FIRE Up! Financial Independence Retire Early Is A Worthy Goal

(FIRE) Financial Independence Retire Early Is A Worthy Goal for anyone questioning the traditional and dominate career driven and consumerist mindset. Sometimes the motivation is simply to escape the endless rat race. When in the rat race trap it is hard to see a way out and know where to start. It simply starts with making a decision to do what it takes to take control of your financial future.

Setting upon a quest to reach financially independence and retire early is worthy of the effort. The first step is recognizing something needs to change. The next is getting motivated to make a plan and put it into action. This Leisure Freak site is all about showing how I did it and stoking your own internal FIRE.

Time to get FIREd Up.

The  Financial Independence Retire Early FIRE Quest

It’s Time to Take Control of Your Own Financial Future to Retire Early

FIRE Up! Financial Independence Retire Early Is A Worthy GoalOur savings rate, investment strategy, and spending are the crucial basics we can control for ourselves and the earlier we start the better. The best part of having this quest for FIRE is that there is no risk and nothing but reward.

Think about it. By choosing to take this journey to financial independence we end up far ahead of where we are if we don’t do anything toward FIRE. There is nothing to lose if we create a financially disciplined lifestyle that’s focused on happiness instead of stuff.

The question becomes, when would you like to retire?

When I was age 40 my answer to this question was to retire early at age 50 (I missed my target date by 1 year because I let the market crash 2008/2009 unsettle me). I had saved in my 401K and had paid off all debt. But to meet my targeted early retirement age I got really motivated to embrace frugal living and ramp up my savings rate.

Early Retirement success depends on how dedicated and passionate you are about starting your plan now. Why not focus on retiring early while you are young enough to enjoy the freedom? How does retiring while you are healthy, active, and energetic sound? Retiring at an earlier age where you can take advantage of what an early retirement through financial independence can provide.

Take control of your future now and be part of the working minority who succeed with early retirement.

There is no escaping the rules of the universe:

The more money that you can make above your lifestyle costs the easier it is to retire early. That is why Frugal Living is so important. Regardless of how much money you make there are two crucial basics for a Strategic Retire Early Plan. The crucial basics are to spend less and increase your savings rate to invest.

You have to take control and focus on your own future now. Take financial control now so you can enjoy the freedom that comes with financial independence in your future.

You have to be Rich to Retire Early. FALSE!

Everything on this Leisure Freak site is to encourage and motivate people by showing how early retirement is obtainable and attainable. I wasn’t rich when I retired my first time at the age of 51. The money needed to retire early depends on the cost of the freedom lifestyle you want to live.

Over my 31 year telecommunications career my salary averages out to $53,242 per year before taxes. This figure even includes 13 years where I worked a second job. Of course earlier years were lower pay and my last few years as I worked my way to a Lead Engineer were higher.

What I am trying to point out is a lot of people start their careers at higher salaries than I did. I didn’t even seriously begin on my early retirement quest until I was 40 years old. Having a lower-income or lower savings rate doesn’t have to be the end of your financial independence retire early dreams.

Consider Retiring Early and Often

You might want to consider the “retire early and often” lifestyle that I live. Optimally you could afford to fund your full retirement and live a passion-driven life. A freedom lifestyle where you can pursue paying opportunities and save even more while doing what you love.  When your interests or passions change you retire again.

However the “retire early and often” lifestyle can be your choice-lifestyle when you might not be able to save enough for what might be a 30 to 45 year retirement. The impact of adding even a small amount of salary through passion driven employment or self-employment to your numbers is amazing. The idea is fulfilling what you define as your dream freedom lifestyle.

Envision your FIRE Financial Independence Retire Early dream as more than just sitting on your keister.  Accept living a free life open to pursuing opportunities that interest you or that you are passionate about doing.

You will find that it may take less money than you think to retire early from your career-driven mindset job. Especially once you embrace basic frugal living as part of your lifestyle.

Decide to Give Your Future-Self the Option of Early Retirement.

Everyone has the following decisions to make –

  • Do nothing and have no choices to make but keep slogging it out in your current career-driven mindset job. Staying there until you can’t do it anymore, you get laid off, or you reach age 67 or older. Maybe if you get to stay miserably working at that job, you will be allowed to work until your ticket to leave the planet gets punched.
  • Or you do something. Start planning for and executing your Strategic Retire Early Plan now so you have the option. Even if you really like what you are doing today, you can’t know how you will feel about it 5 or 10 years from now. Your passion and enthusiasm for your career can change and layoffs are now a business norm. Why not plan for and prepare for financial independence and early retirement now? That way if later you decide to retire early to a passion-driven mindset and the “retire early and often” lifestyle you will have the option to do it.
In Closing

So it’s all on the table. You don’t know me. A self-proclaimed Leisure Freak who successfully pulled off early retirement in 2009 at the age of 51. Someone who has loved every minute of this freedom and lifestyle.

However if anything I have done and wrote about here resonates within you then there is nothing worthier than the goal of FIRE financial independence retire early. It simply starts with some frugal living and saving/investing money instead of wastefully spending it on stuff that brings no real happiness or value to your life.