Professor’s Seven-Step Roadmap to Achieving Financial Independence Explained

Miguel Marquez, a 47-year-old professor originally from Spain who teaches French, Spanish and personal finance at a Shenzhen university, uses a seven-step ladder to track his journey toward financial independence. The framework, inspired by the Money Flamingo blog, treats the goal as a series of game-like levels: debt freedom, a year’s expenses saved as “F-you money,” Coast FI, Flamingo FI, Lean FI, full FI, and finally Fat FI.

After clearing debt during college, he hit Coast FI in June 2024 and reached Flamingo FI a year later, having saved roughly half of his ultimate target. Currently at Lean FI, his $400,000 portfolio covers essential costs while allowing modest travel, thanks to subsidized campus housing and Shenzhen’s low expenses. He explains that breaking the larger objective into smaller, quantifiable milestones made the process feel attainable on a teaching salary. Marquez does not aim for Fat FI, believing ordinary FI already provides a comfortable lifestyle given his cost structure.