FIRE stands for "Financial Independence, Retire Early." It is a movement or lifestyle choice that aims to allow individuals to retire much earlier than the typical retirement age by saving and investing a significant portion of their income and living frugally. The goal of FIRE is to achieve financial independence, which is defined as having enough passive income or assets to cover one's living expenses without the need to work for pay.
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The most common question I get when being interviewed about FIRE is “What about health care?” It’s a big, scary question. Health care costs in America, if not managed properly, can easily run into ten...
FIRE is ultimately about being set for life. You build a portfolio big enough to cover your expenses, and then your one job is to not blow it up. But here's the tension worth talking more about. The m...
Hello friends. I hope you’re enjoying the summer break as much as my son is. RB40Jr just wrapped up an incredibly busy freshman year of high school. Now, his main ... Read more The post The FIRE is Go...
So many people say you just need purpose. I hear this all the time. You just need a purpose. Find your purpose and you will be fine. That sounds good. It is also too simple. As the guy in the room who...
Schedule a Free Financial Assessment with an experienced professional: https://bit.ly/YMYWassessC Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine, CPA spitball for three people planning for early retirement and...
Geographic Arbitrage is the most underrated risk-management tool in early retirement, and could help you shave years off your FI journey! Read more → The post Your ZIP Code Is a Bigger FIRE Lever Than...
Financial Assessment (Meet with an experienced professional): https://bit.ly/PureFreeAssessment 11 rapid-fire spitballs today from Joe Anderson, CFP®, and Big Al Clopine, CPA, on Your Money, Your Weal...
If your portfolio has been underperforming, you might need to fire your adviser. That gets tricky if you share a friend group.
Back in 2012, the year I left banking and three years after I started Financial Samurai, I had a choice: run a lifestyle business or build a venture-backed company. I chose the lifestyle business. Aft...
FAANG FIRE Extra Guac bundle now includes over $1,200 in FIRE tools and 1:1 coaching, including ProjectionLab, Sequence, Mezzi, Silvia, Lunch Money, and a 30-minute call with Andre.
The tragedy of modern ambition is that exhaustion is a badge of honor. Workaholism is mistaken for virtue, and overworking ... Read more
I get investments wrong all the time. Losing money is part of the process to financial independence. But after I FIRE'd in 2012, the math changed. With no paycheck to bail me out, I could no longer af...
I recently saw this Reddit post about a man who retired early (FIRE) only to be called a “loser” by his wife ... Read more
Here's something I've noticed: the loudest voices arguing against life insurance after financial independence almost always come from people who aren't financially independent yet and don't have kids....
Coast FIRE can produce many of the benefits of retirement, all while providing many of the benefits of still working. Here's what to know. The post Coast FIRE — How to Spend All Your Money and Still R...
We check in on some champions of early retirement nearing their own finish line of financial independence. The post How are FIRE adherents making out? appeared first on MoneySense.
The main reason I can't convince anyone in real life to FIRE is the desire for more. The moment you hit a $1 million net worth, you start dreaming of $5 million. Get to $5 million and suddenly $10 mil...
The problem with writing about FIRE since 2009 is that I've become completely sold on the lifestyle. I know how good freedom feels, so I have a natural tendency to want everyone to achieve it too. I'm...
The best financial planning software for FIRE just got even better! Check out the incredible new features that have changed how I invest! Read more → The post The Best FIRE Software Just Got Even Bett...
I just informed my manager that I'll be retiring July 3rd. Pretty exciting. The plan has been afoot for a while now, but I needed to let them know. I've tested the numbers, I've created my fund for th...
I’m back on the BiggerPockets Money podcast this week with Mindy! So exciting! For me at least. I enjoy podcasting and look forward to recording more when the F.O.O.L.I.S.H. Project is over. What FIRE...
I often get asked how I was able to buy so many houses with such low income. I bought my first house in my early 20s while unemployed. Since then, I’ve purchased over a dozen more with a total of $800...
One of the key ways to FIRE is to save and invest aggressively. You've forecasted your misery, therefore, you know that by the time your misery becomes a reality, you'll have invested enough money to ...
Dual-physician households want for nothing. In the eyes of the observer, they’ve won the lottery of life. A combined household ... Read more
Picture this: You’re in your mid-40s and you’ve just quit your stressful corporate job. You’ve set aside enough money to ... Read more
Hi readers, it’s been a while since we’ve done a reader case, so here goes! This one is a doozy, and I knew it as soon as I saw the headline in my inbox “FIRE with 7 kids”. If you have a big family, i...
As someone who's been writing about FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) since 2009 and actually leaving full-time work for good in 2012, it's been quite an interesting ride. For the most part, ...
Hey Everyone! I’m still here. The Retire by 40 blog is on life support, but I’m committed to posting at least once per month this year. Did you know Retire ... Read more The post Q1 2026 FIRE Update a...
From JL: Turns out you can still travel, even with a kid. Who knew? Certainly not their detractors. For years they confidently said, “You can only travel as you do, and be FIRE’d, because you don’t ha...
Most people think retirement begins the day they turn in their notice. In reality, retirement begins much earlier than that. It begins the moment you stop depending on your employer for everything. In...
Can you retire early if you are a parent and don’t have a six-figure salary? It’s a question the FIRE community gets often. Well, today we’re going to meet a reader who worked as a librarian, has a to...
From 2009, when I started writing about FIRE, until now, the FIRE movement has had a great run. It was born out of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, when hundreds of thousands of people were losi...
Physicians are trained to be conservative for good reasons. You don’t “wing it” in the OR. You don’t ignore a ... Read more
Happy 2026! Get the updated FAANG FIRE Cheat Sheet with new 401k limits ($24.5k), tax brackets, and triple paycheck dates.
As the Retirement Plan Live case study continues, Roger Whitney helps Henry and Lucy articulate what they want their FIRE retirement to actually look like—starting with values, dreaming without constr...
As a FIRE parents raising two children in San Francisco, we rely heavily on our investments to remain free. If we significantly misjudge returns, we increase the probability of having to go back to wo...
As the new year begins, Roger Whitney launches a new Retirement Plan Live case study, introducing Henry and Lucy, a couple in their mid-40s pursuing Financial Independence and Retire Early (FIRE). Rog...
How shifting from "Retiring Early" to "Living Early" allows child-free adults to enjoy their wealth while they’re still young enough to use it.
YMYW friends, welcome to 2026. What actually mattered most to you in 2025? It turns out to be tax-free gains on investments, retirement timing, and claiming Social Security. Today on Your Money, Your ...
Hear Paula discuss the importance of values-driven money decisions, human-centered strategies for navigating complexity, and her unique Double-I FIRE framework. The post Podcast 105: You Can Afford An...
MillennialAcademicScientist (or MAS) wrote to us when this blog was just a tiny fledging collection of articles back in 2017. What made her story stand out was her background. Like me, she had grown u...
As someone who has been writing about financial independence and escaping corporate America since 2009, I’ve developed several rules that serve as the backbone for achieving FIRE and staying free. The...
What if the biggest obstacle to a joyful retirement isn't your money — but the belief that you never have enough of it? In this episode, we discuss: Why "having enough" is both a financial and emotion...
Hey Everyone! 2025 is quickly coming to an end. Are you ready for the holidays? It will be a bit different for us this year. Mrs. RB40 is going to ... Read more The post November 2025 FIRE Update appe...
Are you dreaming of the day work is an option? Are you on track for financial freedom or perhaps Coast Fire? Which is betst for your financial goals?
Today’s reader case touches on an issue that’s near and dear to my heart, so without further ado, let’s dive in! Hi Firecracker & Wanderer! I’ve been an avid reader of your...
Back in 2009 (a year when retirement wasn't even on the horizon) I visited the first ever Durham Lumiere Festival. It left quite an impression, not least of the Son et Lumiere depicting the history of...
Some people hear me say I’m a third-generation self-made millionaire and a third-generation early retiree, and they instantly question it. They assume I had a head start. They assume “self...
A lot of people have strong opinions about paying off a mortgage early. Some argue it’s always the smartest move, others insist you should keep the loan and invest instead. The noise gets loud, ...
Hey Everyone! Oh wow, it’s November already. The leaves are turning, and it’s a beautiful day in Portland. We had a rainstorm yesterday, but the sun is out today. Ahh, ... Read more The po...