I tend to agree about the hyper-strict parts (e.g. less than $500k in savings). The thing to think about is whether or not you'd be better off if you kept a jo

I tend to agree about the hyper-strict parts (e.g. less than $500k in savings). The thing to think about is whether or not you'd be better off if you kept a job, but had a lower savings rate. How certain are you that you'd be able to keep earning money through a disease or recession on the "job only" track? The other thing is that with $1.3 million in savings, the 4% withdrawal rate puts your annual spending allowance at the median household income in the USA. In other words, just having that amount saved means you're earning more than 50% of the US. There is a gray area between $500k of savings (income near the poverty line for family of 3) and 1.3 million, but I think the risks of the FIRE strategy are a little over-stated.