The absolute worst possible outcome for someone who is "fired" is a part time job to supplement. Seems like the machine is a little pissed that we aren't all drinking the consumer cool-aid.
Disagree. The worst possible outcome is retiring for a decade or so ... then realizing that you're running through your savings /your money isn't enough to last ... AND then being unable to return to your previous employment because in that decade the industry has "moved on".
I mean, I guess it does expose the dirty little secret that to retire extremely early, you have to have the salary to match. There's only so much cost cutting you can do.
But instead of focusing on insane goals like retiring by 30, why not examine retiring 5 years earlier? Would most average income earners be disappointed with 5 years of additional freedom?
It's not all or nothing. There are 30+ years between a retirement in your 30's and one at "traditional" retirement age.
Yes, nicely said.
Sure, a few people can retire at 30 (more can retire in their 30s), but that does require the planets to align: Intelligence, good health, abilities that fall towards a profitable major /career, college without debt, spouse with similar traits, and an early awareness that early savings can equate to early retirement.
Possible, but not something that'll happen for the majority. For the majority of us -- those of us for whom the planets don't align -- we can still retire earlier than society says "is appropriate", and retiring 5, 10, 15 years early is still "winning" ... even if we're already well past 30.
We were actually really, really poor when we were grad students. It's hard to work out the equivalence in today's dollars, because it's been a while, but we lived in really horrible apartments and it felt like we reeled from one car disaster to the next, and we couldn't afford to go to the dentist, and I didn't buy a single item of clothing besides shoes for about 5 years. It was for sure the experience that made me the cheap person that I am today, but I absolutely do not remember it fondly.
Yeah, I could say the same thing.
I loved college, but I was always "on the financial edge", and it was stressful. I went to uninteresting events because they were serving food -- and sometimes I was hungry anyway. I lived in unsafe places, and thank God nothing bad ever happened to me because of it -- some people aren't so lucky. I didn't go to the dentist the whole time I was in college. One semester I worked 3rd shift, then went straight to class, then went to my afternoon job. I rarely bought anything that wasn't food -- and not being able to buy is different from choosing not to buy. Looking back, I really don't know how I did it -- I suppose a combination of youth, stupidity, and determination -- but I don't want to live that way again. I do not want to retire with only a minimal amount. I want enough that I'll be
comfortable in spite of inflation, in spite of emergencies. And I never want to cut cardboard to tuck into my shoes again.
I don't think there were many blogs or forums back in the early 2000s that focused mainly on FIRE, but there were several that focused on simplifying your life, reducing consumer spending, and saving rather than being a debt ridden consumer sucka. The ability to FIRE was part of that but not always the main focus. The one I met @lhamo at was based on the concepts of the book "YMOYL" and started around 2000 or so. Most of us who got the FIRE bug years ago found much of the info and inspiration from books or media info about early retirees.
No, no one much was reading blogs or posting on message boards in the 90s, but I read books on frugal living while I was in college in the 80s. In the 90s I subscribed to a frual-living newsletter that came to my mailbox. Actually, I've always loved Laura Ingalls Wilder of Little House on the Prairie fame; she was born during the Civil War, and as an adult she wrote about frugal living as a way for the average person to "get ahead"! (Before you seek it out, know that it's not 'specially applicable to our lives today.) The information has always been available -- just the format has changed.
My goal back in college, when I became interested in the topic, wasn't early retirement -- and that still isn't my prime goal -- rather, my goal was to manage my money so I'd have a comfortable financial life, not a chaotic do-without home like the one in which I was raised. The idea of a comfortable retirement was already important to me in college, but I was already past 30 when it occurred to me I could retire early and comfortable.
Most Americans eat fast food: Sort of. 20% of Americans eat out at fast food places once/ week. (But 58% of Americans eat out once/ week - this # includes full service and casual dining).
This doesn't ring true to me. As I walk into work every morning, I'd estimate 20% of the high school students and 10% of the teachers are toting a cup from a fast food place. And that's just breakfast. I hear LOTS of people talking about having gone out to dinner the night before /eating leftovers from styrofoam containers. On the rare occasion I pick up fast food for dinner, I'm always amazed at the lines.
I wonder if these numbers are from a self-reported survey. I suspect most people would choose to downplay how often they eat fast food. Regardless, I suspect the average American eats fast food more than once a week.