What is the FIRE Movement? Could it be Hurting Our Economy?

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The Fire movement is a growing trend amongst young workers which is growing in popularity thanks to its very enticing goal which is spelled out in the name.

FIRE is an acronym of Financial Independence and Retiring Early.

The idea is that by following a very aggressive saving and investing strategy people can get to a point where they are effectively retired at a very young age, sometimes younger than 30.

In a world where we are being told that pensions are running dry and the average person may have to work in some capacity for their entire life, this sounds like a bit of a lofty dream.

Sure, there are trust fund babies and young tech millionaires who may earn millions within their first few years in the real world, but surely kicking back on beach and never thinking about work again is not attainable to a regular wage slave right?

Well if some figureheads and internet forums are to be believed then well, yeah actually it is for pretty much anybody.

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I am a passionate advocate for the financial independence movement. But that does not mean that I don’t see issues with it.

Now many of those issues are glossed over in the sheer simplicity of it, which is also part of the reason it is so powerful.

So long as someone can get to a point where their investments are making as much as their living expenses long term, they have achieved financial independence.

Getting to that point is harder for some than others, but advocates of the movement argue that this difficulty has more to do with personal lifestyles rather than personal incomes.

So what are the mechanics of the FIRE movement?

How could someone use it to stop working forever?

Is this actually attainable for anybody like they say?

And finally

What would this movement do to the wider economy?

#FinancialIndependence #EarlyRetirment #Economics

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[theodoresmith]

The idea of financial freedom to me doesn’t mean never working again. It means i can focus on things that aren’t very profitable.

[logwhitley]

Retiring in your 30's is very appealing, especially in your 40's.

[notsoma]

How to FIRE: Make a $997 course on how to FIRE

stonks 📈

[pandabossanna]

For me financial independence means being able to work in jobs I enjoy, rather than focusing solely on the salary :)

[philsangster]

For me, financial independence means never again worrying about employment. It means working _with_ a company rather than _for_ it, and if I disagree with the principles of the business I can leave. It means working part time if I choose to do so and spending the rest of my life following paths that interest me and align with my values.

[Quickonomics]

"Time in the market beats timing the market."

Warren Buffet approves this message.

[SimplyByNP]

Usually people don’t want to retire that early. People are mainly interested in Financial Independence part

[azukikuma]

The cruel fact that makes FIRE possible is that the price of ASSETS is always rising faster than your SALARY.

[basicnpcc]

I'm personally a fan of the movement. Currently invest ~50% of my income (though it's easy since I'm a software engineer who's single lol).
I don't care about it so much in the way that
- 'I want to retire early'.
I care about it in the sense that
- 'If I wanted to go fk off for 2 years and do what I want then I could'.

[djedifdue]

I’m sick of always trying to prove myself to a system only to realize their intend was to have me work my entire life without any reward.

[Baekstrom]

Even if your income isn't high enough to get you to financial independence, it might get you halfway there, allowing you to maybe work less hours or choose a career that pays less but is more fulfilling.

[arsalanabbas]

I'm on FIRE too, except in this case it's Forced to pay Interest Repayments for Eternity :')

[TikkaQrow]

"only left with $60k a year to live on"
Bruh... that's a pretty comfy yearly income in 2020...
I mean that would pay for like 250% of my current lifestyle.

[ellejendario]

"Wealth does not consist on having great possessions, but in having few wants."

[jmabee]

I just like the idea of turning working into a choice. I would still work, but it would be because I want to be there not because I have to. That perspective shift makes a huge difference.

[joaovitormatos]

Me: "well, if an Australian YouTuber is using an American app, it's probably worldwide available"

Literally the second page: "citizens of the United States only"

[ClarenceEwing]

"Financial independence" and "not working" are different concepts. Most people don't want to spend their lives sitting around doing nothing, but they also don't want to spend their lives struggling to pay bills and being employed in jobs they hate. If millions of people could focus their minds on pursuing activities that genuinely interest them (aka "hobbies") instead of fitting into the Capitalist labor system, the world would be much better for people instead of corporations.

[Mrforgotten]

I'm gonna break some hearts. A large cross section of developed world society 'could' FIRE or semi-FIRE if they wanted, but it would require to radically rethink what you expect out of life and what you consider to be a good living standard.

[jman]

When people retire early it opens up those jobs to other people which helps the economy.

[chr]

Even though I find it extremely important to save money and built a portfolio, it is also important to remember that you have a life right now that is worth living. Always thinking of a holiday or an item I really want as as exchange for a longer time I have to work can get really toxic and makes it easy for me to get too fixated on numbers, in my opinion..