About

Who writes this?

Someone in their mid-40s who works in the financial sector in Singapore. The blog is anonymous, which is less mysterious than it sounds.

Why "Runway to Fire"?

The runway is the stretch between deciding to leave and actually leaving, and I'm on it now. FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. It is not a safety incident.

What's the plan after that?

I have a plan for the first few years and will work out the rest as I go. I don't need a 20-year roadmap. The point is to explore interests I've never had time for, and I can't schedule those before I've found them.

What else are you up to?

I'm dabbling in building simple apps with AI. None of them will make me rich, which is fine. That's the portfolio's job.

What won't you be doing in retirement?

Pinching pennies. Also checking my portfolio every day. I've read enough company financials for one lifetime, and I don't intend for my own to become my next full-time job.

Will you miss anything about work?

I never expected to say this, but yes: a small group of colleagues. I don't expect things to stay the same once I've left. I'd still like to think a few of those friendships will outlast the office.

What do family and friends think?

Most of them don't believe I'll actually give up a good, stable salary. The question I hear most often is how I plan to pay for all that business class travel.

Mostly with frequent flyer miles and careful use of credit cards. I also think I can downgrade a little after retiring, at least on short-haul flights. I'm making no such promise for long-haul. My forty-something back has veto power, and it isn't afraid to use it.

Should I copy what you're doing?

None of this is financial advice. Working in finance mainly means I know how many disclaimers this sentence ought to have.