Course 3010 lessons

Financial independence and early retirement

A closer look at the FIRE movement: the savings-rate math and safe withdrawal rates behind it, lean, fat, and coast variations, and how the idea holds up against Philippine realities like healthcare and cost of living.

What FIRE actually means

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early, and the two halves of that phrase mean different things. Financial independence is reached when your invested assets are large enough that the returns they generate can cover your living expenses indefinitely, without you needing a paycheck. Retiring early is the choice some people make once they get there, to stop traditional full-time work well before the usual retirement age, though plenty of people who reach financial independence keep working anyway, just because they want to rather than because they have to.