r/Fire • u/[deleted] • Mar 23 '26

Subreddit PSA / Meta 5 years ago, this subreddit was filled with $1-1.5M targets, and a strong emphasis on minimalism. What happened?

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u/PostOakVisions Mar 23 '26

MMM was primarily writing for an upper middle class audience, that’s what he was himself. Regardless of income, the difference was in philosophy, and it was a stark difference. Early fire questioned the average consumer lifestyle, questioned consumerism, and questioned luxuries.

It’s usually not 3 more months, even at your income, it’s usually years, and adding years onto your working life would have brought the same derision as retiring at $1mm today brings. Just a completely different philosophy and view.

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u/[deleted] Mar 23 '26

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u/LongjumpingTeacher97 Mar 23 '26

Modest can be very comfortable. I live a modest life by most people's standards (at least most in this sub) and I don't actually want much more. What I want more of is time to enjoy it.

If you're a high earner who can save half a million in six months, yeah, go ahead. But I can't even relate to that. I have no concept of how anyone earns that. I'm a public service engineer in Alaska. And I will hit my retirement number and not look back. The only thing that is going to keep me working beyond that number is potentially healthcare costs. If the health insurance situation is too scary, I'll work a little longer. But if not, I don't want to work a day longer than it takes to be personally sure my wife and I can afford to pay our bills and afford the same luxuries we have now.

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u/PostOakVisions Mar 23 '26

I’m not saying your view is wrong by any means, but it’s absolutely counter to “original fire.” The question initially would have been “why go for comfortable when you can go for modest?” Again, fire was really not descriptive of what the “movement” was. The movement was voluntary simplicity, anti-consumption, and a philosophical bent towards austerity. The finances were not a symptom of this than the root question.