Of recent days and months the Thought Police are out and about, questioning whether once you have achieved Financial Independence (FI) and chosen to Retire Early (RE), hence FIRE, you should never do anything at all that earns money, ever again. Really?? This post has been inspired by a great post I read recently by Fritz at The Retirement Manifesto – Is the FIRE Community Full Of Hypocrites?
I retired early in 2011, aged 56. I didn’t hear about FIRE until 2016. If I had heard about it in 2000, it would have focused my ideas much more clearly, and I would probably have retired when my younger son left university in 2007. I would have been in such a lot better place mentally and physically, and possibly financially as I would have moved a lot of money out of bank shares into different investments prior to the banking crash. (Oops – Too many eggs in one basket!)
So what does FIRE mean to me?
Financial Independence is a very worthy goal in itself, regardless of what you do once you reach there. To be debt-free alone is such a relief. We achieved this in 2004, when we cleared our mortgage. We went round with a huge smile on our faces for days afterwards. However to be truly financially independent takes hard work and not a little sacrifice. Delayed Gratification. Do you want a bigger house, or do you need a bigger house? Do you want shiny new things, or do you need shiny new things? A conversation with several people in their 30’s recently went along the lines of – we want to enjoy today, not worry too much about tomorrow. They want the nice house and smart cars, and they don’t mind working for it. Yes, they would like not to have to work, but not enough to forego pleasure today. Another couple of younger friends have already FIRE’d and are loving it. They have 2 young children and have time to spend as a family. They haven’t stopped work altogether, because they don’t want to, but it fits round what they want to do. They’re based in Europe, and you’ll find them at What Life Could Be. This is obviously a current question, because they just published a post last week on What do you do when you retire.
Want or Need?
Photo Credit Unsplash, Eduardo Flores
FI / FIRE is not a rule book
The whole concept of Financial Independence reflected ‘breakthrough thinking’. It was innovative, it challenged the way people thought, and continues to do so. Why work 9-5 until you’re 65, accept your small pension, and dodgy financial situation? Pension poverty is a very real issue. So are stress, burnout, unemployment, mental issues. Personally, after 4 years of being away from home, week in, week out, I hit the wall, and said enough. I did the sums and worked out I no longer needed to work, so I stopped. I had a choice. I was Financially Independent, although I had never heard the term then.
A few years ago, my younger son introduced me to Mr Money Mustache, then I stumbled across the Rockstar Finance Forum, full of people interested in FI, many money bloggers among them. They inspired me to set up this blog, partly to tell my FI story, but more to celebrate how great life is in Retirement. I’ve written many posts on the subject (97 of my posts are tagged retirement. Wow!).
I also chased down this very appropriate post from 2 years ago by Monevator, on why he doesn’t use FIRE acronym for Financial Freedom
FI is only the starting point, it’s not the end
Financial Independence gives you choice. By getting there when you are young, you can write your own story. You are not tied to ‘Big Corporate’. You can choose to work, you can choose to stay home. You can do a bit of both. It is your own blank sheet of paper. In my opinion, those who achieve FI young, are High Achievers, they are driven people. They are very unlikely to stop ‘doing’, they just want to do different things, or do things differently. They’ll probably take up new challenges and grow new skills.
You can do whatever you want, but what are you going to do? After the first few months of relaxing, I suspect you’ll start getting twitchy. So what are you going to do with the rest of your days. I had a shot at addressing this in You’re Financially Independent – What Next? but the reality is I only touched the surface.
It is indeed true, that many people ‘Retire Early’ then after the initial euphoria, suffer from loss of status, get depression or just don’t have enough to keep themselves occupied. I know of one person who went back to work twice having retired early. His comment was there’s only so many games of golf I want to play. His wife was still working, and he was basically lonely, and found it hard to motivate himself. His wife has now retired, he is also happily retired, and they are always on the move.
So Plan for Retirement…
In my view, retired means retired from having to work. It doesn’t mean you are doing nothing. How boring would that be? However you spend your time, you choose to do it, you don’t have to. Look around at your friends and family who are retired, whatever age they are. Unless they are really elderly or infirm, the vast majority are doing something. Many look after children, grandchildren and/or parents, others volunteer, some do a bit of part-time work. Others enjoy regular meet-ups with a wide range of friends.
Hence while you are on your FIRE journey, take some time to plan what you will do when you have achieved FI. You might want to still have a few things on the move that earn you some income – rentals, blogs, investing. Travel might be on the list, do some research.
Also, many people have found an occupation they enjoy so much that they don’t want to retire from it. Look at Warren Buffet, he hasn’t retired. (He was recently quoted in the Financial Times as having more fun than any 88 year old in the world.).
My husband falls into this category. He retired ‘slightly early’ at 63 rather than 65. A few weeks after he left, his firm contacted him to see if he would be prepared to work part-time from home. He jumped at the chance! Now he works half-time, doing the work he enjoys (engineering maths!), when he wants to do it. He has no admin to do, no staff management, no office politics! It doesn’t matter if he is working at 10pm in his pj’s. He wanders into the office once a month or so, catches up face to face, and takes part in any interesting outings. It doesn’t restrict our travel plans in any way. He’s happy, I’m happy! Technically we didn’t plan for this, but it has worked out really well. (The money is useful too – it all goes into his pension pot, which has both tax benefits and inheritance tax benefits!)
It’s your life – your choice
So to the Thought Police out there. Rest Easy. Everybody is entitled to their own opinions, and there are many definitions of ‘Retired’. If someone wants to earn $500k by running a blog with loads of advertising revenue, that’s up to them. They may consider it fun rather than work. Leave them be!
The FI part of FIRE gives Freedom of Choice. After that, the choice is theirs, and theirs alone.
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Retirement brings many joys, including freedom from worrying about the Thought Police! Great post.
Hi Donna
I totally agree. A lovely feeling!
Erith
Exactly! Your whole blog is one big ode to the joy of being retired, and you certainly aren’t sitting on the sofa watching Jeremy Kyle! Although as you say, if someone who reaches FI wants to sit on the sofa watching Jeremy Kyle, that’s their choice and it’s noone else’s business 🙂
HI Mrs W
All options open indeed – hope your FI meetup goes well. Sounds like you’re going to be busy!
Erith
Thanks, we’re manically trying to sort out the last-minute details, but it’s going to be really fun 🙂
I’ll think of you when we are in Istanbul next week!
Totally agree with your post. Being FI doesn’t mean you need to retire and do nothing ever again. There plenty of retirees staying active with part time work, volunteering, mentoring, etc. With many being remunerated for their effort.
In my personal experience, I reached FI at 34 by accident, I have been just as busy, being semi-retired over two years now, as I was during my busy career days. And yes, I also plan to go back to work for a few more years as my partner wants to go back to work.
There is no one right roadmap on how to get to FI and how to apply it. That is also the beauty of life. The best thing about FI is that it gives you full control over your life.
PS: I also discovered FIRE after doing the numbers and taking the plunge into the unknown world of ‘retirement’.
Hi Financial Gladiator
Sounds like you have absolutely got everything in the right place. Well done. There’s nothing like having choices, A| great position to be in.
Well done
Erith
Nice post, thank you!
I completely share your perspective. FIRE should not mean forced retirement. The important difference between FIRE and not FIRE is that you don’t have to necessarily do a job. It could very well mean that you still want to do do a job you like, maybe taking different choices than when having to do the job.
Personally, I have not FIRE’d yet and I am not sure I would immediately quit my job once I reach financial freedom.
All the best and enjoy early retirement
Lukas – author of myfinancialfreedom.blog
Thanks Lukas – Sorry for the delayed reply – I was off enjoying myself in Istanbul – one of the benefits of retirement. My husband is enjoying himself balancing a bit of work with a lot of retirement – each to their own!
Erith
I chose to leave work earlier and have replaced it with a variety of freelancing and consulting things. I can’t just sit around and I like to work when it is my choice and I get to work on my things on my schedule. My husband will retire next spring. I am looking forward to being able to travel unrestricted by time. I don’t see him playing that much gold either. We’;; set what the next step will be but it is exciting.
Hi Michele
It sounds like you have a good balance at the minute, and some good times ahead for you both, too.
Erith
Hi Erith, I retired at 57 to spend more time with my husband who had retired early and is 9 years older than me. Yes, after a few months, I got the twitches because I struggled to accept that I wasn’t tied to a job or time anymore. My time was my own and that was scary – how to fill in the endless days? I started the blog, and now at almost 62 I’m contented. I still try new things, keep learning, spend time with my grandsons and blog. Everyone is different and whilst we can be guided we all have to find our own path in life don’t we? Thanks so much for sharing at #MLSTL and have a great week. I’ll be sharing on Social Media. xx
Hi Sue
Isn’t it great to be able to do what you want, when you want to do it! You must really enjoy spending time with your grandsons, as well as some blogging. It was a great idea that you and Leanne had, to set up #MLSTL. It has certainly widened my reading!
Erith
Yes it is interesting to read and learn of how different people approach retirement. Quite by dint of circumstances I have had 3 retirements and this is my final one. At almost 70, with a secure but small pension income, married and coming through a cancer that took a lot from me in the last few years I am happy (now!) to say I AM retired.
Thanks for sharing.
Denyse #mlslt
Hi Denyse
Thanks for stopping by. For me, it’s all about choice. I’m glad you are making a recovery from your cancer. It is such a horrible disease. I have read a few of your posts on your journey. Sounds like you know what you want from your retirement
Erith
Hi Erith – this is soooo relevant to my situation atm. If you’ve read any of my recent posts you’ll know I’ve left my job and the more I’m away from the workforce, the less inclined I am to return. We fit the FI label and my husband still works (from home). I’m enjoying the freedom and not having to kowtow to the whims of an employer. It’s only been a couple of months, maybe I’ll get bored down the track, but so far so good – and it’s nice to read something positive on the subject – so thank you!
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂
Hi Leanne
Thanks for the share. As mentioned to Sue, I think #MLSTL is a great idea!
I really haven’t found anything about retirement I don’t like. Particularly the flexibility. No door is closed, you still have all the work choices you had before, but knowing you can choose is the important bit.
Have fun, and take your time deciding!
ERith
I enjoyed reading this post.
I’m 56 this year and am still working full-time (teacher) and wrestling with the decision of whether to go part-time next year or not.
I could probably afford to retire now, but I’m single and so I want to have a bit more than ‘enough’ in the coffers when I pull the pin on the job.
My best friend retired a couple of years ago and she’s as happy as a pig in muck!
Hi
I absolutely understand your decision to make sure you have ‘enough’. It all comes back to choices! You have the choice to continue as you are, reduce your hours, or stop altogether. (And let alone the extra salary, the extra year on your pension also helps…) For nearly 2 years before we retired, we put ourselves on a ‘pension diet’, and essentially lived on our anticipated retirement income, just to make sure we were very comfortable that we were doing the right thing. That gave us the confidence to know we would be safe and secure. 8 years on, that continues to be the case, we still live well below our income.
The enjoyment your best friend is having in retirement will give you confidence that you’ll enjoy retirement too.
Erith