3 ms·

There is an idea called FIRE (Financial Independence / Retire Early). The first half is having enough money to not need to earn again, so you are not dependent

There is an idea called FIRE (Financial Independence / Retire Early). The first half is having enough money to not need to earn again, so you are not dependent on work or others. Once this is achieved, then you can retire early if you would like. The conventional wisdom in this community is that if you invest a sum of money in equities, you can withdraw a certain percentage annually without ever running out of money. That is, you mostly live off of the growth of your investments. Generally, 4% (inflation adjusted) is considered a safe withdraw rate. So if you have a million dollars, and you can live off of 40K a year or less indefinitely, then you can retire. Obviously this is a simplification and there are more considerations. Let me know if you have any questions. This is a topic I am passionate about and happy to give my 2 cents on.

war1025 6y ago
I'm pretty well versed in the whole FIRE thing, and find myself more or less on that path. One conclusion I've come to is that after people "retire early", they almost never actually stop making money. It just tends to end up being more entrepreneurial stuff that they make money off. You don't "have to" work, but you "might as well", and all the sudden you may even find yourself in a more lucrative gig than you started with because you changed your focus and found a niche you can fill nicely.
- offtop5 6y ago
  I'd love to have free time to pursue other hobbies like working on video games, and making music. If I had the million dollar cushion, and then maybe I only made like $500 or $600 a month with my hobbies that would be awesome. Life is too short to do anything else in my opinion. unless I guess I end up with a family but that's not really in my plans
- stocknoob 6y ago
  Yep. The type of person who gets a high-paying enough job (and has the discipline) to save $1M usually doesn't have trouble getting extra work if they want. But now there's no pressure, they can take "fun" gigs that couldn't have supported them previously (musician, librarian, teacher, etc.).
- hinkley 6y ago
  Wooing a client isn't so different than pursuing a romantic partner in this way. When you don't 'need' something from someone, you are easier to be around. Your personal qualities aren't being overshadowed by your agendas.

war1025 6y ago

I'm pretty well versed in the whole FIRE thing, and find myself more or less on that path. One conclusion I've come to is that after people "retire early", they almost never actually stop making money. It just tends to end up being more entrepreneurial stuff that they make money off. You don't "have to" work, but you "might as well", and all the sudden you may even find yourself in a more lucrative gig than you started with because you changed your focus and found a niche you can fill nicely.

offtop5 6y ago
I'd love to have free time to pursue other hobbies like working on video games, and making music. If I had the million dollar cushion, and then maybe I only made like $500 or $600 a month with my hobbies that would be awesome. Life is too short to do anything else in my opinion. unless I guess I end up with a family but that's not really in my plans
stocknoob 6y ago
Yep. The type of person who gets a high-paying enough job (and has the discipline) to save $1M usually doesn't have trouble getting extra work if they want. But now there's no pressure, they can take "fun" gigs that couldn't have supported them previously (musician, librarian, teacher, etc.).
hinkley 6y ago
Wooing a client isn't so different than pursuing a romantic partner in this way. When you don't 'need' something from someone, you are easier to be around. Your personal qualities aren't being overshadowed by your agendas.