It means they could quit today, and be able to comfortably live the rest of their life without earned income. It doesn't mean the exact same lifestyle - many pe

It means they could quit today, and be able to comfortably live the rest of their life without earned income. It doesn't mean the exact same lifestyle - many people plan to retire early to LCOL areas. Especially in that subreddit(1). You're right about the 401k - that $1M doesn't help too much until you hit retirement age. You need substantial unearned income or enough principle to draw down to be FI. 1. FatFIRE targets $4M-$7M, and is closer to your definition.(https://www.reddit.com/r/fatFIRE/ https://www.reddit.com/r/fatFIRE/)