earnings per share of $2.83, ahead of analyst estimates of $2.74, while revenue climbed 9.4% year-over-year to $6.52 billion. Global comparable sales rose 3.8%, a sharp reversal from a 1% decline in the same period a year earlier, with U.S. comparable sales up 3.9% and international operated markets posting 14% revenue growth. According to recent analyst commentary, the quarter marked the fourth consecutive period of accelerating global comparable sales for the chain, a streak that has continued even as the stock has fallen.

Several factors appear to be weighing on the shares despite that operational momentum. Broader sector rotation has played a meaningful role, with institutional investors shifting money away from defensive consumer names like McDonald’s and into higher-growth technology and semiconductor stocks amid the ongoing artificial intelligence investment boom. Persistently sticky inflation data has also raised concerns that interest rates could stay elevated longer than previously expected, a dynamic that tends to weigh on consumer discretionary spending and, by extension, restaurant stocks broadly. McDonald’s has faced its own version of that pressure directly, with customers increasingly pushing back against menu pricing even as the company has leaned on value-focused promotions to keep traffic steady, particularly among lower-income consumers who have grown more price-sensitive.

Company-specific decisions have added to the uncertainty. McDonald’s recently discontinued its long-running “Wrap of the Day” promotion, a roughly 15-year-old offering, a move some analysts have flagged as a potential risk to customer traffic at a moment when overall quick-service foot traffic across the industry is already softening. At the same time, the company rolled out a new systemwide initiative called “McDonald’s NEXT” earlier this month, aimed at improving food quality, expanding automation, enhancing digital ordering and strengthening franchise economics across its nearly 46,000 restaurants. While the program has been broadly welcomed as a long-term positive, some analysts have characterized the automated rollout as unproven at this stage, introducing near-term execution risk and requiring heavy upfront investment in labor and capital just as franchisee margins are already under pressure. Separately, the company has leaned into nostalgia marketing, reintroducing its Fried Apple Pie to U.S. menus for the first time in 34 years in an effort to drive renewed customer engagement.

Wall Street’s reaction to the stock’s pullback has been mixed. KeyBanc lowered its price target on McDonald’s to $315 from $330 earlier Monday while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares, according to research tracked by financial data providers. Other firms have taken a more cautious stance, with Erste Group and RBC Capital both reaffirming Hold ratings on the stock in recent days. Across a broader pool of analysts, the consensus price target sits at roughly $331, with estimates ranging from a high of $375 to a low of $300, and ratings split between 19 Buy recommendations, 14 Hold ratings and a single Sell, reflecting a genuinely divided view on where the stock goes from here. Some recent insider selling, including a multimillion-dollar stock sale by a top McDonald’s executive earlier this month, has added to investor unease even as at least one institutional investor, SG Americas, increased its stake in the company by nearly 69% during the recent pullback, a move some market watchers have read as a sign of growing conviction that the stock’s decline has been overdone.

McDonald’s underlying financial profile continues to support its reputation as one of the more durable cash-generating businesses in the restaurant industry. The company posted roughly $7.19 billion in free cash flow over the trailing year and reported annual net profit of $8.56 billion, ranking it first among its peers in the broader consumer services sector despite trailing some rivals in total revenue. McDonald’s also remains a Dividend Aristocrat, having raised its payout for decades, including a 5% increase in October 2025 that brought its quarterly dividend to $1.86 per share, translating to a yield of roughly 2.6%, above the broader industry average. The company’s most recent dividend was paid June 16 to shareholders of record as of June 2.

Looking ahead, the company has outlined plans to open roughly 2,600 new restaurants globally in 2026 and has set a target of reaching a mid-to-high 40% operating margin over time, underscoring management’s continued confidence in the underlying business model even amid the stock’s recent weakness. Analysts tracking the company have pointed to a planned investor event tied to the NEXT initiative, expected in September, as the most likely near-term catalyst that could help re-rate the stock if management can convincingly demonstrate progress on automation, digital engagement and franchise profitability.

Risks to that more optimistic view remain real. Restructuring charges tied to the NEXT rollout are expected to run through 2027, while the company faces 4% to 6% higher interest expense and a higher effective tax rate of 22%, compared with roughly 19.8% previously. Broader margin pressure across the restaurant industry, illustrated by a recent decline in Chipotle’s restaurant-level operating margin, suggests McDonald’s is not alone in navigating a tougher cost environment, even as its scale and largely franchised model continue to set it apart from many competitors.

For now, McDonald’s finds itself in an unusual position: a business posting improving sales trends and steady cash generation, trading near multiyear lows on its stock price, caught between near-term investor caution over execution risk and rising costs, and a longer-term bull case built around the durability of its global franchise model and its ability to keep adapting its value proposition to changing consumer habits.

Bed Bath & Beyond is giving its iconic blue coupon a second life — and shoppers who held onto one could cash in.

The company recently announced a nationwide “Legendary Coupon Hunt” to find the oldest surviving Bed Bath & Beyond coupon in America, while giving its customers a shot at a $100,000 home makeover.

Through July 13, shoppers can bring any Bed Bath & Beyond coupon to participating Bed Bath & Beyond + The Container Store and Kirkland’s Home stores nationwide.

MARCUS LEMONIS NAMED BED BATH & BEYOND CEO, DETAILS FUTURE PLANS FOR RETAILER

Bed Bath & Beyond recently announced a nationwide “Legendary Coupon Hunt” to find the oldest surviving Bed Bath & Beyond coupon in America, while giving its customers a shot at a $100,000 home makeover. (Bed Bath & Beyond / Fox News)

Bed Bath & Beyond said the campaign is designed to send Americans searching through kitchen drawers, glove compartments, attics, basements and old scrapbooks for its coupons.

“For decades, our customers treated these coupons like treasure,” Amy Sullivan, president of Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc., said in a statement. “They tucked them into purses, filing cabinets, cookbooks and memory boxes because they believed they would be valuable someday. We think they were right.”

Sullivan added, “The Legendary Coupon Hunt is our way of celebrating the customers who helped build this brand while creating one of the biggest customer events in our history.”

BUC-EE’S EXPANDS NATIONAL FOOTPRINT WITH 15 MORE LOCATIONS IN THE PIPELINE

Through July 13, shoppers can bring any Bed Bath & Beyond coupon to participating Bed Bath & Beyond + The Container Store and Kirkland’s Home stores nationwide. (Johnny Milano/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Every coupon, including those that are faded and expired, will be honored and entered into the sweepstakes, the company said.

The grand prize winner will receive a $100,000 home transformation using products and services from Bed Bath & Beyond, The Container Store, Kirkland’s, Lumber Liquidators and Cabinets To Go.

The company will also award $500 gift cards to 100 winners and $100 gift cards to 50 winners.

BATH & BODY WORKS EXPANDS BEYOND MALLS WITH ULTA BEAUTY PARTNERSHIP, REVIVES FAN-FAVORITE SCENT

Bed Bath & Beyond said the campaign is designed to send Americans searching through kitchen drawers, glove compartments, attics, basements and old scrapbooks for its iconic blue coupons. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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“The winner of the $100,000 home transformation will have the opportunity to reimagine nearly every room in their home with products, inspiration and solutions from some of America’s most trusted home brands, creating a home that is more beautiful, functional and personalized to the way they live,” as noted in the announcement.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of SOFI either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.