FREE stands for Financial Return Exceeds Expenditure. I know it doesn’t sound great but I just wanted my acronym to sound as cool as the popular FIRE.
FIRE is the acronym for the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement.
The goal of FIRE is to work hard, live below your means and retire early while maintaining a reasonable lifestyle. The amount you need to save to hit your FIRE number depends on your annual salary, geographic location and returns from your investments.
While the concept of FIRE is appealing, I am not in total agreement with it. Financial independence yes. That is fantastic. But retiring early? Not so.
It may not be wise to retire early from your active work. Retire early to do what?
Your day to day work is important to give you an identity and a sense of purpose. It is very fulfilling to accomplish or contribute to work that is meaningful to you. These are critical for your mental health and overall well-being.
I believe it is better to work towards a position where your income from your investments (passive income such as dividends, interests, royalty and such) is more than your expenditure (roof, food, transport and utilities). Then you will have the means to only choose work that interests you.
The aim is to be in a privileged position where you have the opportunity to seek out work that you are passionate about. You are free to pursue your curiosity, whether it is in career, sports or hobby.
Disclaimer, I may not be an expert in this subject. We do not get sufficient formal education on saving and investment. For most of us, it has been like groping in the dark and learning from mistakes. Hence my aim is to dedicate more time learning and improving my financial knowledge and discipline here.
<This section is a work in progress. I hope to work on it soon.>