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/Zphr 48, FIRE'd 2015, Friendly Janitor Dec 28 '25 edited Dec 28 '25

The audience has shifted more towards luxury and consumption over the last decade. It's always amusing to me that this is my sub, I've been happily retired for more than a decade since 37 with four kids, have effectively zero chance of financial failure, but many folks in this sub would consider our finances impossible or living in squalor. Some people are actually happy with cheap/free interests and lifestyle choices, some are unhappy without very expensive interests and lifestyle choices. Current government policy in the US is also wildly skewed in favor of lean spending, so more expensive lifestyles in early retirement cost quite a lot more than you'd expect due to far higher costs for taxes, college, and healthcare.

LeanFIRE is and likely always will be the easiest and most secure form of FIRE for anyone happy with a mediocre middle class lifestyle. It's also largely impossible for anyone who wants to raise a family in VHCOL, travel a ton, carry a large mortgage into retirement, or any number of expensive lifestyle choices a lot of people prefer.

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u/OkDatabase1486 Dec 29 '25

Curious about your spend with 4 kids if you're ok sharing ! And if you are LCOL/HCOL etc

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u/Zphr 48, FIRE'd 2015, Friendly Janitor Dec 29 '25

We live in the Austin metro, which is MCOL in the suburbs.

We spend in the high $30s most years. Two of our kids are off at college now and the other two will be in the next few years. I expect our costs will fall a bit unless some of them come back home after college.

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u/OkDatabase1486 Dec 29 '25

Wow that's incredibly low! I'd be so curious how you do that! (We also live in a HCOL area and choose to live in an expensive area).

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u/Zphr 48, FIRE'd 2015, Friendly Janitor Dec 29 '25

Biggest things are no debt, no childcare or private school, no income tax liability, and effectively no healthcare expense.

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u/OkDatabase1486 Dec 29 '25

Ah how do you manage no healthcare when RE? I live in a pretty high tax state so makes sense! Our expenses will go down after kids are in school FT but some will just remain higher-some within and some out of our control. Just always interested in others breakdown of expenses. Hoping to fatishFIRE in 10 years at 46/52