What type of RE person are you?

[deborah]

OK, to distinguish you I have added ...

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.

[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.

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.

NO! I was only thinking of it representing MMM Forumites. I came here AFTER I retired, but several years ago, and in that time there definitely have been a lot of people change from working to retired within the forum.

[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.

NO! I was only thinking of it representing MMM Forumites. I came here AFTER I retired, but several years ago, and in that time there definitely have been a lot of people change from working to retired within the forum.

Oh, I see. That makes total sense!  Thanks for explaining. 

[kaypinkHH]

Haha I love this! I am a money ironer, and my DH is closer to a latte lover, which lands us smack in the middle between the two. I bet in the future though, I will definitely be a One More Yeti!

[Fomerly known as something]

I picked Latte Lover, but I'm also kind of a What/Yeti.

I discovered MMM about a year ago and running the numbers I have enough for bare bones FI if I make some major changes, but I do like my "Latte's", specifically my post run group beers and don't want to be bare bones. 

The Yeti comes in because while I kind of hate of my job I'm eligible for an immediate pension and lifetime subsidized health care at age 47 (in 2025) which will make pulling the RE rip cord earlier than that.  The job has an important mission which also keeps me there and the bad part is less about what I actually do than some current structural conditions which lead to bad work/life balance.   

[FindingFI]

Latte Lover sums it up pretty well.  Healthy savings rate, frugal in most areas, but also willing to spent (within reason) on the things that make us happy.  It's a nice mix between saving for later and enjoying life today.

[Warlord1986]

Count me as a latte lover. I am trying to cut out the luxuries though.

[StarBright]

We're a split couple. DH is a SWAMI in his passion job and doesn't want to retire until he's 70.

I voted Latte Lover because I'm not willing to cut our food budget to the bone but honestly we do little to no consumer spending.

I just really WANT the luxury so I'm a latte lover at heart :)

[Spork]

We are FIRE now, but during the building phase we were somewhere between Latte Lover and Money Ironer.  Amongst my peers, I was a cheap bastard that never spent anything.  Amongst MMM'ers I am probably a little spendy.  But we made it.  It wasn't ERE early, but it also wasn't at age 65.

[liveitupoutdoors]

What?  And then FIRE!

[gmdv]

Another half way between latte lover and money ironer here.

[step_away]

I can finally vote with the "One More Yeti - Stash Snowball Watcher" option added as it describes me to a T.  Definitely not a Smug SWAMI. Don't love my job at all.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Apparently there are more new options.  I didn't really fit in to latte lover, but I'm also not Yeti, although it is a bit better fit.  I don't hate my job but I also feel like it is too soon to hang it up when my children are wondering what we did to get this nice house and reasonable used cars and nice stuff.  My wife is now a SAHP and I am a very opinionated Mustachian that is perfectly free to criticize the government because I pay income tax.  There are so many things wrong with this world, but I'd feel like a charlatan complaining about them from the sidelines or comfortable skybox...

[Rubic]

I put myself down for Smug SWAMI, though I don't consider myself smug,
just fortunate.  Also, rather than SWAMI, I tend to state that I'm: "FI, but not RE".

I can't deny that it's kinda neat to see the snowball continue to grow while I'm
still working, but I'm not experiencing any kind of OMY syndrome.

[HildaCorners]

When it Rains

I see others voted this way, but none spoke up.

I was a Money Ironer, then lost most of my stash in a divorce from h-dash-double-ell. Spent several years in poverty, when my money ironing skills came in very handy. I now have a good job, and for a while fell into Latte Lover while I replaced things used up in my poor days, but now I'm back to the ironing board.

I have the attitude of a SWAMI, though. My current gig is pretty sweet, but I feel fully confident I could walk any day I wanted and be working again in a couple of months.

[deborah]

Apparently there are more new options.  I didn't really fit in to latte lover, but I'm also not Yeti, although it is a bit better fit.  I don't hate my job but I also feel like it is too soon to hang it up when my children are wondering what we did to get this nice house and reasonable used cars and nice stuff.  My wife is now a SAHP and I am a very opinionated Mustachian that is perfectly free to criticize the government because I pay income tax.  There are so many things wrong with this world, but I'd feel like a charlatan complaining about them from the sidelines or comfortable skybox...

Let's see if I can tempt you...

Would you like...

Good Influence - We are here because we like being frugal, but we don't really buy into this retirement thing. These people worry that if they RE they will be a BAD influence on their children (children must have parents who go to work each day, otherwise they will never work themselves, and then civilization would go down the gurgler). But once the children leave home, they will have an ENORMOUS stash, and will be able to do whatever they want. They will definitely retire at that point.

[akzidenz]

Like many others, I'm a Latte Lover—but deeply conflicted about it.

I'm 23 now and just calming down from the rush of my very first adult job! money in abundance! a paycheck every two weeks! (note: I worked during the summer in high school/college, but that feels different than having a consistent income throughout the year)

My parents are Money Ironers and I deeply admire their values and their dedication. I would like to be a Money Ironer too, but I'm not there yet. I'll have to wait and see if the next few years push me to be more like them, or if I continue my spendy ways…

[alena30]

It's for sure when it rains

[Linea_Norway]

I am somewhere between Latte Lovers (I do not drink latte or normal coffee) and WHAT!.

I voted for WHAT!, because that was my first reaction when I put up my spreadsheet and found out that FIRE is several years nearer than we originally had in the back of our minds. When we counted how much we had saved last year I again thought "WHAT!?!, did we save that much?". And that was only half a year after becoming a Mustachian.

We have always been pretty frugal, but still have room for some small luxuries.

[WildJager]

Stash snowball watcher.  We're both ready to pull the plug on our careers, but can't due to contractual obligations.  However, we've streamlined our lifestyle to a point where the stash just keeps growing and growing.  We'll have a silly amount saved by the time we can call it quits, 67x yearly expenses or so invested.  We'll most likely be able to do some decent philanthropy work in our sunset years, but for now we just continue to invest to make the stash survivability as sure of a thing as you could hope for.

3 and a half years to go... man that seems like a long time to tread water.

[soccerluvof4]

Great poll...funny!

[JayKay]

Definitely Saavy Sidegig for myself and DW.

[StarBright]

Oooh- I'd change from Latte Lover to Good Influence.

Maybe Good Influence with a just a dash of Inner Bag Lady who dreams of lattes but is too paranoid to spend on them?

[robtown]

We are Latte Lovers with a touch of When it Rains.   We are mostly frugal but have nice used cars in a HCOL area.   I biked to work some when it was close enough because I like biking.    For 13 years we had one decent income,  now we have two good incomes with higher expenses. 

We will be FI in under 3 years, but at 60 yo not RE.

[MrMoogle]

I guess I'm closest to money ironer.  I've always been frugal, but I've never been shy about investing, so that doesn't quite fit.  My dad retired in his 40s, so I knew about early retirement before MMM/ERE.

[Astatine]

When DH and I met he was Spendthrift Splendour and I was a neurotic combination of When It Rains/Money Ironer.

We've now landed at Latte Lover, both literally and metaphorically. It's a good compromise for us given our respective histories.

[ender]

I guess Latte Lover.

We save plenty but if we wanted could save a lot more.

[APowers]

Where is the option for "Is super frugal and would have been RE already, but can't seem to make an income much above the poverty line. Is envious of seemingly everyone else on the forum who has a job that pays a seemingly bazillion dollars per year"?

[halftimeprof]

Halfway between SWAMI and YETI, and thus I still work halftime.

[Norsky]

We would definitely be ‘Latte Lovers’ except I am still working, mainly for insurance until the ACA/political situation is resolved. Both my wife and I have serious pre-existing conditions.  We are the same age and had been planning for last few years that she would continue to work, as she had no desire to retire. However, we switched roles and I am continuing for insurance while she retired 6 months ago after politics at work made going to work miserable.

[BostonBrit]

I think there are two other types missing personally:

a) Know-it-all late 20/early 30 year olds who "think" they know what life with kids is like and talk about FIREing pre-kids and having absolutely no idea of how costs and priorities change. Oh and preaching to others as if they have certainty about how it plays out.

b) Those who can't envisage an equity returns profile similar to 2000-10 over the next decade (or say the first 10 years of FIREing whenever that may be). But again talk with over confidence in the ability of the market to deliver.

Open to ideas on names for these categories!

[Sailor Sam]

This is a fun necropost!

I’ve gone from being a Latte Lover, to a YETI. Purely through income increase, and not from spending reduction. The market over the past few years hasn’t hurt none, neither.

[Bloop Bloop]

I guess I would be a reluctant reducer, though I think perhaps that is not quite the right category. I think I'm in the same category as many on this forum, stuck halfway between fire and fat-fire - I want a fat-fire type income but normal fire (not lean) type expenses, save for a couple of fat-fire splurges which over time are of modest significance.

[2sk22]

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.

This must have surely been written about me :-) It took me only six months of lurking here to realize it!

[FIRE 20/20]

This is a fun necropost!

I’ve gone from being a Latte Lover, to a YETI. Purely through income increase, and not from spending reduction. The market over the past few years hasn’t hurt none, neither.

It seems as though there have been a lot of zombie posts in the last few days.  I wonder what's causing it.

[TeeNixx]

Not sure where I fit in. Probably in savy sidegig. A better description might be (FI)RE. Did clock out six years ago but have 4HWW gig that help with the stash.

[Sailor Sam]

This is a fun necropost!

I’ve gone from being a Latte Lover, to a YETI. Purely through income increase, and not from spending reduction. The market over the past few years hasn’t hurt none, neither.

It seems as though there have been a lot of zombie posts in the last few days.  I wonder what's causing it.

Its spammers. They respond in a necropost, and the moderators remove the spam, but the post is still at t eh top of the page. Real forum people then respond, without looking at the date.

[Fomerly known as something]

This is a fun necropost!

I’ve gone from being a Latte Lover, to a YETI. Purely through income increase, and not from spending reduction. The market over the past few years hasn’t hurt none, neither.

It seems as though there have been a lot of zombie posts in the last few days.  I wonder what's causing it.

Its spammers. They respond in a necropost, and the moderators remove the spam, but the post is still at t eh top of the page. Real forum people then respond, without looking at the date.

This one might be a legit bring up, somebody mentioned this poll in another post I read, I can't remember which post it was though.  It was interesting to see what I voted 2 years ago.  I said Latte Lover with what and Yeti tendencies.  I would say I'm the same now leaning a bit more to the Yeti.

[Aelias]

Love 'dem lattes!

There's a touch of Be Jealous in there, too.  If we made some big lifestyle changes (specifically selling our HCOL house and moving somewhere cheaper) we'd be done by now.  But we're saving up for a Fat-Ass FIRE 7-10 years from now in our mid-forties.  We got lucky to start investing in 2009 (hello buyers market!)and we've got a 50% savings rate with 3 kids and a pretty sweet lifestyle.  We pat ourselves on the back for keeping the heat low, cutting our own hair, driving cars into the ground, etc.  But if there's something we want, we get it.  Fortunately, most of the stuff we want is pretty reasonable and environmentalist / anti-consumerist values put a curb on the worst excesses.

[FIRE 20/20]

This is a fun necropost!

I’ve gone from being a Latte Lover, to a YETI. Purely through income increase, and not from spending reduction. The market over the past few years hasn’t hurt none, neither.

It seems as though there have been a lot of zombie posts in the last few days.  I wonder what's causing it.

Its spammers. They respond in a necropost, and the moderators remove the spam, but the post is still at t eh top of the page. Real forum people then respond, without looking at the date.

This one might be a legit bring up, somebody mentioned this poll in another post I read, I can't remember which post it was though.  It was interesting to see what I voted 2 years ago.  I said Latte Lover with what and Yeti tendencies.  I would say I'm the same now leaning a bit more to the Yeti.

Thank you both! 

[Duchess of Stratosphear]

Sort of glad this post rose from the dead because I was going to ask something related to this anyway. I wanted to ask about the Ice Skater category--those who pulled the plug when maybe it wasn't quite time, but they've somehow made it work. I think this is going to be my category as I can feel my patience for work ebbing fast. I would love to hear stories from these folks. How little did you live on and how did you make it work out? Or, if it didn't work, that would be valuable to know as well.

[BostonBrit]

Sort of glad this post rose from the dead because I was going to ask something related to this anyway. I wanted to ask about the Ice Skater category--those who pulled the plug when maybe it wasn't quite time, but they've somehow made it work. I think this is going to be my category as I can feel my patience for work ebbing fast. I would love to hear stories from these folks. How little did you live on and how did you make it work out? Or, if it didn't work, that would be valuable to know as well.

how did you make it work out?

I believe that's called a Bull market

[Evildunk99]

Great poll OP!

What I gathered from this poll, is that approximately 20% - 25% of the forum are some type of FIRE, and 75% - 80% are trying to get there.  It's refreshing to know that I'm in the same boat as most folks in the forum.

I answered 'latte lover' but project to be in the 'side-gig' category in a few years.  In short, my expenses are relatively flat, income is rising YoY, savings rate increasing, and every dollar is being invested, but still about 10 years away from reaching 25x expenses.  Currently age 33, if I reach that number by 43 I will be stoked!  GL All!

[Nangirl17]

Sort of glad this post rose from the dead

Me too - I hadn't seen it before and I love a good poll! =)

[happy]

I wonder if there are so many latte lovers because many of us don't see our lifestyle as deprivation, but one sprinkled with luxury, much like MMM himself?