Top 5 Reasons to be Financially Independent and Retire Early (F.I.R.E)

Why should you be interested to be Financially Independent and Retire Early (F.I.R.E)? When my husband first introduced this concept to me I asked him the same question. why should I miss out on fun now for later?

I was in my late 20s and the future seemed rosy and under control. I did not immediately see the need for us to talk about our finances and investments so early on in our courtship. Also, statements like “save for a rainy day” or “save now for future” were something I was used to only hearing from my grandmother. I thought “Saving” is not a subject to discuss for us cool young people. No one was talking about saving, instead EVERYONE I knew was buying things on debt, banking on their future earning potential without any hesitation.

To me, debt and EMIs seemed a natural solution to all the future problems that Naren was talking about.

So you must think what changed so drastically that only after couple of years from our first conversation I am writing this blog post? trying to convince you how Financial Independence and early retirement can improve your life.

Actually, nothing drastic- I just had to scratch the surface of my life to see how in-spite of doing well in my job I could not see myself keeping the same pace at work forever, plus I missed the freedom and autonomy: I could not experiment much with my life, my bucket list was growing longer. How much can you do in 2 weeks holiday per year( not all of us are lucky enough to even take that).

For the first time in my adult life I could see that I can do something about most of these issues. And that is how slowly and gradually I became a FIRE convert :-). So, today I will share with you some compelling reasons to consider F.I.R.E as a solution to your problems as well:

TOP 5 REASONS TO BE FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT AND RETIRE EARLY (F.I.R.E)

#1 Because why not

Resist the herd mentality. There are 1000’s of people who have done it and they share how they did it on their blogs just like us. Financial Independence and early retirement may not have been possible in India 30 years back because people did not have such high-paying private jobs, investing in the equity markets was not easy or trustworthy and F.I.R.E role models were almost nil. All that has changed now. The secret to achieving F.I.R.E in 10-20 years is very well-known now to anyone who wants it:

• Save and invest atleast 50% of your income
• Spend smart:  saving a ton each month forces you to optimize your spending
• Stay Debt-free : Save and buy even big-ticket items instead of taking a loan
• Earn more if you are not able to save more
• Don’t feel pressured to follow the wasteful spending habits of your peers

#2 Freedom

I like being my own BOSS. Freedom is a very basic human need. In our personal life also we crave freedom in our work, in how we spend our personal time and  in having freedom of speech. I personally wanted to just explore who I was and what made me happy when I quit my job. F.I.R.E gives an opportunity to be your own BOSS, to claim your freedom to explore your life and interests with confidence and security. It did for me! Take a few minutes, and imagine all the things you will do if you had freedom and time

#3 Courage and Peace of mind

Personally I perform really well in crisis and stressful work environments. But I also love peace and tranquility in my day-to-day life. Knowing that we have no debt + 1 year emergency fund stashed away and that we are on the road to F.I.R.E gives me a peace of mind in this ever chaotic and changing world. I feel prepared to handle any life crisis that life may throw our way with confidence. I know I have something solid to fall back on and it gives me tremendous courage and peace of mind. Should all of us not strive for it?

#4 Family Harmony

The fact is through out our lifecycle the ability to work (no: of hours) keeps changing. It is highest in 20s, as one usually has single-minded focus on career, has time and energy to pull overnighters and long working hours. But that gradually changes once you get married and you want to spend quality time with your spouse and fulfill other household and social obligations.

The biggest change in your ability to work (no of hours) happens after you have a baby.  You need considerable amount of time, physical and mental energy to raise a baby. Then again you get your time back in your 40s when your kids are grown up and are independent and you again have more time to focus on your work.

Naren and I saw considerable decline in our work hours starting from the early days of our pregnancy: doctor’s appointments, health issues, prepping the house for baby, making big purchases and life decisions took considerable amount of time. Most of us live in a nuclear family and most often both the partners are working and also share equal responsibility towards household work and parenting. Our current work culture does not accommodate this fact of life. Especially in highly competitive careers where most of us are ambitious to do better in life.

In middle of big life changes such as Marriage and having a baby add in time crunch, massive EMIs, other debt, no emergency fund and you have a perfect recipe for personal stress and marital disharmony. 

Knowing all this in your early 20s would you not like to plan your life so that you can avoid these pitfalls and be in a position of strength so that you can enjoy the most beautiful transitions in your life.

#5 F.I.R.E helps your money to work for you

Just making more and more money to fulfill your financial goals is not the smart answer. You may convince yourself that you deserve it, you work hard. But you also deserve stress-free life, quality time with you family, flexibility to take care of your aging parents and pursue your dreams. If you only depend on your income to meet all you financial goals you are missing  out on maximizing on your hard earned money. Through FIRE we plan to create enough financial assets that they act like a third person earning for us 24X7. Money never stops working, never sleeps. So take advantage of this fact.

Through FIRE we plan to create enough financial assets that they act like a third person earning for us 24X7

#6 (Bonus) Environmental reasons

This is a BONUS reason. Last but not the least and a major motivator for me to retire early. Being a millennial I enjoy the countless consumer choices that life offers us in the 21st century. However I also feel a knot in my stomach to see how much we waste. When I compared my life to our parents generation I knew that I was consuming much more than I needed and I was not any happier for it. Our incessant need to upgrade our lifestyle, to treat ourselves to feel worth-it and keeping up with Jones’s makes us spend way more then we actually need to be happy in life.

F.I.R.E not only gives you freedom to live your life but also helps you live a more conscious and environmentally friendly life.

So, what are you waiting for! Share with us in comments what is your top most reason to be Financially Independent and Retire Early.