BREAK FREE

The financial independence movement is inspiring new followers – as young as 28 – who want to quit their day job and do their own thing

- SUSAN HELY

THE PANDEMIC HAS prompted people like 30-year-old Michelle Ives to realise how fragile her financial security is.

“Anything can happen that has the potential to shake the normalcy of our lives. It has reminded me of what matters – it’s not sitting at a desk for eight hours a day,” says Michelle.

She is drastically overhauling her family’s finances, so they have more control over their lives. She wants to have the freedom to make choices about her life and work.

Michelle was already plugged into the growing personal finance movement that offers an abundance of information about saving and investing online. It is FIRE, an acronym for financial independence, retire early. As well, there is a more laid-back version, FI, or financial independence.

“If anything, the pandemic has just encouraged us to reach our goal more aggressively,” says Michelle.

Michelle and her husband are saving 70% of their income and hope to retire in a few years. They have been FIRE followers for seven years. While she loves running her own copywriting business, she wants to take back her life while she is in her 30s and healthy, and to get out and enjoy it.

“In some ways, Covid-19 has actually galvanised the importance of FIRE for many because we’ve now had a glimpse of what a better work-life balance feels like.”

Unhappy in their job

People have increasingly realised that they don’t want to be stuck in a soul-crushing job, with long commutes, well into their 60s. They didn’t want the anxiety that comes with working flat out, explains Serina Bird, who was connected to a work chat group and emails with alerts pinging from early morning until late at night.