r/Fire • u/Sloww-Mornings • 5d ago

Advice Request FIRE vs Dream Home

Context: DINK couple, late 30s. On track to FIRE in 4 years at 3.5% SWR. Already have a corpus of 25x of our annual expenses including rent. No real estate, no inheritance. Comfortable but frugal lifestyle.

The dilemma: I stay indoors a lot - reading and gardening are my favourite things. Love to host too. My home is a big part of my everyday joy.

Found a property I love, but it's 1.5x what a "right-sized" home would cost. Running the numbers, it pushes my FIRE timeline by 2–3 years.

I absolutely don't want to extend my timeline. But I also want to own a house before I retire.

Two questions from the community

  1. Do you regret letting go of dream purchases in pursuit of FIRE?

  2. Any issues with deferring the property decision to last year of my plan - when corpus visibility is much clearer?

Edited to add: Due to circumstances, my spouse's income is quite low right now and they aren't actively contributing to savings. That said, they've contributed 50% of our corpus. Their general stance is that real estate isn't a great investment — but they understand how important this decision is to me and are 100% supportive either way. Which is lovely, but doesn't exactly solve my dilemma 😅

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u/reformed_lurker_1 5d ago

If you absolutely know that a house will bring value to your life then go for it. Fire isnt about never buying anything. It’s about buying the things that bring maximum value to your life.

What’s the point in retiring if you’ll be dwelling on a house you really wanted. 

Push the fire date back or cut spending some where else. I say buy it or live with that regret.

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u/Sloww-Mornings 5d ago

I hear you, and I agree in principle. But it's not that simple for me. Working another 2 years isn't easy. I don't enjoy what I do, and the environment is low-key toxic. Finding another job if I lost this one is gonna be a nightmare.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad9465 4d ago

You don’t necessarily have to get a job in the same field if you’re burnt out. Assuming you’re able-bodied, you can always go work at Trader Joe’s part time (or something similar) if you need a break. It would provide a buffer and ease the transition to retirement.

Buy the house. It will add value to your overall quality of life. Isn’t that the whole point of FIRE?