An acronym for Financial Independence, Retire Early — the goal of saving and investing aggressively enough that your investments cover your living expenses, so working becomes optional long before traditional retirement age.
Imagine a piggy bank that's grown big enough that the coins it earns every year — just from sitting there — are enough to buy your groceries, pay your rent, and cover everything else you need. Once that's true, you don't have to go to work anymore. You still can if you want to, but you don't need the paycheque. That's FIRE: building a big enough pile of savings and investments that the growth alone pays your bills.
Two levers, pulled at the same time: save a much larger share of your income than typical (often 40-70%), and invest that savings in low-cost index funds or ETFs so it compounds over years. The higher your savings rate, the faster the pile grows — both because you're adding more, and because you need less to sustain a smaller lifestyle.
Related Terms
🔥 Ready to see your own number?
Try the FIRE Calculator →