What is the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement?

More and more people all over the world are working on strategies from the FIRE movement.

In community forums and articles, experiences are shared on how to increase income, reduce spending and invest as much of the available funds as possible.

The stated goal is to achieve financial independence as early in life as possible.

What does FIRE mean?

The acronym FIRE stands for the declared goal Financial independence, retire early. The followers of the movement are not interested in lazing away as early as possible. But to lead your life independently - and that can only be done if you have your finances under control.

Paid home and secure retirement provision give FIRE foxes the opportunity to decide whether and to what extent they want to work. Others, in turn, plan to dedicate themselves entirely to their hobby as early in life as possible.

Good news: FIRE isn't just for top earners. By sharing experiences about their own finances in the FIRE communities, anyone can acquire valuable financial expertise. And once you've found fun planning your own finances, the numbers in your account also grow.

How do you calculate the FIRE target?

FIRE users follow two rules: the 25X rule and the 4% rule.

The 25X rule sets the goal. It calculates the amount of savings by multiplying your desired retirement income per year by 25.

As an example: If you want to have CHF 50,000 plus any pension rights available from social funds annually, the 25x-fire rule states that you should generate CHF1'25 million.

If you then start your “retirement” (which, by the way, many FIRE followers already manage in their thirties), you should only spend 4% of your portfolio in the first year and adjust it for the inflation rate over the following years. With these and other investment systems, the generated assets should be sufficient for at least 30 years, rather 50 years and longer.

How do you achieve the FIRE goal?

Once the total sum is set, there is a goal. FIRE followers want to achieve this goal in the shortest possible time - i.e. well before they retire legally, when they are still healthy and fit. The time frame is as varied as the ways to get there.

As soon as you know how much you want to save in the period of time you want, you can break down this amount. Here's an example:

A 30-year-old would like to earn CHF 1'25 million within 20 years in order to be financially independent from the age of 50. This means that he or she must accrue CHF 62,500 in savings annually. That seems to be a very ambitious goal for now. But numbers have magic in them when they're linked to a goal. And the FIRE communities Do the rest. Here, people exchange ideas in an understandable and open way and become real financial geniuses.

Here are a few basic structures for the (fast) path to independence:

Reduce spending. FIRE followers do not always, but often, live below their means in order to save money. For example, the communities also discuss whether it makes sense to move to places with low living costs.

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Investing income. Within the FIRE movement, secure investments are recommended so that the annual savings deposit interest can rise. There are very different ways of doing this, from low-stake equity contributions to investments in real estate. FIRE followers make the otherwise boring topic of financial planning exciting. And once you're “spurred on”, you also act smarter with your money.

Increase income. If you have more money available, you can of course invest more money and save as a result. As a result, strategies to increase revenue are a major issue among FIRE followers. Many are pursuing the strategy of expanding their sources of income. Instead of drawing from one source with a basic salary, self-employment, for example, can open up several money channels.

Numarics users strive for financial independence and to do what makes them happy. This is usually not retirement in a TV chair, but simply the opportunity to pursue your passion and generate an income from it.

This is exactly where we come in. As a business operating system, Numarics seamlessly takes over the business part required to run a company of any size. Expenses, income and investments are recorded via the NumaricSOS operating system and transmitted to the relevant authorities. Valuable financial forecasts are available in real time. Because if we know one thing about Fire, it's that a complete financial overview is the most important thing to achieve goals.