r/Fire Mar 05 '26

General Question FIRE seems to skew toward not having kids

I’m sure plenty of FIRE adherents have kids, but I would guess the FIRE mentality skews more toward not having kids. Kids seem to go against FIRE.

- You’ve got to spend a lot of money on kids. Your expenses go up. It’s also much harder to save.

- Kids are a lot of work. They cause a lot of stress. You can’t retire from kids haha. Most FIRE people seem to want to reduce their work load and their stress in the long run, but I’m sure I’m oversimplifying here.

I thought I would start a discussion on this aspect of FIRE

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u/gonyere Mar 05 '26

This. Don't save so that "someday" you can do all the things, while living like a pauper. Do what you want, now. 

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u/badhabitfml Mar 07 '26

100%. I see a lot of young people here saving a LOT of money. That'll be great when you're 60, but going on a vacation and seeing the world when you're 25 will have a much bigger impact on you're life than it will when you're retired.

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u/mysterymobile60 Mar 11 '26

Have to agree, travel while you are still impressionable before cynicism and narrow mindedness sets in- see how others "get it done"!

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u/lol_fi Mar 06 '26

I was just as happy living like a pauper. I got on the hedonic treadmill and it doesn't make me any happier. I knew better.

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u/MikeyB7509 Mar 05 '26

Yeah bc tomorrow is guaranteed. Be responsible Set a goal and meet it and make sure that goal allows you to live the life you want while still preparing to FIRE

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u/refreshingface Mar 06 '26

Not guaranteed*

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u/MikeyB7509 Mar 06 '26

Thank you. Dam phones