How to Retire in Your 30s With $1 Million in the Bank

[Hydrogen]

Fed up with their high-pressure jobs, some millennials are quitting and embracing the FIRE movement. (It stands for financial independence, retire early).

Carl Jensen experienced what he calls “the awakening” sometime around 2012.

He was a software engineer in a suburb of Denver, writing code for a medical device. The job was high-pressure: He had to document every step for the Food and Drug Administration, and a coding error could lead to harm or death for patients.

Mr. Jensen was making about $110,000 a year and had benefits, but the stress hardly seemed worth it. He couldn’t unwind with his family after work; he spent days huddled over the toilet. He lost 10 pounds.

After one especially brutal workday, Mr. Jensen Googled “How do I retire early?” and his eyes were opened. He talked to his wife and came up with a plan: They saved a sizable portion of their income over the next five years and drastically reduced expenses, until their net worth was around $1.2 million.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2017, Mr. Jensen called his boss and gave notice after 15 years at the company. He wasn’t quitting, exactly. He had retired. He was 43.

Hacking Your Way to Retirement

Although Mr. Jensen’s story may seem exceptional, a more modest version of the stockbroker who makes a killing on Wall Street and sails off to the Caribbean, he is part of a growing movement of young professionals who are intently focused on quitting their jobs forever.

Millennials especially have embraced this so-called FIRE movement — the acronym stands for financial independence, retire early — seeing it as a way out of soul-sucking, time-stealing work and an economy fueled by consumerism.

Followers of FIRE tend to be male and work in the tech industry, left-brained engineer-types who geek out on calculating compound interest over 40 years, or the return on investment (R.O.I.) on low-fee index funds versus real estate rentals.

Indeed, much of the conversation around FIRE, on Reddit message boards or blogs like Mr. Money Mustache, revolves around hacking one’s finances: strategies for increasing your savings rate to the hallowed 70 percent, tips for cheap travel through airline rewards cards, ways to save nickels and dimes at the grocery store.

Some practice “lean FIRE” (extreme frugality), others “fat FIRE” (maintaining a more typical standard of living while saving and investing), and still others “barista FIRE” (working part-time at Starbucks after retiring, for the company’s health insurance). To be “firing” is to slash one’s expenses to maximize saving while amassing income-generating investments sufficient to support oneself. To have “fired” is to have achieved that goal.

“A lot of people think you’re a new-age hippie,” said Mr. Jensen, who sold his four-bedroom, four-bathroom house, downsized to a more modest home and maxed-out retirement accounts while firing. “They can’t even wrap their minds around it.”

In retirement, Mr. Jensen and his wife and two daughters plan to live on roughly $40,000 a year generated from investments. Because his wife currently works, they have yet to draw on those accounts. But already, it’s a life rich on time but short on luxuries: Groceries are bought at Costco, car and home repairs are done by him.

“People always assume there’s an external circumstance: ‘Oh, you must have received an inheritance,’” Mr. Jensen said. “We’ve just chosen to live far below our means. That itself is a radical idea.”

Equally radical is opting out of the work force in your 30s or early 40s, a time of life when men and women are normally leaning into their careers, or, less happily, enduring the daily grind to pay the bills until Social Security kicks in.

Jason Long, a pharmacist in rural Tennessee who retired last year at the ripe old age of 38, said his father had a hard time understanding why Mr. Long couldn’t continue to work and collect his $150,000 salary.

But Mr. Long said he was deeply unhappy in his job, where over his career he witnessed drug costs skyrocketing, sick people battling with health insurers and the over-prescription of opioids and the resulting addiction crisis. His customers, angry, confused, financially stretched, often lashed out at the person behind the counter.

“There were days when I had 12- or 14-hour shifts where I didn’t use the restroom, where I didn’t eat, because so much work was piled up on me,” Mr. Long said.

Like Mr. Jensen, he had been saving a sizable portion of his income over the past decade, and he and his wife had a paid-for house and an investment portfolio worth a little more than $1 million. Why stick around?

“The reality is the numbers are there for me,” Mr. Long said. “To go to a job that’s making you miserable every day, it doesn’t make sense to pad the bank account at that point.”

Why These Millennials Hate Work
Quitting the rat race isn’t a new concept. From the Shakers of the 1700s to the back-to-the-land hippies of the 1960s and ’70s, a strain of Americans has always embraced simple living. One of the bibles of the FIRE movement, “Your Money or Your Life,” which teaches readers to reduce their spending and value time (or “life energy”) over material gain, was published in 1992.

But Vicki Robin, who wrote that financial guide with Joe Dominguez, said the FIRE crowd is a different breed of dropout than those in the ’90s. “Our aim was not just to have a whole bunch of people quit their jobs,” Ms. Robin said. “Our aim was to lower consumption to save the planet. We attracted longtime simple-living people, religious people, environmentalists.”

The FIRE adherents are, by contrast, “very numbers oriented, fascinated by the minutiae of taxes and accounting,” Ms. Robin said.

They are also benefiting from an lengthy bull run in the stock market and, in some cases, the privilege of class, race, gender and background. It’s difficult to retire at 40 if you work a minimum-wage job, say, or have crushing student-loan debt, or did not have the same opportunities as others because you grew up poor in a crime-ridden neighborhood.

But if, as Ms. Robin said, FIRE adherents “don’t have the aspirational part” of earlier generations, why are they so determined to quit the work force? Many millennials haven’t been working longer than a decade, if that.

It’s about having agency, Ms. Robin said: “The worker in this economy has very little sense of control over their existence. People are expendable. You’re a young person and you look ahead and you say, ‘What’s there for me?’”

That accurately describes how Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung felt. The married couple from Toronto became minor celebrities (and the target of online haters) when they retired from their tech jobs in 2015 to travel the world full time. They were in their early 30s at the time.

Ms. Shen’s wake-up moment came when she watched a fellow I.T. colleague collapse at his desk after clocking 14-hour days and get hauled away in an ambulance. For several years before that, she and Mr. Leung, following the path laid out by their parents, had tried to buy a house in Toronto’s ever-escalating real estate market.

But, Ms. Shen said, “It didn’t matter how much you saved, it was a goal post that kept moving. And I was seeing people stressed out paying their mortgages.”

Though they had good educations and well-paying jobs in the booming tech sector, Ms. Shen and Mr. Leung faced the looming threats of outsourcing and artificial intelligence, and had no hope of a retirement pension, or even that their employers would exist in five years.

At the same time, their jobs were all-consuming, their work hours basically 24-7. Rather than chain themselves to a costly mortgage, and therefore to high-pressure jobs, the couple decided to pour their money into an investment portfolio and peace out.

“The rule books our parents have given us is advice that’s perfect for 1970,” Ms. Shen said. “We have to throw out that rule book and write a new one.”

Mr. Leung spoke of the challenges his generation faces more bluntly. “We don’t have jobs that will take care of us,” he said. “We have to take care of ourselves.”

Go Where It’s Cheap

By ditching a big city, Ms. Shen and Mr. Leung exemplify another underlying reason for the popularity of FIRE: the high price of urban life, especially in places like New York and Southern California. There’s the insane housing prices, the high cost of child care, the temptations of so-called lifestyle creep.

“We were spending nearly $3,000 a month on rent, and that was considered a good deal,” said Scott Rieckens, 35, who, along with his wife, Taylor, 33, and their infant daughter until recently lived in Coronado, Calif., a pricey beach town across the bay from San Diego. “We made something like $160,000 between the two of us, but we didn’t have a whole lot left over.”

After hearing a podcast interview with Mr. Money Mustache, a.k.a., Pete Adeney, who The New Yorker called “the Frugal Guru” (he retired at 30), Mr. Rieckens became fired up. He told his wife they should ditch their leased BMW and quit eating out several nights a week.

But even with those lifestyle cuts, the couple couldn’t increase their savings rate substantially unless they relocated to a cheaper community, a deleveraging tactic the FIRE crowd calls “arbitrage.”

The idea, Mr. Adeney said, is “to reap the high salary” of a place like Silicon Valley, “then take that nest egg out to any of the thousands of nice, affordable cities and towns we have in this country and begin a second stage of life on your own terms.”

Ms. Rieckens, who works in recruiting, was initially reluctant to give up her BMW and beachy life and the prestige that went with it, until she saw a retirement calculator that showed they could retire in 10 years if they adopted FIRE and moved, or when they are 90 if they continued their upscale lifestyle in Coronado.

“I never paid attention to the finances, I thought it will all work out,” Ms. Rieckens said. “After I had a baby, I had stress around how I could spend more time with her. I was almost a slave to my job because of the way we were living.”

Last year, the couple left Southern California in search of a community that would give them more financial freedom, a journey Mr. Rieckens, formerly a creative director for a creative agency, is chronicling in a documentary, “Playing With FIRE.”

They ended up in Bend, Ore., where there’s no state sales tax and they could afford to buy a house. Gas for their used Honda CRV with 186,000 miles (they got rid of the BMW and downsized to one vehicle) is a dollar-per-gallon cheaper than in San Diego, although Mr. Rieckens often rides his bike around town.

“The whole retire early thing is unimportant to me. It’s more about gaining control of your time,” Mr. Rieckens said. “If you dive into the definition of retirement, what you’re retiring from is mandatory labor. It’s not necessarily about piña coladas on the beach.”

When You Retire Before Your Parents
A retirement that starts well before you go gray and lasts 40, 50 even 60 years is an anomaly in modern life. How do you fill all those days, months, decades?

On a recent weekday afternoon, Mr. Jensen was taking his two daughters, ages 8 and 11, to the Boulder County Fair. “I told them, ‘O.K., we’re going to wait until Thursday for half-price day,’” he said. “And by the way, we’re walking there. It’s two miles from our house.”

Fearing boredom, Mr. Jensen at first took on way too much, and he found it strange to be at the local rec center exercising alongside senior citizens, or shopping at empty big-box stores on a Tuesday. He also beat his own mother to retirement, which made for awkward family get-togethers.

But one year in, he has settled into his life of leisure, enjoying time spent raising his daughters, making sure they never see him vegging in front of the TV. Mr. Jensen also practices an activity that for many FIRE achievers seems to be the new golf: writing a financial advice blog.

Other FIRE retirees turned bloggers include Early Retirement Dude; the husband and wife behind Our Next Life; the Frugalwoods, a young married couple with children, who wrote a book about their transformation from suburban Boston high earners to retired Vermont homesteaders; and Ms. Shen and Mr. Leung, who when not traveling the world are calling for a Millennial Revolution (“Stop working, start living”).

It’s hardly surprising that a tech-savvy generation would proselytize on the internet. Also, blogging can provide the holy grail of early retirement, an additional income stream.

Perhaps Mr. Long, the pharmacist in rural Tennessee, has given the most detailed, thoughtful account of someone who has fired. In a series of posts to Reddit’s financial independence message board, Mr. Long chronicled with dry wit and self-effacement his first year in retirement.

One month into FIRE, he wrote of the guilt he felt spending money (on video games), and his concern that he would be over his household budget. He spent his days with family, at the gym, doing housework, exercising. He had no regrets so far: “I made the right decision. This is life.”

In the second month, Mr. Long reported a 2.8 percent increase to his portfolio over the first two months, even after living expenses, and listed his accomplishments as more reading, more cooking, volunteering and “faster Rubik’s cube solves.” Stress levels were way down, he wrote: “A friend of mine said the sense of dread from my face was gone.”

In the months that followed, he rewatched the mini-series “Roots,” lost all interest in talk of FIRE now that he had achieved it, feared a looming stock market crash, had nightmares that “I’m back at work and arguing with morons,” finished a marathon in a personal best sub-three hours, felt moments of social isolation, took a two-week road trip across the heartland, and went twice to the beach in Florida with his wife and watched their net reach its highest point, despite not working, which he attributed to “the passage of the tax cut for wealthy job creators like myself.”

Oh, and he started a blog.

“My life is so much better than it was before,” Mr. Long wrote seven months in. “I hope everyone here finds this peace.”

Speaking by phone, Mr. Long acknowledged it was possible that he’d simply burned out, that all of this FIRE stuff was just a needed break until he found a more satisfying career. When he was recently offered a job back in the pharmaceutical field, it induced a mild panic attack.

That morning, he’d woken up on his own, “not when an alarm clock told me that I had a responsibility.” He’d read the news online for 30 minutes, went on a seven-mile run, took a nap and “watched the ceiling fan spin around for a little bit.”

He had been watching the movies from They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They? a website that ranks what it calls the 1,000 greatest films. He’d watched 600 or so. He had work to do.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/style/fire-financial-independence-retire-early.html

....

This is a long piece on financial freedom, retiring early, advice on how to save money and the so-called "FIRE" movement(Financial Independence Retirement Early) which I've never heard of before today.

I wonder if there is a similar movement revolving around bitcoin and crypto? I know there are many buying lamborghinis living beyond their expected means for their age group, due to being early adopters of crypto.

Perhaps in the future we'll see a crossover of sorts where FIRE adherants and crypto join forces. lol

[1715550297]

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[1715550297]

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[odolvlobo]

I have never heard of FIRE before, but I have been an extreme saver for most of my life. I generally saved and invested about 50% of my income (after taxes). It wasn't hard -- lifestyle is a choice.

I never earned a lot from working, but investing 50% of my income every year eventually built a portfolio with a return that exceeded my income. As a matter of fact, 100% of my income last year went to paying taxes on the gains from my investments. Obviously, I now have enough money to stop working.

[butka]

This strategy for early retirement seems to revolve around being frugal, saving of a good portion of your income, and possibly investing as well. This is exactly the opposite to what most people do, being wasteful, buying things they don't need, and going into debt most of the time. Using fiat money also doesn't help, because fiat is being debased year after year.

This strategy makes sense if you can pull it off efectivelly, and crypto can certainly help.

Bitcoin has already helped a huge number of early bitcoiners. I'm sure, many of them has retired in their 20s and 30s.

All the rest can still use this system in combination with wise investing (in crypto of course). Also, given the deflationary nature of bitcoin, the FIRE movement followers could start to hold most of their savings in BTC. The only thing that can spoil this is the volatility of cryptocurrencies, but maybe the volatility won't be such a huge issue in the future.

[hyadumadha]

Its ridiculous when you say about the lambo things, the point is not for being more consumptive to save the planets, not the contrary. The millennial should concern about long time-simple living, being more spiritual, understand about their self and be more environmentalist, not those who party everyday and spend those money to buy shit product.

[Ladysmith]

I think we're entering into an age of "lifestyle optimization." People, in a general sense, are starting to focus more on happiness rather than pure profit. The internet and smart investing made this type of lifestyle possible in the first place, and will only evolve from here as the aspects of life that make people happy become less physical in nature. Free time is true wealth.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Free time is true wealth.

I don't know about that.  I've known quite a few people who live in shelters and who have no job, and the lives they lead couldn't be considered "wealthy", and I'm not just talking about them not having money.

Living a life of ease is something we all want when we're working 40 hours or more a week, but many people end up doing nothing with their lives when they do have free time.  Having a job has quite a few benefits aside from the paycheck, especially if you like what you're doing.  I have no plans to retire right now, as I like working.  It gives me purpose and a sense that I'm doing something worthwhile.

I do like the extreme saving aspect of this.  Blowing your money on stuff you don't need is a recipe for disaster.  Feeling like you have to work just to pay for all the extras is not a path to happiness.

[bitmover]

This is my life's goal since I am 25.

First I bought a house, because my biggest expense was the rent.

Then I started accumulating.

I wonder if there is a similar movement revolving around bitcoin and crypto? I know there are many buying lamborghinis living beyond their expected means for their age group, due to being early adopters of crypto.

Perhaps in the future we'll see a crossover of sorts where FIRE adherants and crypto join forces. lol

Many people that were seeking to retire early discovered BTC soon enough and they could retire even earlier than planned.
I expect there is going to be a second wave for laters bitcoiners soon, I hope to get this one =D

Followers of FIRE tend to be male and work in the tech industry, left-brained engineer-types who geek out on calculating compound interest over 40 years, or the return on investment (R.O.I.) on low-fee index funds versus real estate rentals.

I see that low fee ETF are really the way to go on developed countries, however the situation is different in developing countries.
In developing countries ETFs are too risky, as our stock market is usually very volatile. Not suitable for early retirement.
 
In Brazil, for example, we have one of the highest interest rates in the world. This is a huge opportunity to invest in Brazilian treasure bonds. Treasure Bonds on Brazil pays ~6% plus inflation rates per year. (in the US they pay inflation + 2-3% a year)

There is also a specific bonds for early retirement, which pays you ~3% of all your investments twice a year. And the principal + inflation rates will be received at the maturation of the title.
If you invest $ 1,000,000 in Brazilian bonds, you would receive about ~70,000 every six months, what would be about ~5,800 per month.

I believe there are similar financial products worldwide...

[St4yInTh3D4rk]

Smell the money at the age of 11 can be a way to make us millionaire,there are lot of people who are millionaire now are not from the wealthy family but they earned lot of money in very short term just by the investing that is the only way to make more money and pay less taxes.

[acheampong64]

Financial independence is very important in this life. Every time, we need to make sure we have a residual source of income and we don't depend always on government or our employers for source of income. That is why people are always trying to find ways to invest their money and also to start businesses. It's better to make your own than to depend on some one which may not be sustainable.

[pawel7777]

Reddit links:

https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/9choov/take_the_money_and_run/
UK: https://www.reddit.com/r/FIREUK/

Frugality-->accumulation-->early retirement sounds like sensible plan, but there are a lot of downsides to it, which need to be considered. Overdisciplining  yourself with extreme frugality over the best years of your youth will surely leave some psychological mark. When you're finally ready to retire, you could find yourself either incapable of 'having fun' or worse - you could go into full stupid, money splashing mode to compensate for the lost years.

Plus, frugality goes in line with increased (financial) risk aversion, which could lead to many wasted opportunities, ie. not starting own business, not investing in bitcoin etc.

[Jaycee99]

This is a long advice and a long situation for
I see that you have a link and notice that it is long. For me you do not did this just to show people what you want to spread or show. You should know that you can paraphrase this and summarize everything because  it is verybery long  

I say this is an lettle diverse talk. Time? Yes is good and it is having discipline body is a good thing while getting rich fir discipline is a better move for better future. Financial education on every way that we could use it.

[BitHodler]

I'm currently on the side of having every bit of free income invested in Bitcoin, purely because of the fact that there is so much upwards potential, that I would be stupid to not fully go for it.

I know there are risks to it, but I'm well willing to expose myself to these risks. I can openly say that without Bitcoin I wouldn't be that interested in economics and having something to focus on to better my financial position.

I would probably remain an average joe just working from 9 to 5 without any variance in life. In other words, I have a lot to thank Bitcoin for, and that in more ways than one. There just isn't a viable alternative.

[charlotte04]

Fed up with their high-pressure jobs, some millennials are quitting and embracing the FIRE movement. (It stands for financial independence, retire early).

Carl Jensen experienced what he calls “the awakening” sometime around 2012.

He was a software engineer in a suburb of Denver, writing code for a medical device. The job was high-pressure: He had to document every step for the Food and Drug Administration, and a coding error could lead to harm or death for patients.

Mr. Jensen was making about $110,000 a year and had benefits, but the stress hardly seemed worth it. He couldn’t unwind with his family after work; he spent days huddled over the toilet. He lost 10 pounds.

After one especially brutal workday, Mr. Jensen Googled “How do I retire early?” and his eyes were opened. He talked to his wife and came up with a plan: They saved a sizable portion of their income over the next five years and drastically reduced expenses, until their net worth was around $1.2 million.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2017, Mr. Jensen called his boss and gave notice after 15 years at the company. He wasn’t quitting, exactly. He had retired. He was 43.

Hacking Your Way to Retirement

Although Mr. Jensen’s story may seem exceptional, a more modest version of the stockbroker who makes a killing on Wall Street and sails off to the Caribbean, he is part of a growing movement of young professionals who are intently focused on quitting their jobs forever.

Millennials especially have embraced this so-called FIRE movement — the acronym stands for financial independence, retire early — seeing it as a way out of soul-sucking, time-stealing work and an economy fueled by consumerism.

Followers of FIRE tend to be male and work in the tech industry, left-brained engineer-types who geek out on calculating compound interest over 40 years, or the return on investment (R.O.I.) on low-fee index funds versus real estate rentals.

Indeed, much of the conversation around FIRE, on Reddit message boards or blogs like Mr. Money Mustache, revolves around hacking one’s finances: strategies for increasing your savings rate to the hallowed 70 percent, tips for cheap travel through airline rewards cards, ways to save nickels and dimes at the grocery store.

Some practice “lean FIRE” (extreme frugality), others “fat FIRE” (maintaining a more typical standard of living while saving and investing), and still others “barista FIRE” (working part-time at Starbucks after retiring, for the company’s health insurance). To be “firing” is to slash one’s expenses to maximize saving while amassing income-generating investments sufficient to support oneself. To have “fired” is to have achieved that goal.

“A lot of people think you’re a new-age hippie,” said Mr. Jensen, who sold his four-bedroom, four-bathroom house, downsized to a more modest home and maxed-out retirement accounts while firing. “They can’t even wrap their minds around it.”

In retirement, Mr. Jensen and his wife and two daughters plan to live on roughly $40,000 a year generated from investments. Because his wife currently works, they have yet to draw on those accounts. But already, it’s a life rich on time but short on luxuries: Groceries are bought at Costco, car and home repairs are done by him.

“People always assume there’s an external circumstance: ‘Oh, you must have received an inheritance,’” Mr. Jensen said. “We’ve just chosen to live far below our means. That itself is a radical idea.”

Equally radical is opting out of the work force in your 30s or early 40s, a time of life when men and women are normally leaning into their careers, or, less happily, enduring the daily grind to pay the bills until Social Security kicks in.

Jason Long, a pharmacist in rural Tennessee who retired last year at the ripe old age of 38, said his father had a hard time understanding why Mr. Long couldn’t continue to work and collect his $150,000 salary.

But Mr. Long said he was deeply unhappy in his job, where over his career he witnessed drug costs skyrocketing, sick people battling with health insurers and the over-prescription of opioids and the resulting addiction crisis. His customers, angry, confused, financially stretched, often lashed out at the person behind the counter.

“There were days when I had 12- or 14-hour shifts where I didn’t use the restroom, where I didn’t eat, because so much work was piled up on me,” Mr. Long said.

Like Mr. Jensen, he had been saving a sizable portion of his income over the past decade, and he and his wife had a paid-for house and an investment portfolio worth a little more than $1 million. Why stick around?

“The reality is the numbers are there for me,” Mr. Long said. “To go to a job that’s making you miserable every day, it doesn’t make sense to pad the bank account at that point.”

Why These Millennials Hate Work
Quitting the rat race isn’t a new concept. From the Shakers of the 1700s to the back-to-the-land hippies of the 1960s and ’70s, a strain of Americans has always embraced simple living. One of the bibles of the FIRE movement, “Your Money or Your Life,” which teaches readers to reduce their spending and value time (or “life energy”) over material gain, was published in 1992.

But Vicki Robin, who wrote that financial guide with Joe Dominguez, said the FIRE crowd is a different breed of dropout than those in the ’90s. “Our aim was not just to have a whole bunch of people quit their jobs,” Ms. Robin said. “Our aim was to lower consumption to save the planet. We attracted longtime simple-living people, religious people, environmentalists.”

The FIRE adherents are, by contrast, “very numbers oriented, fascinated by the minutiae of taxes and accounting,” Ms. Robin said.

They are also benefiting from an lengthy bull run in the stock market and, in some cases, the privilege of class, race, gender and background. It’s difficult to retire at 40 if you work a minimum-wage job, say, or have crushing student-loan debt, or did not have the same opportunities as others because you grew up poor in a crime-ridden neighborhood.

But if, as Ms. Robin said, FIRE adherents “don’t have the aspirational part” of earlier generations, why are they so determined to quit the work force? Many millennials haven’t been working longer than a decade, if that.

It’s about having agency, Ms. Robin said: “The worker in this economy has very little sense of control over their existence. People are expendable. You’re a young person and you look ahead and you say, ‘What’s there for me?’”

That accurately describes how Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung felt. The married couple from Toronto became minor celebrities (and the target of online haters) when they retired from their tech jobs in 2015 to travel the world full time. They were in their early 30s at the time.

Ms. Shen’s wake-up moment came when she watched a fellow I.T. colleague collapse at his desk after clocking 14-hour days and get hauled away in an ambulance. For several years before that, she and Mr. Leung, following the path laid out by their parents, had tried to buy a house in Toronto’s ever-escalating real estate market.

But, Ms. Shen said, “It didn’t matter how much you saved, it was a goal post that kept moving. And I was seeing people stressed out paying their mortgages.”

Though they had good educations and well-paying jobs in the booming tech sector, Ms. Shen and Mr. Leung faced the looming threats of outsourcing and artificial intelligence, and had no hope of a retirement pension, or even that their employers would exist in five years.

At the same time, their jobs were all-consuming, their work hours basically 24-7. Rather than chain themselves to a costly mortgage, and therefore to high-pressure jobs, the couple decided to pour their money into an investment portfolio and peace out.

“The rule books our parents have given us is advice that’s perfect for 1970,” Ms. Shen said. “We have to throw out that rule book and write a new one.”

Mr. Leung spoke of the challenges his generation faces more bluntly. “We don’t have jobs that will take care of us,” he said. “We have to take care of ourselves.”

Go Where It’s Cheap

By ditching a big city, Ms. Shen and Mr. Leung exemplify another underlying reason for the popularity of FIRE: the high price of urban life, especially in places like New York and Southern California. There’s the insane housing prices, the high cost of child care, the temptations of so-called lifestyle creep.

“We were spending nearly $3,000 a month on rent, and that was considered a good deal,” said Scott Rieckens, 35, who, along with his wife, Taylor, 33, and their infant daughter until recently lived in Coronado, Calif., a pricey beach town across the bay from San Diego. “We made something like $160,000 between the two of us, but we didn’t have a whole lot left over.”

After hearing a podcast interview with Mr. Money Mustache, a.k.a., Pete Adeney, who The New Yorker called “the Frugal Guru” (he retired at 30), Mr. Rieckens became fired up. He told his wife they should ditch their leased BMW and quit eating out several nights a week.

But even with those lifestyle cuts, the couple couldn’t increase their savings rate substantially unless they relocated to a cheaper community, a deleveraging tactic the FIRE crowd calls “arbitrage.”

The idea, Mr. Adeney said, is “to reap the high salary” of a place like Silicon Valley, “then take that nest egg out to any of the thousands of nice, affordable cities and towns we have in this country and begin a second stage of life on your own terms.”

Ms. Rieckens, who works in recruiting, was initially reluctant to give up her BMW and beachy life and the prestige that went with it, until she saw a retirement calculator that showed they could retire in 10 years if they adopted FIRE and moved, or when they are 90 if they continued their upscale lifestyle in Coronado.

“I never paid attention to the finances, I thought it will all work out,” Ms. Rieckens said. “After I had a baby, I had stress around how I could spend more time with her. I was almost a slave to my job because of the way we were living.”

Last year, the couple left Southern California in search of a community that would give them more financial freedom, a journey Mr. Rieckens, formerly a creative director for a creative agency, is chronicling in a documentary, “Playing With FIRE.”

They ended up in Bend, Ore., where there’s no state sales tax and they could afford to buy a house. Gas for their used Honda CRV with 186,000 miles (they got rid of the BMW and downsized to one vehicle) is a dollar-per-gallon cheaper than in San Diego, although Mr. Rieckens often rides his bike around town.

“The whole retire early thing is unimportant to me. It’s more about gaining control of your time,” Mr. Rieckens said. “If you dive into the definition of retirement, what you’re retiring from is mandatory labor. It’s not necessarily about piña coladas on the beach.”

When You Retire Before Your Parents
A retirement that starts well before you go gray and lasts 40, 50 even 60 years is an anomaly in modern life. How do you fill all those days, months, decades?

On a recent weekday afternoon, Mr. Jensen was taking his two daughters, ages 8 and 11, to the Boulder County Fair. “I told them, ‘O.K., we’re going to wait until Thursday for half-price day,’” he said. “And by the way, we’re walking there. It’s two miles from our house.”

Fearing boredom, Mr. Jensen at first took on way too much, and he found it strange to be at the local rec center exercising alongside senior citizens, or shopping at empty big-box stores on a Tuesday. He also beat his own mother to retirement, which made for awkward family get-togethers.

But one year in, he has settled into his life of leisure, enjoying time spent raising his daughters, making sure they never see him vegging in front of the TV. Mr. Jensen also practices an activity that for many FIRE achievers seems to be the new golf: writing a financial advice blog.

Other FIRE retirees turned bloggers include Early Retirement Dude; the husband and wife behind Our Next Life; the Frugalwoods, a young married couple with children, who wrote a book about their transformation from suburban Boston high earners to retired Vermont homesteaders; and Ms. Shen and Mr. Leung, who when not traveling the world are calling for a Millennial Revolution (“Stop working, start living”).

It’s hardly surprising that a tech-savvy generation would proselytize on the internet. Also, blogging can provide the holy grail of early retirement, an additional income stream.

Perhaps Mr. Long, the pharmacist in rural Tennessee, has given the most detailed, thoughtful account of someone who has fired. In a series of posts to Reddit’s financial independence message board, Mr. Long chronicled with dry wit and self-effacement his first year in retirement.

One month into FIRE, he wrote of the guilt he felt spending money (on video games), and his concern that he would be over his household budget. He spent his days with family, at the gym, doing housework, exercising. He had no regrets so far: “I made the right decision. This is life.”

In the second month, Mr. Long reported a 2.8 percent increase to his portfolio over the first two months, even after living expenses, and listed his accomplishments as more reading, more cooking, volunteering and “faster Rubik’s cube solves.” Stress levels were way down, he wrote: “A friend of mine said the sense of dread from my face was gone.”

In the months that followed, he rewatched the mini-series “Roots,” lost all interest in talk of FIRE now that he had achieved it, feared a looming stock market crash, had nightmares that “I’m back at work and arguing with morons,” finished a marathon in a personal best sub-three hours, felt moments of social isolation, took a two-week road trip across the heartland, and went twice to the beach in Florida with his wife and watched their net reach its highest point, despite not working, which he attributed to “the passage of the tax cut for wealthy job creators like myself.”

Oh, and he started a blog.

“My life is so much better than it was before,” Mr. Long wrote seven months in. “I hope everyone here finds this peace.”

Speaking by phone, Mr. Long acknowledged it was possible that he’d simply burned out, that all of this FIRE stuff was just a needed break until he found a more satisfying career. When he was recently offered a job back in the pharmaceutical field, it induced a mild panic attack.

That morning, he’d woken up on his own, “not when an alarm clock told me that I had a responsibility.” He’d read the news online for 30 minutes, went on a seven-mile run, took a nap and “watched the ceiling fan spin around for a little bit.”

He had been watching the movies from They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They? a website that ranks what it calls the 1,000 greatest films. He’d watched 600 or so. He had work to do.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/style/fire-financial-independence-retire-early.html

....

This is a long piece on financial freedom, retiring early, advice on how to save money and the so-called "FIRE" movement(Financial Independence Retirement Early) which I've never heard of before today.

I wonder if there is a similar movement revolving around bitcoin and crypto? I know there are many buying lamborghinis living beyond their expected means for their age group, due to being early adopters of crypto.

Perhaps in the future we'll see a crossover of sorts where FIRE adherants and crypto join forces. lol

Maybe when he was living in a environment not like this it can happen, but for know thing got a little difficult for us to do that but we should never give up and also try to do it for ourselves.

[shelemiah31]

You need to do a lot of hardwork for you to be able to do this.Have investment.Engage in crypto.Join bitcoin forum.Know about cryptocurrency.Be wise in investing.And most of all, save, earn and invest.

[Crypto one]

How many regular people  can save up 1.2 million dollars or more in just ten years, most people don't even get that kind of money from work in a whole work life.
Good for him that he had a good job with a nice salary, and he know how to save up, but for most people this is just not possible.

[odolvlobo]

How many regular people  can save up 1.2 million dollars or more in just ten years, most people don't even get that kind of money from work in a whole work life.
Good for him that he had a good job with a nice salary, and he know how to save up, but for most people this is just not possible.

Maybe not, but you don't have to save 1.2 million dollars.


If you spend half of your income and save the rest at 5% interest, then the yearly interest on your savings will be enough to pay for your spending after 16 years. So, if you save half of your income and are comfortable with your standard of living, then you can retire in 16 years, no matter how much you make. Of course if you save less, it will take longer. If you save 30%, it will take 26 years.

For every $10,000 income ...
Yearly Spending: $5000
Yearly Savings: $5000
Interest: 5%

Year	Spending	Interest	Total Savings
1	$5,000.00	$0.00	$5,000.00
2	$5,000.00	$250.00	$10,250.00
3	$5,000.00	$512.50	$15,762.50
4	$5,000.00	$788.13	$21,550.63
5	$5,000.00	$1,077.53	$27,628.16
6	$5,000.00	$1,381.41	$34,009.56
7	$5,000.00	$1,700.48	$40,710.04
8	$5,000.00	$2,035.50	$47,745.54
9	$5,000.00	$2,387.28	$55,132.82
10	$5,000.00	$2,756.64	$62,889.46
11	$5,000.00	$3,144.47	$71,033.94
12	$5,000.00	$3,551.70	$79,585.63
13	$5,000.00	$3,979.28	$88,564.91
14	$5,000.00	$4,428.25	$97,993.16
15	$5,000.00	$4,899.66	$107,892.82
16	$5,000.00	$5,394.64	$118,287.46

[pawel7777]

For every $10,000 income ...
Yearly Spending: $5000
Yearly Savings: $5000
Interest: 5%
<snip>

This looks nice and all, but you ignored inflation, which is a very important factor here. Assuming inflation at 2.5%, your interest effectively goes down from 5% to 2.5%, resulting in this:

Year   Spending      Interest     Total Savings
1    $5,000.00     $0.00     $5,000.00
2    $5,000.00     $125.00     $10,125.00
3    $5,000.00     $253.13     $15,378.13
4    $5,000.00     $384.45     $20,762.58
5    $5,000.00     $519.06     $26,281.64
6    $5,000.00     $657.04     $31,938.68
7    $5,000.00     $798.47     $37,737.15
8    $5,000.00     $943.43     $43,680.58
9    $5,000.00     $1,092.01     $49,772.59
10   $5,000.00     $1,244.31     $56,016.91
11   $5,000.00     $1,400.42     $62,417.33
12   $5,000.00     $1,560.43     $68,977.76
13   $5,000.00     $1,724.44     $75,702.21
14   $5,000.00     $1,892.56     $82,594.76
15   $5,000.00     $2,064.87     $89,659.63
16   $5,000.00     $2,241.49     $96,901.12

With median income for US of ~$45k (quick google search), that gives $10,087 annual interest, so less than half of what you need to maintain the same, frugal (dis)comfort of life, unless you manage to get better yield for your savings.

[odolvlobo]

This looks nice and all, but you ignored inflation, which is a very important factor here. Assuming inflation at 2.5%, your interest effectively goes down from 5% to 2.5%, resulting in this:
With median income for US of ~$45k (quick google search), that gives $10,087 annual interest, so less than half of what you need to maintain the same, frugal (dis)comfort of life, unless you manage to get better yield for your savings.

I purposely ignored inflation because it would add complication. On the other hand, a 5% return is on the low side. If you get 7.5% return with 2.5% inflation, you would be back on track.

BTW, you have shown how destructive inflation can be on retirement savings -- even at 2%, which the Fed considers to be "healthy".

[warriorcryptobar]

Or one could just sell their classy car they own to justify the life presented in the article.  Buy 100 eth and be doing nothing. A million dollars isnt rocket science. Its eth at $29,000 for a 100 coins, or the price of a honda accord new, which many people seem to own, yet so few a millionaire in 10 yrs.

[trecore4]

I highly doubt that this can be done in the current era. I mean people are earning loads of money everyday with the crypto currency but lets just be practical and think about the current situation of market, real life expenses and personal expenses. They are huge and any kind of amount you earn will have 50-60% of share will have spent on these expense. So you will have to earn 2x more to keep loading your bank accounts with huge money savings. Also, people will have to start their earnings as early as their 17's or 20's max so that in the next 10 years they can have billion in their account. I am sure that would be the money which they will need for their next 60-70 years if they wanna get retired by 30's. 

[renggileh]

Its ridiculous when you say about the lambo things, the point is not for being more consumptive to save the planets, not the contrary. The millennial should concern about long time-simple living, being more spiritual, understand about their self and be more environmentalist, not those who party everyday and spend those money to buy shit product.

you are right, no matter how much money we have if our lifestyle is too luxurious I think it will never be enough.
simple life is good, because I think money is not a guarantee of a happy life, there are things that are more valuable than money.

[theyRmose]

Its ridiculous when you say about the lambo things, the point is not for being more consumptive to save the planets, not the contrary. The millennial should concern about long time-simple living, being more spiritual, understand about their self and be more environmentalist, not those who party everyday and spend those money to buy shit product.

you are right, no matter how much money we have if our lifestyle is too luxurious I think it will never be enough.
simple life is good, because I think money is not a guarantee of a happy life, there are things that are more valuable than money.

very wise, I agree
Our lifestyle determines how much money we will spend on daily living needs. and a simple lifestyle is the best choice.
just don't be too stingy for yourself. 

[cryptolandlords]

The fear of the source of income at old age  make people to serve in government parastatel with the hope of pension. I see it as a way of managing poverty. Having your business empire can grant generational pension.

[tee-rex]

Free time is true wealth.

I don't know about that.  I've known quite a few people who live in shelters and who have no job, and the lives they lead couldn't be considered "wealthy", and I'm not just talking about them not having money.

Living a life of ease is something we all want when we're working 40 hours or more a week, but many people end up doing nothing with their lives when they do have free time.  Having a job has quite a few benefits aside from the paycheck, especially if you like what you're doing.  I have no plans to retire right now, as I like working.  It gives me purpose and a sense that I'm doing something worthwhile.

If you don't know what to do with your life when you have free time on hand, it means that you are wasting them, both your life and time. It is like wasting money and wealth, not very much different really. So free time is true wealth if you know what to do with it.

Regarding living a life of ease, it is definitely not what all of us want. For myself, I want my life to be positively challenging, and that is certainly not about having an easy life. We all need challenges to overcome if we want to experience our lives as productive and fulfilling. Having a job is not a substitute if your life is empty and has no meaning beyond that job. It is a crutch, though if you really like your job, it's okay, but this is not what this topic is about as I get it.

[pawel7777]

...
I purposely ignored inflation because it would add complication. On the other hand, a 5% return is on the low side. If you get 7.5% return with 2.5% inflation, you would be back on track.

Yup. And there's another upside: if, during those years, your expenses included mortgage payments - those will decrease or get fully paid off, so you'd need less income to keep the same lifestyle.

I highly doubt that this can be done in the current era.

Of course it can. It's not like we're talking about some ancient concept from the 60s. The key is to not get stuck in minimum wage, entry level job, as such would pay at, or below survival rate, leaving no room for saving.

... so that in the next 10 years they can have billion in their account. I am sure that would be the money which they will need for their next 60-70 years if they wanna get retired by 30's. 

The idea is not to eat through your savings until you die, but to accumulate enough money to generate you sufficient interest/investment income to live on that. Doesn't really matter if you live 20, 70 or 100 years of retirement.

[Thirdspace]

Mr. Jensen was making about $110,000 a year and had benefits, but the stress hardly seemed worth it. He couldn’t unwind with his family after work; he spent days huddled over the toilet. He lost 10 pounds.

After one especially brutal workday, Mr. Jensen Googled “How do I retire early?” and his eyes were opened. He talked to his wife and came up with a plan: They saved a sizable portion of their income over the next five years and drastically reduced expenses, until their net worth was around $1.2 million.

How is it possible they saved five years income to get net worth $1.2 million?
even if they didn't spend a dime, the total would be only $550,000 which means they started with net worth ~$650,000
most common workers would have hard time accumulating $1 million even in 10 or 20 years
this condition is hard to attain for regular people who are still struggling to fulfill his daily/monthly needs

I think anyone having over $100,000 yearly salary is considered mid-high class worker
and anyone having over $1 million saving/investment is already financially more than sufficient
if invested properly, it would easily generate enough to guarantee decent non-luxurious lifestyle

[Ladysmith]

Free time is true wealth.

I don't know about that.  I've known quite a few people who live in shelters and who have no job, and the lives they lead couldn't be considered "wealthy", and I'm not just talking about them not having money.

Living a life of ease is something we all want when we're working 40 hours or more a week, but many people end up doing nothing with their lives when they do have free time.  Having a job has quite a few benefits aside from the paycheck, especially if you like what you're doing.  I have no plans to retire right now, as I like working.  It gives me purpose and a sense that I'm doing something worthwhile.

I do like the extreme saving aspect of this.  Blowing your money on stuff you don't need is a recipe for disaster.  Feeling like you have to work just to pay for all the extras is not a path to happiness.

You have a point. If you enjoy what you do you'll never work a day in your life. Perspective is everything. The point is to not feel forced to be anywhere you don't want to be. If work is where you're most happy, then you are spending your time as you want, and you are "wealthy" in this sense of the term, as well as the other, I'm sure

Most people can't say the same, and spend the majority of their lives in what they consider to be corporate prisons, working to make someone else's dream a reality.

[tee-rex]

Mr. Jensen was making about $110,000 a year and had benefits, but the stress hardly seemed worth it. He couldn’t unwind with his family after work; he spent days huddled over the toilet. He lost 10 pounds.

After one especially brutal workday, Mr. Jensen Googled “How do I retire early?” and his eyes were opened. He talked to his wife and came up with a plan: They saved a sizable portion of their income over the next five years and drastically reduced expenses, until their net worth was around $1.2 million.

How is it possible they saved five years income to get net worth $1.2 million?
even if they didn't spend a dime, the total would be only $550,000 which means they started with net worth ~$650,000
this condition is hard to attain for regular people who are still struggling to save some money for retirement

His benefits may have by far exceeded his wages, though in this case the whole arithmetic is meaningless as he could have just received his severance pay and that would make up all his "savings" (or the best part of it). Besides, we know only his income but the author mentions that guy's wife as well, though he fails to mention her income. See where I'm getting at?

I think anyone having over $100,000 yearly salary is considered mid-high class worker
and anyone having over $1 million saving/investment is already financially more than sufficient
if invested properly, it would easily generate enough to guarantee decent non-luxurious lifestyle

That largely depends on a country. In some poor and underdeveloped countries people won't earn so much during their entire lifetime. On the other hand, you can save enough, then retire and move to a country where cost of living is substantially below the country of your income. This is what many elderly people from the US and other costly places do, by moving to Eastern European countries like Czech Republic or Slovenia where standards of living are still pretty high but costs of living are way lower at that.

[Samarkand]

...
Blowing your money on stuff you don't need is a recipe for disaster. 
...

And yet this is precisely what the big majority of people
are doing everyday. If you take a look at the average savings rate
in countries like the US, you will be shocked at the results.

People are bombarded with ads constantly and in
consequence develop the feeling that they really need that car or that vacation.
Some are even so stupid to buy depreciating assets like a car or a
new TV by going into debt.

Reducing your exposure to ads is the first step if you really
want to live a more balanced lifestyle without having to worry about
your finances constantly.

[pawel7777]

...
People are bombarded with ads constantly and in
consequence develop the feeling that they really need that car or that vacation.
Some are even so stupid to buy depreciating assets like a car or a
new TV by going into debt.

Reducing your exposure to ads is the first step if you really
want to live a more balanced lifestyle without having to worry about
your finances constantly.

The bigger problem is that we, as society, operate on social hierarchy system, with wealth being one of the indicators of high social value. There's an enormous pressure, especially on young people (with all their insecurities) to try to highlight their wealth (or fake it) with expensive phones, cars, holidays etc. And with loans, car finances, credit cards easily available, even low-earners can purchase flashy items creating a pressure on their peers to do the same.

[CASTIEL05]

FIRE stands for Financial Independence Retirement Early, this is yhe first time I encountered that acronym. Seems like it is good to hear that at age of 30, you are financial stable. But I think, it won't happen easily specially in my situation that I am just a normal person without any luxurious material. Anyway, everything in this world starts with nothing. I always dream to be successful and I am motivated to strive hard even in the darkest night. To dream is to believe that you can do it no matter how difficult the life.

[reyanshbasu]

This only means that, no matter how much you earn, your life is at stakes if you do not know how to spend your money wisely. If you have a high paying job but you have a lifestyle that will consume almost your income, then your job is useless. It won't help you out to retire early. Retiring at an early age should be done by changing your lifestyle first. Having a simple and practical life.

[pitiflin]

I have heard of similar stories, and even in bitcoin. So basically some hodler cashed out in december 2017, and now he's living a fucking good life. Its possible, a lot of people dream of it, but its not advisable. You're basically predicting things for your future. Its a risky step and isn't worth. There are lot of factors that aren't focused here. Cost in living in the future is gonna be so damn high, and so are the taxes. 1 million $ wouldn't be worth as much as it is now. What is USD gets devalued? Or god forbid,something worse happens?

[gambitcoin53]

bitcoin can certainly help people after retirement, but only if they are good in trading analysis, and since bitcoin is highly volatile, it is too risky to rely on bitcoin trading alone, you wouldn't want your retirement money goes to waste when you loose it in trading, retirement is not really the key to have money in your bank, that is only the result of your long term work, some people retire with nothing, especially now, money is undervalued because of the expenses, so if you are planning to retire, make sure it is worth your expenses, then half of it should go to investments, maybe diversify it to crypto and the tangible investments such as family business or property investments. you dont want to retire and plans to rent all your remaining life. be wise before you retire. 

[tee-rex]

bitcoin can certainly help people after retirement, but only if they are good in trading analysis, and since bitcoin is highly volatile, it is too risky to rely on bitcoin trading alone, you wouldn't want your retirement money goes to waste when you loose it in trading, retirement is not really the key to have money in your bank, that is only the result of your long term work, some people retire with nothing, especially now, money is undervalued because of the expenses, so if you are planning to retire, make sure it is worth your expenses, then half of it should go to investments, maybe diversify it to crypto and the tangible investments such as family business or property investments. you dont want to retire and plans to rent all your remaining life. be wise before you retire. 

While I strongly agree that in no case you should rely on bitcoin alone but that's for other reasons. It is not about being good at trading, analysis, or anything to that tune. The primary reason why you should not keep everything in bitcoin is because we don't really know whether bitcoin will still be around in a year (most likely it will) or in a decade (things become more at this point).

If we knew in advance that bitcoin would be sticking around still in that time, your trading skills, or lack thereof, would be irrelevant as long as you are aware of your weak sides. You could just keep your bitcoins, spend them when necessary, and then buy back what you sold whenever the price goes down. It is not a rocket science, so anyone and his dog can follow this simple strategy.

[ajoygb]

Well if i have that amount in my bank i will move out from my job and plab wisely. Invest to business and of course invest in crypto. Atleast i know it is now my time no boss, no pressure.
.

[Kakmakr]

For every $10,000 income ...
Yearly Spending: $5000
Yearly Savings: $5000
Interest: 5%
<snip>

This looks nice and all, but you ignored inflation, which is a very important factor here. Assuming inflation at 2.5%, your interest effectively goes down from 5% to 2.5%, resulting in this:

Year   Spending      Interest     Total Savings
1    $5,000.00     $0.00     $5,000.00
2    $5,000.00     $125.00     $10,125.00
3    $5,000.00     $253.13     $15,378.13
4    $5,000.00     $384.45     $20,762.58
5    $5,000.00     $519.06     $26,281.64
6    $5,000.00     $657.04     $31,938.68
7    $5,000.00     $798.47     $37,737.15
8    $5,000.00     $943.43     $43,680.58
9    $5,000.00     $1,092.01     $49,772.59
10   $5,000.00     $1,244.31     $56,016.91
11   $5,000.00     $1,400.42     $62,417.33
12   $5,000.00     $1,560.43     $68,977.76
13   $5,000.00     $1,724.44     $75,702.21
14   $5,000.00     $1,892.56     $82,594.76
15   $5,000.00     $2,064.87     $89,659.63
16   $5,000.00     $2,241.49     $96,901.12

With median income for US of ~$45k (quick google search), that gives $10,087 annual interest, so less than half of what you need to maintain the same, frugal (dis)comfort of life, unless you manage to get better yield for your savings.

A lot of people are beating inflation by relocating to third world countries where the Bank interest rates are higher than the first world countries. A uncle of mine worked in a first world country for 30 years in the Post Office and on his retirement income, he would barely survived.

His solution was to relocate to a third world country, where he got more interest on his savings and also a favourable currency conversion for the money that are coming from his first world retirement fund. He is currently living like a King in a third world country, with his Post Office pension fund income.   <He is also getting 8% interest on his savings>

[audaciousbeing]

Reading the article has actually widen my horizon to life differently. I have always thought about retiring early though but this has actually proven that its possible. There is also a way to look at that quite a number of people are not happy with their jobs and would want to retire early but they cannot because they are yet to make ends meet. This is even common in developing world where basic things that makes life easy for someone who is not greedy is not made available.

I wonder if there is a similar movement revolving around bitcoin and crypto? I know there are many buying lamborghinis living beyond their expected means for their age group, due to being early adopters of crypto.

Perhaps in the future we'll see a crossover of sorts where FIRE adherants and crypto join forces. lol

For me, I thing crypto is the surest way for anyone who is serious about not working till forever. There is no point working till 60 or 65 when you have enough wealth to sustain you. With crypto trading and activities, one can retire from working 8am to 5pm every day and waking up early to work and the hours increased as you move up in career ladder but crypto, you have your life in your hands to decide when you want to trade, make money, take vacation then relax with family. What kind of life is more fulfilling than that?

[btcrich2020]

Well if i have that amount in my bank i will move out from my job and plab wisely. Invest to business and of course invest in crypto. Atleast i know it is now my time no boss, no pressure.
.

Not only you, many people will enjoy and leave the job if they have 1 million in the banks, my always dream figure is 1 million in the bank but we cannot reach the target because we have to work very hard for it to reach the target.

[pawel7777]

...

A lot of people are beating inflation by relocating to third world countries where the Bank interest rates are higher than the first world countries. A uncle of mine worked in a first world country for 30 years in the Post Office and on his retirement income, he would barely survived.

His solution was to relocate to a third world country, where he got more interest on his savings and also a favourable currency conversion for the money that are coming from his first world retirement fund. He is currently living like a King in a third world country, with his Post Office pension fund income.   <He is also getting 8% interest on his savings>

That's definitely something to consider Sounds like a solid plan 'B' if everything else fails.

As always there are some downsides and obstacles: you'd need visa/residency permit etc, there's language barrier, and the higher interest rates almost always come in pair with high inflation and general instability.

[Kakmakr]

...

A lot of people are beating inflation by relocating to third world countries where the Bank interest rates are higher than the first world countries. A uncle of mine worked in a first world country for 30 years in the Post Office and on his retirement income, he would barely survived.

His solution was to relocate to a third world country, where he got more interest on his savings and also a favourable currency conversion for the money that are coming from his first world retirement fund. He is currently living like a King in a third world country, with his Post Office pension fund income.   <He is also getting 8% interest on his savings>

That's definitely something to consider Sounds like a solid plan 'B' if everything else fails.

As always there are some downsides and obstacles: you'd need visa/residency permit etc, there's language barrier, and the higher interest rates almost always come in pair with high inflation and general instability.

Yes, there is always upsides and downsides. Fortunately for him, he was old and all his relatives died and he met a nice lady in this country at his ripe old age, so he got married and he got permanent residency there. Compared to how Post Office workers gets paid in that country, he really lived like a King.

Life is just easier if you have more money, no matter what the challenges is.  

[SunJAB]

I remember watching videos related to this issue. The problem of human thinking and thinking if there is a million dollars he will retire early. According to statistical analysis, he lives only for enjoyment and has no value. Property is also not available and ask questions. If the bank goes bankrupt, what will he do?

[johny1512]

Not a bad idea if you have became millionaire in your thirties then i think you can leave job in order to make realize your employer that pressure can’t work more..

[louie69]

I would like the idea of retiring below 50 in which I am currently on my 40's and I would loved to know more about FIRE  movement by most of the young people retiring in their 30's and acquire such money in their banks having financial freedom. That is why I am participating in the cryptocurrency  just to observe  and learn how it works such that this could be the answer to become a financially free from being employed in a company where I could hardly grow with respect to promotion and free from financial shortcomings.

[valentine401]

Not a bad idea if you have became millionaire in your thirties then i think you can leave job in order to make realize your employer that pressure can’t work more..

It was not really easy to became a millionaire in your thirties because there is so much competition in this world, that is the reason why you should always learn something new.

[nikeel]

 Perseverance is key. as is visualization. But none of that hocus pocus crazy talk. Focus focus, dream big, and work hard with your passions. It will pan out in the end

[Oasisman]

I would like the idea of retiring below 50 in which I am currently on my 40's and I would loved to know more about FIRE  movement by most of the young people retiring in their 30's and acquire such money in their banks having financial freedom. That is why I am participating in the cryptocurrency  just to observe  and learn how it works such that this could be the answer to become a financially free from being employed in a company where I could hardly grow with respect to promotion and free from financial shortcomings.

Its really encouraging to hear about financial freedom and stuff like that, but the thing is, its very hard to execute. FIRE movement is like a plan or step on how to achieve the goal of retiring as early as 30 and not more than 40 to 50. Basically, it tackles about how to save and set aside some percentage from your monthly income, and avoiding the things that is unnecessary. What makes it difficult is, we human beings living our lives under stress and pressures from our day job, needs to unwind and eat a good food or drink for a little while to atleast lessen the load of stress and mental or psychological troubles.
Now, if youre so determined to retire early so you could enjoy life on the latter part after you have wasted your time from your job, then better start saving. But, you need to put in mind as well, once youre retired, the potential of heavy expenditures is pretty high, it could drain your funds gradually, while retirement pension is still  years ahead.

[tee-rex]

Now, if youre so determined to retire early so you could enjoy life on the latter part after you have wasted your time from your job, then better start saving. But, you need to put in mind as well, once youre retired, the potential of heavy expenditures is pretty high, it could drain your funds gradually, while retirement pension is still  years ahead.

Agree and support that part fully. If you retire early, you are basically on your own. So it is quite possible that at one moment you run out of money and end up under the bridge, figuratively speaking. In many countries if you don't work officially till reaching a certain age, you can't pretend to receive retirement support provided by the government. Therefore, it should be not about retiring early and living off your savings (that seems to be a bad idea), but rather procuring a stable and pretty high income that will be available during all your years of retirement.

But then could we actually call that an early retirement?

[lendahawkins]

I think we're entering into an age of "lifestyle optimization." People, in a general sense, are starting to focus more on happiness rather than pure profit. The internet and smart investing made this type of lifestyle possible in the first place, and will only evolve from here as the aspects of life that make people happy become less physical in nature. Free time is true wealth.

Yet in my country in indonesia its really hard to live if you sont have a money, there is no support from goverment and almost all of us not doing what they love and just work like robot to get money. So it would be really good if i could retire early with good amount of money, with that money i could live my life as i want and i want to do something that i love.

[Daseento]

Wow. It sounds so great but $1 million is a lot of money and majority will never make such money even if they save for 20 years. Moreover, It is possible to get tired of not working too or let me speak for myself, I enjoy working and would love to balance work and recreation than quit working entirely.

[jrrsparkles]

Wow. It sounds so great but $1 million is a lot of money and majority will never make such money even if they save for 20 years. Moreover, It is possible to get tired of not working too or let me speak for myself, I enjoy working and would love to balance work and recreation than quit working entirely.

You can't make that much amount of money if you are just saving your money you need to put those saving amount into something which has highest ROI probably bitcoin will be my choice.

[JC btc]

Wow. It sounds so great but $1 million is a lot of money and majority will never make such money even if they save for 20 years. Moreover, It is possible to get tired of not working too or let me speak for myself, I enjoy working and would love to balance work and recreation than quit working entirely.

That is a lot of money, I hope that I can have that big amount too in the future or before I got retired, although I admit that I don't have that enough money for now but still I am satisfied and thankful for the things I have right now and happy with it and still working for me to work more.

[el kaka22]

Apparently I am doing FIRE, well doing it a wee bit early though .
I have stopped working around 2017 January or so, ever since than I have not worked for anyone ever again and I have been supplementing my income with some freelance work but aside from that I have saved some money aside and trying to not touch that as much as possible.

I already own my home and I only need the small amounts for the grocery store costs and that is about it. Firing does sound great because you do not work for other people and have less stress and always doing whatever you want but know that you will have to live a lot more modest life than sometimes you are comfortable with, there are times I do yearn for more money.

[coly20032003]

I know some of my friends already have that amount of money in their bank account. They have a few property investment and other investment. But in high living expense area like California, one million may will not be enough to retire. But if you have some rental property which will bring you positive cash flow then it probably should be fine.

[milewilda]

Apparently I am doing FIRE, well doing it a wee bit early though .
I have stopped working around 2017 January or so, ever since than I have not worked for anyone ever again and I have been supplementing my income with some freelance work but aside from that I have saved some money aside and trying to not touch that as much as possible.

I already own my home and I only need the small amounts for the grocery store costs and that is about it. Firing does sound great because you do not work for other people and have less stress and always doing whatever you want but know that you will have to live a lot more modest life than sometimes you are comfortable with, there are times I do yearn for more money.

Letting yourself into the chains of 8-5 job forever wont really give you the chance even if you would really be promoted on higher position and reaching out those status wont really be that easy.Same situation we have here where i do quit my job and i do focus freelancing online together with crypto trading and other related investments which i can say this do really suits me.You are out of pressure and you do have the time.
Savings should be prioritize, we might not able to reach those financial freedom but atleast we wont really be problematic into those times on where we do need money.

[Slow death]

30 years is still very early, and depends on the job that the person has. if for example the person is the owner of the company and like what he does then he would have no reason to retire. The problem is when the person has a very boring job, for example people working in the gold mines that have their health at risk, they are looking for all possible ways to have an early retirement

there are lot of people who are millionaire now are not from the wealthy family but they earned lot of money in very short term just by the investing that is the only way to make more money and pay less taxes.

truth, if the person is smart and invest money for many years that will have enough money to retire

His solution was to relocate to a third world country...

But third world country has many problems, from politics to food and health

[jrrsparkles]

His solution was to relocate to a third world country...

But third world country has many problems, from politics to food and health

No one will like to migrate to a third world country because the quality of life in those countires are very bad so better to have the required money to spend the life i your nation is the real thing have to do,but you can start business in the third world countries which can give you much profits than the better developed nation but not all business will be profitable only the business like import and export.

[Conasse]

Not so difficult to retire at the 30s if you have 1 million. How yo get this 1 million dollar before your 30s is another story

[tee-rex]

His solution was to relocate to a third world country...

But third world country has many problems, from politics to food and health

No one will like to migrate to a third world country because the quality of life in those countires are very bad so better to have the required money to spend the life i your nation is the real thing have to do,but you can start business in the third world countries which can give you much profits than the better developed nation but not all business will be profitable only the business like import and export.

It is not about moving to third world countries like Afghanistan or Somali (though I don't know if the latter could count even as third world countries), or something less evil like Venezuela. There are quite a few countries in Central and Eastern Europe with pretty high living standards, low criminal rates, and friendly people, where the cost of living is lower than in countries like Switzerland, US or Japan.

I know a few fellow members from US who are now living in Thailand. Personally, I wouldn't move to live there, but that's their choice and their life.

[Supercrypt]

A lot of people are beating inflation by relocating to third world countries where the Bank interest rates are higher than the first world countries. A uncle of mine worked in a first world country for 30 years in the Post Office and on his retirement income, he would barely survived.

His solution was to relocate to a third world country, where he got more interest on his savings and also a favourable currency conversion for the money that are coming from his first world retirement fund. He is currently living like a King in a third world country, with his Post Office pension fund income.   <He is also getting 8% interest on his savings>

Nice one!
Sometimes, life necessarily does not have to be too hard; we just only simply make it hard for ourselves.
Living in a third world country as a king or living in the first world country as a struggler and hustler to make a daily living, which is by far better ?

Nevertheless, I do not understand why people tend to just subject themselves to unnecessary pressure of life over things they could have been able to manage. It does not necessarily have to be moving into a third world country, but like in the article, you will be surprised at how far you can achieve so much in little time just by being prudent and working towards the goal of retiring early.

We only have very few years to live on this planet, why waste most of it on a pressured lifestyle ?

[MULTIK888]

It is important not only to have a million dollars, but also to be able to dispose of them! Who are you if you can't handle them? Let's say you are given this million, will send you on deserved rest, and you will lose it in 3-5 years. Many people get a huge win just get drunk and end up bad.
If you yourself have earned this million, even if for bitcoin and you know how to handle the money you will not be lost . Many people begin to earn from an early age earning money anywhere, and mostly these people succeed.

[Viranz]

Invest in crypto currency? Maybe it's a good way if you want to increase your money if it's still lacking in that amount. But like gambling you must be prepared with all the possibilities that exist.

[Kakmakr]

His solution was to relocate to a third world country...

But third world country has many problems, from politics to food and health

No one will like to migrate to a third world country because the quality of life in those countires are very bad so better to have the required money to spend the life i your nation is the real thing have to do,but you can start business in the third world countries which can give you much profits than the better developed nation but not all business will be profitable only the business like import and export.

It is not about moving to third world countries like Afghanistan or Somali (though I don't know if the latter could count even as third world countries), or something less evil like Venezuela. There are quite a few countries in Central and Eastern Europe with pretty high living standards, low criminal rates, and friendly people, where the cost of living is lower than in countries like Switzerland, US or Japan.

I know a few fellow members from US who are now living in Thailand. Personally, I wouldn't move to live there, but that's their choice and their life.

Now that response is worth 1 merit. Yes, there are a lot of third world countries or a combination of 1st&3rd world countries out there, where the quality of living is very high. <Some of the smaller islands are mostly 3rd world, but it offers 1st world services for the middle class 1st world citizens>

A lot of the 1st world people want to escape the hustle and bustle of the bigger cities, when they retire and these are ideal locations for that.

Just ask John McAfee     

[Kevin77]

This needs to consider the fact that people who save also have enough money to go a month without spending all of their money.

In the world, there are people who do not have enough money to even live, pay bills and even eat properly. When you tell people to put money aside and retire early you are forgetting one key element that there are billions of people like me who spend very carefully and still have nothing left to show after certain days. If you are making enough and can save money that is amazing news!

Because you are one of the rich people in the world, people think the "rich" consists only of the wall street CEO types but no, if you are making 400k a year that makes you %1 richest person alive.

[tee-rex]

This needs to consider the fact that people who save also have enough money to go a month without spending all of their money.

In the world, there are people who do not have enough money to even live, pay bills and even eat properly. When you tell people to put money aside and retire early you are forgetting one key element that there are billions of people like me who spend very carefully and still have nothing left to show after certain days. If you are making enough and can save money that is amazing news!

Because you are one of the rich people in the world, people think the "rich" consists only of the wall street CEO types but no, if you are making 400k a year that makes you %1 richest person alive.

I perfectly well understand your point, but OP is talking about people who can actually save some money for their personal retirement fund but don't do that for various reasons. And this is not about extremely rich types like the ones you mentioned, either. Those don't need to save anything as they already have got enough and basically work just for fun (or out of greed). It doesn't mean that they can't end up under the bridge, but again this is not what the topic is about.

Regardless, we were all given pretty much equal chances with crypto in the very beginning. So if you were knowledgeable, insightful, or just lucky enough, your starting financial position didn't matter a thing. You could literally get tons of bitcoins for nothing, just by sticking around faucets and airdrops that had been giving away hundreds of free bitcoins.

[Menawi12]

If i have $1million in my bank account, i will put 50% on obligation and gain passive income and the rest put in several investment like property, stocks and put small amount to cryptocurrency.

[pocketfullofpoke]

Early retirement at 30s with 1M$ worth of money in the bank means you are really having a very good and high paying job. But you can do that even you're just an ordinary worker if you invest in cryptocurrency now. Hold them until you reach 30 years old and see how much money you got.

[Diablesfunis]

I've never heard of fire before but I agree that if you don't waste a lot of money on your daily expenditure and use that money to invest you'll have a nice portofolio and that can help you retire early. People lifestyle will change alongside with their income so that's why most of them don't spare any money for investment purposes, it's important to educate people that investment is an important thing to do.

[raging-creeper]

I did the opposite.  I saved a bit, bought land, started farming and put up solar.  I have my cost of living down to almost zero while still living large.  This crypto game is a blessing in disguise.  I can now earn without going to any job whatsoever.  Working isn't that bad as long as you work for yourself. 

[r1s2g3]

Retiring early is a myth and stupidity.Somebody so successful in early life will try to achieve new goals and hieght. They are not going to sit idle after achieving current goals( this is the very first reason they become successful).

[tee-rex]

Retiring early is a myth and stupidity.Somebody so successful in early life will try to achieve new goals and hieght. They are not going to sit idle after achieving current goals( this is the very first reason they become successful).

Retiring early doesn't mean that you are going to sit idle doing nothing. As far as I understand it, the point is providing yourself with enough sustenance, which is otherwise called a passive income. This allows you to get "fired" and not depend on a nasty boss for your living any more. After you reach such a point, you are free to do what you please. Indeed, you can start wasting your life and money, but people who are consciously and knowingly looking for early retirement typically do not belong to this category. In fact, they can start to work even harder, but not for money as such and not for a boss at all.

[aencarnaci]

A very lovely read and quite motivational. Sometimes, you really would not know what you are missing until you take a step back, reflect on the things you have been doing wrongly, and see how short it would take you to achieve the kind of life you want.

A lot of people have always lived above their means and not consider the future most of the time, and this sometimes can even be frustrating. It is more like sacrificing so much for so little, so instead, why not satisfy so little for so much. Life is all about learning from the non-satisfactory things and not repeating the same non-satisfactory things.

I have been quite prudent with my spending but I am Joining the Frugal FIRE brand immediately!

[maculeth]

$ 1 million is used for large business capital. so our business that runs, is the velocity of money and the brain, not the body. so we can enjoy those times. for example stock investment, or bitcoin.

[rickadone]

$ 1 million is used for large business capital. so our business that runs, is the velocity of money and the brain, not the body. so we can enjoy those times. for example stock investment, or bitcoin.

Well, there are always going to be opportunities every time and letting your money work for you have always been the saying of most people in the entrepreneurship space.

Definitely, not everyone can end up being smart, but as far as I am concerned, working towards retiring early, sacrificing some certain things for a better future is always a good way to enjoy the last part of your days in life, rather than working your butts off for a very long time without even having a thing to show for it than deteriorated health, low immune system as a result of daily struggles and stress, and so on. There is more to life if you can just be smart.

[TheLoser]

I think to have one million dolars in 30 years is enough to open your own business and start doing your favorite business, which will also bring in income. Sitting just like that on retirement in 30 years and doing nothing is too boring.

[onrise]

Invest in crypto currency? Maybe it's a good way if you want to increase your money if it's still lacking in that amount. But like gambling you must be prepared with all the possibilities that exist.

Investing in crypto and that too in best of the coins will help you to retire rich. If not now than in 5 years of time you will become millionaire easily if you invest in good btc and altcoins in coming time. Also ensure that you do invest on every dip.

[peter0425]

Retiring early is a myth and stupidity.Somebody so successful in early life will try to achieve new goals and hieght. They are not going to sit idle after achieving current goals( this is the very first reason they become successful).

Retiring early doesn't mean that you are going to sit idle doing nothing. As far as I understand it, the point is providing yourself with enough sustenance, which is otherwise called a passive income. This allows you to get "fired" and not depend on a nasty boss for your living any more. After you reach such a point, you are free to do what you please. Indeed, you can start wasting your life and money, but people who are consciously and knowingly looking for early retirement typically do not belong to this category. In fact, they can start to work even harder, but not for money as such and not for a boss at all.

Exactly, it doesn't mean that if you retire early, you will just sit and do nothing. Those people who are self made and become millionaires at their early age learn to re-invent themselves, not just in making more money or re-investing, but they learn new tricks up to their sleeves and like starting over. I think that's one factor you will see on lots of rich people, they learn to evolved and not resting on their laurels. Setting up new goals , new path to follow in order to achieve more in life, not just in terms of money but growing as individuals.

[Crypto Girl]

A lot of people have always lived above their means and not consider the future most of the time, and this sometimes can even be frustrating. It is more like sacrificing so much for so little, so instead, why not satisfy so little for so much. Life is all about learning from the non-satisfactory things and not repeating the same non-satisfactory things.

I have been quite prudent with my spending but I am Joining the Frugal FIRE brand immediately!

We've been fed up of culture of that we only live once and as they say YOLO, hence stop worrying the future and live in the present so you'll be able to enjoy what we have right now better yet don't spoil the future.

We live in a world that's nothing is permanent and if you keep worrying about the future we won't see the goodness today and discontented.

I'm not saying don't save for the future as we always wanted to live our remaining lives to its fullest but how about you don't wake up tomorrow and all the money you save will be useless and unluckily you don't have the chance to enjoy every single of it.

[tee-rex]

I'm not saying don't save for the future as we always wanted to live our remaining lives to its fullest but how about you don't wake up tomorrow and all the money you save will be useless and unluckily you don't have the chance to enjoy every single of it.

Yeah, nothing is granted. No one is even granted or guaranteed to wake up next morning at all, so waking up with your money worth nothing may actually not look like the worst option. There's a saying that you should live every day like it was your last day, and one day you'll be right. On the other hand, if we took this saying too serious, then our allegedly last day on earth could actually turn out the last one if we decide to live it to its fullest as we see it.

The point is that there are always hidden options, trade-offs, loopholes, reservations, caveats, and the whole host of other things which can easily make any such idea look like its opposite.

[d1ceplayer]

Retiring early is a myth and stupidity.Somebody so successful in early life will try to achieve new goals and hieght. They are not going to sit idle after achieving current goals( this is the very first reason they become successful).

You are actually missing the point here. Firstly, there are certain things you can easily do in your early years in life that when you reach a certain stage will be difficult to achieve which is why trying to make those things achievable quickly is usually a good way to start than trying to achieve those things when your bones, mental alertness, and so many other things are struggling with little strength to drive them.

It is certainly not about being idle, it is just about saving up and investing in things that would give you time in the long run but that certainly depends on how smart you want to be anyway.

[deloreswest]

Well i been reading about this and i also attend a talk about retire early before 40s. Live is all about choices and if you do good at all choices in your life i think it would completly possible and investment is crucial in your future financial.

[tee-rex]

Retiring early is a myth and stupidity.Somebody so successful in early life will try to achieve new goals and hieght. They are not going to sit idle after achieving current goals( this is the very first reason they become successful).

You are actually missing the point here. Firstly, there are certain things you can easily do in your early years in life that when you reach a certain stage will be difficult to achieve which is why trying to make those things achievable quickly is usually a good way to start than trying to achieve those things when your bones, mental alertness, and so many other things are struggling with little strength to drive them.

It is certainly not about being idle, it is just about saving up and investing in things that would give you time in the long run but that certainly depends on how smart you want to be anyway.

People continue to think along this way because they likely don't see how it is possible to live and let others live without working for a boss or being a boss themselves. In this way, they come to think that when people retire, early or otherwise, they literally retire from any purposeful activity while it just means doing what you like most of all in your life.

Naturally, working for a boss doesn't belong here, so we come to an idea of early retirement. Perhaps, this is an incorrect usage, a misnomer of sorts, but for the lack of a better term, we use it.