Author Topic: Do you miss the FIRE chase?  (Read 3034 times)

Trudie

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Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« on: September 06, 2020, 08:28:09 AM »
Something has dawned on me during the pandemic, and that is that I miss the rush leading up to ER when we were accumulating and engineering our exit.  On the one hand, I think, "Isn't this the point?  To relax?". Does anyone else feel this?

I think I got an endorphin rush out of saving money.  Or maybe some prehistoric center in my brain felt that I was fleeing a big bad predator (the predator being a toxic work culture.)

I miss a lot of the little things, and I realize I don't have to stop doing them.  But I'm surprised that my pleasure in doing them is so visceral.  Why is this?  To this list I would add the following examples:. growing a garden, preserving, optimizing grocery purchases and shopping the deals, thrift store shopping, riding the bus,  getting any book I want from the public library on interlibrary loan...

I think I actually get a huge kick out of quietly exercising my stealth wealth. 

In these pandemic times there are things I simply cannot do and stay safe (we live in a hotspot.). Sometimes I don't go to Aldi because it's too crowded and I need to one stop shop elsewhere to stay safe.  It bugs me to pay twice as much for my bread!  We've bought a few books these last months because our library can't do interlibrary loan right now.  I rarely go into thrift stores because it's not essential.  In sum, I don't have the latitude to optimize purchases and sometimes but new when I could have thrifted.

On many levels our spending has decreased, but I miss the freedom to do the little things.

bacchi

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #1 on: September 06, 2020, 09:37:21 AM »
I do miss the analyzing and spreadsheets but I'm also the sort of person who likes doing taxes.

I was saddened that algorithm brokers, like M1, came out as I was leaving. I have a small account at one and it was cool to see my contributions divided up according to plan. I would've created 2 IRAs for a horse race if I had continued contributions.

Dicey

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2020, 09:56:08 AM »
I'm with spartana. I think it's more of a pandemic thing. I don't miss the chase at all. It does amuse me to watch our balances continue to climb, and our dpending has plummeted since March.

Oh, wait a minute...I guess that's only if I don't count the fancy RV we bought in March and have only used one night or the money DH is spending getting the house ready to paint (over $1k on trim so far and he doesn't pay retail). But then, hes a painting contractor, so that's only materials, not labor.

Nah, even with his spending, I don't miss it. As I write this, I realize that's because I absolutely do not miss working. Not for a single second.

rmorris50

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2020, 10:52:57 AM »
I feel like I am watching you all play in the backyard, and I want to come out and play so bad, but danggit I’m not quite done with this major school project yet :) or am I? Is a B+ good enough or do I need an A? Haha.


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stoaX

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #4 on: September 06, 2020, 11:46:09 AM »
I don't miss it.  The ongoing monitoring and management of the FIRE finances, health insurance, keeping expenses low, etc... are a reasonably close replacement for the chase. 

seattlecyclone

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #5 on: September 06, 2020, 03:26:04 PM »
I don't miss it.  The ongoing monitoring and management of the FIRE finances, health insurance, keeping expenses low, etc... are a reasonably close replacement for the chase. 

This. There's always something new and exciting to optimize with our finances; I don't miss the corporate world.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #6 on: September 06, 2020, 04:22:00 PM »
I miss being around people who are clearly smarter than me as a matter of routine. Yes it can happen outside of work, but it doesn’t rub off on you the same way. In a work setting it’s totally fine to listen in on a conversation and learn things, and that would happen “accidentally” all the time.

The financial aspect, meh. I’ve maintained an interest in tax strategies and general investing knowledge, but that is almost entirely separate from how my own finances are doing, and more of a curiosity thing. The excitement of seeing my own numbers go up? That was gone well before I left work.

lhamo

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #7 on: September 06, 2020, 08:53:11 PM »
I feel like I am watching you all play in the backyard, and I want to come out and play so bad, but danggit I’m not quite done with this major school project yet :) or am I? Is a B+ good enough or do I need an A? Haha.


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Dude, you could have quit at C or D!  Same diploma hangs on the wall, spelled FIREd...

Mr. Green

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #8 on: September 06, 2020, 09:24:34 PM »
It's funny, as we were enjoying ourselves in Colorado Springs last week I found myself having a moment about not working longer because a couple hundred grand would have given us our dream home. We were driving past some Defense Department contractor buildings next to Peterson AFB and I thought, "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go back to work."

Then I thought about the actual process of walking into an office and working at a desk again and I had this visceral recoil. NOPE!

I don't know what I was thinking, but the moment passed.

Monerexia

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #9 on: September 06, 2020, 09:28:15 PM »
For me 3-4 years from FIRE it is truly invigorating. I imagine this feeling is what keeps businesspeople going long after they could quit.

herbgeek

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #10 on: September 07, 2020, 06:21:30 AM »
I do miss the focus I had when acquiring assets/controlling my spending.  It was such a rush to pay off our mortgage, and then to have enough to retire on.  There was a point to all of it.   Now my retired life is a life of ease.  I have enough to not worry about finances, and good health and plenty of time and hobbies.   Which sounds like most people's dream life.  And most of the time, it is.

I do need something external to focus my energies on though, and I haven't found it yet.  Sometimes, I nostalgically look back on the fun projects I worked on at Mega Corp through gauzy eyes, but when I take a close look  I also remember the back stabbing, the jockeying for position, the endless pointless meetings.   I would like to find something where I work with other people on something important with a minimum of the BS- I was saying yes to everything interesting before the pandemic to try out new things, but that has dried up for the last 6 months.

Greystache

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #11 on: September 07, 2020, 07:38:25 AM »
I do miss that last year before I retired when I realized that I had enough of a stash to call it quits. I was so excited to put together my "escape plan" as I called it. I made spreadsheets with my post retirement budget and income and ran it through the retirement planning simulators and found that I had a nearly 100% chance of success. And then for the first year after retirement, updating my spending vs my budget and finding that my planning was spot on.  I was really obsessed with the whole FIRE/personal finance thing. I'm sure I was difficult to be around because that is all I wanted to talk about.  I have comfortably settled into my FIRE life after five years, but I do miss the excitement I felt at the beginning.

soccerluvof4

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #12 on: September 07, 2020, 08:51:35 AM »
I dont miss it but its been over 5 years. I fine the same kinda " Thrill " if you may figuring out the smartest ways to do things with my money not only to last but to still grow.

toocold

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #13 on: September 09, 2020, 08:33:45 AM »
I always thought the chase was boring.  Even when I hit a milestone or two, it never gave me the first thrill of being DEBBBTTT free. 

Now having been FIRE'd for close to a year, I usually don't think about money, net worth, or budgeting.  Everything is automatic.

Financial.Velociraptor

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #14 on: September 09, 2020, 10:33:47 AM »
I miss some elements of work and the chase up to the point about a year and half before I FIRE'd.  Basically, I had what I consider a "good job" where there was decent but not great pay, good work/life balance, respect of and for most coworkers.  When I get transferred to a supervisor I hated and then weaseled out to a new position that proved enormously boring I just dreaded going in and going through the motions.

I could have done the old-old job for another decade and been content.  The final push was just dreadful and I couldn't quit soon enough.

MasterStache

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #15 on: September 13, 2020, 06:31:05 AM »
Let's see on a typical school day, I have the house completely to myself. Hmmm, shall I do some back patio meditation? I can get a workout in. What home project would I like to tackle next? A 4 mile walk sounds good. Maybe I'll plan a trip. The house could use a good cleaning. My car could use a wash and wax. Ohhh someone is calling me for a small home renovation project. Time to earn a little side money doing something I enjoy. The possibilities are endless. All this or going to back to an office sitting in a cubicle 8 hours a day doing a job that a thoroughly loathe? Hell no I don't miss the chase. We certainly aren't fully FIREd yet as my spouse still works a job she enjoys. 

Bird In Hand

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #16 on: September 13, 2020, 09:29:45 AM »
@Trudie I can relate.  We're not FIRE'd yet, but basically FI+OMY.  Wow, has that been coined yet?  FIOMY...Fi-Oh-My!...it has a nice ring to it.

We've been chasing FI for 20+ years.  Achieving various savings milestones along the way has been the primary motivation for continuing with the sacrifice/deferred gratification.  Now that we could technically RE, I find myself playing stupid games like "Hit the moving FIRE stash target!" and "How low can the SWR go?"

It's all variations on the same theme: the journey being more important than the destination.  I am convinced that this is a fundamental part of my being.  I'm not sure if it's a bug or a feature.  If it's a bug then it's a really pernicious one, so I'm going with feature because I'm lazy.

If/when I finally RE, I suspect that 'FIRE' will just fade away into irrelevancy.  I'll just focus on some other long-term objectives, and those will become the new journeys that provide the thrill of the chase.

brooklynmoney

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #17 on: September 13, 2020, 05:52:45 PM »
I recently used Poshmark for the 1st time. I got a dress that would normally be at least $100 for $38. You could try searching there and the other online vintage shops.

bacchi

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #18 on: September 13, 2020, 09:10:12 PM »
I recently used Poshmark for the 1st time. I got a dress that would normally be at least $100 for $38. You could try searching there and the other online vintage shops.

Wrong thread?

Metalcat

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Re: Do you miss the FIRE chase?
« Reply #19 on: September 14, 2020, 05:38:31 AM »
I always thought the chase was boring.  Even when I hit a milestone or two, it never gave me the first thrill of being DEBBBTTT free. 

Now having been FIRE'd for close to a year, I usually don't think about money, net worth, or budgeting.  Everything is automatic.

Same.

For me, the only chase I cared about was eliminating my student debt because my monthly payments were triple my mortgage.

Once that was gone, I stopped caring.
I retired for awhile, and the decompression was nice, but it wasn't a sustainable lifestyle for me, and I even doubt it ever will be.

I'm not about the chase because I'm not chasing some dream life. I live and work how I want to, and often that ends up really lucrative.