I'm Don Lair, founder of FITools.

The first paycheck

My first job after college was examining patents for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

It was also my first steady paycheck. Once the money started arriving, I had to figure out what to do with the part I did not spend.

I had heard of Warren Buffett, so I looked up the books he recommended. That search led me to Benjamin Graham and The Intelligent Investor.

The revelation was not a stock-picking formula. It was the idea that investing could be rational, systematic, and calm.

The market did not have to be a slot machine. It could be a place where temperament mattered more than excitement.

I became a long-term investor. I tried to buy durable businesses at reasonable prices, hold them for years, and avoid the emotional mistakes that turn ordinary volatility into permanent losses.

The useful lesson was also the least glamorous: wealth usually grows when you stop demanding that it entertain you.

That principle remains the foundation of how I invest. If you are building your own foundation, the Handbook's long-term investing section is the place to begin.

Financial independence is not retirement

Years later, I found Mr. Money Mustache and the financial independence, retire early movement, usually shortened to FIRE.

The math was useful. Your savings rate determines how quickly you build assets, and your annual spending helps determine how much you need. The Handbook explains both the basic FIRE math and the often-misunderstood 4% rule.

But the more important discovery was hiding in the acronym.

FI mattered much more to me than RE.

Work is not the enemy. Work you cannot afford to leave is.

Retiring early can be a worthwhile goal, but an empty calendar is not the only measure of freedom. Financial independence can mean leaving a bad job, changing careers, spending more time with your family, or choosing worthwhile work even when it pays less.

Money became less of a scoreboard and more of a tool for buying control over my time.

That idea still shapes everything I build and write.

Options are not one game

For years, I put options in the same mental bucket as lottery tickets and casino chips.

Then I learned that the same market could host very different games. Options could be used to chase a fast payoff, or they could be used more conservatively to generate income from a portfolio.

I wrote about that distinction in The Casino and the Landlord. The Handbook makes the more practical case in Why Sell Options.

That change in perspective eventually led to FITools.

The spreadsheet that ate my evenings

Professionally, I spent years leading marketing and technology teams, including serving as vice president of marketing and marketing technology at WordPress.com.

None of that prevented my personal portfolio from becoming a management problem.

As my options activity grew, I built a large spreadsheet to track positions across several accounts. One tab calculated cost basis. Another watched assignment risk. Another tracked earnings dates. Tax accounting lived somewhere else.

Every new position created more administrative work.

I could spend an hour reconciling numbers for a decision that required five minutes of actual judgment.

The strategy was manageable. The workflow was absurd.

I built the first version of FITools because I wanted my evenings back. I wanted the software to handle the bookkeeping so I could concentrate on the questions that mattered:

What do I want to own?

At what price would I be happy to own it?

What am I being paid to accept that obligation?

Other investors eventually asked if they could use what I had built. The personal tool became a product.

The mission is bigger than the software

FITools may appear next to an options screener, but financial independence is rarely created by a single clever trade.

Most of the work happens before you open a brokerage account.

It happens when you:

• Build useful skills and increase your earning power. The career section covers the practical side of that work, while The Lambo and the Minivan explains why honest work still matters.
• Keep a meaningful gap between what you earn and what you spend. The Handbook's savings-rate guide shows why that gap matters more than most investment tactics.
• Make financial decisions that account for family, health, and the life you actually want.
• Learn the fundamentals of long-term investing before reaching for more complicated strategies.
• Use options for income only when they support a sound portfolio and a process you understand.

The software automates one narrow part of the process. The writing is about the life surrounding it.

What FITools is, and what it isn't

FITools is research and workflow software for self-directed investors who sell covered calls and cash-secured puts.

It is not an investment fund. It does not manage your money or place trades for you. It is not a signal service, a guru subscription, or a chat room full of people shouting ticker symbols.

The scoring methodology is published openly because you should be able to understand how the research works before paying for the tools built around it.

The education is free. The software charges for the automation.

I would rather build a smaller membership of thoughtful investors who understand the product than attract a large crowd looking for shortcuts.

Who's behind FITools?

Mostly, me.

I write the code, answer the emails, read the applications, and talk with members about how they use the product. There is some technical help behind the scenes, but the methodology, product direction, and member conversations run through me.

I am not a registered investment advisor, and I do not claim professional investing credentials. My authority is narrower than that.

I built FITools around a process I use with my own money. I explain that process openly, including its limitations and risks, and try to make the underlying work easier for other self-directed investors.

You can verify my professional background on LinkedIn or follow my writing and occasional commentary on X.

Get in touch

If this sounds like the kind of investing process you want, you can learn more about the options-selling tools or submit an application.

If you have a question, email me at don@fitools.com.

I read every message.

Don