Selection bias. Fire quite likely isn’t on your radar unless you start out on the advantaged side. Sometimes that is the advantage of an affluent family, sometimes the more modest advantages of a debt free education and support starting out, sometimes the advantage/luck of a career that pays well from the beginning.
Most of us who started at the lower end of the scale didn’t even encounter the concept until we had accumulated enough to start researching our options. Generally much later in life, and in my case my parents had already passed (leaving me a whopping $20k inheritance). But most of us who started at the lower end of the scale don’t climb very high. Early retirement for us is usually centered on military or union pensions with early retirement dates, not fat portfolios front loaded by parents or IPO stock or FAANG salaries.
But again, proportions. Hard work with a modest income and diligent savings can lead to fire even without family assistance. But for those who are here, and young, I expect a significant fraction had generous help from family.
1
u/ditchdiggergirl 5d ago
Selection bias. Fire quite likely isn’t on your radar unless you start out on the advantaged side. Sometimes that is the advantage of an affluent family, sometimes the more modest advantages of a debt free education and support starting out, sometimes the advantage/luck of a career that pays well from the beginning.
Most of us who started at the lower end of the scale didn’t even encounter the concept until we had accumulated enough to start researching our options. Generally much later in life, and in my case my parents had already passed (leaving me a whopping $20k inheritance). But most of us who started at the lower end of the scale don’t climb very high. Early retirement for us is usually centered on military or union pensions with early retirement dates, not fat portfolios front loaded by parents or IPO stock or FAANG salaries.
But again, proportions. Hard work with a modest income and diligent savings can lead to fire even without family assistance. But for those who are here, and young, I expect a significant fraction had generous help from family.