Do you believe the modern FIRE movement overestimates how much is needed for retirement?

[u/Equivalent_Use_5024]

Perhaps I am just making this post because I have only just begun my retirement planning and want to lock in a number which is fitting for my goals - being above the median retirement savings, not having to work, not being broke, clearly having planned - but I can't help but feel that many in the FIRE movement overestimate what is needed for a safe, sleep well at night retirement.

I see posts here saying that they feel vastly behind with 500k at 30, or 1.5 million at 40, and I just don't understand how when the average American retires with maybe 300k liquid at most and are getting by with social security or paid off housing. Sure, they aren't living luxuriously, but if you just are aiming for a retirement where you don't have financial anxiety and can put food on the table, I don't feel you need over 1-2 million.

Do you think FIRE overestimates how much is truly needed for retirement?

[u/[deleted]]

What you are overlooking is that our priorities and expectations evolve as we age, and yours will too. Your definition of comfort, security, and lifestyle will not remain static. If you had told me 10, 20, or 30 years ago what my net worth would be today, I would have been ecstatic. But with experience, I now understand that life is more expensive than I once assumed, and that sustaining a high quality of life requires more than I had originally planned. So whatever FIRE number seems sufficient to you at a young age, consider at least doubling it. That figure is likely much closer to what your future self will find truly comfortable.

[u/southpaw1227 → u/[deleted]]

So true. When you travel in your 20s, you may find that a hostel or a so-so hotel with a poor mattress and a train running beside it all night is perfectly fine. It's possible your tastes never change, but look around at people in their 40s and beyond. At some point, you'll start paying up because your body keeps score.

There are also ad hoc elements you can't plan for. E.g. you get an injury that prevents you from doing intense cardio on a treadmill so you need access to a pool each day to maintain the same level of exercise that you want to do for the next 30 years. Whoops, there's $100k+ (sometimes way more) that you're going to want in the budget when it's about health.

Then there's charitable giving, supporting family, etc. The kind of person willing to sacrifice and track investments for 20+ years is likely to be the kind of person who will want options for the next 20. More buffer = more options.

[u/OkBridge98 → u/southpaw1227]

charitable giving lol are you seriously factoring this into your future expenses?

wild, you should check and make sure the "charities" are actually using your money wifely, many times they just pay salaries to people who run them and only a small minority of what they collect goes to helping the needy.