FIRE Glossary

A tiny, opinionated glossary for common FIRE terms. Not exhaustive, not neutral, hopefully more readable than a forum thread.

FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early): You have enough invested that work becomes optional. The “retire” part is negotiable; many people just switch to nicer problems.
Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR): The percentage of your portfolio you can, in theory, withdraw each year without running out of money. Also: the number everyone argues about while living completely different lives.
FIRE Number: The portfolio size where withdrawals at your chosen SWR cover your annual expenses. Often approximated as 25 × annual expenses for a 4% SWR.
Coast FIRE: When you've already invested enough that, with no further contributions, compounding should carry you to full FIRE by retirement age. Sometimes called “I could stop pushing so hard, but my brain hasn't caught up yet.”
Lean FIRE: A smaller FIRE number where you live on a tight, intentional budget. Heavy on minimalism, light on luxury. Works best if you actually like the minimalist bit.
Fat FIRE: FIRE, but with a larger spending target. Think more “comfort and options” and less “rice and beans forever”.
Geo-arbitrage: Earning in one cost-of-living context, spending in a cheaper one. Same income, different prices. Can be magical, can also be lonely if you forget friends and family are a “cost” too.
Sequence of Returns Risk: The risk that the first few years of your withdrawals line up with terrible market returns, which hurts more than the same averages spread out later.
One More Year Syndrome (OMYS): The feeling that no matter how close you are, you should probably just work “one more year” to be safe. Repeat as needed until you're 68.