To reach financial independence you need 25x your annual spending. Then you invest it to earn over 7% and have a SWR (safe withdrawal rate) of 4%. The extra 3%

To reach financial independence you need 25x your annual spending. Then you invest it to earn over 7% and have a SWR (safe withdrawal rate) of 4%. The extra 3% should cover inflation. So you can enjoy the same lifestyle 'forever'. So if you can live on 80K yr (6.6K/mo) you are all set on the luxury part. Put the money 90% in VOO and 10% in BND (like Warren Buffett tells his heirs). Or get fancier as you learn how to invest. More (read the sidebar on right): https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/ https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/ 'participate greatly in local business' Your time and energy are probably the best thing you can give.