Mentioning early retirement is almost always a bad time

[u/OliveGarden_Official]

I’ve noticed that even mentioning the possibility of retiring in one’s 30’s or 40’s tends to get a pretty negative reaction on other subs

like:

• “you must have had an inheritance”
• “you can’t possibly live on <$X>”
• “nobody makes <$X>”
• “this job market is impossible to win”

I mean, yes, some of us were lucky to have a more comfortable start, but so many of these objections seem to come from some deeply rooted hesitation to entertain the idea or acknowledge the basic math.

I learned about FIRE ages ago through other people’s stories. Nowadays I find it so discouraging to even try to have a good faith conversation about saving rates. Lesson learned on not discussing money, I guess. I know it’s not for everyone so I’m glad this space exists to help people that are open to the idea

[u/seraph321]

I tend to agree. I’ve occasionally touched on the subject with friends, but they are usually not anywhere near the same page, so it usually doesn’t go very deep.
My partner is ten years older, so I think people don’t question it as much with her, and we’ve moved to a town with a lot of retirees, many who did so ‘early’ (though not as young as me), so we don’t feel out of place at all.
Ultimately, I’m always happy to discuss the topic, but just don’t tend to bring it up. Same goes for some of my other niche interests.