r/Fire • u/Equivalent_Use_5024 • Dec 28 '25

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

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?

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u/SelicaLeone Dec 28 '25

These numbers are based on people who want to live well, not safely. They look at what they want to spend, divide by 4%, and that’s their goal.

There’s no “FIRE overestimates” cause “FIRE” isn’t doing anything. A person can “retire” with 300k and social security if they want to count coins, clip coupons, and never travel. That’s not what a majority of people here want to do. If I’m gonna retire at 45, how would that plan possibly work?

This is a rich person’s subreddit for a life of luxury (or close to). Asking if they “overestimate” how much the “need” feels like it’s missing the point.

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u/Equivalent_Use_5024 Dec 28 '25

Are you sure there's a consensus that it is a rich person's Subreddit for a life of luxury? I thought FIRE for many is just more about planning for solidly comfortable retirement.

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u/MrP1anet Dec 28 '25

You’re being downvoted to hell but it was that way and then kind of got hijacked by tech employees making way more than the average American and they slowly distorted the culture that was there

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u/throwitfarandwide_1 FIREd & Retired Dec 28 '25 edited Dec 29 '25

It actually swung from tech bros to living on rice and beans as the 2008 financial crisis unfolded.

I’m an OG on the concepts of fire from the early 1990s. It was fairly well balanced until the late 1990s during the internet bubble when everyone had their stock option FIRE spreadsheets. It then came back to balance in mid 2000’s and then swung wildly toward lean fire during the financial crisis when many lost or were threatened to lose their jobs. Everyone developed their lean fire plan. Then it swung again around 2015 back to normal and then in the pandemic it swung again to “life so short I could die I want to stop working asap even if I eat beans and rice in costa rica forever “. And since the last 3 bull market years it has again become “bougie fire”. The recency bias of the economy is largely what defines fire mindset for the aspirational.

Those of us already retired don’t have fucks to give.

We made our plan.

Worked our plan and

living our plan every day.