This is a very privileged statement. For upper middle class with no issues whatsoever (health or otherwise), maybe with meticulous planning, one could reach fin

This is a very privileged statement. For upper middle class with no issues whatsoever (health or otherwise), maybe with meticulous planning, one could reach financial independence in a decade, and that's a massive stretch. It's still a decade slaving away. EDIT: oh, and that only allows you to be financially independent at the same spending levels (hilariously minimal) that you have held so far. For anyone who doesn't have surplus income even after dropping down to the very basic necessities, it's not a choice at all.