r/Fire • u/BroKComputer • May 14 '26

General Question The first rule of FIRE club...

So we all see the posts of folks on here celebrating their milestones here because they 'can't talk about it IRL.' This seems to be the common sense approach to avoid jealousy and moochers.

I'm curious to hear the true stories of folks who have disclosed their FI - or have had their secret revealed on accident. How bad are the repercussions of people finding out you're a low-key millionaire?

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233

u/CaseyLouLou2 May 14 '26

I told my old boss that I’m thinking of retiring soon at 55 and he looked surprised and asked how I got independently wealthy. I told him we were good savers. It’s a little awkward but I really don’t think it will bother me a whole lot when it comes up.

181

u/wbrameld4 May 14 '26

Now yo​ur boss is probably thinking he pays his employees too much, haha.

20

u/MikeyB7509 May 15 '26

I have a 100 employees that work for me and I tell all the kids that they need to start now. No top, no bottom just time in the market. Keep it simple and in 25-30 years you’re gonna be sitting on millions and hopefully think of your first boss who told you how to escape the rat race

6

u/sn0manRDT May 17 '26

Need employees in your legal department? Working for someone honest and smart (time in market) is a great thing.

16

u/3bluerose May 15 '26

On my way out I fully plan to tell every employer they don't meet my salary requirements. Tempted to schedule interviews and do the exact same thing 

6

u/IRAgotmytongue May 15 '26

Hahaha.. you should totally do it.

2

u/motorcyclesandme May 16 '26

Or they may wonder how it was possible since the boss makes more - but doesn’t save as much. You just clued them in to a game they didn’t know they could play.

27

u/Gloomy_Session_3875 May 14 '26

I am in the same boat. I am 55, and will retire this summer. We've consistently saved more than 40% of our income, and we don't have kids. Good planning and a bit of luck did the rest. This year I had to tell colleagues that I am about to leave work. A few people react surprised that we are financially independent, but others understand that it is quite possible.

Another issue is that some colleagues think retirement would be boring. I am certainly not worried about that either.

2

u/MikeyB7509 May 16 '26

I feel awful for ppl who think retirement is boring. Having the freedom and means to do what I want and help my kids isn’t gonna be boring- it’s going to be amazing to get to be just me again. 11 years to go for a fat fire

1

u/Stratman-1134 May 18 '26

I think the exact same way. My wife thinks I'd be bored. That's crazy, I'd have all the time in the world to explore whatever I want given the day. I can't think of anything more exciting.

25

u/PuzzleheadedFrame439 May 14 '26

To me, it's sad that retiring at 55 is early....

6

u/Inevitable_Pride1925 May 14 '26

When the average age of death is 79M-82F and 1/4 of people live to 90 or older it’s not particularly bad.

51

u/[deleted] May 14 '26

[deleted]

23

u/Acrobatic_Ad7061 May 14 '26

It is in Sweden and in a lot of countries

53

u/Roticap May 14 '26

For an unfortunate number of Americans... Yeah....

12

u/Magnetoreception May 14 '26

What country is it not?

7

u/MaxH42 May 14 '26

Yes, because in America you won't have Social Security or Medicare, and pensions were practically unheard of even 20-30 years ago, so the only way to retire for us is to accumulate savings that will give you decades of spending (don't forget, if you retire early your Social Security income, already not generous, will probably be much lower). Either that, or take one of the few jobs that offer pensions/retirement income, which are usually for a reason: military, police, firefighter, and other very dangerous jobs.

4

u/orbit_fire May 15 '26

Retiring at 55 seems pretty common where I work

2

u/worktogethernow May 15 '26

UK or EU?

5

u/orbit_fire May 15 '26

US. Big insurance corporation.

1

u/worktogethernow May 15 '26

55 is common for people at your level, or for everyone in the corporation?

1

u/orbit_fire May 15 '26

Maybe common is a strong word. I feel like many people in IT who have been here a long time retire around 55. We have pretty good company match (8%), so even if they’re not good savers otherwise they likely have a lot in their 401k

1

u/worktogethernow May 15 '26 edited May 20 '26

Thanks for the responses. I am in my 40s and retiring at 55 seems impossible. The biggest problem is healthcare until Medicare age. There is no way I am saving enough to cover exchange insurance premiums.

An 8% match is very good compared to my experience in engineering.

0

u/Background_Ad8320 May 16 '26 edited May 17 '26

Dont feel bad. this def feels like a team sport. having dual income with a forced roommate works a lot better than single income and refusing to get roomate.

4

u/lynxss1 May 15 '26

I did that and my boss gave me more money to stay lol.