When can I retire or achieve FIRE as a Digital Nomad?
That’s the key question! You can’t predict the future, but based on a few key insights and numbers you can make a solid guess. Use the FIRE calculator below to get an idea of when you can achieve FIRE as a digital nomad!
What Is Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE)?
Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) is a movement of people devoted to a program of extreme savings and investment that aims to allow them to retire far earlier than traditional budgets and retirement plans would permit. Born out of the 1992 best-selling book Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez, FIRE came to embody a core premise of the book: People should evaluate every expense in terms of the number of working hours it took to pay for it.
Several FIRE retirement variations that dictate the lifestyle the FIRE movement’s devotees are willing and able to maintain have evolved within it, as reported by Forbes Advisor.
- Fat FIRE—This is for the individual with a traditional lifestyle who aims to save substantially more than the average worker but doesn’t want to reduce their current standard of living. It generally takes a high salary and aggressive savings and investment strategies for it to work.
- Lean FIRE—This requires stringent adherence to minimalist living and extreme savings, necessitating a far more restricted lifestyle. Many Lean FIRE adherents live on $25,000 or less per year.
- Barista FIRE—This is for people who want to exist between the two choices above. They quit their traditional 9-to-5 jobs, but use a combination of part-time work and savings to live a less-than-minimalist lifestyle. The former lets them obtain health coverage, while the latter prevents them from dipping into their retirement funds.
For Whom Is FIRE Really?
Most people think that FIRE is meant for people who can pull in a substantial income, generally in the six figures. And indeed, if your goal is to retire in your 30s or 40s, that probably is the case. However, there is plenty for everyone to learn from the principles of the movement that can help people save for their own retirement and even achieve an early one, if not quite as early as 40.
And remember, the first part of FIRE stands for financial independence, something that, if achieved, can allow you to—instead of retiring—work at something you love rather than something you have to do. Author Robin says in the book that FIRE is not just about retiring early; rather, it teaches you how to consume less while living better.
Text source: Investopedia. Calculator coded by The Wealthy Finn.
Calculate your path to FIRE!
What can I do to reach FIRE faster?
We’ve got plenty of useful tips for you on this website. One way to achieve FIRE faster would be to optimize your passive income. You can read more about that right here: