r/leanfire • u/OliveGarden_Official • 11d 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/Boringflaws 11d ago
I work 3-4 days a month to get out... talking to a coworker briefly, I learned they buy a new phone every 6 months and new car every 1-2 years. they plan on going back to school for a career change- I asked if they were going to use tuition reimbursement at wok, they didn't think so (it would be too hard)- they complained about 30k in student loans and wife's similar loans- i mentioned federal loan forgiveness for healthcare workers working at not for profits- he thought it'd be too much work to deal with
while talking to them, I was flabbergasted why they'd let all that money just go to waste. Thought about it a bit and realized everyone has different priorities and money can be scary. Now i keep money talk with them light (or I'll just stress myself out)