FI or RE?

[chagan]

F.I.R.E:
Obviously a very popular topic with this new wave of people with a new appreciation of the concept (including me).
My apologies, if this was previously discussed, if so, some of the veterans could point me to the post and I will close this thread.

Is the "Retire Early" part more important for people in their FIRE journey or is it the Financial Independence part?

[reeshau]

Well, you can't RE unless you are FI.  But plenty of people reach FI and find that working without having to work changes the game, and makes work much more enjoyable.  (Aka FU money, a milestone to FI)  So, FI is the necessary part.  RE just makes a nifty acronym, and is certainly optional.

[BlueMR2]

FI more important to me.  It's nice knowing I don't *need* to work anymore.  The fact that I am working lets me buy some toys and do some extra things.  Once FI, then RE is there just waiting for whenever you are ready.

[Mrs. Sloth]

The R.E. part hooked me and motivated my journey to achieve F.I. even though it seemed impossible as first. My desire for early retirement keeps me going and on course to reach my goal.

[cool7hand]

FI. Financial Independence has allowed me to work on a piece of intellectual property for years without it yet generating any income because I don't need the income. FI is making the IP better because I don't need to rush it to market.

[alcon835]

RE for me. My career is very high paying, but I'd like more freedom to explore creative pursuits that probably won't net me much, if any, income.

I may change my mind once I'm FI depending on where I'm working, but the whole reason I am pursuing FIRE is to be able to quit working and use my time pursuing things that won't make me money.

[John Galt incarnate!]

F.I.R.E:
Obviously a very popular topic with this new wave of people with a new appreciation of the concept (including me).
My apologies, if this was previously discussed, if so, some of the veterans could point me to the post and I will close this thread.

Is the "Retire Early" part more important for people in their FIRE journey or is it the Financial Independence part?

As soon as possible I wanted to RE permanently so FI in sufficient amount to ensure permanent  RE was  the most important.

[John Galt incarnate!]

 Some (me) wanted to become FI asap - even lean FI - as I wanted to RE asap.

Precisely the same for me.


 Most agree though that it is best to get to FI so you can do whatever you want.

'Tis true.

[Rosy]

FI - nothing else matters because then you are free to choose how to live the rest of your life.

[clarkfan1979]

FI for me. I get enough time off with my full-time job that I can pursue my passions. I get personal growth with my job and with the relationships at work. I'm planning on working "full-time" until I hit 65-70.

[youngwildandfree]

FI for me as well. I have a lot of dreams once I get there which might generate money as well but the FI piece is needed to reduce the risk of pursuing these things.

[Loren Ver]

RE for me and DH.  We actually pulled the plug before we hit what we considered our actual FI number since our RE date arrived first.  Figured we would just be flexible until our FI number rolled in, which it later did.

Loren

[cangelosibrown]

I consider myself FI. I'm sure I don't match everyone's definition though. I'm not FI at my current spending level, but could easily and comfortably stop working if I wanted.  So on the face of it, I guess FI is more important to me than RE, since I'm choosing not to RE at the moment. But... obviously I only care about FI so that I can RE (when I decide it makes sense).

I love my job at the moment, if I didn't I would quit. And nothing lasts forever, so I am fully expecting that to happen soon enough. And that's the part that is most important to me. Is that FI or is that RE?