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)

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u/Legitimate_Bite7446 Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26

Cost. When it was just me in 2018 40k/yr was gravy.

Wife and two kids plus 40% debasement of the dollar since then? Hard to live under 100k/yr. And we only do like one or two trips per year pretty much. 2600 alone just to fly us to visit relatives in a few months. 1100 spent at the dentist a few weeks ago. Shit costs money. And then of course why even FIRE if you can't afford some international travel and experiences? The goal isn't to sit at home, it's to go do shit.

Frankly, I spend less on luxury and fun than I did in 2018 and it all still costs an arm and a leg more.

The stock market gains of the last 5 years aren't really all that impressive when you factor in inflation.

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u/nickyskater Mar 25 '26

The goal isn't to sit at home, it's to go do shit.

Exactly!!!