You need healthcare, you need an emergency fund, you need elder care, retirement. College fund for your kids. if you get hit by a freak meteor and become mentally/physically disabled, you're not going to be able to make $25k/yr.
For it to be FUM is enough to live off the interest at 4% withdrawal for the rest of your life. At an estimate, it takes between $250k and million dollars to get through a case of cancer. You're not getting through it on $25k/yr after you get fired because you can't work because you have cancer, and you won't be able to afford lawers to fight getting fired either.
$25k might be enough for a twenty year old with no responsibilities who can still eat dollar store ramen, but it's not enough for someone with responsibilities past subsistence eating.
I'm describing insurance not working. I'm explicitly saying you can't assume you'll be able to work the rest of your life. A hit-and-run drunk driver could hit you can run off, and you get paralyzed and your insurance denies your (very expensive) claim. Even if you sue them and win, that could take years before they pay out. $100k ain't gonna go very far.
I think it's implied with FUM that you have enough money to not work for the rest of your life. This is because without the need to work you have total freedom to set your schedule.
That’s never how it’s been described to me. That’s always been known to me as FI/RE or just being rich. FUM is simply the ability to walk away from a job and be very picky about where you work.
I do like that mindset as that definition of FUM is much easier to achieve than FIRE. However, I always assumed FUM meant you could be so unlikeable or disagreeable as to be unemployable and still be financially fine.
For it to be FUM is enough to live off the interest at 4% withdrawal for the rest of your life. At an estimate, it takes between $250k and million dollars to get through a case of cancer. You're not getting through it on $25k/yr after you get fired because you can't work because you have cancer, and you won't be able to afford lawers to fight getting fired either.
$25k might be enough for a twenty year old with no responsibilities who can still eat dollar store ramen, but it's not enough for someone with responsibilities past subsistence eating.
Also don't forget inflation.