MMM's post on consumerism and reducing wants got me to thinking about why it appeals to me but does not appeal to others. I wonder how much personality plays into it.
Have you ever done the Colours test?
http://www.truecolorscareer.com/quiz.aspIt is a simple version of the Myers-Briggs. Basically, there are four colours ranked in order as to prevalence in a persons character:
1. Green (minority- mostly male) thinkers and inventors and innovators most folks, including me, who have this at top would have no problem with delayed gratification or passing over consumer goods. they tend to like reading and research and long-term planning.
2. Blue (minority mostly women) feelers emotional content in life is paramount. These folks are not big spenders naturally but focus more on relationship than retirement plans. FI appeals less to these folks until they see the benefit of staying home with kids or having more time for family.
3. Orange (larger cohort mixed gender) fun folks these folks have a hard time with delayed gratification because they tend to live in the moment and enjoy spontaneous events and good times. Concerts, parties, and having the best come as natural wants. These folks spend easily and saving comes hard for them. They like action and entertainment.
4. Gold (the largest majority mixed gender) order, tradition and rules appeal to these folks. They like to accomplish things on a list and check them off. They might adopt FI if it is part of a plan but they also enjoy nice consumer goods and dislike going outside of the standard comfort zone. Working is seen as standard and not working outside of the regular retirement ages might not be a goal.
I guess what I have been thinking about is how flexible are we? Colours and personality types dont appear to shift radically over time. Can an orange spender be converted to focus on FI? Being green (INTJ), Im not entirely sure, but my experience with folks tends to support the notion that the answer is no.
If this is the case, perhaps FI can spread into mainstream and influence gold, blue and certainly green but I expect there will always be a large group of folks that will dislike it because future benefits are not real or all that interesting to them. What this also means though is that who you choose as a partner is extremely important if you find FI very rewarding.