Forget income. Forget returns. The single number that determines when thou art free is thy savings rate — the percentage of thy take-home pay thou dost not consume.
At 10% saved, thou shalt work 51 years to be free. At 25%, 32 years. At 50%, 17 years. At 65%, 10 years. At 75%, 7 years. The math is not opinion; it is geometry.
Increase savings rate by either earning more (without lifestyle inflation) or spending less. Both work. Doing both simultaneously is the Master's path.
The lifestyle inflation trap kills more wealth than any market crash. Every raise that becomes a new car, a new apartment, a new expense — that raise has been sacrificed to Mammon. Direct every raise into the asset column instead.
Sacred Tool · Savings Rate
Years to Freedom
Years Until Freedom
36.7
The Seal of the Chamber
He who needs little, owns much.