Inside F.I.R.E., millennials’ new plan for retiring decades early

CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The “Financial Independence, Retire Early,” or F.I.R.E., movement encourages people to live a thrifty life and save a high portion of their income in order to take control of their financial independence in the future. Dustin Stanley, fiduciary financial planning advisor with Strategic Wealth Designers, discussed F.I.R.E.

“It is never too late. I think everyone can learn to be frugal and keep your expenses low and live within your means,” said Stanley. “Think about the future. For all of us, we get older and we want to start thinking about a retirement.”

Knowing how much to save in order to retire early varies among individuals. Stanley explains that as a general example, if you need to generate around $40,000 a year in income, you would want roughly one million dollars saved for retirement.

“Four-percent is the general rule of thumb, but the thing about it is that people are starting to live longer. It is really important to have your investments under control and in the right places in order to do that,” explained Stanley.

For those participating in the F.I.R.E. movement, financial independence doesn’t just mean life becomes one giant vacation. It allows you to scale back to a part-time job or continue working full time or quit your job completely if that is what you desire. It allows you the freedom and the choice.

“For this movement, it is really just about being independent and not being stuck to a job. It’s more about being able to do what they want to do at this point,” said Stanley. “It’s about being in control of your finances and not necessarily having to work if you really don’t want to.”

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