33 Early Retirement Words You Must Know in 2024:
Get well-versed in the meanings behind early retirement buzzwords and financial independence acronyms.
Spend enough time hanging around us personal finance geeks and you're bound to be exposed to a wide variety of terms and acronyms that many of us simply take for granted. A lot of them are well-known, but some might not be as understood as you might think.
Early retirement buzzwords and acronyms
Burnout
Feeling cranky, stressed, and unmotivated in your job. Perhaps you’re even considering a new job or a career change. Can lead to feeling ready to leave it all behind and saying “screw you” to the corporate machine.
DINK, DINKWAD, SINK, etc
So many acronyms, so little time. There are a slew of acronyms that describe a person or family's current state of financial affairs.
J. Money from the Budgets Are Sexy blog gave us 40 of 'em. Here's a small subset:
- DINKs - “Dual Income No Kids”
- RINKs - “Retired Income No Kids”
- SINK - “Single Income No Kids”
- DINKY - “Dual Income No Kids Yet”
- DINKER - “Dual Income No Kids Early Retirement”
- DINKWAD - “Double Income No Kids With A Dog”
- DINKYANDE - “Dual Income No Kids Yet And No Dog Either”
- SIK - “Single Income Kids”
- SILK - “Single Income Lots of Kids”
- DIK (hah!) - “Dual Income Kids”
- DEWK - “Dually Employed With Kids”
- SITCOM - “Single Income Two Children and Oppressive Mortgage”
- MUPPIE - “Middle-aged Upcoming Prosperous Professional”
- KIPPERS - “Kids In Parents’ Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings”
- SINBAD - “Single Income No Boyfriend And Desperate”
- GLAM - “Greying Leisured Affluent Married”
- PODWOG - “Parents of Dinks WithOut Grandchildren”
- WOOF - “Well Off Older Folk”
Domestic engineer
A domestic engineer is anyone who runs a household. From scheduling to budget management to meal prep and minor medical care, domestic engineering can be a full-time job. Of course, you don’t need to be a full-time domestic engineer to manage your family. Most people are, at least on some level, a domestic engineer.
Early Retirement
Early retirement means retirement from a traditional job. Early retirement is made possible by achieving financial independence, or the point where we no longer need to hold a full-time job to fund our lives.
FatFire
The term FatFire refers to spending more (sometimes significantly more) money than the more typical budgets of early retirees. Spending $150,000 in early retirement qualifies as FatFire
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F.I.R.E
Financial Independence Retire Early - The most common acronym in the financial independence and early retirement community. Probably what you are aiming for, even if you didn’t know it.
F.I.O.R
Financial Independence Optional Retirement - A term that refers to the idea that early retirement doesn't necessarily need to be a part of financial independence. Meaning, one can keep working a full-time job even after achieving financial independence.
LeanFire
The term LeanFire refers to extremely streamlined spending that might sound absolutely crazy or absurd to the average consumer. LeanFire requires living a small and frugal lifestyle, sometimes after one or more rounds of downsizing.
Lifestyle creep
As people earn more, they have a tendency to spend more. This means that even though you earn more money each time, you are not saving more. In other words, you aren't acquiring additional wealth. Lifestyle creep - also known as lifestyle inflation, is the main reason why many high-income earners are not wealthy. To keep up with their lifestyle, high-income earners are often using credit. They have enough money to pay their bills and their interests each month. But they do not contribute to increasing their net worth.
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Personal Capital
One of the most widely-used tools for money management. Especially among those who want to make their money work for them.
Pivot
The "pivot" is another way of referring to a lifestyle change or shift away from the more traditional full-time work lifestyle to one that's less demanding or more enjoyable. A pivot is a conscious and purposeful change and one that prioritizes happiness and fulfillment over money, power, and rank.
Pseudo-affluence
People that fancy buying things that convey success. This group believes that in order to be rich, you have to show off your riches. We disagree.
Side Hustle
A side hustle is a project that one performs "on the side". Many early retirees pursue side hustles but one does not need to be an early retiree to have a side hustle. Anyone, regardless of their phase or position in life, can have a side hustle.
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Travel Hacking
The creative (and legal) exploitation of credit card points, side hustles, talents, and other ways to travel the world on the cheap.
VTSAX
You're not a "real" index fund investor unless you own Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index Fund. It's all the rage.
How many of these did you know, and what others did I miss?
Frequently Asked Question's
What does "DINKWAD" Mean?
"DINKWAD" stands for "Double Income No Kids With A Dog," describing couples with two incomes, no children, but who own a dog. This demographic often enjoys more financial flexibility for personal spending or savings, with their financial responsibilities primarily centered around dual earnings and pet care.
What is the significance of the term "F.I.R.E" in the context of personal finance and early retirement?
"F.I.R.E" stands for Financial Independence Retire Early, representing a movement where individuals aim to achieve financial independence to retire from traditional jobs at an early age.
Can you explain the concept of "LeanFire" and how it differs from other early retirement strategies?
"LeanFire" refers to a frugal approach to early retirement, emphasizing streamlined spending. It stands in contrast to "FatFire," where individuals spend more generously during retirement.
What does the acronym "VTSAX" represent in the realm of index fund investing?
"VTSAX" stands for Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, which is a popular choice among index fund investors. It encompasses a broad range of stocks, making it a common investment for those pursuing financial independence.
How does "lifestyle creep" impact financial well-being, especially for high-income earners?
"Lifestyle creep" refers to the tendency of individuals to increase spending as their income rises, often hindering wealth accumulation. This phenomenon is a key reason why some high-income earners may struggle to build substantial net worth.
Could you elaborate on the term "Side Hustle" and its relevance to both early retirees and individuals at any life stage?
A "Side Hustle" is a project undertaken alongside one's primary occupation. Many early retirees engage in side hustles, but the concept is not exclusive to them. Anyone, regardless of life phase, can pursue additional income through a side hustle.