There is endless advice, content and theories out there about finances, and sometimes it can all be a bit overwhelming. We can get information overload, then disheartened that we don’t know what we are doing or where to start, so end up not doing anything.
But I think sometimes less is more. So I thought today I would give you just one simple piece of advice that will mean you never have financial worries again.
So what is this brilliant piece of concise wisdom I hear you ask?
Well, it is this: Make sure you spend less than you earn.
Simple I know, and maybe slightly under whelming, but crucial to financial success and very easy to remember!
As discussed in budgeting can be fun! there are certain bills and expenses we have to pay each month such as rent, fuel and food. But once these are accounted for, the rest of your income is discretionary spending. These are things that aren’t essential so we don’t have to buy but often choose to. Examples may be going out for dinner, buying numerous home furnishings or the latest must have gadget. It is this category we need to ensure that spending is below our income. This may mean not going on holiday, not going out to eat as much or cutting back on the Dunkin donuts. As long as we follow this one golden rule, we will gradually month by month and year by year become increasingly financially free.
The income that is not being spent on gadgets and donuts can then be saved for the emergency fund and after that saved and invested for future financial independence.
But it all starts with spending less than you earn. If you don’t know where else to start, then start there. The rest will happen naturally.
We all know the benefits of reaching full financial independence and being able to quit work. No more 6am alarm clocks, no more pointless meetings, no more being told when you can take your holiday and how many days you can take. Its no wonder the idea of FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) and never having to work again is so appealing.
However, there are also lots of benefits of still doing some work (apart from the money) which I think can be an added advantage for semi-retire FIRE (having enough saved and invested money to never have to work full time again.) Here are a few of the advantages –
You will appreciate your free time more
Life is about balance. If we have too much of a good thing, its no longer a good thing. It becomes the norm and in turn can become boring. Same with free time. If we have unlimited free time and no purpose or challenge, we can quickly become bored. That’s why I believe still working part time could bring more happiness and fulfilment than not working at all. It will make those long weekends you can now have even sweeter!
2.Provides a sense of purpose
Still having part time work of some sort will give a purpose and a structure to your week. After a few months of never working again I would imagine each day may start to blur into the next without some sort of structure. I’m sure if I never had to work again I would spend a few too many days lazing in bed!
3. Pushes you out of your comfort zone
There are many things I have accomplished in life which if it wasn’t for the fact I was getting paid for it, I would never have pushed myself to do. For example, becoming a trainer in employability skills, giving a presentation on stress to over 300 professionals and working within several prisons to give advice and guidance to inmates. It has also lead me to meeting many people from all walks of life that I wouldn’t otherwise have met. These are all experiences that have enriched my life and given me a sense of achievement but that I may not have done otherwise.
4. An opportunity for social connections
I have gained many friends over the years that I worked with and have still kept in touch with. In most jobs there is some sort of social contact everyday whether in person or virtually. Equally I have worked with people that I would happily never meet up with again! Either way, your workplace can provide a great place to meet and connect with people.
5. Perks such as company pension scheme
There are lots of perks of being an employee. Access to a company pension scheme is a big one, but there may also be things such as health insurance, employee assistance programmes and a paid for works Christmas party, though this can sometimes be a disadvantage too!
6. Developing personal skills and knowledge
There maybe free formal training available to you at work to take advantage of and provide continuous development. Equally there may be more subtle ways you are learning everyday for example how to use latest IT software and developing communication skills.
I’m sure there are many more advantages to working but these are just some that hopefully highlight that semi-retire FIRE is not necessarily a next best option to full FIRE and might actually be even more positive for our wellbeing.
Let me know in the comments below of any others you can think of.
When anyone asks me for a book recommendation on how to get started and inspired on the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) journey, I often suggest the book ‘Your Money Or Your Life’ by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez.
Robin and Dominguez originally wrote this book in 1992 before the FIRE movement was ever a thing and before Mr Money Moustache had even started work! It has been revised several times since though so it is still as relevant today as it was then.
It was the first book I read about personal finance and it helped me view money differently. Financial independence was something I had never thought possible before. I didn’t know anything about stocks or bonds and didn’t think there was any alternative to working full time until I could get my state pension at 68 and then finally enjoy life. Quite literally reading this book changed my life and it is probably one of the most influential books I have ever read.
It brings together some interesting concepts and ideas around money, life and work. One of these is around money being life energy. For example if we spend $300 on a hand bag, and you get paid $25 dollars an hour, you will have used 12 hours of life energy to pay for it. They are not saying this is right or wrong, it is whether the value is worth it to you. If the handbag is just going to be used once and then sit in a wardrobe was this worth working 12 hours in your job for?
They also discuss investing your spare money to provide an income to pay your everyday expenses. Once you have reached the ‘crossover point’ your investment income will cover all your living expenses. This is the point you have reached financial freedom/independence. I knew nothing about investing before reading this book so it gave me lots of useful information on where to start, enabling me to do further research on how best to invest the surplus cash.
It is a detailed book but also fairly easy to read and also practical. It provides 9 steps/chapters to follow. These include ‘Where is it all going?’, ‘The American dream on a shoe string’ and ‘For love or money: valuing your life energy’. It covers the psychology of money, some philosophy of why we work and our life purpose and also how to invest. They also give lots of examples of people using financial independence to achieve their life goals and purpose.
Reading the book will help you gain an awareness of what you are doing with your money. Question why you are spending on certain things and if it will help you achieve your “deep thrills ” rather than cheap thrills.
If you are looking for a thorough overall book on finance and financial freedom I would definitely recommend reading or listening to this book.
If you have read it let me know what you think in the comments below.
Some reasons why semi-retire FIRE is better than full financial independence retire early.
For anyone new to the concept, FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The movement began in the US in the 1990s and gained popularity in the UK during the 2000s.
The core idea of traditional FIRE is simple in theory: save and invest aggressively until your portfolio is large enough to cover all of your living expenses for the rest of your life. Once you reach that point, you can stop working entirely — often decades earlier than the state retirement age.
Some people have achieved this in their 20s or 30s. For most of us, however, the reality looks very different.
Why Traditional FIRE Didn’t Fully Work for Me
I discovered the FIRE movement in my thirties, and many of its principles immediately resonated with me. I liked the focus on:
Spending intentionally
Reducing consumerism
Saving and investing for freedom and flexibility
Not working full-time until nearly 70
But when I ran the numbers for full FIRE, the timeline was sobering. Even with disciplined saving, my FIRE “number” was so high that I wouldn’t realistically retire much earlier than a normal retirement age.
That’s when I started exploring semi-retirement FIRE — and it completely changed my approach.
Instead of aiming to never work again, my goal became much simpler:
Build enough assets so I never have to work full-time again.
Over time, I realised there are many advantages to semi-retirement — and for many people, it may be a more realistic and enjoyable path than traditional FIRE.
Semi-Retirement vs Traditional FIRE: Key Differences
Before diving into the reasons, here’s a quick comparison:
Factor
Semi-Retirement
Traditional FIRE
Savings required
Lower
Much higher
Time to reach
Shorter
Longer
Ongoing work
Part-time or flexible
None
Lifestyle balance
High
All-or-nothing
Accessibility
More realistic for average earners
Often favours high earners
1. Semi-Retirement Can Be Reached Much Sooner Than Full FIRE
Because semi-retirement includes some ongoing income, you don’t need to accumulate such a large investment portfolio before stepping back from full-time work.
Even modest part-time income can significantly reduce how much you need invested, which means:
Less pressure to save extreme percentages
A shorter timeline
More flexibility if markets perform poorly
For me, this made the goal feel achievable rather than overwhelming.
2. Doing Some Work Is Actually Good for Us
The dream of never working again at 40 sounds appealing — but for many people, complete retirement can feel empty surprisingly quickly.
After the novelty wears off, unlimited free time can lead to:
3. Semi-Retirement Avoids the “Cliff Edge” of Full FIRE
Traditional FIRE can feel like an all-or-nothing leap:
Decades of intense saving
Constantly watching every expense
Then suddenly stopping work forever
Semi-retirement is a gentler transition. You gradually rebalance work and life instead of switching everything off overnight.
For me, that feels far more sustainable — both financially and psychologically.
4. You Don’t Have to Sacrifice Your Best Years
Reaching full FIRE often requires major sacrifices:
Fewer holidays
Tight budgets
Saying no to experiences
If you’re doing this throughout your 20s and 30s, those sacrifices can add up to real regret later on.
Semi-retirement allows you to:
Save consistently without extreme deprivation
Enjoy life now and plan for the future
Avoid postponing happiness for a date decades away
5. You Still Get Most of the Benefits of Full FIRE
The main appeal of FIRE isn’t never working again — it’s:
Escaping a stressful 9–5
Gaining control over your time
Spending more time on what you love
Semi-retirement delivers most of these benefits:
More flexibility
Less stress
More time with family and hobbies
The difference is you get them sooner.
6. Semi-Retirement Is More Achievable for Average Earners
One of the biggest criticisms of FIRE is that it mainly benefits high earners.
While there’s some truth to that for full FIRE, semi-retirement is far more accessible. You don’t need a massive salary — just consistency, planning, and realistic expectations.
As an average earner myself, semi-retirement felt like a goal that actually fit my life rather than forcing my life to fit the goal.
Final Thoughts: Is Semi-Retirement Better Than Traditional FIRE?
For some people, traditional FIRE will always be the goal — and that’s great.
But for many others, semi-retirement offers:
A faster path to freedom
Less stress
More balance
Fewer sacrifices
For me, the semi-retirement journey feels not just easier, but more enjoyable and sustainable in the long run.
If you’re weighing up semi-retirement vs traditional FIRE, this middle path may be worth serious consideration.
I’m currently coaching a client regarding financial freedom and building a freedom fund. She understands all the principles of FIRE (financial independence retire early) the 4 per cent rule, budgeting, compound interest and what stocks and shares are but she had one barrier to starting the whole journey. And that was ‘How do I buy an index fund?’
It was then that I realised that sometimes its just not having the knowledge of the more practical first steps that is holding people back from starting their financial freedom journey.
So this post is to try and give some pointers on where to start. However I am not a financial adviser so I don’t give individual advice and I’m based in the UK, so although the other posts on this website can hopefully be appreciated by any one from any country, this one is definitely UK skewed.
Ok where do I start?
Well put simply, in order to start investing you need these 3 things –
The index fund or shares that you want to buy(the investments)
An account that you will put your investments in (eg a stocks and shares ISA)
A platform that will hold your account and the investments that are inside it.
In the UK a very tax efficient way of investing is in a stocks and shares ISA. This is a type of account that you will put your investments into. This is tax free so you wont be taxed on the growth of your investments or any dividends received. You can invest a maximum of £20k each year. However, if you are currently investing in a cash ISA you can’t also invest in a stocks and shares ISA as well. However these rules could change in future.
There are lots of platforms that will hold the stocks and shares ISA such as Vanguard, Interactive Investor, Hargreaves Lansdown and many others. They all have different fees and restrictions so you will need to do your homework and see which will work best for you.
Once you have your chosen account in the platform of your choice e.g. a stocks and shares ISA on the Vanguard platform, you can then choose which fund or shares to invest in. As previously discussed in investing for beginners, many proponents of FIRE choose to invest in a global index fund. These are low cost, diverse as you are buying lots of different companies throughout the world and simple to buy. There are lots of different types depending on which platform you use, but they are easy to search through on the platform. You can also use morningstar to check the details and performance of your fund to make a more informed decision.
Often you can start investing with as little as £50 to£100 a month into the fund. You can start a regular direct debit into it each month and then just let compound interest do its thing over time. Once you have the hang of it and as you trim down expenses and increase income you can then choose to increase your contributions each month.
Hopefully this gives you some basics and pointers as to where to start when looking to buy an index fund. Do make sure you do your own research though to work out what is best for you. There is a wealth of information out there about investing so please use this post as a starting point and let me know how you get on.
I know in most circumstances this would be terrible advice, but when it comes to investing, personally I think dull and boring is the best strategy.
I am not a financial adviser so this is just my opinion and not advice. But to me, sexy and exciting investing would be buying the latest individual hot stock, random crypto currencies or any new ‘get rich quick’ investment thats been shared on TikTok. For some people these things might be ok to dabble in now and again, but for a long term investing strategy that is going to grow your wealth over time (say 10 plus years) I think dull and boring is the way to go.
In dull and boring I mean some kind of low cost global index fund.
What is a global index fund?
A global index fund enables you to buy a slice of the worlds economy. Each index fund varies in size depending on what market it is tracking but there will usually be hundreds if not thousands of different companies in it. When you buy shares in the index fund you are buying every company in it. And not just any companies, some of the biggest and best most profitable ones throughout the world (think Apple, Amazon, Meta, McDonalds, oil companies, pharmaceuticals etc) An index fund just tracks the whole market. For this reason its called a passive fund and usually has cheaper fees. There are no highly paid active fund managers trying to beat the stock market.
It will still go up and down in value day by day and year by year, but if you are in it for the long run (decades rather than months or years) you will hopefully get rates of return higher than you would in just a savings account. For example historically the US S and P 500 stock market has on average returned around 10 per cent per year before inflation.
As in my previous post pay yourself first, rather than buying the latest Apple gadget or having a daily McDonalds, you could use that money to buy a part of the business instead via the global index fund. This is the path to your wealth and financial freedom.
Not sure where to start with buying global index funds? Well don’t worry we will look at this in the next post.
Don’t worry you don’t need to be Carol Vorderman or have completed any sort of Maths qualifications to understand the 4% rule. In fact its pretty simple.
However it is an important part of the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement and indeed semi-retire FIRE.
So what is this mysterious rule??
Put simply, it is the percentage of your investment portfolio (freedom fund) you can withdraw every year and never run out of money (well at least for 30+ years). In other words, you can withdraw 4% from your freedom fund annually to cover some or all of your living expenses and still have lots of money left.
This rule was the result of a famous study in 1998 called the Trinity Study. It looked at different scenarios for withdrawing money from an investment portfolio of stocks and bonds at different points over a 70 year period. This was to find what percentage of investments could be safely withdrawn each year to provide an income in retirement without running out of money for at least 30 years. They found this number to be 4 %. If you want to know more about the study here is a thorough explanation Trinity study – Wikipedia . The 4% rule is also called the safe withdrawal rate.
Knowing this safe withdrawal rate number means you can work out the amount of money you need in your investment portfolio to be able to cover your expenses post FIRE. This is obviously going to be quite a large number for full FIRE which is why semi-retire FIRE can be a more achievable goal.
There is an easy way to work out exactly how much you will need. For full FIRE you can work out the amount you need to have invested by multiplying your annual living expenses by 25.
For example, if you need £2000 a month to live on once you retire you can multiply this by 12 to get the yearly amount of £24000 and then multiply by 25 which is £600,000. That means if you have this amount in investments you can safely withdraw 4% (£2000) each month and hopefully never run out of money.
For semi-retire FIRE, if you want to cover half your expenses you can half the amount in your investments, so £300,000 will give you around £1000 income a month. If this still sounds like too much a pot of £150,000 will give you a £500 a month income, still a nice little income to be able to drop a day or 2 work a week for ever!
These numbers only work for investments though as savings interest rates are usually not as high and so safe withdrawal rates are lower. Fortunately investing can be pretty simple too if you follow a few rules which I will cover in my next post!
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice and you should seek independent advice if you choose to invest.
Once you’ve mastered your budget, paid off any high debts and built up your emergency fund its time to look at the most exciting part of the plan…the freedom fund!
So what is a freedom fund??
A freedom fund is your pool of savings and investments that will be used for your path to semi FIRE or full FIRE, if that’s what you decide to do. Its the pot of money that you will be able to draw out an income each year to cover some or all of your expenses. Its your escape from the 9 to 5 rat race. Its your route to a different lifestyle and better work life balance.
In the next few posts we will cover all the things you need to know to start your own freedom fund including the 4% rule, some investing basics, compound interest and working out how much you need in your freedom fund. So keep on reading and start your journey to freedom today!
Semi-Retire FIRE 