FIRE – Financial Independence, Retire Early
Everyone has their own meaning of FIRE.
To me, this is what FIRE meant to me.
- Freedom
- Having Options
- Doing what you love
- Being in control
- Having a safety net
What does FIRE mean to you?
1. Freedom
The freedom to have options, the freedom to do what you love, the freedom to be in control, the freedom to have a safety net.
The freedom to … The list goes on and on.
Achieving FIRE, basically unlock your freedom to anything and everything.
If you do not like to wake up early, DON’T!
If you do not like to work, DON’T!
2. Having Options
Having options is essential in everyone’s daily lives.
My high school teacher said something that stuck with me: “You having excellent grades doesn’t mean anything. Good grades just offer you MORE OPTIONS.” Soon enough, I realized what he said was so true.
Essentially, everything we do is merely to give ourselves more options.
Also, some great options you might gain by pursuing financial independence include:
- Moving to a new city
- Going overseas for a year
- Take a lower-paying, more fulfilling job
- Feeling free to generously support charities
3. Doing what you love
Who would not want to wake up and do what they love?
I asked myself that. However, not for me now. 2 years ahem..
Have you ever dreamt of waking up and hustling for something you truly believe in?
For me, that is the dream.
Now, you what do you love?
Think about what you love to do every day, once you achieve FIRE.
Your own interests and passions. Now, think about it…
4. Being in control
Being in control does not mean being a control freak.
Instead, being in control means having greater control over your own time. For the most part, the majority of us spend half our lives exchanging time for money.
Now you can decide how you want to spend your time without thinking about how much you will earn from it. Furthermore, you can spend more time with your family and friends without feeling guilty about any opportunity cost.
5. Having a safety net
Being financially independent means you have built a large nest which can be your safety net and you are no longer afraid of failure.
What is a safety net to you?
To me, a safety net varies in a lot of ways. Personally, security is the most essential of them all.
Pursuing financial independence gives you a different level of security. Yes, we need to earn money so we can save a large percentage to pursue financial independence. Moreover, you learn not to depend on one source of income.
The journey to FIRE often opens my eyes to the myriad of jobs that are out there.
If all else fails, we still have our safety net to rely on. That’s the beauty of FIRE.
Our Stand
It’s difficult to quantify how much you’ll benefit by attaining FIRE. Indeed, everyone can enjoy these kinds of rewards when they start pushing themselves towards that goal.
Everything begins with a willingness to commit to a goal. Hence, if you share your finances as a pair (with your significant other), you must have the same purpose. Thus, once you’ve decided on a goal, you’ll need a clear strategy to get there.
FIRE, after all, is not for everyone. While, I am also in the process of pursuing it, and it requires a great deal of discipline, determination, and teamwork, especially if you are doing it with a partner.
Finally, I wish you all the best in your pursue to FIRE!
If you are keen, check out our articles on other analysis: What is the Fear & Greed Index, Trust Bank Referral, Best Low Risk Cash Investments and 5 Key Events in the market this week.
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