How should I track my progress toward financial independence?

The cleanest single metric is your FI percentage: current invested assets divided by your FIRE number. Hitting 25% means a quarter of the way; 100% means full FIRE. Alongside it, track your savings rate (what share of take-home pay you invest) since that predicts how fast the FI percentage will climb, and your annual expenses, because lowering them moves the finish line toward you. Check net worth quarterly rather than daily — markets bounce, and obsessive checking invites bad decisions. Watching milestones (first $100k, Coast FIRE, halfway) keeps the long middle motivating. A simple spreadsheet or a net-worth tool updated monthly is enough; precision matters less than consistency over years. Avoid moving the goalposts every time the market rises. Monitor it all at wealthserene.com/tools/net-worth.