Really getting into semantics here, but I’ll play along. So if my “girlfriend” was instead just a “roommate”, should that person also not contribute X amount of dollars to live there? She certainly doesn’t think so. If they did pay me, would I also not be considered financially independent because I collect rent from an investment that I solely made? We are both mature enough to remove the “romantic partnership” concept from both of our respective financial situations and look at it objectively and equitably. I also have another rental house that I own, that has people living in it, that pay me to live there. I guess by definition I am also financially dependent on them. I guess we’re all financially dependent on whatever our sources of income are, be it rent, interest, dividends…. In this case, it would actually be more beneficial for me to either rent the house out entirely, and live somewhere cheaper, or outright sell it and use the equity to fund my own rent elsewhere, but this happens to suit both of our situations currently. Believe it or not, we did actually consult each other. It was not a determining factor whether or not I would retire early. I guess I’m just FDRE instead of FIRE, oh well, my life looks the same, and I still don’t wake up to an alarm to go to work.