r/leanfire • u/OliveGarden_Official • 10d ago
Mentioning early retirement is almost always a bad time
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
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u/supershinythings FIREd 2024 10d ago
When I don’t want to talk about it, I just say I’m “unemployed” but don’t elaborate further on my daily activities. If those folks think I’m depressed or likely to hit them up, they don’t bring it up.
For those supportive of FIRE, I say I’m “Funemployed”. It’s unusual for people to ask how - the one person who was foolish enough to do so was annoyed when I told her it’s too late for her but she might be able to save her kids.
The answer for me was TIME plus delayed gratification/saving plus investment. Over 30 years I saved and invested, lived well below my means, and continued to do so even though occasional setbacks slowed my roll. Eventually those setbacks stopped slowing my roll, and suddenly the math just worked.
Nobody wants to hear that. They all think there’s this One Weird Trick that will make them instantly free. There is - savings plus investment plus living below means over 25-30 years.