Todd Miller retired at 53 because he did not want his life to be defined by his career. "I didn't have the vocabulary back then of 'financial independence,' but I said I wanted optionality," Miller told Business Insider. He picked age 50 to retire — what the personal finance industry now calls FIRE, which stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. In 2019, just three years after the initial age target he had set for himself, Miller took the plunge and retired at 53. His passive income now funds the family's lifestyle in Phuket, Thailand, where they live.

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Persons: Todd Miller, —, Miller, that's, you've, shubhangigoel@businessinsider.com Organizations: Service, Business, Financial Independence, FIRE Locations: Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Phuket, American, Real, Mardi, Nepal, Africa, Cambodia, Vietnam, Europe, Canada, Paris, Uganda, Asia