Another look at FIRE
Good Morning
When I first created this site in February 2017, I made a post about why I was against FIRE. Check that post out here. It basically went on that, I like my job and would get bored not working. Being young we have great health and should be going on vacation now and basically to enjoy life currently.
It’s now December, so 10 month’s later. I feel I have changed my tune a bit. Reading all these other blogger’s, has lit a fire under me to get better. I also listen to a couple podcasts – Dave Ramsey (not so much fire) and Choosefi. So I ask my myself what was wrong with me to say I was against fire.
What Is Fire?
If your new to the concept FIRE stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. Financial Independence is basically creating a passive income stream through various means to support the lifestyle you would like to live without relying on a working income. Retire Early is basically as it sounds. The average person retires between 60 and 70, in fire you would like to retire earlier. Let’s say 40-50. To do this generally you invest as much as you possibly can right now, cutting back however you can.
Online Community
Since creating my website and truly interacting with the community. ( I did before but just on comments) I feel like I’m more engaged and feel compelled to constantly be improving our finances. To date we have increased our forward passive income approximately $9,000 since getting online. That is the community aspect…. It seriously is.
The Drive
The monthly passive income reports everyone does just show it working. While at the start of this journey I felt the snowball growing, now I can taste it. Fire is now possible, not just some mirage in the distance. All over the internet you can see people just killing it and getting closer or achieving FIRE.
More Time
I stated in my first fire post that I love my job, and with more time I would get bored. You need a purpose every day to get up. Looking at it now, seems dumb. I wish I had the option to work whenever I wanted. A job that I only needed to work at for a couple hours in the morning and then have the rest of the day to do whatever seems like a way better option.
We all have read about J money’s sale of rockstar finance. He owned a website that he was passionate about and was turning over a solid cash flow. After debating it a couple times, he decided to sell it to be a stay at home dad and spend more time with his kids vs working all the time. That’s what fire is all about.
Vacations
At the time I thought everyone chasing fire threw every cent they had towards fire. Obviously I was way off. There is tonnes of different bloggers achieving fire without going to the extremes. Sure having a high savings rate helps you get there sooner. Nothing wrong with that. We just got back from a night at great wolf lodge, sure that money could of went to investments but didn’t. The cool thing is because of all the investments we have made this year, our dividend income this month will easily “cover” the night and expenses at great wolf lodge. Last year we couldn’t say that!
Spending
Now I’m not saying I make it rain and throw money around like woah. (Black Rob) I am cheap when it comes to certain things. Vacations and Family time I am never cheap, but always keep a mental note of our spending. If I can save a buck I will. Lots of people online have great ideas to save some money ranging from cooking and groceries, travel hacks and even reducing bills. (Check out my post about reducing bills here.)
Conclusion
So less than a year later and my eyes are wide. It was dumb to be against fire. Who wouldn’t want to work whenever they felt like it? Go away on weekdays because its cheaper and not worry about your pay cheque? Why would you not want a passive income that pays you when your sleeping? It was a rookie mistake/mindset. Again by listening to financial podcasts and being part of this online financial community it makes me hungrier. No double whooper with cheese combo is going to fulfill this hunger!
Again if you aren’t online blogging about your journey why not? Check out my post about why everyone should be online. Leo, Dividend geek, Matt, Lanny, Bert and others are great cheerleaders and wear the skirt nicely!
Hey I’m Rob, creator of Passive Canadian Income.
In 2011 me and my wife had almost $60,000 in debt and a negative $7,000 Net Worth. Through hard work and financial education we paid all that off. Now we are focusing on increasing our Passive Income Streams to make the money work for us. Feel Free to Follow along the Journey by clicking the Social Media links below or subscribing to get notified of new posts on the sidebar.
Nothing prevents you from achieving fire and then working only as much as you want. I have been retired for two years and do not need any income but I need to work some to stay happy. So I work about two days a week and really enjoy it. It also pays extremely well, I’m my boss and control my schedule for the most part. It is way better than my 9 to 5 which wasn’t bad. But this is way better. It is the choices being FI gives you that are so great!
Hey Steve. Thanks for swinging by. I agree. I think this post I mentioned when I retire i would enjoy working a couple hours a day. Just to give me something to wake up for each day. Congrats on your semi retirement and hitting fi!
I will be cheering, but I refuse to wear a skirt.
Here’s my two cents about achieving FIRE. When people hear about it, they automatically associate FIRE with just RE and missed the whole FI, financial independence part. It’s important to achieve FI because it provides you with the option to choose if you want to retire early or not.
Once I achieve FI, I will no long have the following money worries:
– how will I survive without an employment income?
– who’s going to support me if I can no longer be employed?
– where’s the fund to pay my daily expenses coming from?
– will my kids be able to afford post secondary education?
Another funny things about people’s perception about early retirement is that people don’t know what to do with their free time, while most people would claim to be too busy if you ask them about their current life style. What are they busy doing? Do you really want to work until your last breath? I sure wouldn’t.
Good points leo and i like how you separated the fi and re. Fi should be the main thing everyone focuses on!
What you mean no skirt? Dammm.
I do hope that I began to invest early so that I could have more options right now with both of my kids are very active in all the out of schools program.
For me, I think being financial independent is a great thing. It does not mean you have to retire, but you will have much more choices with your life. I am struggling with my schedule everyday with having to drive my kids everywhere. My working schedule is different everyday too and sometimes I have to work in the evenings to catch up with the work. Your kids are still very young and you do not have that kind of worry yet.
In the other hand, actually financially we will do OK if I go home to be a stay home mom. Without any debt, not even a mortgage, my other half can certainly provide for the family. But I am kind of reluctant to do that either. I am doing very well with my job in a field there are not so many female professionals and working makes my life more meaningful and fulfilling for sure. I worked hard to get where I am now and I am proud of it. So I understand why you said you are against FIRE.
Let’s separate FIRE and Financial Independence. Do our best for Financial Independence, without sacrifice living quality of course. Once we get to that point, we can decide whatever we want to do, FIRE or not FIRE.
Also, I think it’s pretty sad to have to work after 65 just because you need the income. I would like to be able to retire before 55. Then most likely I will continue to work, but the decision of working or not will not be based on that I have to have that salary.
Hey May great points. Having no mortgage would be huge. Congrats on your career as well. Sounds like you are doing very good. I couldnt be a stay at home dad either, i would go stir crazy but if i decided to work a couple hours a day that would help alot.
Cheers May
Glad to see that online community had some positive effects on you. You just got inspired to stay hungry and crush some bigger goals! And you know how to get a good balance between money savings, vacations and family time. Can’t wait to see how you do in a year time. Keep up the good work!
Hey Income, Thanks me too! There is no question this community makes everyone better and keeps everyone going. I love being a part of it.
I think the problem is that when you start talking about early retirement, people’s thoughts immediately go in a certain direction. Takes time and effort to correct that.
Hey Mr. Its true, Im guilty of that, Mindset is a very powerful thing. I have a friend who always talks negatively about the rich, I pointed out that he will never be rich since he is always bashing them and created this negative persona about being rich. We all need to watch what we think about.
FIRE gives you the option of doing work you enjoy instead of working at a job you do not really want. Statistics have shown that over 75% dislike their jobs. Every place I have ever been worked at, the boss was cranky and threatened to fire people in hopes to get better productivity.
Having multiple sources of income will reduce stress and improve your overall quality of life. Work on projects you get enjoy a big reason to aim to get out of the rat race.
Some people went extreme towards FIRE, such as Jason Fieber of mrfreeat33.com.
hey Pursuit, yeah the statistics is pretty mind blowing. I have had a couple of those jobs but was fortunate enough to not need the money at the time and would just leave them. I try to be a good leader for our guys and not piss them off. Morale is a huge factor to productivity. Its true the multiple sources definitely is nice! Jason was extreme but I like his style. If it weren’t for family all around us I think I would make the move for a lower cost of living and a more relaxing life.
Cheers
Every one should try to achieve financial independence. I wish, I had started early like you. When working is optional, you will enjoy the work and life more. This is the wisdom, I am trying to give to people around me.
Hey pell thanks. Sounds like good advice.
Cheers!