[SenHeng]

I've always thought that FIRE was comprised of two separate things that weren't necessarily related, but one required the other before it could be achieved.

0. fix your personal finance situation

1. attain financial independence

2. retire early (if at all)

0 is a pre-condition that most people in the world are stuck at. Some manage to get to step 1. Step 2 is optional because it has a hard time limit and has a fuzzy definition.

Does retiring at 64 count as early?

Does working a part time job count as retirement?

So based on the above stipulations, I think FI is possible but RE depends on your POV.

[lcall]

About getting to 0 (as i noted elsewhere): One of the best things I can recommend is getting control of finances, instead of letting others and money control you, using Dave Ramsey's 7 baby steps: https://www.daveramsey.com/dave-ramsey-7-baby-steps

I can attest it makes life better!

(...with or without purchasing one of his books/dvds/etc; no affiliation but customer; we bought some of his materials for our children. Some of them told us they prefer a free BYU personal finance course, but I dont have that link as handy at the moment).