Barista FIRE Income vs The Middle Path 269

How $10,000 would have grown in each — compared across total return, income, NAV, and risk.

Compared over their common history since Jan 2026.

Judge on

Window

WinnerBarista FIRE Income

High riskMedium reward

10.7%

yield · $89/mo per $10k

The Middle Path 269

Medium riskLow reward

3.4%

yield · $29/mo per $10k

Barista FIRE Income wins on total return (2–0, full common history).

Growth of $10,000 (dividends reinvested)

Barista FIRE IncomeThe Middle Path 269Distributions reinvested · hypothetical, fixed weights

Total Return2–0

6.8%

Total Ret.

5.7%

19.7%

CAGR

16.5%

Income3–0

10.7%

Yield

3.4%

$89

Income

$29

0.27

Steadiness

0.76

Principal / NAV0–2

2.9%

NAV

4.5%

-5.3%

Max DD

-4.0%

Risk1–3

4.6

Risk-Adj.

5.1

4.22

Sortino

3.30

9.2%

Volatility

8.5%

3.6

Safety

2.5

Holdings overlap

0% overlap

Barista FIRE Income only

JEPQ 25%SPYI 20%QQQI 20%ARCC 15%EPD 10%STAG 10%

Shared

No shared holdings

The Middle Path 269 only

FDL 13%SCHH 13%BKLN 13%CGCP 13%IDV 13%JAAA 13%VNQ 12%IYR 12%

The risk-first read

The Middle Path 269 wins the risk-adjusted call: 5.7% total return at a meaningfully lower risk tier (2.5 vs 3.6). You're paid more per unit of risk — and Barista FIRE Income's extra tier exposure isn't buying enough return to justify it.

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Growth is a hypothetical, fixed-weight backtest with distributions reinvested at ex-date since Jan 2026 — no fees or taxes; past performance doesn't predict future results. How these numbers are computed. Not investment advice.