There are FIRE calculators and formulas anyone can use to determine an “enough number,” but the reality is far messier. The math matters, but so do kids, healthcare, layoffs, rising costs, and changing priorities.<\/p>\n
Four individuals chasing big money goals explained what “financial freedom” means to them, how they’re planning to get there, and how their goals have shifted over time. Business Insider verified each source’s net worth claims.<\/p>\n
FIRE isn’t one thing \u2014 and most people don’t want to fully retire anyway<\/p>\n
The Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement dates back to the 1990s, when it was popularized by the book “Your Money or Your Life” and later amplified by blogs like Mr. Money Mustache. <\/p>\n
The idea was straightforward: work hard, live frugally, invest consistently, and build a nest egg large enough to walk away from work well before the traditional retirement age. <\/p>\n
Historically, FIRE has been associated with extreme saving and rigid lifestyles. But over time, the movement has splintered into looser, more flexible versions \u2014 including “Coast FIRE” and “Barista FIRE” \u2014 as more people pursue financial optionality rather than a complete exit from work.<\/p>\n
Still, FIRE often carries an aura of austerity, which has turned some people off.<\/p>\n
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Michela Allocca is the founder of Break Your Budget and the author of “Own Your Money.”<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Michela Allocca<\/p>\n
Michela Allocca, who quit her corporate job to build her personal finance brand<\/a>, Break Your Budget, said the traditional FIRE model never resonated with her, largely because it felt too restrictive.<\/p>\n “I don’t want to feel like I can’t do anything,” she said. “A lot of people who do FIRE dream of retiring abroad or becoming full time travelers, and that’s not something I personally aspire to. So I was like, how can I make this concept make sense for me?”<\/p>\n Allocca prefers the term “work optional” to early retiree. She’s also interested in the idea of “mini-retirements” \u2014 stepping away from work for months at a time once savings allow \u2014 rather than leaving the workforce entirely.<\/p>\n Dexter Zhuang has embraced one of FIRE’s offshoots. He said he’s reached “Coast FIRE<\/a>,” meaning he no longer needs to contribute to retirement accounts for them to grow enough over time to support him later in life.<\/p>\n “Coast FIRE is a place where I get more flexibility, but it doesn’t mean that I can stop working,” said Zhuang, who left the corporate world and took a pay cut to do freelance consulting. <\/p>\n “For me, that’s fine. It’s motivating, and I can still work on something that I enjoy to pay for those expenses. Anything that’s extra, I can continue to invest into retirement or for saving for a family or whatever other saving goals I have.”<\/p>\n Calculating how much is “enough”<\/p>\n Regardless of the version of FIRE someone is pursuing, the process usually starts with the same basic math.<\/p>\n Zhuang calculated his Coast FIRE number using an online WalletBurst calculator that factors in age, retirement timeline, annual spending, investment growth, inflation, and safe withdrawal rates. He assumed a 7% annual return, 3% inflation, and a 4% withdrawal rate, based on a portfolio largely invested in stock funds like VTSAX and VOO.<\/p>\n Dexter Zhuang is the founder of Money Abroad.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Dexter Zhuang<\/p>\n Before plugging numbers into a calculator, though, you first have to decide what kind of lifestyle you want and how much it costs. Once you have an idea of how much you’ll spend in retirement, you can work backward to estimate how large a nest egg you’d need. Many in the FIRE community rely on the “4% rule,” which says you should aim to save 25 times your annual expenses so you can withdraw 4% of your funds each year after you quit working.<\/p>\n Others, including Andre Nader, use more conservative assumptions.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n