Why write about F.I.R.E?

I’ve been asked before- Why write about F.I.R.E? Well read on, and I’ll hopefully explain why. Every week this blog, and many others are featured on a weekly list of blog posts on Reddit- this is last weeks.

It’s well worth a read, since everybody tends to talk about very different topics each week (though, in the past couple everybody seems to have been talking about Coronavirus). They are mostly usually on topic and give different (but usually same direction) of what they are doing to get to their F.I.R.E goal/target. Some have already gotten there, some have disappeared- no longer bothered to update their blogs

So, why am I writing about F.I.R.E?

Well, I have a number of reasons really- but they are basically:

• I like sharing knowledge rather than keeping it- you should question those that keep knowledge for themselves, why are they doing that?
• I think it’s healthy to discuss things with others- to see different points of view
• The consumption society that we are in is unhealthy- FIRE is the opposite to this.

Sharing Knowledge

What is the use of knowledge if you don’t share it? Does anybody even know if you have it, if you aren’t willing to open up about what you know? The more sharing that is done, the more questioning/critiquing and learning can then be done. I don’t think for a moment that F.I.R.E is suitable for everybody- if you have a large family, or live in a very high cost of living area, it’s going to be nearly impossible.

It doesn’t even have to be the F.I.R.E way or noway, it can be a mixture of the two. Maybe that’s retirement 5 years earlier than was expected. Maybe it’s taking an extended holiday/career break for a year or 5. Some of the F.I.R.E techniques can be used to make this a possibility.

Healthy debate

If this is your first time reading about F.I.R.E- well, firstly welcome! Secondly, you probably don’t realise that there are a couple of well known (well, ish) people who are totally against F.I.R.E- laughing at those who want it, and those that do it. Most debating is healthy- it’s good to talk to others that don’t understand, or have enough information about a subject. It should only make the subject/tool/thing stronger.

Negativity tends to only come about when something is misunderstood. I think for F.I.R.E that has a number of angles- what do people do once they retire at 30/40? Is it just about spending as little as possible?- even into retirement? I think debate about this can only help clear up what F.I.R.E means to the individual.

Consumption society

Most people have way more than they need to function in society. Whether that is a new car every 2 years, a new phone every year, or just a house with more bedrooms than they actually need. Pretty much everybody over-consumes in one way or another. F.I.R.E isn’t just about over consumption, but it certainly shows you that if you can reduce your spending (which is basically all consumption is) then you can retire earlier than the average person.

Surely if we all just stopped spending money tomorrow, the entirety of society would collapse? Well, quite possibly, but can you really imagine that many people would actually stop consuming entirely? Of course not, people still need to eat, to go places, to see things/do things. Instead, if we really thought about how we were spending our time/money, we could ensure we really are getting the best out of our limited resources.

Have I answered the question I posed- “why write about F.I.R.E? Any Questions/Comments?

Please just comment below, would love to hear anybody else’s thoughts etc.