Pain in the present, future will be bright

After 77 years of Independence, we now have, surprisingly, the maximum number of freedom fighters—for a different freedom though, financial independence.

- Abhishek Asthana

That's all the Indian man discusses today. He learned the concept of compound interest from his favorite Instagram influencer (instead of his eighth-standard maths textbook) and is convinced that a 15% return every year is guaranteed by the Constitution. So, he calculates a retirement corpus, from which he can religiously withdraw every month a sum that covers his expenses, while accounting for emergencies (such as buying two Coldplay tickets from the black market).

It's a noble pursuit. Barely anyone likes a 9-5 job. Those who like their jobs, invariably work longer than 9-5, but that's a minority. Most people want to retire early, spend more time with family, pursue their hobbies, and watch Facebook videos of dirty carpets being washed, on their phones, often late at night.

It's a movement now—Financially Independent, Retired Early (FIRE), an offspring of the bull market, where the stocks only go up, and monthly expenses stay the same for the next 30 years. That aside, how do you calculate the FIRE corpus you need?