When we first forayed into the world of financial blogging as content consumers, we were introduced to a lot of new terms. For the early retirement community, the most common are Financial Independence (FI) or Financially Independent and Retired Early (FIRE). There’s a reason (besides alliteration) that we use “Financial Freedom” as opposed to FIRE: Words are powerful.
Retired makes people think of this:
It’s always a couple (usually white and heterosexual) between the ages of 50 and 90 either (1) sitting on a beach (2) walking on a beach (3) or on a boat. The message is clear: “retirement” is no longer being productive.
“Financially Independent” fares slightly better, but evokes images of snooty rich people. We are many things, but we are not of the private golf club ilk.
“Financial Freedom,” on the other hand…while less consistently defined than FI or retirement, makes me think of this:
Financial Freedom means being able to pursue your interests without worrying about money. How awesome is that?
Image Attributions:
U.S. National Archives – Miami South Beach Retirees (1975)
“G-BWIN” by Jyra Sapphire – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
“Running dog” by paeppi – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 2.0
Fetching Financial Freedom 
I love your point here and the dog photos. I have been trying to figure out which phrase sits best with me. I don’t want to sit on a beach with my girlfriend and not contribute to the world. I just want to be able to focus on the work that adds goodness to the world.
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That’s a fantastic sentiment – love it!
When we eventually step away from the 9-5 lifestyle, sure, there will probably be a few months where we don’t do a whole lot, but we’ll never stop wanting to learn and contribute in some way. In many cases, “retiring” could mean a net gain in productivity, since you have the freedom to focus on what interests you most without worrying about finances.
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