FIRE isn’t JUST for bike wielding hippies

By: Apathy Ends Bad news for the environment* but good news if you don’t own a bike and like the principles of Financial Independence! FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) does not require a plethora of middle fingers at all the things that make up the “Traditional American Life.” You can embrace modern conveniences and still achieve the ultimate financial goal. *Not really bad news. Public transportation, fuel-efficient cars, and recycling in da AE house  Over the last year, I have had this nagging feeling about the Financial Independence space, and recently that nag has turned into an ulcer. Which I suppressed for a while until it was ready to be born into some borderline ranting words. What do you need to do to reach Financial Independence? When pursuing FIRE you DO NOT NEED to:

  • Convert your car into a machine that runs on organic cooking oils you freecycled from a nearby restaurant
  • Bike 37 miles to work through rain, wind, or snow
  • Live in a house that has wheels and can be towed by a truck
  • Shutter all expenses except for shelter and enough bland food to sustain your existence
  • Have your heart set on traveling the world

When pursuing FIRE you CAN:

  • Have kids (More than 1 if you so desire)
  • Buy and drive a car, especially if you decided to do the previous step and don’t want to tow your kid around in a glorified bike sidecar
  • Spend more than $40,000 per year
  • Have a house that is affixed to the ground and is bigger than a standard bedroom

I don’t want hate mail, and want to prove a point so here we go in reverse: When pursuing FIRE you CAN:

  • Convert your car into a machine that runs on organic cooking oils you freecycled from a nearby restaurant
  • Bike 37 miles to work through rain, wind, or snow
  • Have a house on wheels that also reflects the sun back into the sun (looking at you ThinkSaveRetire)
  • Shutter all expenses except for shelter and enough bland food to sustain your existence
  • Aspire to travel the world

When pursuing FIRE you DO NOT NEED to:

  • Have kids (Also known as less than 1)
  • Buy or drive a car
  • Spend more than $40,000 per year
  • Buy a typical home that has more space than you want to deal with

Featured pup from passivecanadianincome.ca

FIRE isn’t JUST for bike wielding hippies

Our primary Financial Independence motivation is pretty simple We want to have Choices… Options… Flexibility… Security. The Option to quit our corporate jobs. The Choice to live wherever we want. The Flexibility to make big decisions without money being a major barrier. The Security of knowing we can take care of ourselves and our family no matter the circumstance. Doesn’t all that sound effing amazing? Why would we want to limit it to a microscopic subset of the population? Answer: We Don’t It’s for everyone, or at least for everyone who wants to go for it. I feel like the speed at which it happens has turned into a bigger deal than it actually happening and that is a damn shame. While we want it in the next 10ish years, being able to walk away comfortably at any age is a significant achievement that shouldn’t be looked down upon.

Don’t Fixate on the Extremes

Especially if they don’t apply to you. That is a recipe for a disastrous demotivation I have looked back at some of the awesome hacks out there with loving eyes thinking “if I could go back and do that we would be farther along”. Then I snap myself out of it because I LOVE my life. I am OK* with the speed at which we are making progress even though I know there are things we could do to expedite it. It’s not that I don’t understand the math, trust me, I get it. Its that I put more value on certain experiences now than I do hitting our FI number 37 days sooner. Just because you can’t, or don’t want to do something other people do, doesn’t mean you are doing it wrong. *I will take faster as long as it doesn’t detract from my current work/life balance

Focus on what you can apply to your life

A lot of the FIRE extremes do not apply to families that have 1 or more children, at least they don’t without further modifications (think full-time travel with kids and homeschooling). That does not mean people who rock that lifestyle don’t have something to offer up. You might need to think beyond the words instead of making excuse on why it won’t work. I promise you the lessons are there. I referenced Steve from ThinkSaveRetire earlier in a tongue in cheek way, his lifestyle and mine could not be more different right now. Guess what. I still find a ton of value in his writing. Specifically around living the life YOU want to live. Dude knows what he is about and embraces it.

Love this post by Steve: Want to retire early? Make lots of money and don’t have kids 

A few more examples: I’m not a doctor but I learn from PhysicianonFIRE I’m not in IT or a Mom but I learn from ChiefMomOfficer I’m not a teacher or a frugal boss but I learn from ShePicksUpPennies This could go on for a long time so I’m going to cut it here

Take Away

It would be crazy for me to think that people will stop judging other peoples thoughts or actions. I will continue to do it in some capacity despite my best effort to think before I react (last week a guy told me he was frugal and had leased a car……RESTRAIN). What cannot happen is FIRE being prescribed by those who have already achieved it, or are already on the path. There is room for all, and we need to encourage others along, not shit on them for taking a slightly slower, meandering route along the way. Some people need to make their own mistakes, I still battle with taking advice vs figuring out myself to this day. When beliefs stopped getting questioned and outside perspectives immediately lose credibility it hurts everyone. Republished with the permission of ApathyEnds.com.