Is your Lifestyle Design Bullshit?

[lordmetroid]

I consider being FIRE:d a kind of lifestyle design, the concept caters to the same kind of people. People who are stuck in an office and wants out. I am considering or at least considered yearning for Financial Independence but then I read http://milkthepigeon.com/2013/07/06/lies-of-lifestyle-design-why-tim-ferriss-is-making-you-hate-your-life/

Perhaps being financial independent isn't all that nice after all, or is it?

[okits]

The author seems to have picked the wrong priorities.  You can strive for FI in order to spend more time with friends and family, and to focus on slow living.  It's the freedom to choose.

[Ynari]

I think the author made a lot of good points. But, to play with words here - I think this is strongly against living a "designer lifestyle" rather than "designing your own lifestyle", if that makes sense? As he says at the end "Design your life, definitely. But forget lifestyle design."  I think the fault lies in desiring these fancy things others have (or pretend to have) just because they are marketed as luxurious - whether it's worldly travel and 4 hour work weeks, or material things like designer clothing.

Financial independence, in and of itself, is not a lifestyle. It manifests in some common ways, but there's also a vibe around the community that's much more live-the-life-you-want than this-is-how-you-should-live. There's a lot more cost/benefit analysis than what you see in other "lifestyle design". And I think that individual tailoring, the fact that FI is a tool and not the sole goal, helps balance the approach.