> Yet the whole transaction needs the Sell part to realize the gains. Surprisingly, the Schwab experiment did not model this for the "participants". The FIRE c

> Yet the whole transaction needs the Sell part to realize the gains. Surprisingly, the Schwab experiment did not model this for the "participants". The FIRE community did model this at great length though. And the example in TFA is just an example: saving $2K a year is basically drinking one or two beers less each day (so I wouldn't look too much into that amount). Most people in the west could save that. At the very least the people at which TFA is aimed could save $2K a year. Try $20K a year: most working people here could save that. Here's a nice "rich, broke or dead" FIRE calculator: https://engaging-data.com/will-money-last-retire-early/ https://engaging-data.com/will-money-last-retire-early/