From Engineer to Librarian after Financial Independence and Early Retirement (FIRE)

In this edition of the reader story, we meet Sriram discussing his journey from working as an electronic engineer to running a non-profit library after early retirement. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives for the benefit of readers. Some of the previous editions are linked at…

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Why do you want more money? Don’t you have enough? Learn to say “I have enough”!

An acquaintance recently learned about my investment journey – Fourteen Years of Mutual Fund Investing: My Journey and lessons learned. He then asked me if I had stopped investing and why I was still working. I replied that I would like to keep working and continue investing for as long as possible. He suddenly sounded…

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What does 30X refer to in FIRE or retirement planning?

A reader says, “In many personal finance forums, I see comments like I have accumulated 25X or 30X for retirement. Many claim that 30X is when one becomes financially independent and even ready for early retirement (FIRE). Can you please write an article explaining what this 30X refers to and how it signifies financial independence?” What is…

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