Escape the 9-to-5: The FIRE Model Can Help You Retire Early

• The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) model aims to build a strong financial position to stop working before traditional retirement age.
• It involves achieving financial independence where investment income covers all expenses, allowing early retirement.
• Key steps include drastically reducing expenses, increasing savings rates (40-60%), smart investing in mutual funds/equities, and avoiding debt.
• The FIRE number is calculated as 25 times your annual expenses; for example, 6 lakh annual expenses require a 1.5 crore corpus.
• While challenging in India due to inflation and healthcare, proper planning and early investment can make FIRE achievable by age 40-45.

Why It Matters: The FIRE model offers a path to early retirement through aggressive saving and smart investing, demanding discipline and planning.