Financial independence without putting life on hold
Financial independence has been part of our plan since we discovered the FIRE movement back in 2013.
The basic idea is simple: spend less than we earn, invest the difference and gradually build enough wealth that working for a living becomes a choice rather than a necessity.
But over the years, our understanding of FIRE has changed.
For us, financial independence isn’t about retiring as early as possible or squeezing every last penny out of our lives. It’s about creating choices.
We want the freedom to spend more time with our family, travel, live where we want, change direction when circumstances change and ultimately decide how we spend our time.
And we want to do that without putting our lives on hold while we work towards the goal.
Our FIRE target
Our current aim is to build enough invested wealth to give our family the financial freedom we’re looking for.
We’ve set an initial target of £375,000 for each of us, although we’re realistic that the number may change as our circumstances and plans evolve
| Mr Way | Mrs Way |
|---|---|
| £249,581 invested | £112,259 invested |
| Target: £375,000 | Target: £375,000 |
| 66.6% FI | 29.9% FI |
These figures are a snapshot of where we are today. We track our progress regularly and share the ups, downs and lessons we learn along the way.
How we’re pursuing FIRE
There isn’t a complicated secret to our approach.
Spend intentionally
We’re not interested in being frugal for the sake of it.
Instead, we try to spend our money on the things that genuinely make our lives better, while questioning the things that don’t.
The aim is to spend less without living less.
Invest consistently
The money we don’t spend is put to work for the future.
We’ve spent years learning about investing and developing an approach that works for us. We focus on consistency, keeping things relatively simple and giving our investments time to compound.
Increase our options
Ultimately, the purpose of all this isn’t a bigger investment balance.
It’s freedom.
The more financially secure we become, the more choices we have about where we live, how we work, how we spend our time and what we want our future to look like.
Our FIRE journey
Our approach to financial independence has changed considerably since 2013.
We’ve moved abroad, returned to the UK, bought a home, had children and experienced plenty of changes that weren’t in the original plan.
Through all of it, the goal has gradually shifted from simply retiring early to building a life where we have more control over our time.
We’ve documented that journey – including the decisions, mistakes, changes of direction and milestones along the way.
FIRE in real life
One thing we’ve learnt is that financial independence doesn’t exist in isolation.
It’s connected to almost every other part of our lives.
Having children changed our priorities and our spending.
Travelling has given us experiences we’d never want to sacrifice simply to reach FIRE a little sooner.
Living abroad showed us that financial freedom can be valuable long before you actually reach financial independence.
And our approach to minimalism has taught us that having more money isn’t necessarily the same thing as having more of what matters.
That’s why you’ll find FIRE alongside family, travel, lifestyle and minimalism throughout A Way to Less.
FIRE is the financial foundation, but the life we’re building is the reason for it.
Where are we going?
We don’t have every step mapped out.
Our financial targets will change. Our spending will change. Our family will change. And our priorities will change too.
That’s okay.
We’re less interested in reaching a particular number on a particular date than we are in steadily building a position where we have more freedom and more choices.
Because for us, FIRE isn’t really about retiring early.
It’s about being able to say yes to more of the things that matter – and no to the things that don’t.
That’s our way to less.