What type of RE person are you?

[deborah]

I have been thinking a lot lately about the journey that we all take to get to FIRE, where we are on it, and whether it is the same journey, but each of us joins at a different stage of the journey.

The journey could be viewed as...

Spendthrift splendour - We spend every penny we earn and a bit more (maybe a lot more). We don't know it, but we are digging ourselves a financial grave. These people join the forum, get excited that they might be able to never work again, put up a case study, and have it slashed to ribbons around their feet. They have no notion that they might even have a finance problem.

Reluctant Reducers - All we get in the mail is BILLS - and plenty of them. We realise that we have a problem, but we don't know what to do about it, as we surely have pretty normal spending patterns. These people join the forum in the hope that there is some hidden money drain in their accounts that can be plugged without any other changes to their spending. They put up a case study and are amazed that they are told to get rid of the leased car...

When it Rains - We have had a lot of misfortune, and have to live on almost no money - how can we do it? These people have had really bad experiences, and their finances have been consumed in the process. They may have been forced into the RE part without any FI - and because they want to be independent, they ask questions about living frugally that provide the rest of us with very valuable information.

Be Jealous - We have a country club lifestyle with salaries the rest of you cannot believe. Surely we can retire tomorrow! These people have 6 figure (usually more) salaries and 6 figure lifestyles. Once other forum members get over the shock of the figures in their case studies, many realise that FIRE depends a lot more on the difference between expenditure and income than pure income.

Latte Lovers - We aren't completely frugal , but we are definitely on the path. These people aim to be FIRE - early, but not too early. They have reduced their expenditure, but still indulge in a latte.

Money Ironers - We still have the first dollar bill we were paid to mow lawns when we were kids - we ironed it and keep it in a special place. These people are incredible savers - and frugal as well. They have problems investing money though, because they don't want to part with all those well ironed bills. But once they get their investment strategies right, they just beam ahead into FIRE.

Savvy Sidegigs - Well, we started this sidegig... These people started a business and it went berserk, or did a lot of due diligence and bought a few houses and became a real estate mogul... They are generally FI or close to it (by this stage), but often have trouble working out how to become RE - or even if they WANT to be RE. (People in some of the previous groups change to this group when they decide on what they will invest in).

WHAT? - We discovered MMM, and when we did the figures, we were FI years ago, and could retire tomorrow. Surely this can't be true! These people have saved all their lives, and never realised you could retire early. Unfortunately, it usually takes several more years for them to truely believe that they can retire.

FIRE - We made it. We are FIRE already.

I am happy to add more - please advise on any other definitions you would like...

Smug SWAMI - We are FI, but our job is so nice and satisfies so much of our life that we are in no hurry to leave it. As against the "WHAT?"s who have no clue, these people know that they are FI, but like the fun associated with their work so much they doubt they will ever leave it. If the management sucks too much, they will move to another job just like it. Unfortunately, some of these people eventually become wedded to their particular job, and can't go elsewhere, or get forcibly evicted and can't find an alternative.

Ice Skater - Technically we are not FIRE because we didn't reach our number before we pulled the pin. But we retired anyway, and so far it seems to be working - just. These people looked at the number in the distance and decided to retire anyway. They find the occasional side gig, or travel the third world, or house sit ... while their stash gradually increases (they hope).

One More Yeti - Stash Snowball Watcher - We are FI, but not RE.  Do we love watching the stash snowball grow?  The snowball is rolling downhill, and it is big, and it is so pretty to watch it grow from rolling down that hill.  Are we afraid it really isn't big enough? These people aren't Smug SWAMIs because they DON'T like their work, but they are afraid that if they retire, summer will come and the snowball will shrink - AND THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN IT SHRINK before.   Or a Yeti will come and eat it all up.

Note:These have been added to the end, as changing the order would make the existing votes not work.

[HappierAtHome]

We need a category between Be Jealous and Money Ironers - one for the half-mustachians :-) people who are living a fairly typical middle-class lifestyle but are a tad more careful with their cash than the average punter, so they're saving 50% or more by virtue of decent incomes and a tiny bit of frugality.

[deborah]

We need a category between Be Jealous and Money Ironers - one for the half-mustachians :-) people who are living a fairly typical middle-class lifestyle but are a tad more careful with their cash than the average punter, so they're saving 50% or more by virtue of decent incomes and a tiny bit of frugality.

HAH - hopefully Latte Lovers do the trick!

[HappierAtHome]

We need a category between Be Jealous and Money Ironers - one for the half-mustachians :-) people who are living a fairly typical middle-class lifestyle but are a tad more careful with their cash than the average punter, so they're saving 50% or more by virtue of decent incomes and a tiny bit of frugality.

HAH - hopefully Latte Lovers do the trick!

Love it. Thank you. I had a latte just this morning at the Perth MMM Meetup :-)

[TartanTallulah]

Latte Lover comes closest for me, which is quite ironic as I hate milk in my coffee, or coffee-flavoured milk.

[Lmoot]

I would consider myself a savvy side gig, though not at the level in the description, sadly. I've always held a second job, and I have a rental property.

[Greystache]

About 2 years ago I was WHAT! I can retire? Followed quickly by FIRE.

[Mr Griz]

Definitely a WHAT. Could have retired five years ago. Maybe earlier. Fortunately I don't regret the extra years working at a well paying & very interesting job. Now planning to RE by this time next year.

[Janelle]

Money ironer...I still have a CD I bought in high school with money I earned as a janitor after school.

[LadyMaWhiskers]

Savvy sidegig with latte loving moon sign.

[GenXbiker]

We need a category between Be Jealous and Money Ironers - one for the half-mustachians :-) people who are living a fairly typical middle-class lifestyle but are a tad more careful with their cash than the average punter, so they're saving 50% or more by virtue of decent incomes and a tiny bit of frugality.

HAH - hopefully Latte Lovers do the trick!

I was the first one to vote, and Latte Lovers wasn't available at that time, so I chose Money Ironers.  I think Latte Lovers would more accurately describe me.  It looks like I can't change my vote now.

[2Birds1Stone]

None of the above.

[Sailor Sam]

Clever poll! I'm between a Latte Coffee Lover, and a Money Ironer.

I love saving money for saving's sake. And as a child under a cash based allowance system, I did in fact lovingly fondle all my dollar bills.

I still save a lot, and find the very act enjoyable. But I buy a lot of coffee. Soooo, yup. 

[rockstache]

I guess latte lover is probably my closest bet. I've always been a saver, but I enjoy my little luxuries and don't plan to give them up.

[itchyfeet]

Nice poll

[Zikoris]

Can I just say, the options are all hilarious?

Money Ironer here, with potential to be a Savvy Sidegigger if I wasn't so bone-lazy.

[BTDretire]

What!
 Looking back, my NW would have provided the proverbial $40k at the end of 2011.
 I didn't find MMM until 2yrs 4 mo ago.
Attempted retirement in Jan, had about 3 months off, then business changes forced me back
part time. I'll try again next Jan.

[geekette]

We were pretty much in the What? stage when I found MMM, and the ACA allowed DH to bail.

[YogiKitti]

I was a money ironer as a kid. Like, I actually ironed my money.

[dreams_and_discoveries]

Yeah, not sure I really fit into any of the categories...

I think it's missing the high savings rate, decent income and optimised spending crowd...

[deborah]

Yeah, not sure I really fit into any of the categories...

I think it's missing the high savings rate, decent income and optimised spending crowd...

it dosen't matter what your income is if you are a really high savings rate - you are obviously a money ironer. Or am I missing something?

[deborah]

We need a category between Be Jealous and Money Ironers - one for the half-mustachians :-) people who are living a fairly typical middle-class lifestyle but are a tad more careful with their cash than the average punter, so they're saving 50% or more by virtue of decent incomes and a tiny bit of frugality.

HAH - hopefully Latte Lovers do the trick!

I was the first one to vote, and Latte Lovers wasn't available at that time, so I chose Money Ironers.  I think Latte Lovers would more accurately describe me.  It looks like I can't change my vote now.

Sorry, I thought I had made it so anyone could change their vote - evidently not. And I can't now.

[Roe]

We are on a (frustrating) 39.39% savings rate, but we are far from bare bones. I voted latte lovers, not due to coffee but because of spending money, food costs, entertainment budget and car costs.

Im happy with it, we found MMM in june and have changed a lot since then. Our savings rate was a bit under 10%, and we payed little attention to where the money went. As long as there was some left at the end of the month we were happy with that.

I really want to change to category savy sidegiger, but feeling pretty stuck about that at the moment.

[deborah]

How about SWAMIs (Satisfied Working Advanced Mustachian Individuals)?

SWAMIs - We have fulfilling, meaningful work and take no corporate BS, because we are FI and can leave anytime. We have optimal work/life/health balance. We are living our purpose and know our life mission.

Another I see on the forum is "nest egg coasters" - not yet FI, but have built up a decent nest egg and are pursuing other ventures, like travel or a lower paying/more meaningful work, while coasting to FIRE.

When I worked, at different times I had TWO people inhabit the "my staff" space who were mega millionaires - both through property. Both knuckled down when faced with the "conduct and performance" arm of HR, but neither actually "worked". They had a lot in common. Both would go missing during the day for quite extended periods. Both would make and receive a multitude of landline phone calls and I would hear things that indicated to me that they were conducting their business from work (this also included finding property titles in the photocopier...). And from the first day, both tried hard to undermine me (especially as I was their female boss). This has made me somewhat dubious about the SWAMI definition. However, I guess they were not SWAMI - they were Savvy Sidegigs. And, really, as I was definitely FI for all the years that these people were in my orbit, I could have been considered to be the SWAMI. I think Savvy Sidegigs covers all the "Nest Egg Coasters" I have seen on the forum - but if one of them speaks up, I will reconsider.

[Vertical Mode]

Latte Lover for sure, though it usually isn't literally lattes. GF and I embrace frugality in most of the big areas, but do splurge on restaurant meals / drinks out from time to time.

I'd actually say my biggest discretionary spending category is probably sporting equipment/league dues, oddly enough.

[MM_MG]

Latte* Lover

*And by latte I mean great food (usually at home), private school for kids, good wine/alcohol, and nice vacations.

We could likely retire tomorrow, but are not willing to sacrifice the lifestyle we enjoy...at least not yet.  Which is ironic, because our "friends" think we are cheap.

[deborah]

In case you are all wondering about the names - the following two in particular appear to be raising eyebrows:

Money Ironer: I seem to recall that MMM himself talked about ironing his money when he was small.
Latte Lover: The standard thing that people are told to give up is their coffee club habit.

Note: I do not drink coffee (and never have), and am convinced that anything that requires ironing does not belong in my wardrobe.

[VolcanicArts]

Side note, the shape of the poll results currently resembles the middle finger.

[Squirrel away]

Latte lover, although I don't drink coffee.

[Bateaux]

Came in to MMM as a WHAT.  Currently a Smug Swami drinking a latte.

[EuroGap]

Latte Lover all the way. Healthy savings rate, moderate restriction on indulgences but never wanting for anything, occasional splurge. Feels good!

[Bella78]

Definitely a Latte Lover.

[Laura33]

I feel like we need a split personality option.  Personally, I am a "what?!" -- was always a money ironer, and realized only a short time ago that we could actually FIRE if we wanted to.  I just always assumed that you saved everything and still worked until 65, even if that meant you ended up with a gazillion bucks!  The problem is I married a spendypants 20+ years ago -- he is totally a Be Jealous, with no real desire to FIRE except for really bad days at work.  And because I hadn't conceived of FIRE back then, I didn't have that vision of an alternative lifestyle that I could have used to persuade him that there are better things to do with our money than buy $120 sunglasses.

So my compromise was Latte Lovers -- we could FIRE now if we cut our lifestyle, but DH isn't willing to do so.  So we settled on a 7-yr plan, until the kids are out of the house (the one thing that drives him to be interested in quitting is extensive travel, which we can't do until then anyway).  I can't call myself a SWAMI, because while I generally enjoy my work, I don't think our 45-50% savings rate is particularly Mustachian.  So Latte Lover -- ok savings, no debt or "bad" stuff, but also enjoying the ride a bit, because our current savings rate will get us to DH's acceptable FIRE target savings by our 7-yr target date.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

I guess we are 'latte lovers' or maybe smug SWAMI...  My wife is re-retiring this year but I love my job.  Happy to keep on with this lifestyle as long as it will have me 😀. We're not big spenders, but a latte now and again doesn't seem to matter anymore....  although I still make my mochas at home for the added shots of espresso perfectly balanced with Ghirardelli chocolate and coconut milk

[Romag]

Another FIRE'd "Latte Lover". Naturally frugal in a lot of ways, but didn't and don't hesitate to spend money on things or experiences that I enjoy. I usually saved in the 33-40% range while I was working, but military pension was the key to my ability to FIRE.

[GenXbiker]

IOW enjoy your fancy store bought $5 Lattes on your commute to work tomorrow morning you Latte Lovers and I'll enjoy my 10 cent home brew on my walk in the park ;-).

Sure, rub it in.  :)  The $5 latte is a little too rich for my blood, and my commute is short, so I wait until I get to work and get a cup of coffee for $1.06 while getting paid for it at the same time.

[Rosy]

Split personalities here - Mr. R. is definitely in the Latte Mocha Lover category (naturally frugal, but will spend money on things that matter to him). I was near the end of a long "When It Rains" period in my life with "side gigs" galore when I found MMM and moved on to FIREd-Latte Mocha Lover from there.
For me the two years since finding MMM were just the icing on the cake:) - for him it clarified the path.
We still have a bit of work to do to optimize our options before Mr. R. retires, but the truth is we would be OK if he had to retire tomorrow, but we kinda like our Latte Lover lives and would like to continue them in retirement.

[Rosy]

IOW enjoy your fancy store bought $5 Lattes on your commute to work tomorrow morning you Latte Lovers and I'll enjoy my 10 cent home brew on my walk in the park ;-).

Sure, rub it in.  :)  The $5 latte is a little too rich for my blood, and my commute is short, so I wait until I get to work and get a cup of coffee for $1.06 while getting paid for it at the same time.

Better yet, work for a company with a Columbian owner and a fine coffee bar at work - free coffee of your choice:) Well, actually like GenX said, I got paid for the coffee break:)
I don't think I've ever worked for a company that didn't provide free coffee, the only place where it was too bitter to drink was when I had a gig as an Interpreter for the Army, but they had a cafeteria in another building with decent coffee for a quarter.

[Laura33]

IOW enjoy your fancy store bought $5 Lattes on your commute to work tomorrow morning you Latte Lovers and I'll enjoy my 10 cent home brew on my walk in the park ;-).

1.  Tea, not coffee.
2.  I get it free from the Keurig at work.  My assistant even specifically buys my favorite kinds.  :-)

I like my treats here and there, but I'm not stupid.  ;-)

[JayhawkRacer]

I was a money ironer as a kid. Like, I actually ironed my money.

Is that a gateway to money laundering as an adult?

[FireHiker]

I went with "Latte Lovers", although our "latte of choice" is a high travel budget, and we rarely indulge in much else. YTD our savings rate is 41%, but we are pretty high earners (not outrageous compared to some numbers I've seen thrown around here, but two engineers each with 15+ years of experience), so it could be higher if we didn't travel and have such a high mortgage. Working our way to FIRE, 7-13 years depending on some key variables...

[PiobStache]

I would classify us as, "We can but we won't settle."  We could FIRE tomorrow if we were willing to live in a fashion we find too meager so will keep going another decade to FIRE on our own terms.

[Bicycle_B]

Ice Skater (as in skating on thin ice) or Nervous Nellie - more or less RE, not really working, but precarious as far as FI goes.  Seizing some RE benefits without being convinced there is quite enough money.

[aspiringnomad]

The lone Ice Skater so far according to the poll results. Not there yet, but selected it because that's the plan in the not-so-distant future. Right now I'm a Latte Lover, but I only ever have that proverbial latte when I don't have the time or available resources for a home/office brew. Presumably, once FIRE, that won't be as much an issue. Just hoping the ice isn't too thin.

[deborah]

This has been a very interesting survey to me. I have been thinking that recently the number of retired people has increased tremendously, and I think the survey numbers reflect that. It is 6 years since MMM started the blog, so maybe 4 years after knowing about FIRE, a lot of people can do it.

Sometimes there seem to be a lot of people with a lot of money here, but this survey hasn't shown that.

I would have expected there to be more "Money Ironers" but perhaps they FIRE very quickly after finding MMM, so it is reasonable for their numbers to be small. In a similar vein, there would be more "Latte Lovers" because they take longer to FIRE.

[Cassie]

We retired 5 years ago at 53 and 58. since then we have enjoyed p.t. gigs that we really love and it brings meaning to our lives. When that stops being the case we will be fully retired.  I love the freedom to choose. The results of the poll are interesting.

[FIstateofmind]

Ice Skater!

[deborah]

IOW enjoy your fancy store bought $5 Lattes on your commute to work tomorrow morning you Latte Lovers and I'll enjoy my 10 cent home brew on my walk in the park ;-).

1.  Tea, not coffee.
2.  I get it free from the Keurig at work.  My assistant even specifically buys my favorite kinds.  :-)

I like my treats here and there, but I'm not stupid.  ;-)

Laura rocks!

OMY Stash Snowball Watcher.

FI, but not RE.  Why?  Because we love watching the stash snowball grow.  The snowball is rolling downhill, and it is big, and it is so pretty to watch it grow from rolling down that hill.  Our frugal spending, high income and investment gains are mesmerizing.   We've used our FI to negotiate work that comes with perks like free tea and an employer trained to grant us a great work life balance , leaves of absence, and other stuff we always wanted.  So one more year keeps coming up and getting the vote.  We probably should retire today, but tomorrow will do just fine. 

Tomorrow will hit next January.

Why don't you think you are a SMUG SWAMI?

[Bicycle_B]

This has been a very interesting survey to me. I have been thinking that recently the number of retired people has increased tremendously, and I think the survey numbers reflect that. It is 6 years since MMM started the blog, so maybe 4 years after knowing about FIRE, a lot of people can do it.

Sometimes there seem to be a lot of people with a lot of money here, but this survey hasn't shown that.

I would have expected there to be more "Money Ironers" but perhaps they FIRE very quickly after finding MMM, so it is reasonable for their numbers to be small. In a similar vein, there would be more "Latte Lovers" because they take longer to FIRE.

Our survey may not be representative of the general public. 

After I bought my car, I noticed more people driving similar ones.  IRL my perception changed, not the number of cars on the road of that particular make/model.  It's possible that the % of early retirees has changed, but more likely that most of the change is us noticing.

ETA:  Of course our actions and this blog have an effect.  But the country is large, so how many drops in the bucket are we?  I guess I'm thinking that some of the millions of people "dropping out of the workforce" in employment statistics are Mustache on purpose, but others are caused by other circumstances.  If we added 100,000 but 3 million were caused by automation, we helped lots of lives individually but it's a fraction of percent in the population. I don't think that's bad - just that in life we are powerful individually and can trigger a movement, yet the field is large and other people have their own effect too.  Millions and millions of people.  I think it's spectacular how much we are accomplishing with just a blog and the exchange of information, caring, etc.

[Laura33]

IOW enjoy your fancy store bought $5 Lattes on your commute to work tomorrow morning you Latte Lovers and I'll enjoy my 10 cent home brew on my walk in the park ;-).

1.  Tea, not coffee.
2.  I get it free from the Keurig at work.  My assistant even specifically buys my favorite kinds.  :-)

I like my treats here and there, but I'm not stupid.  ;-)

Laura rocks!

OMY Stash Snowball Watcher.

FI, but not RE.  Why?  Because we love watching the stash snowball grow.  The snowball is rolling downhill, and it is big, and it is so pretty to watch it grow from rolling down that hill.  Our frugal spending, high income and investment gains are mesmerizing.   We've used our FI to negotiate work that comes with perks like free tea and an employer trained to grant us a great work life balance , leaves of absence, and other stuff we always wanted.  So one more year keeps coming up and getting the vote.  We probably should retire today, but tomorrow will do just fine. 

Tomorrow will hit next January.

Yeah, that's dead-bang on, for sure! 

@Deborah:  I don't think of myself as a smug swami because I have so much further to go on being mustachian.  I am also not smug.  Part of what keeps me here is growing up poor, and exactly like Pizza Steve says, seeing how much the 'stache grows every year is mezermizing.  But it's the giant firehose of cash coming in that makes me feel happy and secure, because I have two safety nets (if the market crashes, I have my job; if my job crashes, I have my 'stache).  And the thought of giving that up (and risking going back to maybe not having enough) feels kind of like jumping out of a plane without first checking to make sure your parachute is working.  So, no smugness here about anything; just more happily watching the 'stache grow while sort of testing out the waters of FIRE (to mix my metaphors completely), sticking a toe in, getting used to the temperature, deciding if I want to take the plunge, etc.