If you’ve been learning about financial management and investment, you’re likely familiar with the term FIRE: Financial Independence and Retire Early. While I don’t pursue the extreme lifestyle of drastically cutting living expenses to retire early, some concepts from FIRE have been quite inspiring to me. Just like the financial planning methods I’ve shared before, I don’t solely plan based on how much money I have; instead, I focus on aligning financial planning with my life goals and personal values. Drawing on the FIRE framework, I’ve divided my life plan into four stages:

Assets Accumulation ➡️ Coast FIRE ➡️ Barista FIRE ➡️ Retirement

🧗‍♀️ Assets Accumulation

This is the stage of climbing the steep slope of personal net worth. During this time, I focus on improving myself, working hard (and being willing to hustle a bit), increasing income, living within my means, and ensuring a high savings rate. Since retirement is still a long way off at this stage, I have the capacity to take on more risk and can accept higher market fluctuations. Thus, I can choose higher-risk, higher-return investment options like.

⛷️ Coast FIRE

As the name suggests, this is the stage where you can “coast” through work (be a coaster). By this point, wealth accumulation has reached a level that can secure the basics of retirement life. At this stage, there’s no longer a need to maintain a high savings rate or aggressively save money. Investments can continue to grow and compound on their own. However, because living expenses are still substantial—such as mortgage payments and children’s education—cash flow cannot be interrupted.

In this phase, I’d focus on choosing work based on personal interest rather than solely income. For instance, I might choose public sectors, non-profits, educational institutions, or interesting entrepreneurial ventures or freelance work. I wouldn’t engage in meaningless ladder-climbing in environments I don’t believe in anymore. Since there is already substantial wealth accumulation, I would consider diversified investment options, such as a mix of stocks and bonds or real estate.

☕ Barista FIRE

After another period of wealth accumulation, I’d reach a point where my wealth could support a relatively comfortable retirement life. At this stage, I could do things that don’t necessarily earn money but fulfill personal value. The term comes from the idea of working a relaxed part-time job as a barista, hence the name “Barista FIRE.”

At this stage, I might fully devote myself to public welfare work, continue contributing to open-source communities, or write blogs. Investment strategies would shift to reduce risk and focus on passive income. Options might include real estate, annuity insurance, or dividend-paying investment products to start preparing for full retirement. (In my personal opinion, there’s no need to buy annuity insurance too early. The eligibility age for CPF Life, for instance, is 55, which can be used as a reference.)

🛫 Retirement

At this stage—when I’m in my seventies or eighties and no longer physically active—I’d fully retire. My time would be spent painting, playing music, gardening, and traveling. Hopefully, I’ll be in good health and able to enjoy retirement life to the fullest.

If I had realized all of this earlier during the golden age of the internet, I might have reached the Coast FIRE stage much sooner. Unfortunately, I missed that opportunity, and now that I’ve come to this realization, it feels a bit late. I still need to work hard for many years before I can fully relax. But timing isn’t the most important thing—what’s most important is having a reasonable plan and putting it into action.