Did you know about FIRE before you found MMM?

[Mississippi Mudstache]

Simple chicken/egg question: Did your interest in FIRE lead you to MMM, or did your discovery of MMM lead you to FIRE?

Personally, I had dreamed of FIRE for years - since before I even graduated college and started a real job. Problematically, I had no idea how to execute my dream. I was a dunce when it came to investing, and I was frugal but overlooked stupid, easily-corrected errors (like driving a pickup truck instead of a Prius).

Most of my dreams involved things like buying a piece of land and basically being a back-to-the-earth homesteader, or in my more extravagant dreams, owning a modest B&B and managing it to earn a bit of income. I just knew I didn't want to work an 8 to 5 until I was in my 60s.

I credit MMM for showing me how to save money like a fiend, where to invest it, and how to know when I've accumulated "enough". But his blog was merely the vessel that watered a seed that had been planted in my psyche for the better part of a decade.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Yea I came over from ERE when Jacob 'retired' from blogging, like a lot of others here.  I discovered the concept of FIRE from Jacob.  It had never occurred to be me before then.  I had a 50% 'savings' rate, targeted towards getting rid of a lot of consumer debt, then when I finished that I thought 'now what?', and found ERE and my view of the world has never been the same.

[ixtap]

This topic comes up once in awhile. I always point out that MMM led us to work longer. We had planned on saving up 10x expenses in taxable and taking a long sabbatical. Now, with more information, we are waiting for 25x + a buffer in case we don't want to live so minimalist in our dotage. With the mega backdoor Roth, we will probably still be close to 10x in taxable, but with more in traditional from working longer and much more in Roth.

We also made some spendy choices this year to facilitate those extra years. Six months is the break even point, but the new arrangements will allow for at least two years with less stress than before. Or at least transferring some of the stress from the high earner to the low earner.

[Mississippi Mudstache]

Yea I came over from ERE when Jacob 'retired' from blogging, like a lot of others here.  I discovered the concept of FIRE from Jacob.  It had never occurred to be me before then.  I had a 50% 'savings' rate, targeted towards getting rid of a lot of consumer debt, then when I finished that I thought 'now what?', and found ERE and my view of the world has never been the same.

I had a similar "now what?" experience. For five years, I was attached to a house that I bought at precisely the wrong time (January 2008). I was finally preparing to get it off my payroll for good in June 2013, which was going to free up a firehose of disposable income. I knew damn well I didn't need to spend it, and my quest for investment and savings strategies eventually led me to MMM.

[NevermindScrooge]

Don’t laugh. I’m shaking my head as I type this for my sheep mentality, fortunately this is anonymous :)
I’ve also wanted to be a homesteader from a young age, but I always thought that this whole ‘passive income’ thing was for ultra-rich people. And I remember it vividly when I calculated how much money I would really need in a year, just living modestly, and how much I would need as a chunk to be able to live of interest. My modest calculations lead to €400k (which is not far from my target now). But I shook my head saying that I must be wrong, because someone said in a newspaper that you would need at least 2M. I still know where I was walking during those calculations. If only!

Fast forward to seven (or thereabouts) years later, my SO sent me a link to reddit FIRE (he knew about my homestead dreams) and from there I travelled to MMM. Finally confirmation!

[Mississippi Mudstache]

Don’t laugh. I’m shaking my head as I type this for my sheep mentality, fortunately this is anonymous :)
I’ve also wanted to be a homesteader from a young age, but I always thought that this whole ‘passive income’ thing was for ultra-rich people. And I remember it vividly when I calculated how much money I would really need in a year, just living modestly, and how much I would need as a chunk to be able to live of interest. My modest calculations lead to €400k (which is not far from my target now). But I shook my head saying that I must be wrong, because someone said in a newspaper that you would need at least 2M. I still know where I was walking during those calculations. If only!

Fast forward to seven (or thereabouts) years later, my SO sent me a link to reddit FIRE (he knew about my homestead dreams) and from there I travelled to MMM. Finally confirmation!

That's cool. Good to see another would-be homesteader :)

I always imagined that I'd need $1 million to live off of passive income, but that's because my savings account as a kid paid 6%, and I figured $60,000 would be more than enough. When bond yields hit rock bottom, I was stuck because I didn't have a clue how to invest in stocks. My dad never taught me anything about investing, because he retired with a full pension at age 53. My biggest problem was that I had no clue how to accumulate $1 million without working until I was 50 or older. So I was always dreaming up shortcuts. I remember sharing with one of my college friends my plan to save up about $50,000 in 5 years after college to by a piece of land, and his reaction was "How in the hell are you going to save $50,000 in five years?!" I finally just resigned myself to a life of wage slavery, but I never stopped dreaming. I'm glad I didn't because even though I'm a decade from retirement, at least now I have hope.

[DS]

Knew of it, met people who did it, but didn't have the title/name for it.

[Dances With Fire]

Don’t laugh. I’m shaking my head as I type this for my sheep mentality, fortunately this is anonymous :)
I’ve also wanted to be a homesteader from a young age, but I always thought that this whole ‘passive income’ thing was for ultra-rich people. And I remember it vividly when I calculated how much money I would really need in a year, just living modestly, and how much I would need as a chunk to be able to live of interest. My modest calculations lead to €400k (which is not far from my target now). But I shook my head saying that I must be wrong, because someone said in a newspaper that you would need at least 2M. I still know where I was walking during those calculations. If only!

Fast forward to seven (or thereabouts) years later, my SO sent me a link to reddit FIRE (he knew about my homestead dreams) and from there I travelled to MMM. Finally confirmation!

Not laughing at all. I grew up in a small town at a time when money was tight and "wealthy people" lived somewhere else. However, my parents and grandparents were some of the happiest (content) people I have known. The point is, that I knew at a young age one didn't "need" millions of dollars to be "rich."

However, FI was a goal. (Not complete retirement really)To explore the world beyond the cornfields and farms. To have options to walkaway from the "rat race" if and when I choose. To shun over the top consumerism that is a false path to happiness.

Saving, investing, frugal living, and passive income was a way to gain that freedom.

[Mississippi Mudstache]

Knew of it, met people who did it, but didn't have the title/name for it.

Same here. I had the idea, but not a name or a strategy.

[DreamFIRE]

I was interested in retiring early and investing for years and maintaining a 70%+ savings rate years before I ever heard of MMM, only the term "FIRE" wasn't part of my vocabulary back then.  Nothing has really changed for me since finding MMM.

[Mathew675]

I found out about FI when I was trying to see how much I should save in my retirement accounts. I thought that with compounding I may end up saving too much. I looked through a few sites but MMM was the “aha” moment that I had not yet saved enough.

The next step was figuring out what to do to get there. Initially, the mad fientist helped, but it was JL Collins that pushed me towards putting an actionable plan in place with his stock series. I jumped around a lot and take things that appeal to me from all the previously noted and the bogleheads.

Now, I recommend to people that they read the stock series to start as most people are just looking for advice on what to do. Then (if) they come back for more I push them towards MMM for the philosophy.

[HPstache]

I had heard people say a few times in my life that if you had a million dollars, you could just invest it and live off the interest.  That's about all I knew about FIRE before discovering MMM.

[achvfi]

Yes, me.  Even before I ever had an adult job, I remember telling my cousin that If I worked for 5-6 years and save properly, I probably never have to work again. And my cousin who is older than me and has been working for many years, replied that it is not possible to stop working so soon. This is about 10 years ago. I am not sure how I had such ideas.

[SimpleCycle]

I read Your Money or Your Life in 2003, but I thought the idea was out of reach because I had so many obligations (student loans, a husband in grad school, education plans for myself).  But I did get the message of frugality + savings = freedom, and so while we're not FI, we are pretty substantially on our way.

[undercover]

Not FIRE per-se...but RE has never interested me.

I knew as soon as I started making a steady paycheck that I would use that money to make more money and then eventually do whatever I wanted. The goal has always been "do and live wherever you want at any time". Read: freedom. Frugality and saving money wasn't exactly a way of life as much as it was a necessity. I didn't "not" spend because I didn't desire to do so, I didn't spend because I felt like future me couldn't afford to do so. Given unlimited resources, I still wouldn't own multiples of anything because you are simply more sane with less stuff, but I would for sure own the best of everything I cared to own.

So I'm definitely not frugal to the point that I would never buy a top-specced Tesla Model S or fly first class or own the best anything in the world. It's just simply not in the cards until I purchase the most expensive purchase of a lifetime: freedom. And of course being somewhat a minimalist and frugal to an extent means that once you get the freedom, you would never want to work super hard to have something that is only marginally better and wouldn't actually make you any happier.

But the blog has helped keep me on track and help me better define where I value being frugal and where I don't. I've enjoyed a lot of the DIY articles like the shed, fitness/exercise, and the e-bike project among others.

[Luck12]

I figured it out when I was 8.   I figured if NFL players could retire and live off their savings, why couldn't regular people if they made enough money and saved decently.  I've also always been very averse to people telling me what to do, dealing with assholes, not having time to be outside, etc. 

I really believe a lot of the habits and mentality needed for FIRE are either just hard wired or subconsciously learned at a very early age from family.

[MonkeyJenga]

I read two books as an early teen that formed my dream of saving up enough money to quit, ditch my stuff, and travel the world. Jim Rogers Adventure Capitalist and Investment Biker. I figured I needed millions of dollars like he must have had, so I always saved, but didn't have a concrete plan.

YMOYL a few years ago made me realize it was possible, and that led me to MMM.

[HenryDavid]

Yes, I read the book Your Money or Your Life.
Smart book.
Also Walden, by Thoreau. Read it too young, but something stuck.
Get ‘em both!

[use2betrix]

When I was in college and around 20 (30 now) I read tons of books on real estate investing. Mostly multi family homes. I had all my newb math all laid out. Things changed and changed and changed. Never stopped thinking about how to get a high income, but my routes changed a ton.

I have no idea how I found MMM, but it was around 2014. I read every blog post at work (at least twice) before ever joining the forum. It was life changing for me. It really opened my eyes to budgeting, tracking finances, and new ways of thought. I still battle with my desires of just “having nice shit.” I’m probably in the 1% for self control in consistency in my diet and the gym and have for the most of the last decade. I still have terrible mental struggles with buying stuff I don’t “need” though. Vehicles, motorcycles, clothes, etc. As a whole I’m still doing well and saving over 50%, but I still have my struggles.

Hope to meet MMM someday, just so I can shake his hand, look him in the eyes, and thank him for changing my life.

[pecunia]

Retirement was always taught as something you did when you were old.  It was basically when you were washed up.  My mother taught me to save.  My father had a peculiar attitude about money.  He used to quote Shakespeare:

"Eat, Drink and Be Merry for tomorrow you may die"

Odd thing was that he never had much money but was always happy.  He confused a lot of people like bankers and such because he didn't care about money.  It was not a priority.  He also said he "just wanted to get by."

So no - money was not something you saved.  Money was something you spent when you had it.

I'm normal retirement age now and I certainly wish I had known about this stuff (& a lot of other things) years ago.  This and the J L Collins site has been great for learning about money.  I still have a ways to go, but will understand some of the pitfalls much better when I cross that retirement threshold.

[FireLane]

I was always a good saver, but never for any real purpose, other than a vague sense of "just in case".

It never occurred to me that it was possible to save enough to live off investments indefinitely until I discovered MMM, and then I wondered why FIRE hadn't occurred to me before. In retrospect, it was so obvious.

[Indexer]

I didn't call it FIRE back then, in 2007, or even early retirement, but I did have an idea in my head that I wanted a large enough portfolio that I could live off it and not need other income.

Found MMM in 2014 and that helped fill in the gaps. I also read your Money or Your life in 2016. It's a very good book.

[Dee]

I actually heard about FI way before MMM, when I was reading about personal finance in my early-20s (and trying to get out of debt!!!) and I came across this book: https://www.amazon.ca/Stop-Working-Start-Living-Retired/dp/1550224840, which was published in 2001. I probably read it fresh off the presses while sitting in a chair at Chapters, never buying it. While it was all very appealing to me, I couldn't really imagine implementing it.

Fast forward many years, to 2009 and this time I'm in my early-30s (and trying to get out of debt!!!)...I'm pretty sure I read YMOYL *before* I found ERE online, but I'm not certain about the order of those two.

And somewhere along the way there was also Derek Foster. Especially inspiring for being from Ottawa (where I live). (Mrs. MM is also from here and is also very inspiring.)

So, yeah, quite a few personal stories of ER before MMM posted his. I was reading from about the first month.

I'm not FIREd yet but I'm now well on my way!

[middo]

I had an idea of living off investments to provide an income before finding MMM.  I had even worked out roughly when I could retire.  We have the homestead, but not the American homestead, and Australian outback homestead.  It cost us more than it saved us for the first 10 years.  I digress.

I found MMM about a year ago, read all his blog posts, and then joined the forum.  I also started to closely collect data on my spending, and was a little shocked at where it all went.  Some changes and my FIRE date has been brought forward a few years. 

I have also started to pass on the knowledge I have gained to my children.  It's not that spending is bad, it is spending that is not giving you value for your money.

[maizefolk]

First exposed to the concept of making enough money you could just live of the income from it in a Neal Stephenson novel of all places.

First exposed to the math about how to figure out how much money that actually would be (and that it was a workable sum for a person to accumulate on a "normal" income) at ERE before I came over here.

[Zikoris]

Well, I always knew it was possible in the general sense - I mean, at the most basic level: savings accounts pay interest, and the more money you have the more interest you receive, so why couldn't they eventually pay enough interest that it would cover your expenses? That's pretty basic level stuff that I would think even a kid could understand. I remember doing some rough math back when I was 18, but not liking the results very much. I was using my 2% interest savings account as a theoretical FIRE vehicle, and I was making about 14K/year, so the numbers didn't look very good.

I started getting more into it about six years later when I had more money and discovered ERE, but I never had to make huge lifestyle changes - I was never a big spender.

It was definitely more of an issue of figuring out how to go about doing it versus figuring out the concept existed.

[mrcheese]

Personally, I had dreamed of FIRE for years - since before I even graduated college and started a real job. Problematically, I had no idea how to execute my dream. I was a dunce when it came to investing, and I was frugal but overlooked stupid, easily-corrected errors (like driving a pickup truck instead of a Prius).

Most of my dreams involved things like buying a piece of land and basically being a back-to-the-earth homesteader, or in my more extravagant dreams, owning a modest B&B and managing it to earn a bit of income. I just knew I didn't want to work an 8 to 5 until I was in my 60s.

Yes, this was me too. I had the dream but absolutely no idea how to make or manage money.  I grew up around people who made a virtue of never having any money because having money was 'wrong' so if you were broke you were good. Although perpetually stressed and deprived...
I don't know if I'll ever fully reprogram my brain into something more like an abundance mindset where I can relax because know my needs will be met. I have managed to not be a hoarder, so that's something.

[clifp]

I told my mom when I was one of those insufferably smug teenagers, that I was going to retired before I was 40.  I believe that was about four years before MMM was born.
4 years later my mom, told me that my dad was retiring early at 55 and that I was on my own for college for my final two years. I was kinda of pissed at them at the time But when he died at 73 having had a chance to finish his dream project building his own homebuilt airplane and flying it to many great Oshkosh air show, I was so happy he had hadn't waited until 65.  The next year at 39 I did retire, which ironically was about 6 months after the Trinity study was published. I learned about Trinty and the whole FIRE movement on what Motley Fool Retire Early discussion board.  I believe it was the earliest discussion board on the subject.

[Linea_Norway]

I sort of knew about it, because my parents in law FIREd at the age of 50, in 1998 or so. I thought their case was something special, because FIL had his own company that he sold. I didn't know that it could apply to other people.

Then, after having paid off our mortgage in 5,5 years and having saved quite a shitload of money in the years after that, DH and I realized that maybe we could also stop working at 50. I did understand that we needed a lot of stash for that, but I had no idea how much. So we continued business as usual. We even fell for the temptation to buy a clownhouse, using up all our stash.
Then I discovered MMM, found out that we probably could have been FIREd today if it hadn't been for the clownhouse. Since then I am in supersaver modus to make up as good as I can.

[Dicey]

I had a rare form of cancer in 1980, when I was 22. I was already frugal by nature, but the cancer experience left me wanting to control my life so I would never be dependent on a j-o-b. I also developed a knack for fulfilling my champagne tastes on a water-with-lemon budget. I lived, traveled, dined and dressed well, on a modest income, without incurring debt. I was also generous with my time and talents. I knew I wanted FIRE long before it was a "thing".

I read YMOYL in 1992, when it was first published, but couldn't envision myself living in co-housing in Berkeley, wearing Birkenstocks, living on bond interest and not having health insurance. I "met" Amy Daczczyn around the same time, when she appeared in Parade Magazine and then on Phil Donahue. Her Tightwad Gazette resonated much more. Though I had no interest in living on a homestead in Maine, her framework approach to creating the life you want through frugality sppealed to me.

MMM didn't teach me how to save or how to invest, as I mostly had that dialed in by the time Pete came along. MMM taught me that the lifestyle I envisioned so many years before was completely do-able. It also made me feel like I had found my tribe. The company it provided and the structure for achieving my early-ish retirement goals proved invaluable. MMM has been part of my life ever since. Six years post-FIRE, I stay because I enjoy helping others reach their goals, too. I try to be the friend I wish I'd had all those years ago, when I was just starting out.

[dude]

I knew I had a shot at retiring "early," but "early" to me meant 60-62. Didn't know squat about SWR or the "shockingly simple math" until I found MMM. Opened my eyes wide to the possibilities just a few years back, and changes in spending and saving habits as a result have slashed my retirement outlook to age 54, which may not be early by MMM standards, but will be the culmination of a relatively short 22-year career (prior to starting my career, I sailed the world for 6 years in Uncle Sam's navy, then spent 4 years in college, then 3 in law school, so I've only had a "real job" for 21.5 years!).

[CheapScholar]

I was working in higher ed fundraising for a long time, so I was always thinking, “what kind of personal endowment would it take to comfortably retire?”  Before I read MMM, I was usually pegging the needed amount at a paid off house and 2m.  I owe MMM and the fellow posters on this board, because it put the much lower needed amount into perspective.  MMM himself put his budget and way of doing things in fun to read blogs.  And, probably even more importantly, there were countless others here verifying that I wasn’t alone or totally crazy.

I saved quite a bit before reading MMM, but the articles and community really inspired me.  About 5 years later, it’s amazing to see how far I’ve come.  When you have two earners in a family maxing retirement accounts simultaneously for five years in a good economy it’s insane how fast the wealth adds up.  I’m now comfortable and I’m very lucky to have a job I love.  I probably won’t retire for at least 12 years when I am 50.  But, it’s nice to know I’ll probably have the option to retire at 43 or 44.

[SwissMiss]

I'm in the "NO" bracket. We always wanted to retire at 50, but had no idea how realistic that was. Now I realize we could have retired much earlier if we had discovered MMM earlier on in life.
Discovering MMM and the forums really helped to realize our dreams.

[tct]

The idea of FIRE occurred to me in 2012. I think I googled retire by 40, and was eventually led to this site. I consider it a blessing to have discovered MMM.

[LostGirl]

I knew I wanted to retire "early" but to me that was in my 50's. I was seriously thinking, so now what do I do with all this money we have saved? Buy a vacation home? :)

I'm thankful that I found this community in 2016 otherwise I'd probably have a Tesla and a mountain house and be working until I die.

[Huffduf41]

theretireearlyhomepage.com

I read it non-stop during my first boring job after college.  I had about 3-hrs of dull time/day that I used to read about how to not have to work, learned a ton.

[sisto]

I didn't know about FIRE before MMM, but I have always been frugal. I also have always wanted to retire early because my grandmother died at 57 and I wanted to at least have some time to do something in retirement and needed enough time. I had always been shooting for 55, but never really had a plan. Since finding MMM I now have a plan and will be pulling it into 52. I wish I had found this place sooner, but so do many others. Hindsight is 20:20. I'm still happy to be where I am and know my working time is short. Until then I count down the days, which reminds me of an old thread about FIRE songs. Mine is "The Final Countdown". :)

[Altons Bobs]

I had a long commute at my first job out of college, so I always checked out a lot of audiobooks, including Millionaire Next Door, to listen while I was in traffic. I had decided then I wanted to retire early, that was 20+ years ago.

[jim555]

FIRE was my plan way before FIRE was a thing.

[jgoody]

FIRE as a concept/philosophy/movement definitely hadn't occurred to me prior to MMM.  On the other hand, both of my parents retired before 55.  So I guess I always knew retirement age could fall along a spectrum of older to younger, but had previously figured my folks had fully optimized to be on the extreme young end of that scale.  Big "thank you" to MMM for opening my eyes to how much farther the spectrum could go. 

I encountered MMM while google searching some home improvement/DIY tips.  I think the first time I had such a hit, I read it and moved on, but the second time I landed on one of his pages, I delved further and am eternally grateful I did.

[RWD]

I had a plan in place to be financially independent by age 50 before I found MMM. I did a lot of research trying to figure out how much money was needed for retirement before stumbling across MMM. Realizing I only needed to support our expenses in retirement, not income, allowed me to accelerate the plan forward by a decade.

[Apple_Tango]

Found about MMM first, then FIRE, from a Facebook group about transitioning to alternate careers. Had been investing in VTSAX for 8 years before that, but was beginning to make some stupid decisions. mmm got me back on track! Plan is to retire mid 30s.

[adventurestache]

Nope, MMM introduced me to the whole idea. I read all of the blog while stuck in an unfulfilling job, and was inspired to quit and find something better and work towards financial independence. I was always frugal but never considered that I could ever save enough money to retire before 65. I think my life would probably look a lot different if I had never heard of MMM!

[PizzaSteve]

Created my FIRE plan in 1986, so predates the public internet.

Pretty much lived by similar principles, targeted FI by 40, though decided to target larger level of passive income than most on this site.  Researched low cost funds at vanguard, T Rowe Price and at Schwab around that time and invested accordingly, though more individual stocks and risky ventures along the way.

We kept working well past FI because DW was building a second career to fulfill a interest in an artistic profession and I enjoyed my work which paid well and had benefits we liked, but finally had enough.  This site was good support for the year we chose to both stop working completely, as people were encouraging.

[foobaz]

Early retirement is something I've thought about since early in my career, it's not a novel concept but it strays from taking the path of an average life so we don't see many examples or role models. That's where MMM comes in.

[Milkshake]

I am also in the No category. In college I didn't bother saving anything from my internships, because what's the point when you will be working for 50 more years? I bought stupid things on Amazon on a weekly basis.

Started my first job in 2016, 3 months in I was not enjoying it. Saw a Facebook share for a Forbes article titled "How to be a millionaire by 30". Thought it was interesting, but not that useful. However, that made me ask myself "how much do I need not to work ever again?" Plugged that sentence into google and immediately found MMM.

Life. Changing.

[Hula Hoop]

The thought of retiring early had literally never crossed my mind before reading this site.  I don't know anyone who retired early so I guess that's why.  I think that part of it is that my parents and sibling all really love and have a passion for their jobs.  I'm the odd one out in that I work to live rather than live to work. 

[Gyosho]

At 30 I got tired of being poor, but also knew I didn't really like going to work every day. I picked a career that would specifically pay me a good salary and that would, I hope, let me save enough to retire early.

I was lucky/smart enough to live close enough to my job to always be able to walk or bike to it. I found MMM through our shared love of biking and how it boosted our savings rate.

I love the encouragement from MMM and the community.

FIREd since May.

[Arbitrage]

I knew about it in vague terms, and planned on it by standard definitions, but was looking at more of an age 59.5 retirement, with a stretch goal to 55, or 56-57 when the kids were out of college.  MMM and some other blogs helped open my eyes to the possibility of retirement a decade or more earlier. 

[talltexan]

I had tracked older people, but what I noticed was something a little more troubling: often retirement found them, and they were forced to retire before they had really prepared financially.