They call me crazy.... WHAT'DYA THINK?!?!

[mohawkbrah]

Ignore my sig for what im about to say as it's outdated.

I've taken into account of all my bare essential needs that i've calculated from my current bills and converted into Ireland's current economy (i live in uk)

I've calculated that my bare bones expenses are <£1000/year

yes that's right

and here's how it all works out in as much detail as i can give

Health insurance - Ireland has free healthcare (albeit not very good as long waiting times)

water bill- the maximum water and sewerage bill in Ireland is £232.83/year (they cap water bills in this country) but i'm on a meter and im pretty conservative with water so it will end up in the region of £100-£120 / year

electric and gas - to start i don't use gas, i haven't in 2 years that's right i don't have heating i just wrap up if it gets a wee bit nippy.And i cook using pressure cookers or microwaves as it's a lot more cost effective than an oven.  And I've converted my current average monthly kwhr usage and it comes out to about £313 a year

Food - i like to keep it simple with the staples and comes out to £ 385/year

property tax- luckily Ireland has low property taxes form what i can tell. And it should only come out to about £40-£60 year

Internet + Phone - £140 / year

so so far for everything i need to live it comes out to £1008/ year will probably get some naysayers in this thread questioning my numbers but all of my figures come from my actual bills and examples. I may end up giving myself more leeway and up the yearly expense budget to something like £1500-£2000 for other things such as bike repairs etc etc

This is all assuming i can find a house that's a fixer upper and on the cheap side of course.




5 years and i can live like a loony

can't wait

[arebelspy]

That's your YEARLY budget?

I'd add at least a 20% buffer on top of what you think for random expenses...clothes and shoes, travel (bus or train or discount air tickets), tools, things needed for repairs, medications, gifts, games, entertainment, etc.

Will you NEVER eat out with friends? 

One £200 expense and suddenly you're overbudget by 20%.

IMO, you should be shooting for a minimum of £3k/yr., maybe even closer to £5k, and I'm on the extreme side of stuff.  Most would easily say 10-20k.

How much will the house itself cost?

[matchewed]

Yeah budgeting to the bone is a risky move IMO.

[mohawkbrah]

That's your YEARLY budget?

I'd add at least a 20% buffer on top of what you think for random expenses...clothes and shoes, travel (bus or train or discount air tickets), tools, things needed for repairs, medications, gifts, games, entertainment, etc.

Will you NEVER eat out with friends? 

One £200 expense and suddenly you're overbudget by 20%.

IMO, you should be shooting for a minimum of £3k/yr., maybe even closer to £5k, and I'm on the extreme side of stuff.  Most would easily say 10-20k.

How much will the house itself cost?

i've seen some houses going for £15k-£30k  requiring renovation such as floors and walls.

[Penny McSave]

I am super curious as to what your diet consists of @ £385 a year.

Foraging? Do you plan to have a garden or farm? Relatives subsidizing this?

I would be afraid of not meeting dietary requirements.

ETA: What about basic home maintenance?

[big_owl]

I'd call you crazy as well.  I'm not familiar with your healthcare system but...in my entire life I've  never had more than 2 or 3 prescription meds.  In the past 6mo I've spent about $2000 out of pocket on meds due to some completely unexpected illnesses which has totally changed my outlook on FIRE.  Some of the worst parts have been having to wait to get into specialists which has greatly added to the complications and discomfort.  All this is with an excellent healthcare plan through my employer.  Maybe everything would be free for you in this scenario, but any illusion of the invincibility of youth has been shattered for me.

[Sibley]

Mohawk, you're 20. Who you are at 20 is not necessarily the same as who you are at 30, or 40, or 50. You don't want the same things. Life changes. Things happen. It's great to have goals, but plan for flexibility.

Also, build in some cushion to account for political or economic changes. You can't control that.

[MayDay]

I don't think it is totally crazy, but you would need some kind of big buffer for if you have a house crisis- even if you do all repairs, raw materials cost money.

Also, don't count on it lasting forever- if you ever get old you will need to hire more things out (house fixing, etc)

So this low of a budget does not seem sustainable long term, basically.

[Guses]

I would not say crazy, but I don't think the budget is well thought out...

So you buy this fixer upper and you have 0$/year allocated to repairs and maintenance?

What about house insurance? Do you plan to self insure?

A quick google search tells me that the property tax starts at 90 euros per year. So it is 50-100% more than you planned off the bat.

Do you live in an apartment now? You can get away with not heating because you share walls with neighbours. A detached house gets real nippy real fast. I would plan for a minimal heating cost so that your pipe don't burst... You know, because you have no insurance! :)

Congrats on the low numbers on food and utilities though! Way to flex the noodle!

[Khaetra]

Mohawk, you're 20. Who you are at 20 is not necessarily the same as who you are at 30, or 40, or 50. You don't want the same things. Life changes. Things happen. It's great to have goals, but plan for flexibility.

Also, build in some cushion to account for political or economic changes. You can't control that.

Totally agree.  When I look back at when I was 20 to now (just shy of 50)...whoo boy what a ride!  $1K isn't enough, even living bare-bones.  Things can happen when you least expect them to and I would rather plan to be safe than sorry.

[arebelspy]

What happens when the house needs a new roof? 

Even f you do all the work yourself, the materials costs money.

I think one can ERE and homestead on very little (5k us, 3.5k gbp), with a prepurchased home, off-grid utilities, a garden, etc.

But I think 1k gbp is pushing it, because stuff WILL come up.

You're living at home very cheaply right now.  Instead of focusing on a bare minimum lifestyle like this, focus on increasing your income, so you can achieve this lifestyle, and a bit more, if necessary.

[tetlee]

I'd call you crazy as well.  I'm not familiar with your healthcare system but...in my entire life I've  never had more than 2 or 3 prescription meds.  In the past 6mo I've spent about $2000 out of pocket on meds due to some completely unexpected illnesses which has totally changed my outlook on FIRE.

It appears Ireland limits costs to €2.50/$2.73 per item, up to a maximum of €25/$27 a month.

[Mmm_Donuts]

A quick google search tells me that the property tax starts at 90 euros per year. So it is 50-100% more than you planned off the bat.

90 euros is about 65 gbp, so not too far off from OPs estimate.

OP: yes, this is crazy. maybe worth trying out as an experiment while you're young, but just know that your needs will change as you get older. Even 10 years from now, let alone 60 years from now! So be prepared to need paid work or have some skills you can barter.

[Guses]

A quick google search tells me that the property tax starts at 90 euros per year. So it is 50-100% more than you planned off the bat.

90 euros is about 65 gbp, so not too far off from OPs estimate.

OP: yes, this is crazy. maybe worth trying out as an experiment while you're young, but just know that your needs will change as you get older. Even 10 years from now, let alone 60 years from now! So be prepared to need paid work or have some skills you can barter.

Oh, I didn't realize the units in the OP were not the ones from the destination. Still those 5-25 extra "dollars" account for up to 2.5% of the initial budget. :)

[honeybbq]

I'm surprised. When I was in Ireland ten years ago, I thought it was extremely expensive. Maybe that was just in Dublin and the surrounding areas. Maybe when you get out in the rural parts it's similar to the US Iowa or Kansas in terms of pricing. I just remember having a hard time finding a simple (non fast food) dinner that was less than 20Euros. Maybe things have changed.

I just cannot fathom a $400/year food budget. That alone blows my mind.

Everyone is different, but some of the best things in life cost money - traveling (even if on the cheap), eating good food, entrances to museums... even if you were going to live a life a tent bound- nomad, don't you need new shoes sometimes?

It does sound crazy to me but if you can do it, all the more power to you.

[honeybbq]

That's your YEARLY budget?

I'd add at least a 20% buffer on top of what you think for random expenses...clothes and shoes, travel (bus or train or discount air tickets), tools, things needed for repairs, medications, gifts, games, entertainment, etc.

Will you NEVER eat out with friends? 

One £200 expense and suddenly you're overbudget by 20%.

IMO, you should be shooting for a minimum of £3k/yr., maybe even closer to £5k, and I'm on the extreme side of stuff.  Most would easily say 10-20k.

How much will the house itself cost?

i've seen some houses going for £15k-£30k  requiring renovation such as floors and walls.

How will you pay for the renovations?

[mxt0133]

I'm kind of surprised by all the naysayers.  Sure maybe it's unimaginable for some here to be able to live on that budget, hell I know wouldn't want to.  I think it is easy for us all to forget that if we didn't have the funds then we just go without and deal with the consequences.  Also he will have a stash and if an emergency does arise his needs are so low that working for a few months at practically any job will bring his stach back up to more sustainable levels.

I say if you still have 5 years to go then that should be more than enough time to give you a better sample size of what your expected expenses really are. 

My question for you is what do you intend to do with all that free time?

[TheAnonOne]

I don't think it's crazy but I do think your estimates are probably a bit wrong. Even if they are not, they do not have much room.

The really good side about this is that if you can live on 1k, you only need 25k to retire. The good part about that is that, you could double or triple that amount in no time at all and have plenty of extra money.

You will never run out of money, even if you went over your budget by double, because you could pick up some side work for a few weeks and pay for it immediately.

[Astro Camper]

Most people that I work with call me crazy for leaving this so called dream job and live in poverty and be broke by 62 (41 now), but the way I see it, if most think some lifestyle is crazy, it means it's against the norm and it's worth doing.

Monday night, I was riding my Mtn bike for 2 hours through the pitch black forest on single track trails and crashed into a deer. Then I thought, how many other people are doing this exact thing at the same time anywhere in the world. Not many.Maybe none. Millions are sitting in front of TV or PC . That's how I know I'm not wasting my life away.

Go for it.

[The_path_less_taken]

Does free health care include condoms?

Just saying...

I agree with everyone on here that things you can't even imagine pop up and require that money be thrown at them.

I once bought stud fencing for a young colt. Put him as far away from the mares as the small acreage I lived on would allow. And...he was just starting to hit puberty....about 9 months old. Had planned to sell him before it would be a problem.

But the sob tried to climb an 8 foot fence to play with the girls, got his foot stuck between the fence and the gate, and twirled upside down all night (couldn't hear him from the house over the ocean). He apparently slammed his head into the ground on each twirl....is eye was almost hanging out.

Big vet bill. (he was fine. but it was thousands. OVERNIGHT. Unexpected.)

Or you homestead and count on eggs and a fox/hawk gets your chickens, or they get Merricks or something and zero eggs. Even farming: there was a kinda famous incident called the Irish potato famine...stuff happens.

I think you should ALWAYS try and do the things that make you smile. But having a bigass emergency fund is also a good thing.

Good luck!

[Landlord2015]

Most people that I work with call me crazy for leaving this so called dream job and live in poverty and be broke by 62 (41 now), but the way I see it, if most think some lifestyle is crazy, it means it's against the norm and it's worth doing.

Monday night, I was riding my Mtn bike for 2 hours through the pitch black forest on single track trails and crashed into a deer. Then I thought, how many other people are doing this exact thing at the same time anywhere in the world. Not many.Maybe none. Millions are sitting in front of TV or PC . That's how I know I'm not wasting my life away.

Go for it.

Again making propaganda about wild life are we? I like to sit in front of TV and PC. I also like to do sports so I would not call my self supernerd.

I have nothing personally against you. That said in my eyes when we know you will inherit from your wifes side a million+ $  maybe inherit that much later like after 20 years, but still then it sounds hollow to me that you say dare go for it.

I am not saying enjoying nature is wrong. That said even with full time job usually you got weekends.

[big_owl]

I'd call you crazy as well.  I'm not familiar with your healthcare system but...in my entire life I've  never had more than 2 or 3 prescription meds.  In the past 6mo I've spent about $2000 out of pocket on meds due to some completely unexpected illnesses which has totally changed my outlook on FIRE.

It appears Ireland limits costs to €2.50/$2.73 per item, up to a maximum of €25/$27 a month.

Well that certainly would have saved me some money...

[Jack]

Monday night, I was riding my Mtn bike for 2 hours through the pitch black forest on single track trails and crashed into a deer. Then I thought, how many other people are doing this exact thing at the same time anywhere in the world. Not many.Maybe none.

That's because most of them are smart enough to use a headlight. Just sayin'...

[The_path_less_taken]

Monday night, I was riding my Mtn bike for 2 hours through the pitch black forest on single track trails and crashed into a deer. Then I thought, how many other people are doing this exact thing at the same time anywhere in the world. Not many.Maybe none.

That's because most of them are smart enough to use a headlight. Just sayin'...

Funny statement.

 But pretty far from accurate: most deer crashing into people do it in broad daylight. They're not members of Mensa...they're grazing and they think: "what's that sound? lemme just jump straight up in the air and bound off".

If I can't always avoid one that's acting goofy on a 16ft wide road in daylight...avoiding Bambi bounding in pitch black/ heavy brush would be like winning the lottery. Twice.

[mozar]

I think that instead of sitting in your parents basement scheming you should become an itinerant worker for a few years.
You can get guest worker visas to australia and new zealand until you are 26 (or maybe 30) and travel from farm to farm doing labor. Woofing is farm labor in exchange for room and board but it can also lead to paying gigs with free housing.

[patrickza]

I'd try living on those amounts for a few years before doing it for real. Actually I'd try living on those amounts and earn a lot so that I could save an absolute fortune really quickly.

[Faramir]

I'm very skeptical but I'd love to see it happen (& you being happy doing it).

What stash are you planning to save up & FIRE on? 
How old will you be then (I see you're 20 now)? 
Although you were using GBP symbols are they British pounds or Euros?  Those food costs seem low for Ireland but I'd believe they're doable in UK.

My suggestion would be: aim for your FIRE number and if you still think that's enough then FIRE.  Then live like that for a year, record how much you actually spend and see how it goes.  I'd imagine you'd still be early to mid 20s then with plenty of time to work a bit more if/when you need to.  Or, if you only need 1,000 euros or pounds then you could work a month a year & not eat into the stash.

[force majeure]

I salute the original poster. I know its possible to do what you suggest, because I am on the ground here. Yes, fixer-up properties exist in the 30k range, if you go west, look at County Mayo. I see a bunch of them on daft.ie. If you are handy with tools and single-minded enough, I would say go for it.

You would need to be pretty hard-core to keep the food budget under control. Transport? Cycle everywhere. Heating? get a used wood-burner. Insurance? forget about it. Dont listen to the naysayers, life is short.

Let us know if you make the move, it would inspire a lot of us folks.

[Guses]

I salute the original poster. I know its possible to do what you suggest, because I am on the ground here. Yes, fixer-up properties exist in the 30k range, if you go west, look at County Mayo. I see a bunch of them on daft.ie. If you are handy with tools and single-minded enough, I would say go for it.

You would need to be pretty hard-core to keep the food budget under control. Transport? Cycle everywhere. Heating? get a used wood-burner. Insurance? forget about it. Dont listen to the naysayers, life is short.

Let us know if you make the move, it would inspire a lot of us folks.

If you decide to self-insure it means you need to amass a stash equivalent to what it would cost you to rebuild something to live in. Depending on the cost of insurance, it might be cheaper than saving an extra 20-30K for a replacement home. For instance, I pay less than 0.1 % of the value of my house per year to insure it, it's a bargain.

Having NO house insurance (i.e., not even self-insuring) is pretty stupid in this situation IMO and is asking for life to kick you in the teeth.

[Playing with Fire UK]

I love this idea, I think it's ambitious, but why not give it a go? If something goes wrong you can find work; even a seasonal job for a few months a year would have you rolling in more money than you could spend.

I'd be interested to hear more about the food budget. I think I could do it with a garden or allotment, but it could get dull fast over winter, and I'd personally go back to work for a year to break the monotony.

Those property taxes are great, mine are the lowest in the county and more than the OP's whole budget!

[limeandpepper]

Well I wouldn't call you crazy but I'm a bit skeptical, mainly because I see that in another thread you mention that you currently live with your parents and save 100% of your income.

20 years old and only working part time atm. 100% savings rate because living with mum and dad still.

Yet here you say you've calculated these figures from your current bills.

I've taken into account of all my bare essential needs that i've calculated from my current bills

Which is it? Are your parents paying for everything so that you can save 100% of your income, or do you pay bills and buy your own food? In any case, it's not like you're already out living on your own and working with real-world numbers, so it all seems a bit speculative and I imagine that there are expenses that don't even cross your mind because your parents run the household and take care of things so you don't need to. Your figures don't even account for non-food items such as toilet paper, soap, etc. And do you never plan on going out with friends, or cooking for them at your place? Plus, as other people have mentioned, household repairs - even if you can do it yourself, you still need to buy materials.

I think it's a great goal to have, but I also think that you're probably not going to have the best gauge of how much you will actually spend as an independent person, until you are an independent person.

[2Birds1Stone]

Sounds like a miserable existence to me

[iwasjustwondering]

What about hot water, soap, laundry detergent, shampoo?  You're a young man -- don't you want to be attractive to the people you want to attract?  Don't give up on making those connections at age 20.  It's important.  Go and get it.

[Davids]

You need to increase your budget for a buffer. You are only 20, so much will change. I am not calling you crazy but definitely add some buffer room to the bufget.

[Miss Prim]

Because you are only twenty and have not had to deal with all the bad stuff that can come up, I think you don't really have any idea how much it costs to live on your own.  You are looking at all of this with a 20 year old mind, and believe me, what you are suggesting living on would be extremely hard to do for a long period of time. 

Stuff that my husband and I could do ourselves in our 20-50s is too hard to do now.  We used to do our own roofing, building stuff, husband worked on cars himself, etc.  Now in our 60's we are hard pressed to keep up with our garden and freeze and can everything for the winter.  It is hard doing a lot of physical labor as you get older, even if you are in pretty good shape!  But, who am I to tramp on someone's dream!  Give it a try and see how it works.

                                                                             Miss Prim

[thd7t]

I can relate to all the naysayers, but I'm going to go against them and call your plan a great start.  People argue that you are young and things are easy, but this is your advantage.  You don't have to get it right on the first try.  The worst thing that can happen is that you don't hit your (extremely ambitious) goal as quickly as you expected, because you shift the goal posts.  That's not a bad thing.  It's up to you to try to make this work.  If you adjust the plan along the way, that's just life.

Go for it!

[Guses]

I can relate to all the naysayers, but I'm going to go against them and call your plan a great start.

Most posters are not saying that it won't work, they are just posting obvious pitfalls and oversights in the master plan. If the OP is willing to accept those risks, there is nothing stopping him.

[matchewed]

I think age has less to do with it. Flexibility is a key part of a resilient FIRE plan. This plan seems too rigid.

[arebelspy]

I think age has less to do with it. Flexibility is a key part of a resilient FIRE plan. This plan seems too rigid.

Right. It's SUPER fragile, so with all the potential things that could derail it, it becomes extremely likely that something will.

[force majeure]

If you get stuck, apply for welfare - 188 / week. Value of home is not taken into consideration.
You didnt hear that from me.

Thinking about your idea again;

Consider the following...

Boredom and social isolation
Fixed cost of utilities: estimate 400 / year to have electricity supply, without costing the usage
Cost of any house renovations. Unless you are handy with electrics / plumbing, you need to factor that cost, as too much can go wrong



 

[thd7t]

I think age has less to do with it. Flexibility is a key part of a resilient FIRE plan. This plan seems too rigid.

Plans always sound rigid when they're first laid out, but OP has a five year timeline.  That's a quarter of his life to date.  That's a ton of time to adjust the plan (and learn from experience) while still having the safety net that a job allows.

[honeybbq]

I was actually thought about this more and more last night.

I think part of what throws me for a loop is the OP's age - just because so much can change and I think back to how much I've changed since I was 20... the answer is a LOT, at least for me. 

If the OP wants to FIRE for awhile, good for them. But the isolation that's going to come with the lifestyle the OP has chosen... it seems pretty drastic.

Yes, there are 'free' things to do and libraries to go to and books to read and gardens to tend to. But everything has at least small expenses associated with it. Seeds for the garden. Bike chain grease. Sneakers to walk in. It seems like there is no room in the budget for these small yet necessary items. And that's totally neglecting the social aspects. Cups of coffee or beers with friends? That's out. Going out to eat? No. Even 'free' social things like hiking or running clubs have expenses associated with them (shoe costs, etc). Even going over to a friend's house to watch a movie - usually I would bring popcorn or something to drink. That's out. Perhaps if the OP is truly an isolationist that will work. But I think it would be a lonely existence. This is not even touching any romance aspects at all.

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but the OP seems more intent on this being a thought experiment from a sociology class than something that is really truly practical and achievable. But it IS interesting to think about; how little does one actually need to survive?

[matchewed]

I think age has less to do with it. Flexibility is a key part of a resilient FIRE plan. This plan seems too rigid.

Plans always sound rigid when they're first laid out, but OP has a five year timeline.  That's a quarter of his life to date.  That's a ton of time to adjust the plan (and learn from experience) while still having the safety net that a job allows.

The OP is planning on pulling the plug in five years based on the plan detailed in the first post. On those specific expenses that are really tight and rigid. Unless the OP earns more and adjusts the plan by expanding the expenses a bit, it is a plan that is guaranteed to fail. It's just feedback on the plan and how it should change. The feedback is that the plan is too rigid. There is no room for change in the plan, it just doesn't sound rigid, it is rigid. The plan needs to change in order to increase the odds of success.

[matchewed]

Again it has nothing to do with age. There would be problems with this plan at 30, 40, and 50. There is no meat to cut. It is pure barebones.

[BTDretire]

Does free health care include condoms?

I wouldn't worry about that, there's no money in the budget for dating.
Most women want to be warm, they also prefer curtains over tin foil on the windows.

"Hey baby, want to have a fire lit romantic night in my 50*F degree smoke filled house on the wooden floor shearing my one blanket, eating ramen noodles?

[arebelspy]

I think part of what throws me for a loop is the OP's age - just because so much can change and I think back to how much I've changed since I was 20... the answer is a LOT, at least for me. 

Yeah, no, this doesn't bother me.

You changed a lot, but that's not necessarily the case for everyone.  It's something to keep in mind, but IDK that it's a deal breaker, for me at least.  It is for you, so it's still a factor to keep in mind.

Again it has nothing to do with age. There would be problems with this plan at 30, 40, and 50. There is no meat to cut. It is pure barebones.

Exactly.  The lack of flexibility means if ANYTHING goes wrong, it's in trouble..and with so many potential things that can go wrong, one of them is bound to happen at some point.

I think age has less to do with it. Flexibility is a key part of a resilient FIRE plan. This plan seems too rigid.

Plans always sound rigid when they're first laid out, but OP has a five year timeline.  That's a quarter of his life to date.  That's a ton of time to adjust the plan (and learn from experience) while still having the safety net that a job allows.

Sure, a ton of time to change the plan. I'll grant you that.  But what we're saying is this plan seems very inflexible, and thus prone to failure.  If you're familiar with Anti-fragile by Taleb, this is the opposite.. fragile.  So if he changes it in the next 5 years, okay.  But this plan still will be fragile even if 5 years pass.

[Erica]

what he said ^^^

If he wants to stick to this plan, at the very least plan to work a part-time job in retirement to keep a nest-egg handy. More like a mini nest egg
Sell on Ebay part time? Seasonal job? Also, what about car insurance? Hopefully OP will remain healthy enough to work

[KCM5]

What I think is interesting about this plan is the sheer difference between it and my own when it comes to motivation.

I'm looking to have enough money to live a relatively comfortable life that may or may not be supplemented by low wage (or high wage) part time work should I feel like it for a couple months of the year. The OP is looking to not work ever again and spend as little money as possible doing it.

Here's the thing: the OP could easily get a life similar to this (double or triple the budget for it to be realistic) while only working a couple of months a year at a low wage job. Why not do that rather than twist yourself into pretzels trying to find a way to never work again as soon as possible?

I guess I'm trying to say I'm not opposed to working part time in a low stress, low paid position if necessary. I would find that more enjoyable than trying to live on so little.

Is there something about working even a menial job that is so unpleasant? Or are you just trying to "win" at FIRE? Is this just a thought experiment? What is the motivation?

[matchewed]

What I think is interesting about this plan is the sheer difference between it and my own when it comes to motivation.

I'm looking to have enough money to live a relatively comfortable life that may or may not be supplemented by low wage (or high wage) part time work should I feel like it for a couple months of the year. The OP is looking to not work ever again and spend as little money as possible doing it.

Here's the thing: the OP could easily get a life similar to this (double or triple the budget for it to be realistic) while only working a couple of months a year at a low wage job. Why not do that rather than twist yourself into pretzels trying to find a way to never work again as soon as possible?

I guess I'm trying to say I'm not opposed to working part time in a low stress, low paid position if necessary. I would find that more enjoyable than trying to live on so little.

Is there something about working even a menial job that is so unpleasant? Or are you just trying to "win" at FIRE? Is this just a thought experiment? What is the motivation?

Some people just want the freedom that badly. They value it that much. There could be any number of reasons. And frankly we all have the same varied reasons for our goals collectively. It seems that when people see something that may be on the extreme end of the spectrum they instantly go WHY?!!!??? Well it's for the same reasons we all have. Those on the edges of the spectrum just may be willing to do more to get there.

[KCM5]

What I think is interesting about this plan is the sheer difference between it and my own when it comes to motivation.

I'm looking to have enough money to live a relatively comfortable life that may or may not be supplemented by low wage (or high wage) part time work should I feel like it for a couple months of the year. The OP is looking to not work ever again and spend as little money as possible doing it.

Here's the thing: the OP could easily get a life similar to this (double or triple the budget for it to be realistic) while only working a couple of months a year at a low wage job. Why not do that rather than twist yourself into pretzels trying to find a way to never work again as soon as possible?

I guess I'm trying to say I'm not opposed to working part time in a low stress, low paid position if necessary. I would find that more enjoyable than trying to live on so little.

Is there something about working even a menial job that is so unpleasant? Or are you just trying to "win" at FIRE? Is this just a thought experiment? What is the motivation?

Some people just want the freedom that badly. They value it that much. There could be any number of reasons. And frankly we all have the same varied reasons for our goals collectively. It seems that when people see something that may be on the extreme end of the spectrum they instantly go WHY?!!!??? Well it's for the same reasons we all have. Those on the edges of the spectrum just may be willing to do more to get there.

This is true. I've found my limit. Jacob with ERE? Just fine - doesn't even seem that extreme. 1000 pounds (or Euros? Couldn't tell from the explanation) a year in a first world country? Too much work.