Do you want to learn how to retire early? A lot of people who first hear about the FIRE (Financial Independence / Retire Early) movement are put off by thinking that they need to know a boatload of information about investing and personal finance in order to benefit from the concept.
These people sometimes ignore the movement, never to hear about it again without realising that they’d just stumbled upon a gold mine.
FIRE is actually an incredibly simple concept which anyone can follow, the information out there should represent this. So, I’ve compiled a list (in priority order) of the 10 basic steps that you need to follow to obtain financial independence.
1. Know thy spending
Create a budget and stick to it. Understanding your outgoings is a fundamental step on the pathway to financial independence.
2. Do not buy gluttonously
Don’t buy what is not needed, it will only bring unhappiness and increase your working life.
3. Increase thy savings rate
Your savings rate is the magic number which will dictate how long you have left to work. Increase your savings by budgeting and being frugal, this will help financial independence come sooner.
4. Fill thy emergency fund
Aim to save 3 months of expenses for an emergency fund. This money will give you the flexibility to not need to take out credit when things go awry.
5. Invest in low-cost index tracker funds
90% of people who try to beat the market lose. Invest in low-cost index tracker funds to guarantee a steady return over a long time period.
6. Choose free time over material possessions
Spend your money on the things that matter: time. Whether that’s on yourself or with your loved ones, material possessions will never bring you the same level of prolonged happiness.
7. Take pleasure from manual labour
Our bodies were built for manual labour, practice taking pleasure from it and see your money grow as well as your happiness.
8. Increase thy income
The more you earn, the more you will be able to save. Focus on increasing it as early as possible, back off only when your stash is sufficiently plump.
9. Seek joy from the things that truly matter
Look within yourself to understand what truly makes you happy, pursue what you find with passion and set yourself up for life after reaching financial independence.
10. Become a renaissance man
Move away from the singular pinpoint learning that you needed in the rat race, move towards learning many skills.
Now, go forth and prosper 🙂
Like it. Great list. In my list I’d replace the last one with do not covert thy neighbour’s Fire fund! As we’re all on our own journey, and what matters is we’re comfortable with our goals and own progress, and not to get overly concerned with how others are doing.
I’m also not too keen on manual labour at all. I tend to pay others. So I’d replace with love thy Fire neighbour as thyself, give each other encouragement and help toward reaching goals, like with this blog! Cheers
Thanks Adam! 🙂
That point is spot on, everyone’s on their own journey. Giving each other encouragement is also a must! 🙂
Agree with number 5. I’ve spent a lot of time researching investing. And low cost trackers seem the way to make long term returns and beat vast majority of active funds and get diversification.
A very upbeat post, I enjoy the tone of this blog as well as the advice. Time is the one resource we absolutely cannot recover so you are right to place it so prominently in your list.
Thank you David, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Great list! I still have some way to go on 7, 9 and 10!
Thanks Carl!
If you only have to work on them you’re doing awesome! 😀
Solid, decent advice. I would also recommend people to try and find a side hustle that can become profitable over time 🙂
-NF
Definitely NF, side-hustles can boost you massively.
I agree with all of the points – with 8 ‘Increase thy income’ – I would perhaps rephrase this to ‘Increase thy income wisely’ – Don’t want to lead to burnout with multiple side-hustles / day to day work as the process of saving won’t stay enjoyable for long!
I like it! The only one I would consider changing is number 7, “Take pleasure from manual labour.” I would perhaps expand it to emphasise the importance of exercise and general health. No point being FI if you can’t enjoy it!