Commitment to FI

Commitment to Financial Independence is the first big secret to successfully achieving it. It is a mindset that starts with Earning more than you spend, Saving for short and long term needs, and Investing to eventually enjoy an ample nest egg with the freedom it ensures for your remaining life's journey.

Your age is a useful indicator of progress towards Financial Independence. The earlier you start working towards FI, the faster you can get there. You need to establish goals and set a target FI age for when you plan to achieve FI. For some individuals a Normal retirement age where societal norms are followed would reach FI near the age of 65. For others, the age set to achieve Financial Independence and Retire Early (earlier than 65), which is commonly referred to as FIRE, is a desire to break the normal patterns and pave new ground for their customized way of life. There are countless variations in the space between the normal and the FIRE lifestyles that individuals can take. People that adopt the FIRE spirit do think that the FI part of FIRE is what is most freeing and the most important to pursue whether they succeed or not at retiring early.

Financial Independence FI is the key to a lifestyle where you have more control over the path you take and the risks you encounter along the way

Why is it so important in becoming Financially Independent? It's really not about quitting your job or retiring early. It is about gaining an independence from others that may control your well being more than you can control it yourself. It is about reducing risk and allowing your choices to matter and your personal path to be followed. Imagine:

• Having sufficient funds for emergencies like a job interruption, illness, or relocation
• Having confidence with no worry about losing your job because your not dependent on it
• Having opportunities and then acting upon them because your free to go different directions at will
• Having choices about living locations that offer better quality of life
• Having no debt

If you set your FI age well before the traditional age of 65, you are committing to changing your lifestyle in significant ways. How much change depends on how early your FI age is set to be and the financial advantages you might have. In any scenario you imagine, the time between your current age and your FI age will be the time you have to develop your personal lifestyle supportive of your FI age target and to develop and fund your post-FI age financial spending plan.

What is FIRE again?

Financial Dealing with money (e.g., earning, saving, spending, and life's choices)

Independence Living a life without money being dominant or being dominanated by others

Retire Living in a manner free of the work treadmill or of other forces that limit your freedom

Early Before the usually expected time

FIRE is a series of life choices that involves a plan that emphasizes savings in a huge way, spending only what is essential for a full life, and then achieving an independence directly related to building an ample nest egg in order to "retire" early and pursue a lifestyle of your own making.

People pursue FIRE as a goal because it proposes a path to freedom more aligned with progressive values of less materialism, prudent use of resources, and harmony with the environment. To be clear, FIRE represents a counter culture movement in contrast to traditional working lifestyles. It focusses more about a life's journey that is both individualized and rewarding in a nontraditional, nonmaterialistic sense. It stresses Financial Independence. It employs mindful savings and investing.

FI helps focus your objectives, helps define your immediate and urgent near-term saving and spending patterns, and motivates changes in your lifestyle and philosophies in its pursuit

Though some individuals may still prefer and thrive with a 9-to-5 job and traditional retirement, the goals and benefits of pursuing Financial Independence FI at an early age are just as applicable.

Reference Information

• Adam (2018, Oct 13), An Interactive Guide to Early Retirement and Financial, from IndependenceMinafi.com

• Millennial Boss (2018, Nov 9), The Secret FIRE Cult – And Why You’ll Want to Join It, from Millennial Boss

• Kristin Wong (2017, Nov 6), The Basics of FIRE (Financial Independence and Early Retirement), from twocents.lifehacker.com

• (2012, Jan 13), The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement, frommrmoneymustache.com