Financial independence means different things to different people. To me, it can be broken down into 3 stages.
Initial Stage.
True Stage.
Perpetual Stage.
Part 2.
True Stage:
You literally don’t have to do ANYTHING at all to make money and still get to enjoy your current lifestyle.
Example: A school teacher spends $30K/year. His rental income from his apartment is collected by a property management company and, after fees, is directly deposited to his bank account every month. Combine this with his investment income from a balanced portfolio of high quality funds, he gets $30K/year. He can quit his teaching job and be free of any money making responsibilities.
note:
-assume all numbers are after tax.