Become FI then work and live luxuriously?

[whywork]

Has anyone tried this?

Some people make fun of our frugal lives saying we are missing out on fun. They have a high spending rate and plan to work till retirement. With no early retirement they only need like 500-750k by the time social security kicks in. This is definitely doable even with a low savings rate as they’re working longer.

We on the other hand live frugally and early retire and continue to live frugal. We do all of these as we don’t like the stress in working and want to feel safe earlier.

A good middle way to both these I see is to get to FI and as we near FI or complete FI, continue to work and start living luxuriously. Are there any good suggestions on when and how to do this?

[Zikoris]

Well, the problem with that is that once you upgraded your lifestyle, you wouldn't be FI anymore - the amount you would need as a nest egg would increase considerably.

I think what makes the most sense is to live the lifestyle you want now, and base your FIRE numbers and timeline on that.

Also, you shouldn't be missing out on fun. If that's how you're operating, you're doing this thing wrong.

[ricgnzlzcr]

I kinda do this in my own way, but I am not FI.

My tactic is to spend at both extremes.

For everything that I need to purchase, but I don't absolutely love I spend the least I can while maintaining some quality: home, car, insurance, clothes, etc.

This keeps my monthly burn rate relatively low compared to my earnings since my rent is low and I don't have expensive cars.

Then I spend lavishly on what brings me incredible joy: maid service, fun meals out, coaching, etc. If things got tough I could cut them instantly, unlike an expensive house or financed iPads.

If I had to summarize I'd say: keep your recurring mandatory bills low, spend lavishly on what makes you happy.

[DreamFIRE]

We on the other hand live frugally and early retire and continue to live frugal. We do all of these as we don’t like the stress in working and want to feel safe earlier.

No, I want to FIRE so that I have much more time to do what I want when I want.  It's not about stress and feeling safer for me.  The freedom and time to do what I want is far more valuable to me than continuing to work while ramping up spending, as if that is an acceptable alternative.

[Zikoris]

We on the other hand live frugally and early retire and continue to live frugal. We do all of these as we don’t like the stress in working and want to feel safe earlier.

No, I want to FIRE so that I have much more time to do what I want when I want.  It's not about stress and feeling safer for me.  The freedom and time to do what I want is far more valuable to me than continuing to work while ramping up spending, as if that is an acceptable alternative.

Agreed - I want to FIRE so I can spend all my time doing the cool shit that I can only squeeze into non-work time now. And it will give me options as far as crazy projects go, like building and living in a tiny house somewhere in the middle of nowhere, or spending six months in France upgrading my pastry skills. My work is not stressful at all, and safety/feeling safe is not something I think about at all.

[BookLoverL]

The problem with your plan for me is that it involves working for too long.

I want to pursue the actual things that I am passionate about instead, like writing, and being eco-friendly.

Also, if you have really got into the FIRE mindset, then a lower amount of money spent per year still actually feels luxurious.

If you really like working for some weird reason, then I suppose you COULD do your plan...

[Maenad]

I think what you're suggesting is more in line with the typical Bogleheads poster, rather than MMM, so I don't know if you'll get a lot of people here espousing the idea.

I keep coming back to the same question - why do people in general equate "living well" or "living luxuriously" with "spending a lot/more money"? For me, time is the ultimate luxury. Sitting down chatting with my elderly parents is much more precious than any material item I could name.

[Retire-Canada]

A good middle way to both these I see is to get to FI and as we near FI or complete FI, continue to work and start living luxuriously. Are there any good suggestions on when and how to do this?

Living luxuriously means you'll need a lot more money to be FI. Once you are used to a live in masseuse and personal driver for your Bentley it will be hard to go back to a tennis ball and a Honda Fit.

My advice pick a FI spend level where you don't feel deprived and then you won't need to "live Luxuriously" and you can just retire. In most cases your stash will continue to grow as you retire so if 10yrs in you have 50% more in inflation adjusted value than when you started and you want to up your annual spend a bit you can...without having to work longer.

[Cwadda]

MMM is not about early retirement. It's primarily about adopting a lifestyle of minimalism, stoicism, and becoming continuously more appreciative that your basic needs have been met. Early retirement is a byproduct, which in no way indicates there would be a reversal of the former.

[MrThatsDifferent]

Many of us who FIREd or plan to are in search of more freedom not more luxury. Only you can determine if the luxuries you want are worth the trade off of working longer.  For me free time to do what I want without having to perform for money is the most luxurious thing I can imagine having.

Yeah, this. What I’ve come to understand is that I definitely want freedom over luxury. I mean, if I can retire at 50-52 and live the life I want, independent from a 9-5 job, and my peers are working from 62-67 to pay for all their stuff, why would I even consider sacrificing those 10-15 years? That’s a luxury! Also, I’ve learned that if you do want luxury, there are plenty of places in the world where your money goes a lot further and you can do the, live like royalty thing, if that’s what you need to feel better about yourself and your life?

[boarder42]

Op you seem to have some fantasy in your mind that more money and spending is equivalent a
To more happiness from your posts around here. The goal isn't to live a miserable life now to enjoy a luxurious life in the future the goal is to find that luxurious life now and start enjoying it. And it likely is less spending.  Then you get time from that. Many people here live much more expensive lives than mmm I'm one of them were going to retire at 37 to 80-100k in spending including our mortgage.

You need to find your own balance and learn that more spending likely doesn't equal more happiness. It's been mentioned many times above that freedom from labor to fund your lifestyle is much happier for most. If you read most threads that ask people who have made it around here the resounding answer is they wished they'd done it sooner.

[chasesfish]

Has anyone tried this?

Some people make fun of our frugal lives saying we are missing out on fun. They have a high spending rate and plan to work till retirement. With no early retirement they only need like 500-750k by the time social security kicks in. This is definitely doable even with a low savings rate as they’re working longer.

We on the other hand live frugally and early retire and continue to live frugal. We do all of these as we don’t like the stress in working and want to feel safe earlier.

A good middle way to both these I see is to get to FI and as we near FI or complete FI, continue to work and start living luxuriously. Are there any good suggestions on when and how to do this?

I just picked up on this thread and I am a VERY live example of this right now.  The problem is, your just programmed to be frugal.  Its hard as hell to change that.

I used to have the same thought as you, I found it funny to watch financial independent people agonize over expenses like car tires or a car replacement, especially when I thought "dang, you're worth $2mil, just buy what you want new and drive it until it dies"

So I'm in what I would affectionately call "extra innings".  My original FIRE date was 6/30/2018, but my wife is in the very end of recovering from some health challenges that would have restricted travelling and there is significant money that I'm due over the next eight months if I work it out (deferred compensation).   We don't need the money, but can do some good with it.  (I am questioning the decision now as its just miserable this time of the year in Texas, but less than 20 days from vacation)

We decided to book a beach house and invite the inlaws.  We agonized for a week over spending an extra $800 here and finally did it.  That $800 is meaningless to our net worth.  The agonizing about the expenses does't change.

The same thing just happened with our computer replacement.  I've put it off, put it off, put it off, agonized.   Well, I finally splurged for this nice new surface pro I'm typing this note on.  Great deal at Costco too...but dang I feel guilty.  I just am not programmed to spend this kind of money.  This mindset just doesn't change immediately. 

I hope that gives some perspective. 

[Kay-Ell]

In order to remain FI, while increasing expenses you'd have to be really careful about what you started spending money on.  Will the spending qualify as lifestyle inflation with ongoing monthly or annual commitments, or are they one-off luxury purchases?

[PhilB]

I kind of went for a more sustainable version of the OP's plan - except I started it before I was properly FI.  I planned to try and live on what my retirement income would be if I retired immediately, but whilst still working.  I expected to find this a challenge, but it would allow for a high savings rate (pushing 70%).  After each year I would then recalculate my 'retire now' spending and try living on that.  My lifestyle would thus get progressively more luxurious each year whilst always being sustainable.  Once I got to a level I was comfortable with (plus some buffer to stop me fretting) then I could quit work.
The flaw in my plan became apparent very quickly.  Far from being a struggle, my year one spending level turned out to be very easy to live with.  I then found it very difficult mentally to increase my spending in each subsequent year and indeed completely failed to do so.

[jim555]

Going from frugal mode to luxury mode is VERY difficult.  Once you are in the frugal head space everything must be a good value and done for a good reason.  To just go off and blow cash on luxury would probably cause angst and unhappiness.

[chasesfish]

Going from frugal mode to luxury mode is VERY difficult.  Once you are in the frugal head space everything must be a good value and done for a good reason.  To just go off and blow cash on luxury would probably cause angst and unhappiness.

This is exactly what I feel.   This shit is hard programmed into me

[whywork]

wow amazing responses. Great wisdom there

Yes I think it definitely would be difficult to go from frugal to Luxury. Infact I never spent on luxuries in my life. Eating out was the only lururious item I spent on. Even when my networth is increasing I feel my luxury is in saving more and feeling better about my networth and ability to FIRE

I planned to try and live on what my retirement income would be if I retired immediately, but whilst still working.

Wow this is great advice. Very safe plan.

Will the spending qualify as lifestyle inflation with ongoing monthly or annual commitments, or are they one-off luxury purchases?

I'm more thinking like spend off all my salary immediately the month after I am FI. I never did that. And then next few months once in a month just splurge upto the limit of the salary for that month while I live frugally / normally the other months.

I hope that gives some perspective. 

It does, thanks. I realize it will be very hard for most of us to start spending. Infact, we are wired that way.

For me free time to do what I want without having to perform for money is the most luxurious thing I can imagine having.

Great wisdom that. It is true for me as well. I can never trade freedom for luxury. Probably my question arose more from comparing to others (non-mustachians) who are living life with a bigger houses, good spending on items but with low / moderate savings

[boarder42]

In general if you start out frugal and save and have a higher income at the point you reach fi your accounts will be growing considerably with each extra year worked. My calcs show us gaining 12k a year in spending with each extra year worked. Which is huge since we don't hate our jobs a lot of impact can be made in people's lives who need it with that money. But to inflate spending thinking that will bring pleasure is a fallacy

[Kay-Ell]

In order to remain FI, while increasing expenses you'd have to be really careful about what you started spending money on.  Will the spending qualify as lifestyle inflation with ongoing monthly or annual commitments, or are they one-off luxury purchases?

I read it as more one-off luxury purchases based on whatever job earnings you have after reaching FI and having your regular expenses covered for life. So if OP wants a Ferrari he''ll work long enough to pay for that rather than tap the stash. And then continue working (perhaps forever) in order to continue buying a long string of luxury goods and services thru out his life. Earn a buck spend a buck kind of mentality.

I think the problem with this is that a Ferrari, which on the surface seems like a one-time luxury purchase also comes with ongoing expenses. To remain FI you’d now need an additional 25x the annual cost to license, insure, operate and repair a luxury vehicle. A lot of things that seem like a one time expenditure on the surface end up with unanticipated financial commitments.

[John Galt incarnate!]

We on the other hand live frugally and early retire and continue to live frugal. We do all of these as we don’t like the stress in working and want to feel safe earlier.

No, I want to FIRE so that I have much more time to do what I want when I want.  It's not about stress and feeling safer for me.  The freedom and time to do what I want is far more valuable to me than continuing to work while ramping up spending, as if that is an acceptable alternative.

I'm FIREd.

I like the luxury of free time so working for extra $ is not a consideration for me.

Could I use extra $ ?

Sure, like most people I could but I don't need it so I'll keep enjoying my free time.

[chasesfish]

In general if you start out frugal and save and have a higher income at the point you reach fi your accounts will be growing considerably with each extra year worked. My calcs show us gaining 12k a year in spending with each extra year worked. Which is huge since we don't hate our jobs a lot of impact can be made in people's lives who need it with that money. But to inflate spending thinking that will bring pleasure is a fallacy

That calculation has been nearly spot-on for me, the market returns have been good

[TheWifeHalf]

We probably became FI maybe 10 years ago, but we wouldn't know how to live luxuriously if we tried.
That was also the time we had a car accident, and has been the story of our lives, we have to do whatever the health insurance climate is. The last 10 years it was not making us believe it was always going to be there. (I had a traumatic brain injury and only the last year or 2 we were comfortable that nothing related to the accident could unexpectedly rear it's ugly head.)

Right now, our retirement stash is earning as much as TheHusbandHalf makes at work, so he is going to retire in January, at 62.

We're going to convert tIRAs to Roths until we start taking Railroad Retirement (like Social Security)

BUT, plans often change, and we know this, and are willing to change too.

[Retire-Canada]

FWIW - if you say barebones FI is housing/food/medical/clothing/city bicycle/bus pass than I'm already barebones FI and I am now working another 1-2yrs to pay for "luxuries" like a truck, travel, fancy sports equipment, etc... Although that's not a sudden lifestyle change. That's how I am currently living and plan to continue living.

[DreamFIRE]

Yep.  I was just reviewing my barebones expenses, and I include long term required home maintenance in that along with ACA subsidized healthcare premiums, and I am now at 68X barebones.  But like others, I have an interest in traveling and taking advantage of the free time in FIRE to enjoy more entertainment/fun options, so I want to allow spending that is more than double my barebones, which will also trigger some taxing.  I'm pretty close to 25X factoring that in for a stash, that only has to fund 100% for the first 15 years of FIRE.  I'm mostly saving now at close to 80% this year.

[Kay-Ell]

In order to remain FI, while increasing expenses you'd have to be really careful about what you started spending money on.  Will the spending qualify as lifestyle inflation with ongoing monthly or annual commitments, or are they one-off luxury purchases?

I read it as more one-off luxury purchases based on whatever job earnings you have after reaching FI and having your regular expenses covered for life. So if OP wants a Ferrari he''ll work long enough to pay for that rather than tap the stash. And then continue working (perhaps forever) in order to continue buying a long string of luxury goods and services thru out his life. Earn a buck spend a buck kind of mentality.

I think the problem with this is that a Ferrari, which on the surface seems like a one-time luxury purchase also comes with ongoing expenses. To remain FI you’d now need an additional 25x the annual cost to license, insure, operate and repair a luxury vehicle. A lot of things that seem like a one time expenditure on the surface end up with unanticipated financial commitments.

That's true. Maybe a better example would be renting a Ferrari while on vacation in a rented Italian villa on the Almafi coast ;-).  A one off luxury without the ongoing expense. Would not be something I would be willing to work longer to experience but maybe worth the year or so of extra toil at work to experience that for some people.

And where does it end? Probably hard to go back to vacationing in a small rented artist's flat in Paris and riding the Metro after the castle vacation in the Alps with the chauffeur driven Rolls. No thanks. Rather FIRE asap and travel grungy backpacker style. Although I can see that for the high income earners here working a few years longer beyond having a big stash JUST for luxuries would be doable. As a lower income worker (back when I worked) I'd have to work far too long to have that level of luxury spending even if I was interested in it (I'm not).

I’m with you, in that those types of luxuries have a certain romantic appeal to think about but just aren’t worth the time needed to bring my stash up to those levels. On a smaller level, I do sometimes fit luxury experiences into my budget with unexpected chunks of income. For instance, I have a 600/year gym and spa membership to a nearby resort right now. I enjoy the extra luxuries and ability to access a pool for my daughter in the summer but don’t want those things enough to increase my monthly budget by $50. That said, I made an unexpected and unneeded $700 last year and decided to splurge on the annual membership. At the end of the year I’ll reevaluate and see if it’s something I want to continue or just let lapse.

[mak1277]

Has anyone tried this?

Some people make fun of our frugal lives saying we are missing out on fun. They have a high spending rate and plan to work till retirement. With no early retirement they only need like 500-750k by the time social security kicks in. This is definitely doable even with a low savings rate as they’re working longer.

We on the other hand live frugally and early retire and continue to live frugal. We do all of these as we don’t like the stress in working and want to feel safe earlier.

A good middle way to both these I see is to get to FI and as we near FI or complete FI, continue to work and start living luxuriously. Are there any good suggestions on when and how to do this?

OP - I think this is a defensible plan, even though you're not going to get much support here.

Personally, our current annual spending is about 100% higher than what it would be in "barebones" mode.  And we intend to continue that level in retirement.  So it would be possible to argue that I'm FI right now, but that I'm currently working more to: 1) spend more currently and 2) enhance my ability to spend in retirement.

The trick is finding out exactly where the sweet spot is...I lucked out in that I'll be able to work only about 3 "extra" years and it will have the effect of more than doubling my 'stache, so it's well worth it.  I would make different choices if it was 10+ more years.

[Ocinfo]

This is somewhat my plan but I do understand the negatives pointed out by others. The main thing is that both my wife and I have skills and jobs that make it pretty easy to work part-time/contract/consulting gigs (full-stack web dev and aero engineering consulting). If the economy is anything but in full crisis, it’ll be hard for us to not make money post FI. We’re around 60% SR and live fairly luxurious but restrained lives.

I plan to go part-time in ~3 years (at 36) and likely do that for 5-10 years even though we’ll be fully FI in < 5 years. My wife will likely do a few short-term contracts, possibly in a remote work role. With rental income we’ll have $150k+ with minimal work with at least 3 full months off per year. We’ll spend $50k per year without too many luxuries so, depending on market returns, we’ll allocate excess to savings or spend on whatever (luxury, charity, speculative investments) while making sure stash always supports our $50k spend.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JoJo]

I definitely splurge on travel but pretty frugal in my daily life.

[inline five]

Has anyone tried this?

Some people make fun of our frugal lives saying we are missing out on fun. They have a high spending rate and plan to work till retirement. With no early retirement they only need like 500-750k by the time social security kicks in. This is definitely doable even with a low savings rate as they’re working longer.

We on the other hand live frugally and early retire and continue to live frugal. We do all of these as we don’t like the stress in working and want to feel safe earlier.

A good middle way to both these I see is to get to FI and as we near FI or complete FI, continue to work and start living luxuriously. Are there any good suggestions on when and how to do this?

OP I have struggled with this as well. Here is what I have come up with - once you sit down and think about how much those extra things cost in terms of time and work you don't want to do it.

Ultimately I believe you might be having an issue with your current standard of living. At least that is my issue. We have been frugal for so long quite frankly we are getting tired of it.

[Retire-Canada]

We have been frugal for so long quite frankly we are getting tired of it.

FIRE is a marathon not a sprint. So you need to find a lifestyle you can happily maintain for decades.

[gerardc]

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/crazy-semi-retirement-idea-for-high-earner

[inline five]

We have been frugal for so long quite frankly we are getting tired of it.

FIRE is a marathon not a sprint. So you need to find a lifestyle you can happily maintain for decades.

For you maybe, for those like MMM and emulating him, no.

[boarder42]

We have been frugal for so long quite frankly we are getting tired of it.

FIRE is a marathon not a sprint. So you need to find a lifestyle you can happily maintain for decades.

For you maybe, for those like MMM and emulating him, no.

Ere is the Sprint.
Mmm is like a 5k
And boggleheads are a marathon.

[Retire-Canada]

FIRE is a marathon not a sprint. So you need to find a lifestyle you can happily maintain for decades.

For you maybe, for those like MMM and emulating him, no.

Really? So FIRE is a sprint and you should attempt to live an unsustainable lifestyle for a few years until you burn out and then what?

[Retire-Canada]

Ere is the Sprint.
Mmm is like a 5k
And boggleheads are a marathon.

ERE is the marathon...you have to live that way for more decades. You have it backwards. I'm talking about FIRE not the accumulation phase.

[gerardc]

A good middle way to both these I see is to get to FI and as we near FI or complete FI, continue to work and start living luxuriously. Are there any good suggestions on when and how to do this?

Living luxuriously means you'll need a lot more money to be FI. Once you are used to a live in masseuse and personal driver for your Bentley it will be hard to go back to a tennis ball and a Honda Fit.

No it won't... I'm tired of this argument. Just pick some one-off luxuries that you can enjoy temporarily then go back to your baseline later. Don't pick luxuries that are recurring expenses.

Going from frugal mode to luxury mode is VERY difficult.  Once you are in the frugal head space everything must be a good value and done for a good reason.  To just go off and blow cash on luxury would probably cause angst and unhappiness.

True. I went from student-level spending to very high salary virtually overnight. The result is that I'm not good at spending money. I still spend an embarrassingly long amount of time hunting for deals before shopping online, for example. I don't enjoy fancy dinners, fancy clothes, fancy hotels... I don't even like people who frequent those. I think rich VS frugal has become a people thing -- I recognise poor or struggling people as my tribe, and even if I tried to (and did) get more financial security, I'll always belong with them... the rich disgust me. So I kinda belong nowhere now.

[enFuego]

I agree with many of the thoughts on the OPs question about luxury and not changing your standard of living or fixed costs. I also don't ever see myself suddenly wanting a luxury vehicle or designer anything. That being said, by taking a little liberal interpretation of the term luxury however it doesn't seem that crazy an idea. (Not trying to incite a semantics war here)

There's a lot of discussion of FU money and what that enables you to do. Usually we take that to mean an opportunity to reduce hours worked or reduce income for a more enjoyable job situation. Why would it be automatically anti-mustachian to keep the same job and income and spend the extra money on things that don't change the size nest egg you need to retire such as once in a lifetime travel or experiences? For example consider: Work fewer days a week vs. take a trip to the Galápagos Islands. Or getting some toys you enjoy as someone mentioned. If you don't hate your job shouldn't that be your prerogative?

I cannot see myself retiring on a barebones-only budget. Not because I want luxury but because I am very conservative with regards to the safety of my portfolio and never having to go back to work after I retire. I expect to be sub 4% wr when I retire possibly as low as 3%. That is still to be determined as we figure out our retirement budget and there is a lot of variability in future income and savings. I also fully understand I may say screw this I'm out of here way before that point... tbd. But let's say I retire at a 3% wr... why not creep up to 3.5% to take some special trips or upgrade the location of my retirement home from a place I am content with to someplace I would love such as on or near the ocean? As long as I'm comfortable with the trade offs of OMY it seems to me to still be in the spirit of MMM... living and spending consciously.

Again, not defending the OPs definition of luxury but I think this is an interesting thought exercise for each person to decode for themselves. It doesn't have to be exclusively retiring asap.

[Bayou Dweller]

I think your issue is caring what others think about your lifestyle. That seems to be what this entire discussion is stemming from, is it not?

Also be super mindful, which I am sure you are, of Hedonic Adaptation - or lifestyle creep.

[zolotiyeruki]

Agreed - I want to FIRE so I can spend all my time doing the cool shit that I can only squeeze into non-work time now. And it will give me options as far as crazy projects go, like building and living in a tiny house somewhere in the middle of nowhere, or spending six months in France upgrading my pastry skills. My work is not stressful at all, and safety/feeling safe is not something I think about at all.

+1 from me as well.  I posted in the "if I won $100 million" thread earlier today that I have literally hundreds of ideas that I might want to pursue, and between work and kids, I simply don't have the time and energy.

[Bird In Hand]

I kinda do this in my own way, but I am not FI.

My tactic is to spend at both extremes.

For everything that I need to purchase, but I don't absolutely love I spend the least I can while maintaining some quality: home, car, insurance, clothes, etc.

This keeps my monthly burn rate relatively low compared to my earnings since my rent is low and I don't have expensive cars.

Then I spend lavishly on what brings me incredible joy: maid service, fun meals out, coaching, etc. If things got tough I could cut them instantly, unlike an expensive house or financed iPads.

If I had to summarize I'd say: keep your recurring mandatory bills low, spend lavishly on what makes you happy.

@ricgnzlzcr -- I like this way of thinking.  This philosophy could get some people into trouble though, for two reasons: 1) absurdly expensive things (beyond their means) are what bring them incredible joy, or 2) they are incorrect in their assumptions about what will bring them incredible joy, so they go down the consumerism rat hole and keep throwing money after stuff that doesn't really make them happy.

[Cap_Scarlet]

There are no rules here.

It's not an either / or decision whether to live frugally or live 'luxuriously', there are simply needs, wants and consequences and a spectrum across all three.

You need to decide what your priorities are, understand the implications of decisions and if you make the decision to live a 'luxurious' lifestyle (whatever that is) just make sure you get the absolute best deal possible.

[enFuego]

There are no rules here.

It's not an either / or decision whether to live frugally or live 'luxuriously', there are simply needs, wants and consequences and a spectrum across all three.

You need to decide what your priorities are, understand the implications of decisions and if you make the decision to live a 'luxurious' lifestyle (whatever that is) just make sure you get the absolute best deal possible.

@Cap_Scarlet -  Very well stated!

[EnjoyIt]

How about become FI and then work part time on things you enjoy.  As the extra money comes in you can use 4% of it for luxury thereby never leaving FI.

[BookLoverL]

I guess for me, ultimately I don't find that much so-called "luxury" in most of the expensive things that cost money. Why would I need expensive art when I can watch the sunset? Why would I need a flashy car when a small one is much more eco-friendly, and if I wanted the adrenaline rush from driving fast I could take up mountain biking? Why would I need the top brands of clothes when cheaper ones fit just fine? Why would I need an all-inclusive holiday to some far-flung place when there are plenty of cheaper places that provide me with just as much pleasure?

I mean, I even get some sort of euphoric high just from reading a really good book or fanfic or watching a good movie. Maybe that's just me.

I can maybe see the case for a cleaning service, but even that, I only hate when I got too caught up in the internet and don't want to drag myself away from it, and it's bad for me to get too caught up in the internet anyway.

It's true that you don't need to go full barebones FI. And spending on one or two hobbies is perfectly reasonable, and if you pick the hobbies well won't even cost that much. But what "luxuries" are you even thinking of that would need you to earn a full time salary when you are already FI? The real luxury is time.

[soccerluvof4]

For me I felt it was important to live the life I wanted to up to being Fire'd. 3.5 years in I am enjoying the Luxury of free time and other things because 1) I have more luxury's because freedom is a big one and 2) are expenses keep dropping as kids go off to school etc..

I think its a more case by case study. As others have said there are things that I wanted to do when Fire'd I didn't have the time to do before and the money is there now for different reasons. You shouldn't be giving things up just being smarter about all the things you do and finding better ways or responsible ways to do them. That was a lesson I could of learned a hell of alot sooner but still Fire'd at 50 so happy about that. Don't give up everything to enjoy life when fired because what if God forbid your not around to enjoy it? Live life ! as others have said you don't all of a sudden just change your ways anyhow. Whats wrong with having a frugal mindset all through life anyways.