FIRE movement

This article contains promotional content. Please help improve it by removing promotional language and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from a neutral point of view. (May 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement is a lifestyle/investment plan with the goal of gaining financial independence and retiring early through savings. The model became particularly popular among millennials in the 2010s, gaining traction through online communities via information shared in blogs, podcasts, and online discussion forums.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Those seeking to attain FIRE intentionally maximize their savings rate by growing the gap between their living expenses and their income, and investing the difference. JL Collins, an author who has been called the "godfather of financial independence,"^{[6][unreliable source?]} has said:

"Spend less than you earn—invest the surplus—avoid debt. Do simply this and you'll wind up rich."^[7]

The objective is to accumulate assets until the passive income from these assets provide enough money to cover living expenses. Some proponents of the FIRE movement suggest the 4% rule as a rough withdrawal guideline, thus setting a goal of at least 25 times one's estimated annual living expenses. Others, such as economist Karsten Jeske, suggest planning for a more conservative withdrawal rate such as 3.25% or 3.5% (accumulating around 28 to 30 times one's estimated annual living expenses) when planning to retire very early.^[8]

FIRE has been criticized for its low accessibility, in that aggressive savings and large investment portfolios require a large sum of money to begin with.