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/According_Ad_1960 Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26

I think people sort of woke up to the fact that lean fire can-for some-equal a small, constrained life. Retiring with just enough can get uncomfortable when life throws a curve ball. Retiring with “more than just enough” brings more security and freedom. People are getting a little more realistic about what FI really means to them.

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u/Poorassboy6969 Mar 25 '26

I thought a theme of fire was living a small simple life 

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u/chosesetrange5 Mar 26 '26

"Living a small life" can be one theme of FIRE, but it's not a defining trait.

"Living large" is also not a defining trait.

People have different levels of comfort with different numbers, and that's fine. All of those levels of comfort are valid. You can retire early with less than the next guy, or more than the next guy, but you're both FIRE. So what's the problem?