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We all know what FIRE is in the personal finance community but what is FIWOOT?<\/em><\/p>\n (I\u2019ve updated this original post from 2019 to reflect my current views and progress.)<\/p>\n Read on and find out why I still prefer FIWOOT<\/strong> vs. FIRE and what that means moving forward in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n Like any good movement, it takes courage to do what others won\u2019t.<\/p>\n Financial independence takes both know-how and long-term discipline. It takes time to remain invested when others are jumping in and out of the market. It also takes saving your brains out to retire early usually from a high salary and a bit of luck.<\/p>\n This is not to say I disagree with the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement and what some folks are striving for. I think many FIRE principles have great merit:<\/p>\n I\u2019ve written about FIRE concepts many times on this site. Many years ago I even questioned if FIRE was right for me at all.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Well, I know my answer.<\/em><\/p>\n In some circles (not all thankfully), the focus of FIRE is on \u201cretire early\u201d part.\u00a0<\/p>\n Work hard, make good money with the intention of leaving the corporate rat-race sooner than later.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s definitely aspirational \u2013 if that was the end of it. But most of the \u201cretire early\u201d crowd doesn\u2019t retire. They still work just at something different.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you expend energy, trade time or services for any income<\/strong>, that\u2019s work. If that\u2019s your blog or podcast or ebook or financial independence course that\u2019s work.<\/p>\n And working is not a bad thing at any age. Just call it what it is.\u00a0<\/p>\n Maintaining your wealth and being happy doing it?\u00a0<\/p>\n That sounds better and far more honest to me.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s the perspective that CFP Graeme Falco once shared on my site \u2013 when discussing his practical guide to financial independence book.<\/a><\/p>\n Like Graeme, I believe far more in the FI part of FIRE than the RE (retire early) part.\u00a0<\/p>\n For me, financial independence<\/strong> is the amount wealth you need to be no longer dependent on any active source of income (i.e., work) to fund your lifestyle. That wealth could be from stocks, bonds, gold, real estate, and much more. Financial independence can also mean you might still want to work.<\/p>\nWhy the FIRE burns bright on social media<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Why I\u2019m tired of retire early in FIRE and why FIWOOT works<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Why I\u2019m a fan of the Financial Independence (FI) part of FIRE<\/strong><\/h3>\n