This article addresses frequently asked questions on Financial Independence, Retire Early or FIRE. 1 What is the definition of financial independence? When a person has enough income from her investments or net worth to not only replace existing gainful employment but also combat inflation in essential expenses and lifestyle changes for the remainder of their…

Many of us think of how to build wealth across generations when we think of a rich family business. The truth is, the writer and everyone reading this are building wealth across generations. Allow me to explain. What we are today is only because of the sweat, toil and sacrifice of our parents and their…

A reader asks, ” At 45, notional gains from debt mutual funds (Liquid, ST, Gilt, Arbitrage) + divided (Usual suspects HDFC, ITC, HUL etc.) per year is about 18 lakhs. With a planned retirement expense of 9 lakhs pa, that is twice the pa requirement. Corpus for other goals is set side separately”. “I know…

A reader asks, “I am 30 years of age. We are a family of 5 ( blessed with a kid two months back). I am the only earning member. My house is in Ahmedabad (native), and I  work in Bangalore. My monthly expenses are about 50k currently. Expenses for the kid might increase after a…

A reader asks, “Sir, My wife and I are both working in the same company and do wish to have children. We are both aged 27. We have just started working in well-paid jobs, so our networth is essentially zero. Our dream is to put an end to salaried existence in at least 13 years’…

In this article, we discuss some common mistakes that should be avoided while planning for early retirement. What is early retirement? This typically means quitting a salaried job to do what a person loves (for free or otherwise). Today 55 is the normal retirement age. So early retirement is approximately 45 years or earlier. See;…

A reader writes, “I work only for money and have not identified my passion yet. I am not sure if I can identify it. I would also blame my character as I seek change quite too often. If I plan to achieve FIRE (financial independence and early retirement) by the age of 45, I don’t…

A reader who prefers anonymity asks, “Am I on track to achieve Financial Independence (FI) in the next 13 years?  I intend to continue working in a corporate setup for as long as my mind, body and employer (current or future) allow. The FI target is more to ensure that money is no longer an…

While most of us talk about living in the moment or focusing on happiness instead of money, financial freedom is a mandatory goal. It ensures that we have enough in times of need, and we can go without slogging to survive for some years of life. Financial freedom is mostly about saving enough to sustain…

I often get emails from readers who wish to achieve financial independence as soon as possible and retire early from their salaried jobs. The first question I ask is, “why do you seek early retirement?” Some people offer a crisp, clear response: “I have always wanted to pursue my passion in the fine arts; I…

A reader who wishes to be anonymous wanted to know the corpus need to retire in India by age 45. Before we get down to the calculation, “retire by 45” requires some clarification. This means goodbye to regular employment, to a salaried job. This does not mean the person will sit around all day doing…

Raghu asks, “Dear Pattu Sir, I have just started my career as a school teacher in a tier II city. I also take tuitions to supplement my income. Thanks to our families frugal existences and early initiation into personal finance, I have been able to comfortably make ends meet and invest the rest (thanks to…

We present a beginner’s guide to financial freedom dispelling common myths and misunderstandings on the subject. 1 What is financial freedom (FF)? A period of time when a person is not compelled to work for a living. This means having enough money to pay for known and known expenses, recurring and one-time expenses and associated…

Here is a simple formula to check your progress to financial freedom. It can tell you how long you need to be a salaried employee and shift the focus of portfolio review from returns to the corpus worth and, in the case context of retirement, how long would it last. It will work in any…