On Fire: Achieve Financial Independence [Even With Kids]

by Tom Cromwell

With a life expectancy of 79, the average American can expect to retire at 64 with a net worth of $224,000, leaving them with less than $15,000 a year to live on. If you have different goals and aspirations then you are not alone. There is a movement known by the acronym F.I.R.E.—Financial Independence Retire Early. The key elements of FIRE are building a portfolio of investments that will provide an alternative income that will replace your income from salaried employment. There are many blogs and books written by well-paid graduates recounting their experience of how they managed to retire at 38 without having kids. Achieving this when you are a DINK (dual income, no kids) is a breeze. But what about you—the average Joe and Joanne? Find out how someone with a family and who is not on a six-figure salary can aspire to achieve financial independence. I cannot promise you will be able to retire at forty, or even fifty, but I can give you a real road map that will enable you to achieve early retirement. In this book, you will And much, much more…… Financial independence is for everyone, and with the right outlook and strategy, nothing can stop you from living the life you desire. You can do this, too. It’s no secret that financial success starts with a solid education, and I hope that you use this book as the ways and means of making the future brighter for yourself and your family. I retired in my mid fifties to live off my dividend income having sent two kids to college, and I am not special. If you want to stop earning money for someone else, start doing the things you want, and to have a better quality of life, then this book will set you on course.

184 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 15, 2021

About the author

Tom has a wealth of personal and commercial finance experience and an upbringing that showed him the value of every penny. He has invested money from his earned income for 30 years and is an example of how it is possible to rise to wealth and prosperity from a disadvantaged situation. Tom believes in financial empowerment for everyone because your goals were his goals. Working with other young people, he realized many had an uncomfortable relationship with money even if they earned decent salaries, and are looking for guidance. Now Tom is intent and enthusiastic about helping a broader audience to financial prosperity through his writing.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

For beginners and starting to invest

This is more of an introductory book to FIRE. If you’ve done research through blogs and Reddit you will have seen everything already. The first few chapters are for motivation of attempting FIRE. I was expecting more examples with how to work FIRE with a family of kids, which I found was lacking here. There were very simple examples like investing in SNP500 and obtaining a decent return. The bonkers method was most useful out of this book. I would skip most chapters and go to this one to get an idea of dynamically investing your money.