Set It On Fire: A Modern Playbook On Financial Independence & Retiring Early by Jon Sterling is a comprehensive guide to achieving financial independence and retiring early (FIRE).

What is this book about?

This book will teach you how to achieve financial independence in the shortest amount of time possible. It profiles people who have achieved financial independence and retired early. Sometimes VERY early.

Why does this book exist?

The traditional concept of retirement is a weird one.

At some point, society decided everyone should spend their younger and healthier years trading their time for money with the hope that maybe someday you will have enough money so you don’t need to work anymore.

What if there was a better way? That’s what this book explores.

What is FIRE?

F.I.R.E. is an acronym: Financially Independent, Retired Early or Financial Independence, Retire Early or whatever close variation of those words you like the best. There are online fights about the “right” version. There are no fights in this book, only love (and occasional jokes).

People who make less than you have done it. People with less education than you have done it. People with fewer skills than you have done it. Why not you, too?

Why should you listen to me?

Maybe you shouldn’t! I am a flawed human, just like every other human (except that one ex-girlfriend of mine who never made a mistake in her entire life).

Anyone who claims to have all the answers is either delusional, trying to sell you something or trying to start a religion.

I fit in none of those categories. I am simply a conduit of information.

There are other perspectives and other approaches that might work better for you than what is covered in this book.

However…

I reached financial independence at the age of 41. Does that mean I’m sitting on millions in a bank account and a collection of mansions, yachts and lamborghinis?

Nope!

I’m just an ordinary guy who made some uncommon choices

I was not handed a trust fund, I have no massive bank account from lottery winnings, I was not an early employee at some startup and I have no sugar mama.

It does not even feel like a big deal. All I did was make some financial decisions that were a little uncommon, got a little lucky with some early career decisions and I didn’t sabotage my finances too much with knee-jerk reactions along the way.

I will never “retire” in the traditional sense

Was all of that effort worthy of taking a breath and relaxing a bit? Sure. Does that mean I feel like I can rest on my laurels for the rest of my life? No way.

I simply got to the point where the income I receive every month from “passive” sources exceeds my expenses.

If I decided to spend the rest of my days on a couch or a beach (which sounds boring, and super boring), my bills would still be paid and my family wouldn’t starve. Would we be “living large?” Also no. But we could pay for our basic necessities.

I know, I know…”financial independence” and “early retirement” might sound like huge, unattainable goals that require bank accounts so large you can’t even fathom right now. If that sounds familiar, I encourage you to open your mind a bit as you read through this book.

There’s no risk in thinking to yourself, “How could this be possible for me?” instead of the much easier and much more common, “This is not possible for me.”

Financial independence is possible for you. I guarantee it.

And I will bet big money that financial independence is attainable for you in a shorter time span than you think.

My primary objective with this book is to show you HOW financial independence and early retirement are possible for you and your family.

You don’t have to work until you die. There is a better way.

Set It On Fire does not preach about a one-size-fits-all solution.

There is no single path to FIRE, and I encourage you to find what works best for YOU. It is important to live a fulfilling life, both before and after FIRE.

If you are interested in achieving financial independence and retiring early, give it a read. 

The book is available as a paperback or ebook.