• Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant had a weekend-long pre-wedding party in March.
• The couple continue their festivities next week with a luxury cruise, the Deccan Chronicle reported.
• They'll reportedly be joined by about 800 guests on a cruise from Italy to the south of France.

The Ambanis are continuing their glitzy pre-wedding celebrations with another set of festivities.

Anant Ambani, the son of India's richest person, Mukesh Ambani, and his fiancée, Radhika Merchant, threw a weekend-long affair in March to commemorate their upcoming wedding.

They are now said to be embarking on a luxury cruise next week, which will set sail from Italy to the South of France with about 800 guests and 600 staff, according to the Deccan Chronicle.

Bollywood stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are expected to join them on the cruise, per the report.

The couple held lavish star-studded parties in March as part of the festivities, where Rihanna performed. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, and Ivanka Trump also turned up for the events.

Zuckerberg and Chan wore Alexander McQueen ensembles that cost $22,000 in total for the festivities.

The couple also hosted a communal dinner for thousands of local residents in Gujarat before the weekend parties, The Hindu reported. The wedding is said to be taking place in July although the venue remains unclear.

Mukesh Ambani is chair of the Fortune 500 company Reliance Industries and worth $114 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He's in 12th place and $5 billion ahead of the next Indian on the list, Gautam Adani.

Representatives for the Ambanis at Reliance Industries did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Spotify is bricking Car Thing, its first hardware launch.
• The company isn't offering trade-ins on the $80 devices, and told users to trash them.
• Some jilted customers want the devices to stay operational and want a refund.

Spotify is scrapping its first foray into hardware — and early adopters are feeling left in the lurch.

That's because as of December 9, the streaming platform's Car Thing is being discontinued and getting bricked.

Car Thing is a small touchscreen device targeting owners of older cars without infotainment systems. It connects to smartphones and car speakers, enabling drivers to control Spotify with voice recognition and buttons. It launched in 2021 for $80.

Now the device will be turned off completely and stop working, Spotify announced.

"This decision wasn't made lightly," Spotify wrote on its website, adding it was discontinuing Car Thing to "streamline our product offerings."

Spotify isn't offering trade-in options and told users to reset their devices to factory settings before throwing them in the trash according to their local electronic waste guidelines.

On Spotify's community forum and Reddit, Car Thing owners were not happy.

Many wondered why the devices couldn't stay operational even if production had ceased, and some threatened to switch to rival subscription services.

"If you don't make this right and my car thing stops working in December we will be switching to apple music," one user wrote on the Spotify forum, garnering 539 responses.

Some asked for compensation, and others requested Spotify unlock the devices so developers could create their own software.

"Feels like we're being punished for supporting them," one Redditor wrote. "Dissuades me from buying anything Spotify puts out in the future."

Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• My only child has chosen to go to school in Los Angeles, which is thousands of miles from home.
• I wished he had chosen a college closer to home, so that we can visit easily. 
• I am dreading my empty nest, but I know it's time to let him go.

When you become a parent, you get all sorts of advice from well-wishers: sleep when the baby sleeps; ask for help; trust your instincts; the days are long, but the years are short.

Admittedly, I never bought into that last little gem. Every moment, especially in those first few years, felt long. There were many nights when my son was sick or fussy or "just not tired, Mommy!" Those difficult years seemed as if they would never end. There was certainly nothing short about them.

Motherhood taught me an enormous amount. I learned to be patient and a better listener, when to intervene, and when to let my child test the waters on his own. I also learned first-hand that time is a sneaky thief.

Fast forward, and here we are, 18 years gone with a finger snap. My only child is now an adult and about to finish his high school career. The peace and quiet I longed for on those long, sleepless, stressful nights I thought would never end? That's right around the corner.

I'll soon have an empty nest, with my bird nearly 2,000 miles away, and I'm already dreading it.

He decided to go to college far from home

His father and I are incredibly proud of him and know he's ready for this next big step. He worked hard for his great grades, applied to more than a dozen top universities, and was rewarded with incredible choices during one of the most hellacious admissions cycles on record. We cheered as his acceptances rolled in from across the country — including those relatively close to home.

But my stomach began to drop — and if I'm being honest, my heart broke just a little bit — as I watched his focus shift from schools on the East Coast and the Midwest (where we live) to southern California. He'll be studying film, so it made logical sense that he was drawn there.

As he started to whittle down his list, and it came down to two SoCal schools, a tough reality set in: He will be much further away for college than I anticipated or wished.

I can't just hop in my car and drive to see him whenever I want, and he can't just grab an Uber home to do laundry or join us for Sunday supper on a whim. This is going to be a tidal shift.

My son is ready for this next step, but I'm not sure I am

We recently traveled to Los Angeles as a family to tour his final college choices and to get a better feel for each campus. It immediately became apparent that he's thrilled about heading to Los Angeles for his undergraduate degree. He's ready to be close to the ocean, meet new friends, and dive headfirst into his film studies.

We did all the touristy things: drove to the Hollywood sign, strolled the Walk of Fame, and grabbed breakfast at Grand Central Market. All the while, I could see him sizing up the city and settling in. I have no doubt he'll make LA his home in no time.

My husband and I have done all we can to prepare and equip him for this new chapter. While our son is raring to go and ready to meet the world on his own terms, I'm not sure I'm ready for him to be thousands of miles away. I'm also not sure that matters.

While my emotions about his impending departure are valid, they are mine to handle, not his. This summer, I will do my best not to project big feelings onto my son. Instead, I will focus on all the exciting things ahead of him as he transitions into adulthood — even if that transition takes place halfway across the country and out of my immediate view. Southwest has direct flights, after all.

And while my relationship with my kid might be shifting and evolving, it's not disappearing and will never go away. I'm still his mom and always will be, no matter how far away he is. But it's time for me to take a step back, watch him soar, and be ready as a safety net — even if it's on FaceTime instead of in person.

In the meantime, get ready world. Here he comes.

• The first McDonald's franchise opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955.
• By the 1970s, McDonald's had grown into an increasingly popular fast-food establishment.
• The Quarter Pounder, Quarter Pounder with cheese, and Egg McMuffin were also added to the menu.

National Burger Day is May 28, and no fast-food chain knows burgers quite like McDonald's. 

In the 1970s, less than a decade into its operation under businessman Ray Kroc, McDonald's was already a thriving company that had served millions of customers.

Richard and Maurice "Mac" McDonald opened the first McDonald's in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant, and Kroc opened its first franchise location in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955. That year, he also founded McDonald's System, Inc., which would become the McDonald's Corporation we know today.

By 1958, McDonald's had sold 100 million burgers, and the restaurants had adopted a signature design style prominently featuring the chain's iconic "golden arches." In 1961, Kroc bought the McDonald brothers out, and by the 1970s, the company was going from strength to strength.

Today, there are around 34,000 McDonald's locations around the world, but there are also new challenges. Consumers are being more cautious about their spending, so the brand's focus this year is on offering affordable meal options amid surging global food prices, its execs said in May.

Here's what it was like to eat at McDonald's in the 1970s.

Before the introduction of high-tech cash registers, McDonald's employees would take down orders by hand to give to the kitchen.

By the 1970s, the company was well-established and beginning its global expansion. In 1967, the first McDonald's restaurant outside the US opened in Richmond, British Columbia, according to McDonald's website. By 1970, the chain had sold over 6 billion burgers.

The self-service concept allowed customers to order at the counter and watch as their meal was being prepared by employees through a large window into the kitchen.

McDonald's meals were served on plastic trays, which customers could then bring over to a dining-room table to enjoy.

McDonald's got its first drive-thru in 1975.

While chains like In-N-Out Burger already had drive-thru windows, McDonald's didn't have one until 1975, when a franchisee in Sierra Vista, Arizona, skirted around an Army regulation that prevented military members from entering local businesses in fatigues. 

According to Fast Company, he got around the regulation by knocking down a wall in his restaurant's kitchen and installing a drive-thru window in order to serve them.

The menu at McDonald's in the 1970s already had a few familiar options.

Before the 1960s, the McDonald's menu was simple. It included burgers, cheeseburgers, fries, milkshakes, and other fast-food classics. The first new item to be added to the national menu was the Filet-O-Fish sandwich in 1965, followed by the iconic Big Mac in 1968.

After the release of the Big Mac in 1968, the burger rose in popularity throughout the 1970s to become the chain's signature menu item.

In 1973, the chain added two more signature burgers to its menu: the Quarter Pounder and Quarter Pounder with cheese.

In 1979, Happy Meals were introduced to attract parents who wanted to feed all family members at a great price.

In 1972, McDonald's began offering breakfast for the first time.

The introduction of the Egg McMuffin marked a turning point for the brand, attracting a wide customer base at a new time of day. 

Dining in at McDonald's was popular among families, who could sit, grab a cheap bite, and even play cards.

In this photo, a family plays cards at a McDonald's in Mill Valley, California, in 1973.

This is what Ronald McDonald looked like in 1974.

Ronald McDonald was introduced in 1963 during a Washington, DC-marketed advertisement for the restaurant. In the ad, Ronald McDonald pulled hamburgers out of his belt and had a McDonald's cup for a nose. His hat was a tray with a Styrofoam hamburger, fries, and a milkshake on top of it.

McDonald's considered changing Ronald McDonald's character to a cowboy or spaceman, but those ideas were quickly discarded.

 

For kids who grew up in the 1970s, there was no better place to celebrate a birthday than McDonald's.

Fast Company reported that the first McDonald's PlayPlace was introduced in 1971, forever changing the McDonald's dining experience for families and children. While parents relaxed and ate their meals, kids could play in colorful climbing structures, jungle gyms, and slides. 

The introduction of the PlayPlace solidified McDonald's reputation as a destination for families on a budget, as many were during the 1970s amid a time of financial insecurity, high inflation, and the Vietnam War. 

You could even get married at McDonald's.

Annette Scaramozza and Anthony Francis are pictured at their wedding ceremony in a McDonald's in 1975. 

• Callendar House in Falkirk, Scotland, was a filming location for 'Outlander' season two.
• The mansion dates back to the 14th century and was home to the powerful Livingston family.
• Callendar House is now a free tourist attraction and wedding venue, showcasing its rich history.

Fans of "Outlander" can visit an ancient Scottish mansion where part of the series was filmed — and it won't cost a penny.

Callendar House in Falkirk, Scotland, was used as a filming location in season two of the historical drama series.

But the building's cultural and historical significance stretches beyond the TV show. Dating back to the 14th century, Callendar House was once home to the Livingston family, one of the most powerful noble families in Scotland.

Alexander, the 5th Lord Livingston, was appointed guardian of Mary, Queen of Scots, after her birth in 1542. The royal visited Callendar House on many occasions, and she was close friends with Alexander's daughter, also named Mary.

These days, Callendar House is a free tourist attraction and private event venue. I took a tour and was amazed by the building's beauty.

I spent a day exploring Callendar House, a 14th-century stately home known for its connection to Mary, Queen of Scots and "Outlander."

The mansion was built near the site of the Antonoine Wall in Callendar Park, which the Romans constructed in the 2nd century AD.

The wall stretches 36.5 miles across Scotland and was built mostly out of layers of turf. According to an exhibition I viewed at Callendar House, around 9,000 Roman soldiers were involved with the construction.

Though traces of the wall are visible in other parts of the country, it wasn't clearly visible at Callendar Park.

The mansion was home to the Livingston family from the 14th century until the 18th century.

Callendar House was built by William de Livingston in the 14th century, according to an exhibition I viewed during my visit.

Though initially built as a tower house for defense purposes, it was also home to the Livingston family for four centuries.

The building is free to visit. Upon entering, you will find a gift shop with postcards, books, and children's toys.

There were several "Outlander" inspired gifts, including books about the making of the show.

The mansion has more than 15 rooms across three floors.

Some rooms aren't open to the public as they are used as offices or for private event hire.

The building was previously used as a wedding venue. After my visit, a spokesperson for Callendar House informed me that the venue only currently allows weekday ceremonies and that it no longer has a wedding coordinator.

Life-size replicas of the Livingston family can be found in a permanent exhibition about the mansion's origins on the first floor.

Alexander, the 5th Lord Livingston, and his wife — whose name is unknown – were close with Mary, Queen of Scots, the exhibition said.

They hosted her at Callendar House on numerous occasions, as Alexander was a guardian to Mary following the death of her father, James V.

Like most of society during the 16th century, the Livingston family was Protestant. According to the exhibition, they were "loyal supporters" of Mary, who was Catholic.

Catholicism was outlawed in Scotland after the Reformation in 1560.

The religion was formally and legally reintroduced in the 19th century with The Emancipation Act of 1829, which "approved civil and political liberty to Catholics in Scotland," according to the Scottish Catholic Heritage Collections Trust.

The mansion's Georgian kitchen was used as a filming location for "Outlander" in 2015.

The Georgian kitchen was used to portray the Duke of Sandringham's house in the 11th episode of season two, titled "Vengeance is Mine."

Behind-the-scenes photos of the set were on display.

Callendar House is around a 30-minute drive to Wardpark Film Studios in Glasgow, where most of the season is filmed.

The mansion's second and third floors are used for various exhibitions. One exhibition is "Live it Paint it" by Falkirk-based artist Lys Hansen.

Hansen is a contemporary painter who uses art to portray her thoughts on motherhood, sex, and politics.

Many of the paintings I viewed had nudity in them. Hansen spoke of her decision to paint naked bodies in a video shown at the exhibition.

"We hide things away. We cover up, and we think more about our imperfections than our beauty," she said in the video.

"It's the thing you live in, breathe in… it's the only thing we ever own."

The exhibition is on display until August 24.

I was blown away by the mansion's colorful decor.

This mural on the ceiling above the staircase was one of my favorite pieces of decor.

After completing the tour, I sat down in the tea room on the first floor.

The tea room overlooks the leafy Callendar Park. The menu included a selection of teas, sandwiches, and cakes.

I noticed the tea room was busier than other parts of Callendar House, and I wondered if some locals had visited solely for the food since entry was free.

I opted for a cup of English breakfast tea and a banana-and-chocolate scone.

The scone was delicious, and the total price came to just over £5, or around $6.40, which I thought was reasonable.

Whether you are a history buff or an "Outlander" fan, I recommend visiting Callendar House.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Callendar House and was stunned by its beauty and history.

I learned so much about the local history and was thrilled that entry to the visitor attraction was $0.

I'd definitely recommend it to royal fanatics or "Outlander" fans — or to those looking for a fun, free day out.

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Happy Friday! Here's hoping you have some fun MDW plans. But if they involve seeing some savagery at the NYC-Dublin portal, you might be disappointed.

In today's big story, we're looking at the push for WFH Fridays and how that plays into the "quiet vacationing" phenomenon.

What's on deck:

• Markets: Wall Street is suspicious of how cloud giants might be juicing their cloud revenue numbers.
• Tech: OpenAI's defense of the ScarJo debacle isn't much better than what we initially thought.
• Business: How to spice up your cold emails.

But first, I won't be in the office today.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Anti-office Fridays

With all due respect to summer Fridays, we've found a year-round replacement: WFH Fridays.

Fridays are a ghost town at many offices, as white-collar workers declared the last day of the workweek best spent at home, writes Business Insider's Juliana Kaplan and Noah Sheidlower.

It's not just about working from your PJs on Fridays. Workers are sneaking in midday spa treatments and booking workout classes.

The result is a bustling work-from-home Friday economy, giving some businesses a noticeable boost at the end of the week. For a country that's seen many of its downtowns decimated, it's a welcome change.

And it's not just impacting mom-and-pop stores. Big chains like Starbucks and Sweetgreen have even seen an uptick on Fridays.

But WFH Fridays' staying power remains to be seen.

Companies have worked hard to pull workers back to the office to ensure "collaboration" and "culture." Some workers have fought back against losing their remote privileges.

Solidifying Friday as a remote day could be the middle ground employees and employers have struggled to find during the hybrid-work era.

WFH Fridays coincide with another growing workplace trend: "quiet vacationing."

More than a third of millennials recently polled said they've taken time off without telling their boss, writes BI's Kelsey Vlamis.

Starting your vacation a bit early without burning a full day of PTO isn't an entirely new concept. Let those who haven't left work early to catch a flight or avoid traffic cast the first stone.

Remote work has supercharged the concept, though. Employees have gotten strategic about scheduling messages or keeping their statuses active, even if they're only working on cocktails and a good tan.

Which brings us back to WFH Fridays. As summer approaches, it's not hard to see employees leveraging their remote privileges to get a jump start on weekend travel plans. Driving to the shore during Friday rush-hour traffic is a special kind of hell.

But how far will employees push it? Because let's be honest, they're going to push it.

What starts as cutting out a few hours early on Friday suddenly turns into missing the whole day. Do you know the best way to beat Friday traffic? Leave Thursday night!

That evolution might be tough for companies to stomach. We're still a long way from fully adopting four-day workweeks.

The end result could be employers saying abuse of WFH Fridays means they need you back in the office… for good.

3 things in markets

1. Getting a foot in the door at Goldman Sachs remains incredibly hard. Only 0.9% of applicants nabbed a summer internship this year, a record low. It shows the prestigious bank is still a top target among aspiring bankers despite some of its recent turmoil.
2. Wall Street is asking tough questions about Big Tech's cloud revenue numbers. A recent note from RBC Capital asked if big investments in AI startups were artificially boosting cloud growth figures. It's called revenue round tripping, and it's when money is invested in something that uses the cash on services from the initial investor.
3. Germany has a solar panel problem. The country has installed more solar capacity than demand requires, SEB Research found. That's pushed prices into negative territory during peak solar production hours.

3 things in tech

1. Good news: OpenAI wasn't lying about using a fake Scarlett Johansson voice. Bad news: It's just incompetent. OpenAI's response to the ScarJo saga is Sam Altman didn't know what he was doing, which is troubling, to say the least. That kind of bumbling argument works for a young startup but is tougher for a company meant to lead us into the future.
2. A LinkedIn Copilot might be on the way. According to a planning document viewed by BI, Microsoft lists "LinkedIn" among existing Copilots. It's unclear what the reference to LinkedIn Copilot exactly means, but a person familiar with the planning said it suggests the company has bigger plans than its existing AI tools.
3. Keep it secret, keep it SAFE. AI startups are reviving the funding mechanism, pioneered by Y Combinator, to raise money in a more founder-friendly way. Rather than a conventional equity investment, investors commit a certain amount of funding, like a warrant, and in return, receive stock in the company at a future date.

3 things in business

1. How a former Meta and Google employee got Mark Cuban to respond to his cold email. They may seem daunting or even pointless, but a Meta and Google alum says cold emails helped him secure those jobs and grow his network by 100x. He shared the magic formula he uses — which includes a great hook and a clear ask.
2. Why did Vivek Ramaswamy invest in BuzzFeed? The former presidential candidate owns a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed. But why? We have some unverified theories, including one involving the massively popular show Hot Ones.
3. It's the summer of meal deals. Burger King is launching its own $5 meal, just two weeks after it was reported that McDonald's would roll out a similar promotion. The set will include a sandwich, chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink and will run for several months, according to an internal document seen by Bloomberg.

In other news

• James Gorman is bringing his 18-year stint at Morgan Stanley to an end.
• Elon Musk's X is making 'likes' private so people can like NSFW posts without worrying.
• Pet insurance is booming. It's also mostly worthless.
• 'AI revolution just getting started': Here's what Wall Street is saying about Nvidia's 1st-quarter earnings blowout.
• 14 music-tech startups helping to shape the business as it's shaken up by AI.
• A sports bettor scored an 80,860% gain on a $100 parlay ticket for the NBA Championship.
• China's military is surrounding Taiwan, sending its new president an unmistakable message.
• Elon Musk says he didn't ask for Biden's tariff on electric vehicles from China.
• From more inventory to lower prices, here are 3 signs the housing market may be getting better for buyers.

What's happening today

• G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting continues.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. George Glover, reporter, in London. Grace Lett, associate editor, in Chicago. Laine Napoli, associate producer, in New York.

• A Taiwanese crypto expert is accused of running a $100 million dark web drug market.
• Feds say he operated the drug marketplace and blackmailed its users in its final days.
• Just two months ago, he lectured police on tracing cryptocurrency and fighting cybercrime.

A 23-year-old Taiwanese crypto expert known for posting his qualifications on LinkedIn, working at an embassy, and lecturing police officers on cybercrime, may have been leading a questionable double life.

Lin Rui-siang stands accused of running a $100 million dark web drug market, attempting to blackmail its users, and instructing others on how to evade anti-money-laundering investigators.

According to the Department of Justice, Lin was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday, and was charged with engaging in a continuing criminal conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, conspiracy to sell adulterated and misbranded medication, and money laundering.

Federal prosecutors say that he owned and operated Incognito Market, a dark web drug market selling heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, and other illicit substances.

According to WIRED, which was the first to report on this, two months ago Lin led a course for St. Lucia Police titled "Cyber Crime and Cryptocurrency" about how to trace cryptocurrency.

In April, the Government of St. Lucia published a press release praising the four-day course, sponsored by the Taiwanese government, which it said 30 members of the police force had completed.

The press release said Lin had "used his professional background and qualifications in the field" to help the Royal St. Lucia Police Force enhance its cybercrime-fighting abilities.

While this likely referred to Lin's role as a diplomatic IT specialist at the Taiwanese embassy, the DoJ alleges that his cybercrime expertise had more nefarious origins.

Since Incognito Market was launched in October 2020 and closed in March of this year, the marketplace sold more than $100 million worth of narcotics, the DoJ said. The DoJ said Lin used the pseudonyms "Pharoah" and "faro."

According to the Justice Department, the website had its own "bank" to facilitate transactions, which allowed users to deposit cryptocurrency.

In a criminal complaint against Lin, an FBI investigator said customers and vendors used Monero, which uses privacy-enhancing technologies, and bitcoin.

The indictment claims that Lin closed the drug marketplace in or around March, and that he refused to return money stored in the "bank" to vendors and customers.

It also said that he threatened to leak users' transaction history unless they paid a fee.

According to the indictment, a message on the website landing page read: "YES, THIS IS AN EXTORTION!!!"

WIRED reported that Lin also operated a web service called Antinalysis, which charged users a fee to check whether their crypto could be linked to criminal transactions.

The outlet said that "Pharoah" posted on a dark web market forum that its aim was to help users evade anti-money-laundering investigators.

If convicted, Lin faces life in prison.

The investigation was led by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, and the New York Police Department.

"This arrest underscores the dedicated, ongoing efforts of law enforcement to identify and dismantle illicit drug networks operating from every shadowy recess of the marketplace," NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban said in a statement.

• Millennials in the FIRE movement are emphasizing financial independence over traditional early retirement.
• Many say they want to retire from their 9-to-5 jobs but continue working in lower-stress positions.
• Five millennials on track to reach financial independence share why they're not set on retiring early.

Shelly October, 41, thinks she'll have the financial means to retire early by her mid-50s. But she has little intention of doing so.

October, a speech-language pathologist for New York City Public Schools, started her journey toward financial independence a few years ago. She says she's always practiced the movement's central tenets — working and saving toward a point at which she'll have enough to retire and live comfortably.

She started alongside her three older sisters and still has a few years to go as she works toward her pension. She moved to Yonkers, a city north of New York City where the cost of living is much lower, and she's kept her daily spending low. She found a townhouse through the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, which had no down payment or closing costs and a 1.625% mortgage rate.

By 55, she anticipates having enough between her pension and retirement accounts to retire. But fully leaving the world of work is not in the cards, she says. She's already working toward monetizing her passions with a tutoring small business. When she retires from her current role, she plans to turn her efforts toward raising awareness of dyslexia across the US and empowering other Black women to achieve their financial goals.

"When I first started listening to podcasts, I got really excited about potentially retiring early. I was like, I could potentially build up my business, and I started really calculating numbers trying to figure that out," October said. "Then, I realized I can actually have a really good lifestyle while I'm working without feeling like I'm kind of killing myself."

October is one of many millennials who are working toward achieving financial independence, one of the main goals of the FIRE — financial independence, retire early — community. The traditional FIRE movement, which dates back to the 1990s, stressed working hard and building a large nest egg through various income streams to stop working years, or even decades, before 64.

Some millennials who successfully achieved financial independence told BI that a traditional retirement was overrated. They're instead embracing working in lower-stress positions, creating podcasts, caring for young kids, and following their passions.

"The thing I have noticed shift most is the emphasis on FI and less on RE," Scott Rieckens, the executive producer of the film "Playing With FIRE," previously told BI. "I think it's awesome to see, as it signals that financial independence is the key motive, which it is, and that work and purpose are actually really important. Retiring early to nothing is a bad idea."

This philosophy has motivated five millennials who told BI that getting to "FI," not "RE," was the more important part of the equation. All say their hard work to reach financial independence won't suddenly stop, nor will a retirement on a beach or a cabin in the woods bring them joy. Instead, they hope to give back to their communities while striving to build their careers further.

Striving for financial independence

Millennials who haven't quite achieved FI yet are experimenting with a more balanced approach and aren't setting strict timeline goals.

Oz Chen, a designer for a financial technology company who's living in Los Angeles, tested out living as a digital nomad for two years after getting laid off from a job in his mid-20s. But the 35-year-old realized he wanted more consistency and a stronger social network, leading him to shift his goals from retiring early to accomplishing career milestones, even with $1.5 million in investments.

He's enjoyed being in a work-optional position, allowing him to set healthier boundaries, though he still hasn't reached many of his life goals. He continues to put aside money for experiences over material things — other than coffee — but he intends to keep working on bettering himself and those around him.

"The whole time I've been thinking in terms of my financial independence as what I call single-player mode. I'm not married yet and don't have kids, so I was thinking, well, I might need more money for that," Chen said.

Gabriela Ariza, 31, also has plenty of life goals she wants to hit, and she already knows she's not going to retire anytime soon. She sees financial independence as an extension of her drive to fulfill passion projects. The Illinois resident, who's moving from Chicago to the smaller city of Rockford, says she's on track to reach financial independence before 40 but has no desire to stop working in cybersecurity and real estate.

She plans to build new affordable homes using her years of experience in real-estate investing and expand technology and education in Haiti as part of her nonprofit, The HaITian Common Space. Her husband hopes to leave his 9-to-5 job to be a full-time business owner.

"I've seen a lot of people sacrifice their health, and that's something that I never, ever want to do if I'm trying to achieve financial independence," Ariza said.

Even with no desire to stop working entirely, the prospect of pursuing lower-stress work is itself a benefit — but it takes effort to unlearn the constant drive for financial success.

David and Jill Pawley, 36 and 34, are set to retire in seven years, though both care more about following their passions. The couple, with a net worth of $820,000, still save 55-65% of their annual income as municipal government employees in Michigan. They say their area's low cost of living and their frugal upbringings have given them financial stability, even with the costs of raising two kids.

"When I go back 12 months, our savings rate is 64%, and since we don't want to retire, that seems too high," David Pawley said. "We are trying to back that number down and finding a way to spend the difference because our goal is not to die with $10 million."

Because both of them feel they'll keep working until they get little satisfaction from work, they've questioned whether their high savings are worth it. They implemented a rule that they can't base their choices at, for example, a restaurant, off of price. It's allowed them to follow what they actually want, which has changed their parenting styles.

"Last month, I told Jill she had to spend $300 by the end of the month," David Pawley said, "and I swear she was sweating."

Are you part of the FIRE movement or living by some of its principles? Reach out this reporter at nsheidlower@businessinsider.com.

• The Demilitarized Zone established after the Korean War separates North Korea and South Korea.
• North Korean and South Korean soldiers, as well as United Nations Command forces, guard the site.
• Despite being one of the most heavily guarded borders in the world, it's also a tourist attraction.

In 1953, an armistice agreement established a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border of North Korea and South Korea. While the agreement brought an end to the battles of the Korean War, the conflict is still ongoing.

Tensions remain high between the two countries. On multiple occasions earlier this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tested new rockets capable of hitting Seoul in South Korea. In December, Kim said his army should "thoroughly annihilate" South Korea and the United States, if provoked, the Associated Press reported.

Take a look inside the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea.

The Korean Armistice Agreement of 1953 divided North and South Korea along the 38th parallel and established a Demilitarized Zone at the border.

At 148 miles long and 2.5 miles wide, the strip of land includes territory from both North and South Korea and acts as a buffer between the two countries.

The Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone is managed by North Korea and the United Nations Command.

The United Nations Command was established when the Korean War began in 1950 as a multinational force made up of 22 countries supporting South Korea, according to its official website. The UN Command continues to enforce the armistice agreement and aid efforts to maintain peace in the region.

Despite being one of the most heavily guarded borders in the world, it is also a popular tourist attraction.

Located about 30 miles north of Seoul, the DMZ is open to visitors who book organized tours. In 2019, CNN reported that 1.2 million people visit the site each year, citing figures from the Korea Tourism Organization.

In the Joint Security Area, also known as Panmunjom or Truce Village, a monument memorializes the casualties that led up to the 1953 armistice agreement.

"On July 27, 1953, in the small building approximately 1000 meters to the front of this marker, representatives of the United Nationals Command, the Korean People's Army, and the Chinese Peoples Volunteers signed a Military Armistice agreement that brought the Korean War to a halt," the plaque reads.

The plaque adds that the Republic of Korea lost 150,000 soldiers and the United Nations Command suffered 40,000 casualties.

The room where the agreement was signed is also open to view.

One of the tables displays flags from the United States, South Korea, and the United Nations.

North Korean soldiers watch closely from outside.

By walking around the conference table inside the building, tourists can say they have, technically, been in both North and South Korea.

Soldiers on South Korea's side of the DMZ stare into North Korea.

Tourists visiting the site are instructed not to wave or point at North Korean soldiers and to only take photographs when instructed.

North Korea stares right back.

North Korea offers its own tours of the DMZ. Travis Jeppesen, the first American to complete a university program in North Korea, wrote in his 2018 book, "See You Again in Pyongyang: A Journey into Kim Jong Un's North Korea," that the tour is surprisingly less tense on the North Korean side with no strict rules about how to interact with soldiers on the other side.

The Military Demarcation Line is indicated by a block of concrete.

In the above photo, North Korea is on the left and South Korea is on the right.

Nearby, at the Goseong Unification Observatory Tower, visitors can use binoculars to look into North Korea.

The Goseong Unification Observatory Tower is the northernmost observation point in South Korea.

North Korea has built what South Korean forces call a "propaganda village" near the border.

Known as "Peace Village" on the North Korean side, the buildings appear to be empty. The village was built in an attempt to encourage defectors from the South to join the North.

North Korea also flies its flag on a 525-foot flagpole across from the Demilitarized Zone — a symbol of the still-simmering tensions between the two countries.

When South Korea constructed a flagpole that was 321.5 feet high in the 1980s, North Korea built a taller one at 525 feet, the BBC reported.