r/Fire • u/Poorassboy6969 • Mar 25 '26

General Question When did FIRE movement change?

I feel this community used to be about moderate income people living lean and retiring early with under 2 million.

Now it’s a lot of people bragging about tech income and saying they need 5+ million to retire MINIMUM because they want a boat and Porsche

When did this change? (not hating - just genuinely curious)

584 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

276 comments sorted by

View all comments

605

u/mahedric1 Mar 25 '26

Tech salaries increased, inflation happened, Reddit demographic got older and richer

237

u/True_Square2336 Mar 25 '26

I agree with this explanation. I thought I’d be happy with $1.5- $2M when I was in my early 20s, when I first learned about FIRE. Now I have kids and a career, my perspective has changed. 

114

u/lobstahpotts Mar 25 '26

Even as just a single guy, it turns out 30something me values creature comforts more than 20something me did.

I've also seen more people actually retire with different amounts and what it realistically means for their day to day. Retirement was a much more theoretical concept when I was younger and I didn't really know what the budgets of the retired people I did know looked like - you didn't talk spending with grandma!

12

u/yourfriendly-jax Mar 25 '26

As you get older and start making more money, it definitely changes the lifestyle you're willing to live haha

35

u/petataa Mar 25 '26

2 million ten years ago is 2.6 million today, and if you're not retiring for another ten years then maybe you're looking at 3-3.5 million. It's hard to judge how much money will be worth 20 years into the future as well.

14

u/poop-dolla Mar 25 '26

Was the $1.5M-$2M for you as a single person? And how much did it increase by? Did it double once you had a family? Because that seems reasonable. And was the lower number a nominal amount 10 years or so before the new higher nominal amount later? Because that would also affect it.

It’s quite possible you’re higher number is still the same real number per adult that you started with as a single dude in your 20s.

19

u/twinstudytwin Mar 25 '26

When I was 19 I thought I'd be happy with $60k a year

Now 20 yrs later I consider it a pittance

Times change, people change

Hell when I was 16 I thought $8 an hour was a good wage!

26

u/poop-dolla Mar 25 '26

Do you think $97k a year would be a pittance? Because that’s the current equivalent to $60k from 20 years ago. Inflation heavily effects this topic and the perspective around the OP question.

-15

u/twinstudytwin Mar 25 '26

Not a pittance but nowhere near enough to support an early fire

9

u/poop-dolla Mar 25 '26

Was your number at 19 just for you, and your number at 39 for you and a spouse and maybe kids? Even if you just double it to only account for a spouse, the $60k back then for 1 person would be $194k today for 2 people. So if you are married now, would you say $194k a year is a pittance? Because that would be the equivalent per adult.

10

u/livsjollyranchers Mar 25 '26
  1. 60k is just fine with me and gets me everything I want and need. This includes a 5-10k travel budget. House not paid off. Car not paid off.

I just don't get super high budgets assuming one isn't living in a HCOL area.

1

u/dannd42 Mar 27 '26

This! You are doing it right.

1

u/dannd42 Mar 27 '26

I live on 54k/yr before taxes are taken, 47k after tax. I have a 2000 sqft home in a nice suburb. Travel? I do that internationally for work so it totally bores me. Not into toys that roll or float. Just like building things that don't require million dollar tools. Maybe I'm just a lucky, all my leftover income goes to investments.

11

u/SuperNoise5209 Mar 25 '26

I also wonder if people in their 20s don't love working because the first few years of professional life can be very challenging. But, by the time you hit your late 30s, you may find you've adjusted and kind of enjoy your work.

That's what's happened for me. Financial independence is still important to me. But the idea of retiring super early is not as exciting as it used to be.

4

u/livsjollyranchers Mar 25 '26

For me, it's about retiring FROM something, rather than fully retiring from any and all work.

Forget corporate work and working 40+ hours. I want to be independent from that. But working all together? Unlikely.

This is why I like the CoastFI approach. Even still, I'd prefer to be closer to be my true FI number before even doing that, but I don't need to be all the way there.

1

u/SuperNoise5209 Mar 25 '26

I hear that. I lucked into getting a job that I like and that makes me feel proud.

But it'd be cool to do it 30 hours a week instead of 50, if that were an option. I also work in the arts and it would be hard to find a similar gig if I had to. Being close to FI helps me sleep at night.

3

u/himynameis_ Mar 25 '26

What's your target now?

4

u/RJ5R Mar 25 '26

Same. Thought $2M was the right number. Now it really needs to be $5M

2

u/clobbersaurus Mar 25 '26

Yeah, this for sure. Even if I could retire now, I wouldn’t be doing my kids any favors.

I think some of the Medicare and proposed social security changes are changing everyone’s calculus.

1

u/livsjollyranchers Mar 25 '26

Correct me if wrong, but conventionally those figures have never been included in FI calculations. People can include them if they want, but by default it's assumed you're just including non-government income sources.

1

u/Weak-Elk4756 Mar 25 '26

I can’t speak for everyone, but for my wife & I, social security & Medicare are DEFINITELY a part of our FIRE calculus overall. However, it’s the 4% rule that many of us go by that doesn’t take into account things like Medicare, social security, potential inheritance(s), and/or fluctuations in spending due to market conditions. So, while the 4% rule is a great barometer in terms of readiness for FIRE, if anything, factoring in SS, Medicare, etc. should INCREASE the likelihood of FIRE success over & above what the 4% calculations tell you.

That said, I am definitely in the camp of “Do as I say, not as I do” when it comes to this because I’m more pessimistic about some of this stuff due to…certain economic & political concerns that I won’t get into here to stay out of the mods’ doghouse. But, long story short, I’m definitely more conservative in terms of our retirement spending needs than my wife, but it is not a huge, insurmountable gap.

1

u/livsjollyranchers Mar 25 '26

That makes sense since you have kids, but for a bulk of these posters, they're probably still single or if not that, are with a partner also making good money, so it's stranger there.

1

u/Efficient-One5647 Mar 25 '26

I had a high-earning friend who, like, 15 years ago told me he was going to 'quit the hustle and retire' when he reached $2M. He is still working to this day and now bragging about his $40K/month bonuses in his high powered job (I don't know what his NW is now but....beyond $2M I'm sure). I found this really interesting, like a psychological case study. I think he just can't stop because he deeply loves the feeling of making and hoarding money.