I was just thinking about this today. No matter how much I tell people the benefits of pursing FIRE (financially independent retired early), most people won’t. And that’s not only a good thing, that is a necessity.
Take another goal, such as getting healthy. I think everyone would agree getting healthy is good. Everyone would love to get healthy, if they are not already. While only a proportion of the population will do what it takes to achieve this, whether it is changing their diet, making time to exercise, etc., the point is however, this is a goal that everyone can potentially achieve. Having a some people achieving health does not negate others from achieving the same thing.
It’s just not the same with FIRE. Pursuing FIRE requires the majority of people not to pursue it. One of the foundational requirements of FIRE are to have solid investments. Solid investments require a working economy. And for a working economy to occur, we need people to work their jobs, and then take that money and spend on things. The more people work, the more people earn their money, the more they spend on, the stronger the economy. The stronger the economy, the better investments perform.
Even when you drill it down, you’ll see you still need others to work. If you own a bunch of residential rentals that provide income, you need tenants that work in order to pay your rent. One of the most popular business books is “The 4 hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss. Essentially, he farms out work to other people, so essentially he works minimally to keep his business running. In other words, he needs a whole lot of people to do his work for him, so that he can reap the rewards.
Imagine a situation where we have in the USA the majority of people retiring in their 30s or 40s. The economy would literally collapse, which means those same “retired” people would need to come out of their retirement since their savings/investments would go bust. It wouldn’t work. The only way to retire in your 30s or 40s, is for the masses to continue slaving away at their jobs and spending their income on goods and services.
In the process of pursuing FIRE, just about everyone around me was telling me I should spend more. What they don’t know was that I was buying the most important thing of all — time. Time that I would otherwise need to spend working, I can do with what I please. The earlier I reach financial independence, the more time I just bought. They don’t get it. But that’s not only ok, it’s a necessity.
Just know if you are pursuing FIRE, it’s a pretty lonely path. Most people around you won’t get it. But just remember, it’s necessary for it to be that way.
