Keep an open mind. What I’m about to describe is different.

This radical approach is akin to Plato’s allegory of the cave – a man born in a cave is freed to experience the outside world, but alienates his fellow cave friends as they cannot conceptualize anything but the cave.

In the modern world, it is expected of us to work, then retire. Imagine, for a second there was an alternative, spending the best years of your life, living wisely. What would you do? How about learning different subjects and skills? Maybe you would pick up some hobbies or spend more time with your kids instead of using daycare.

What the Heck is FIRE?

F.I.R.E stands for Financial Independence “Retire Early”, or “Remain Employed”. It’s a path to having enough to walk away from the job market if you desire (so called “F-U Money”). It’s a path far less taken in our age of consumerism where more is always better.

The core concept is designing a conscious retirement budget, then aggressively working to save 25x that projected annual budget. When you hit it, you retire and live on passive income derived from your savings, spending consciously. That’s it.

There are resources with lots of tactics and tips to get you started in FIRE, I won’t bother repeating them here:

Your Money or Your Life

I know you’re already thinking that “spend consciously” means a life of frugality that is not for you. Actually, let’s go a bit deeper. To spend consciously does not mean eliminating restaurants, travel, and designer labels. It simply means thinking about your habits and dreams and creating a meaningful budget based on what’s right for you.

Putting that aside, however, consider modern behavior: humans dig valuable resources from the earth, do a few things with it, and then throw it away in the ocean and overflowing landfills merely to repeat this cycle. It’s not sustainable and you really don’t need another pair of shoes.

Putting a Plan Together

Using your time wisely and free of financial obligation is very likely to result in more happiness. Listing out things you want to do or learn and knowing that it is possible is a huge motivation. Discuss it with your partner, I guarantee you’ll get excited by this exercise.

My wife and I spent a few weeks talking through it and found we were very aligned. We’re on a plan now and excited for what the future holds. This is freedom.

FAQ

  • But what if I don’t know what I’d do? This is a valid question. For some people they have a go-to list of things. For others, this is something to think about over time. Either way, the point is to stretch your mind to all the possibilities that could open up if you didn’t have a 9–5 work obligation.
  • But what if I love my job? Great! FI is still a great goal so you can walk away if you want to.
  • But what if I have a mortgage/kids? Still possible! Check out the above blog links, lots of great tactics if you’re truly interested.
  • But what if I’m not good at investing? You don’t need to be a genius! In fact, you can be a financial whiz through simple tactics. Many of these blogs talk about investing in low fee index funds, no special advisor needed! As you go you’ll learn more and adjust tactics.
  • But what if I like to buy things? Cool, just be conscious of it and plan a budget.
  • But what about health insurance? ACA is a great option for FIRE. Read this, this and this.

There are plenty of FIRE resources if you explore some of the blogs linked in this post. Read on and good luck!

Photograph by THOMAS LEUTHARD