FI, not RE: independence without retiring
FI, not RE means building the full financial independence number and then carrying on working anyway. The target is identical to Traditional FIRE. What changes is why you go to work on Monday.
The formula
Annual spending ÷ withdrawal rate. The same number, held for a different reason.
Assumptions: 4% withdrawal rate, 8% growth before inflation, age 35 targeting 60. Stated in full in the methodology.
Worked example: €3,500 a month
This is not a round number. It is what my own living costs were at the point passive income covered them, which is the moment I would call being free.
Full annual spending at a 4.0% withdrawal rate.
And here is how long that takes, by what you put in every month.
| Invested each month | Time to FI, not RE |
|---|---|
| €1,000 | 26 yr 3 mo |
| €2,000 | 19 yrs |
| €3,500 | 13 yr 9 mo |
Look at what changes between those rows. The gap between them is a pay question, not an investing question, and that is the whole argument of this site. The calculator works out how much more you could be putting in without changing job.
Who it suits
People who like their work and want the leverage, not the exit.
What I think of it
This is what happens to most people who get there, and almost nobody plans for it. The freedom that matters is not the freedom to stop. It is the freedom to say no, to pick the project, and to leave a job that has stopped being worth it. You do not need to quit your 9-5 to become financially free. You need the option.
Questions
Why build the number if you are not going to retire?
Because the number is what makes the work voluntary. The day money stops deciding your answer is the day the job changes, whether or not you leave it.
The other eight
- Traditional FIREI never have to work again
- Lean FIREI need very little
- Fat FIREFreedom and a great lifestyle
- Coast FIREWhen can I stop needing to save?
- Barista FIREI only need to work a little
- Flamingo FIREThe halfway strategy
- Slow FIDon't sacrifice your 30s for your 60s
- Geoarbitrage FIRESame portfolio, cheaper life
None of this is financial advice and I am not an adviser. Read what this is and what it is not.