Am I alone here?

[American GenX]

Fast forward to today...people are talking about FAT FIRE, LEAN FIRE, BARISTA FIRE, etc... 

Not only do you not have to fit into any of those, you will see that different people define them differently.  Don't get caught up in all that and just do you.

[brooklynmoney]

It me! Same numbers except I’m a scaredy cat and trying to build in a extra $20k annually of cushion in FIRE. Ana I’m single so it’s all just my numbers.

[Villanelle]

I like to say that we will be "January FIRE".  It's not quite fat FIRE, but you've spent the last 6 weeks eating and drinking and not getting as much exercise so your pants definitely feel tight.

[Steeze]

Fast forward to today...people are talking about FAT FIRE, LEAN FIRE, BARISTA FIRE, etc... 

Not only do you not have to fit into any of those, you will see that different people define them differently.  Don't get caught up in all that and just do you.

To me,

Fat FIRE = definitely never have to work again (<3.5% SWR)
FIRE = probably never have to work again (3.5%-4.5% SWR)
Lean FIRE = probably will work again (4.5%-5.5% SWR)
Barista FIRE = will have to work part time (>5.5% SWR)

But the actual $ amount is different for different folks.

[dresden]

I don't know anything about any of the labels, been planning to retire early since i was in my 20s and finally did at 53 last year.  We are living off of 45k with a paid off house and our draw is about 1% because I took an early pension option and that covers most of our expenses for now, but it's not adjusted for inflation so over time will cover less.

There are people on forums that like to argue and convince people they are right (or more to the point convince others they are wrong).  I would just ignore all that and keep on your path which is fine.

Everyone has a unique situation, but some common scenarios I've seen with early retirees I know:

1) Solid income (150-300k)/ frugal spenders
2) Moderate income / frugal spenders - inherited a large sum
3) Moderate income / frugal spenders - eligible for early pension

We fall into the first bucket but also have a small pension - not nearly as a good as a teacher or government worker but it takes the edge off for sure.

[mathlete]

No, you’re not alone. I would guess that a large majority of people pursuing FIRE are high income couples living a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle. This is pretty much the mold of Mr Money Mustache himself.

Just by the by though, I suspect that many people who opted to “lean” or “barista” FIRE in the past year or so have gotten totally fucked by COVID. I have never considered this a viable strategy.

[bluebelle]

as many others have said, you're probably pretty average on these forums.   I just think that many people are like me and don't post alot about their savings rate when they're high income - because it's damn easy to save 50-60% of your income when your household income is north of $300K.   
As far as definitions of what lean, median and fat fire are, that's up to you.   I can't fathom living on $20K a year any more than I think I need $200K (the old conventional 'wisdom' of how you need 70% of pre-retirement income).
I'm the money manager in our household, DH is the spender, although he has scaled back huge as the prize of early retirement gets closer.   I've been tracking our spending over the last 5 years, so I have a very good idea of what we 'need' to maintain our current lifestyle, and that's our target retirement budget plus $15K as a buffer (travel, buy toys, 'shit happens').   We could scale back in down years (hello 2020), or splurge in other years.   I have 3 retirement numbers, my 'lean' fire that keeps the lights on and food in my belly, my 'status quo' number that let's us live the way we are now, and my 'fat' number that would have us travelling and spending more.

and I do think the tone of the forum has changed over the years, it used to be very hard core, lean fire and all about the face punches.   I like the more tempered vibe.

[enFuego]

Oh, to be a misfit in the land of misfits...

I'm in the same boat as you.  My target spend for living expenses is probably in the same range as you.  I'm not impressed with either my savings rate or the frugality of my target income when compared to some others on this site.  Then again, I mosey on over to read some BH posts and realize those are not my people either... But as the saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy!

If it even matters to feel comfortable with fitting the average here, the way I try to frame it in my own head is that I am more closely aligned philosophically than not with many on this site, even if our budget numbers differ.  My target spend for living expenses in retirement is in the 50-60k range for two people in a MCOL-HCOL area.  [Full disclosure: this does not include health care costs, for which I am pessimistic and am budgeting for in addition.] That honestly feels reasonable to me.  Others have their own numbers for their own reasons.  (Anecdotally, I went looking to assure myself on this exact question too.  I read a number of threads here and on the BH site on retirees' average spend a couple years back and I came away thinking ~60K was a pretty common spend for a large percentage of the people responding.  So maybe that is contributing to my confidence level with that budget.)

When we retire, my wife and I will be the ones living within this budget, not the anonymous IRP, or someone who has different life experiences and situation than me.  In my mind it is neither a bare-bones nor an excessive lifestyle I am shooting for.  It is a lifestyle that will make us happy.  If someone living on half the amount is happy, good for them.  If someone needs twice as much to live, good for them.  It's important to keep in mind that the average doesn't accurately describe any one individual person.

So no, you're not alone...

[bluebelle]

So no, you're not alone...

damn it, now I've got the earworm "I think we're alone now"  by Tiffany (so I feel old too)    :-)
I think we're alone now,
There doesn't seem to be anyone around
I think we're alone now,
The beating of our hearts is the only sound

[Villanelle]

Fast forward to today...people are talking about FAT FIRE, LEAN FIRE, BARISTA FIRE, etc... 

Not only do you not have to fit into any of those, you will see that different people define them differently.  Don't get caught up in all that and just do you.

To me,

Fat FIRE = definitely never have to work again (<3.5% SWR)
FIRE = probably never have to work again (3.5%-4.5% SWR)
Lean FIRE = probably will work again (4.5%-5.5% SWR)
Barista FIRE = will have to work part time (>5.5% SWR)

But the actual $ amount is different for different folks.

Interesting, because when I think of fat or lean FIRE, it has nothing at all to do with SWR rate or likelihood of success (whatever that even means), and everything to do with budget.  Someone planning to spend $200k in retirement will have a fat FIRE; $10k will have a lean FIRE, and the BMI adjusts upward in  between. 

Unlike most here, I don't know what our retirement budget will be.  We have no idea where we will live and that will make a massive difference.  But because DH continues to work for non-monetary reasons (though the cash sure is nice), we don't have to figure out out.  And we know that with his pension, which is already secured, we'd have a lean-ish FIRE, even in  a HCOL area and without a paid off house, if it came down to it.  So we know we are good.  We just haven't yet defined quite what "good" looks like, and we have the great luxury of not having to (yet)!