Millennials on their way to early retirement share the formulas they're using to get there — and how they're dealing with curveballs like layoffs and rising expenses

• Business Insider has spoken with dozens of couples and individuals chasing financial independence.
• They're not all after a life of permanent leisure; instead, they want freedom.
• Four people shared what financial freedom means to them, and how they're planning to get there.

So, you want to retire early? But what does that actually mean, and how do you get there?

After talking to dozens of couples and individuals chasing financial independence, Business Insider found that most aren't actually racing toward a life of permanent vacation. What they want instead is freedom: the ability to work less or walk away from jobs they don't like and work on what they want.

There are FIRE calculators and formulas anyone can use to determine an "enough number," but the reality is far messier. The math matters, but so do kids, healthcare, layoffs, rising costs, and changing priorities.

Four individuals chasing big money goals explained what "financial freedom" means to them, how they're planning to get there, and how their goals have shifted over time. Business Insider verified each source's net worth claims.

FIRE isn't one thing — and most people don't want to fully retire anyway

The Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement dates back to the 1990s, when it was popularized by the book "Your Money or Your Life" and later amplified by blogs like Mr. Money Mustache.

The idea was straightforward: work hard, live frugally, invest consistently, and build a nest egg large enough to walk away from work well before the traditional retirement age.

Historically, FIRE has been associated with extreme saving and rigid lifestyles. But over time, the movement has splintered into looser, more flexible versions — including "Coast FIRE" and "Barista FIRE" — as more people pursue financial optionality rather than a complete exit from work.

Still, FIRE often carries an aura of austerity, which has turned some people off.

Michela Allocca, who quit her corporate job to build her personal finance brand, Break Your Budget, said the traditional FIRE model never resonated with her, largely because it felt too restrictive.

"I don't want to feel like I can't do anything," she said. "A lot of people who do FIRE dream of retiring abroad or becoming full time travelers, and that's not something I personally aspire to. So I was like, how can I make this concept make sense for me?"

Allocca prefers the term "work optional" to early retiree. She's also interested in the idea of "mini-retirements" — stepping away from work for months at a time once savings allow — rather than leaving the workforce entirely.

Dexter Zhuang has embraced one of FIRE's offshoots. He said he's reached "Coast FIRE," meaning he no longer needs to contribute to retirement accounts for them to grow enough over time to support him later in life.

"Coast FIRE is a place where I get more flexibility, but it doesn't mean that I can stop working," said Zhuang, who left the corporate world and took a pay cut to do freelance consulting.

"For me, that's fine. It's motivating, and I can still work on something that I enjoy to pay for those expenses. Anything that's extra, I can continue to invest into retirement or for saving for a family or whatever other saving goals I have."

Calculating how much is "enough"

Regardless of the version of FIRE someone is pursuing, the process usually starts with the same basic math.

Zhuang calculated his Coast FIRE number using an online WalletBurst calculator that factors in age, retirement timeline, annual spending, investment growth, inflation, and safe withdrawal rates. He assumed a 7% annual return, 3% inflation, and a 4% withdrawal rate, based on a portfolio largely invested in stock funds like VTSAX and VOO.

Before plugging numbers into a calculator, though, you first have to decide what kind of lifestyle you want and how much it costs. Once you have an idea of how much you'll spend in retirement, you can work backward to estimate how large a nest egg you'd need. Many in the FIRE community rely on the "4% rule," which says you should aim to save 25 times your annual expenses so you can withdraw 4% of your funds each year after you quit working.

Others, including Andre Nader, use more conservative assumptions.

Nader lives in San Francisco with his family and considers himself "semi-retired." He uses a 3% withdrawal rate.

He's also going after a number "that represents me not having to make sacrifices," he said. He wants the ability to eat avocado toast every day. He also wants to be able to afford good healthcare and cover at least of portion of his daughter's future education costs.

To account for college costs, Nader looked at the projected four-year cost at a public university in California, including room and board. Adjusted for inflation, that came out to $321,000. Assuming an 8% annual return in a 529 plan, he calculated he'd need about $125,000 today to cover that expense in 12 years.

He's well aware that these numbers aren't static: "I'm constantly running my numbers and trying to calculate how much enough is."

Recalculating and recalibrating when life happens

If there's one consistent theme among individuals pursuing FIRE, it's that life rarely follows the plan.

Nader's own "enough number" has increased by more than $1 million since 2022, as his family stayed in San Francisco longer than expected and expenses rose. Plus, he dealt with a major curveball in 2023, when he was laid off by Meta.

Amberly Grant has experienced similar recalibrations. She discovered the FIRE movement in her mid-20s after reading the Mr. Money Mustache blog and initially thought she could retire by 40 if she invested aggressively.

Now in her mid-30s, her life looks very different. She supports two kids, a husband who couldn't work for several years due to Visa issues, and her father's housing. While she earns more than ever, her expenses have climbed, pushing her FIRE timeline further out.

One unexpected challenge, Grant said, has been the emotional toll of adjusting a goal she once viewed as fixed. She said she feels guilty about how much she spends.

"Because I've been so rigid with my spending and my idealism regarding my FIRE goals, I think it makes these times harder emotionally than they should be. I feel like a failure, but I'm not a failure; I'm just living life, and that's OK."

Despite higher costs, Grant said she's reached Coast FIRE. She hopes to reach traditional FIRE within the next decade, but in the meantime, is learning to appreciate the security she's already built.

"It really comes down to, I want financial independence, and I want to be able to use my money to help others in the end," she said. "Right now, I help my dad. I'm in an expensive part of life right now, but I wouldn't be able to get through this expensive part of life if I didn't do all the work I did beforehand to be frugal, to be mindful, to be conscientious with my money, and to make sacrifices so that I can get to a really good spot now."