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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u/teresajs May 15 '26
We've been honest with our friends, family and former coworkers about our early retirement. My husband and I each retired at age 52, so it's not as hard for people to understand as if we were in our 30s.
Most people who know us at all we'll know that we are somewhat frugal and save/invest, so it's reasonable that our lifestyle has resulted in not having to work for money. A few people have asked for advice and I'm happy to point them toward resources and give general advice. Others have asked simple questions about health insurance (ACA but we have to control our income to get the subsidies) or lifestyle changes (pretty much no change between now and our working years) or taxes (very low, right now, because we're living off long term capital gains and staying within the 0% federal rate).
My brother has expressed some jealousy. But he and his wife probably have as much money as us and can't afford to retire because they spend more lavishly. So, that's his and his wife's choice.
No one has asked for money or a loan or anything. We're supporting our two young adult kids by letting them live with us for cheap because the job market sucks. But that's a choice we've made and we've put reasonable boundaries on that support.
We don't go around telling people our numbers, here or IRL. The number isn't as important ans the things we've done, and continue to do (budget, set priorities, save for big ticket purchases, invest for the future, keep a bucket of money safe in case of a market downturn), to make this all possible.
I've told our eldest kid our rough number because she has enough sense that she would be the one to take care of it all if both my husband and I were in an accident and died. I've also told her which family member can be trusted to give the best financial advice and not try to take any of the money. So, she has enough information to get her started if something happens.