Sure, there's a dollar amount where you literally could not live. There's even more nutso people who talk about living on $100k by retiring to some foreign cou

Sure, there's a dollar amount where you literally could not live. There's even more nutso people who talk about living on $100k by retiring to some foreign country where cost of living is absurdly low, though. I don't think those people (or the 250k van people) are realistic, since obviously there's longer term problems (i.e. vans aren't going to be great for someone who is old). I would disagree with your financial independence definition though. Basic needs threshold is much lower than 'comfortable' living. The traditional definition of financial independence is not having to work if you don't want to. What that looks like (the sacrifices you make) depends on the person. Maybe to be financially independent you are cool with a $500/mo apartment and Ramen... or maybe that means a mansion and a bunch of supercars. Either way, if you're dependent on a job or someone else, you aren't financially independent.