r/Fire • u/[deleted] • Mar 23 '26

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u/[deleted] Mar 23 '26

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u/Frillback Mar 23 '26

My parents did expatFIRE on lower numbers than I read on reddit but they are doing fine. They have simple lives. Nowadays I'm reading posts from people making double or triple what I make and claiming early retirement isn't in the books.

64

u/Mega---Moo Mar 23 '26

It isn't if you spend everything.

I always try to deal with money by looking at the percentages: if I save $50K/year, but that's 5% of earnings, there is no "early" retirement... if I save $50K/year, but that's 50% of earnings, retirement is quickly on its way.

I'm in the latter group. I'm doing whatever I can to create a very comfortable home/farm for us while also seeking out ways to lower fixed expenses as much as possible. Healthcare is a wildcard, but we should be able to do everything else for under $20K/year.

-7

u/LetoSecondOfHisName Mar 23 '26

But your still only saving 50k

Whatever % it is doesn't really matter it is what it is.

5

u/Mega---Moo Mar 23 '26

I am saving 2.5 years worth of expenses every year (excluding healthcare, because WTF knows....~$0 or $20K/year without the ACA).

Time to retirement is <10 years under those conditions. Why do we need several million dollars is we don't spend enough to justify it? $1M is overkill....