The Problems with FIRE (European Investor)

Comments · 195

• TH

  @thetomcrosshill · 5 months ago · pinned

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• S3

  @s3lfFish · 5 months ago

  Retirement doesn’t mean doing nothing. It means not being forced to work to survive. <br><br>You can still do things u you just don’t need to die

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• CC

  @CC_CerealZ · 5 months ago

  I don&apos;t want to retire early. I&apos;d just prefer not worrying about money while working.

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• CH

  @chridenner7806 · 5 months ago (edited)

  I quit my (horrible) career last year because it became unbearable, physically and mentally, and because I had to take care of a parent with cancer. When I quit, I had almost reached my FIRE number, and I have reached it now. I&apos;m 48. Were all the years of sacrifice, discipline and missed experiences worth it? Yes. Not having to go to this terrible office anymore, these silly corporate rules, my pathetically stupid manager (sorry to be so direct) - this alone was worth it. I worked at 5 different companies throughout my career, and all of them were awful in their own specific way. I had a severe burnout from which I never recovered until today. The problem is also with me: I just hate the 9 to 6, and only 5 weeks off a year - this is not a balance. When we&apos;re young, we forget that our energy levels in our late 40ies are much lower than the ones we had in our 20ies. I&apos;m tired and if I&apos;d have to apply now again for a fulltime corporate job, I would honestly get totally desperate. My FIRE journey was rough, but it was worth it.

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• ST

  @stephen2203 · 5 months ago

  The problems with FIRE are that some people don&apos;t understand the reasons behind it. I &apos;retired&apos; at 57 and I have never had a moment when I was not occupied doing something.

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• EM

  @EmperorMordred · 5 months ago

  Since I&apos;m a cheapskate who tries to save money everywhere, I accidentally hit my FIRE number recently (at 44, with my parents already giving inheritance money to avoid taxes)<br>My career has been a bumpy ride with 21 jobs so far, which makes it hard to find a new one.<br>I&apos;m currently looking for work but it&apos;s a bit of a crisis in my sector at the moment (software development), at least I don&apos;t have to worry too much about money and I&apos;m not forced to accept any job where I know I&apos;ll hate it from the start

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• KO

  @KoverMadar · 5 months ago

  I&apos;m at the beginning of my journey (at 42 😅). My estimation is I can retire at 55 or 56. Then I will move from Europe (I want better weather and less taxes). The exact location is still a question, a lot can happen, but I have a few options: Philippines, Vanuatu, Fiji, Belize, Uruguay. We&apos;ll see 😇

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• MR

  @MrKarcell · 5 months ago

  The real problem with reaching FIRE isn&apos;t having too much time or getting bored; it&apos;s that many people who dedicate their lives to work only cultivate &apos;economically productive&apos; passions, neglecting those that fuel their happiness. Those who find themselves bored after they stop working face a deeper issue: they don&apos;t know how to be happy. Happiness isn&apos;t about ticking off one goal after another; it&apos;s about nourishing your soul with your passions and sharing them with the people you love. Surrounding yourself with affection—that is true happiness.

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• AM

  @Amy-vr5yt · 5 months ago

  It’s ironic that the only people that struggle with having retired early are the people who can afford to retire early

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• CE

  @CesarMouzarteSerpa · 5 months ago (edited)

  And you forgot the most important aspect: death is lurking. My wife was always very concerned about our expenses, and in six months cancer took her. In the end, she thought she should have lived differently. So save money, but never forget to live.

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• BL

  @BlueWombat85 · 5 months ago

  I couldn’t agree more! I’ve gotten to the point where I could decide to retire (at 40, as a Dane - I left the country to avoid the tax pressure). But it was never a goal in itself to retire - and I have no plans to do so. For me it is much more about the fact that if I get tired of my job, I have the freedom to do something else if I want to or take more time off to enjoy other stuff. I may want to go into consulting at some point and scale down, but not retire. And we’ve always taken the vacations we’ve wanted, I’ve had some expensive cars and we’ve been able to visit amazing restaurants - all the stuff we want to do. Instead, the focus was building a career that motivates me and I have fun doing!<br>Anyway, I have followed the FIRE community since I was in my 20s because it fascinated me that someone was willing to sacrifice that much to maybe retire a bit earlier… and I have met a lot of FIRE Disciples - the general theme wasn’t really that they were dreaming of doing nothing. They were just dreaming of doing something else than what they were doing - so my standard question has always been - Why don’t you just do it?? If you really hate your job that much, why don’t you decide to reposition yourself to what you really want? For me people who are striving for FIRE is a symptom more than a desire in itself!

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• PA

  @panathaninf · 5 months ago

  The real deal is not FIRE but FIFU. The concept is to achieve financial independence in order not to retire but to be able to tell everybody, including your boss, FU everytime they make your life miserable. You can then sleep well and enjoy life including work.

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