FIRE

Ferret619

Ferret619

Foolish Possums are not Grand Poobahs
2018 Sabbatical
2019 Charity Auction Winner
2020 Charity Auction Winner
Joined
May 10, 2017
Location
Canberra
Financial
Independence
Retire
Early
Or FIRE for short has been a bit of a thing in the odd personal finance corners of the Internet for a while now-
The idea was always to identify the standard of living you want and getting there and having it be self sustaining (at least for the duration of your life). there had been a few threads where the focus seems to be more on the financial independence at any cost and it just struck me as quite ironic to see people willing to forgo things like appropriate housing, family, the ability to buy take out every now and then, a reliable car or in some cases in US participants...Health insurance all in the name of being able to shake off the shackles of working life and being “Financially independent”

Apparently elective poverty might be getting some traction-

I’m sure that side of things will die out, as lets be real- it’s super dumb but the whole personal finance area is really interesting to me, any of you guys nerd out on it aswell?
 
I try to focus on building small good habits and not focus too much on “goals” obviously u need a metric to define success however
 
I’ve seen the trend in that community move from “multiple sources of income” to “just put everything in index funds”. While index funds are great, there are so many ways to make money and I often see too much focus on reducing expenses rather than increasing revenue as a result.

So much of the FIRE modelling assumes steady, regular growth and controlled expenses. The reality of wealth though is more property / stock market booms and busts, winning big contracts for your business / losing them, selling a product / service that takes off in the market / tanks, etc etc etc.

Being entrepreneurial puts you in a place where wealth can come your way and is just as important as the expense control and passive investing side of it. But the latter gets more focus because it’s more predictable and therefore comfortable.

There’s a balance here and risk is what makes life worth living. That’s why I ride a motorbike! 😜

Getting out of the cubicle at work is important but make sure there’s something truly engaging to do once you get there. So many ignore this, lose social contacts because everyone else is at work and then wonder whether it was all worth it. Live your best life now while waiting for your freedom - don’t wait or you might just drop into a big hole instead...
 
RazorPlay said:
Live your best life now while waiting for your freedom - don’t wait or you might just drop into a big hole instead.
Click to expand...

My father in law died of brain cancer waiting to get to retirement and enjoy himself. He still did plenty before he got sick but died with lots of "one day I'll" plans.

Lost a good friend in November, he was out there doing what he loved and it took him. Terrible loss to the world but at least he was living now and not "one day".

FIRE is a great goal, but it shouldn't consume your now, what is the point if you are miserable for 20 years. I have a plan to be mortgage free soon and then should be able to RE, probably at 55. I need to upskill some more first to generate some income streams once I retire.

I'll probably take the lazy index fund route I have enough to think about.

PS: motorcycles do make life fun.
 
As per the spam thread, my wife and I should be debt (inc mortgage) free in the next year-
Honestly we may pick up a property or two aswell-at 30 I have no desire to retire...
 
What an interesting topic to discuss.

I achieved FIRE in an unconventional sense...I moved to a cheaper country :D

I have always been a minimalist/utilitarian at heart so all the excesses of consumerism never sucked me in (says me with 7,000 Polsilvers, 120 soaps and 60 brushes haha).

I started saving early when I got my first part time job at 14. My first $1k was invested in stocks through my father.

I was traveling along comfortably but I had never liked going to the office. To me, it was part time jail! I like keeping myself busy and I research many topics of interest but the office was unbearable for me.

To cut a long story short, I got married again (first wife passed away from cancer), in 2016 and made the decision to move to India instead of my wife moving to Sydney.

I was born in India and raised in Sydney so yeah, it's been tough to settle and acclimate here but the freedom has been wonderful!

We don't skimp on life. We still go out to eat, watch movies, top up the wardrobe as needed etc at the same level as I did in Sydney. There's a budget (I now do some share trading as my primary source of income), we follow that budget and live comfortably.

Another benefit of this "developing" nation (AKA "a shit hole jam packed with people"), is a cheap labour force. This means we have a cleaner and a cook that both come daily! :D

So yeah, I'd definitely say FIRE is achievable and the first step is cash flow (an income), then savings, then investing, and lifestyle decisions.
 
nav1 said:
What an interesting topic to discuss.

I achieved FIRE in an unconventional sense...I moved to a cheaper country :D

I have always been a minimalist/utilitarian at heart so all the excesses of consumerism never sucked me in (says me with 7,000 Polsilvers, 120 soaps and 60 brushes haha).

I started saving early when I got my first part time job at 14. My first $1k was invested in stocks through my father.

I was traveling along comfortably but I had never liked going to the office. To me, it was part time jail! I like keeping myself busy and I research many topics of interest but the office was unbearable for me.

To cut a long story short, I got married again (first wife passed away from cancer), in 2016 and made the decision to move to India instead of my wife moving to Sydney.

I was born in India and raised in Sydney so yeah, it's been tough to settle and acclimate here but the freedom has been wonderful!

We don't skimp on life. We still go out to eat, watch movies, top up the wardrobe as needed etc at the same level as I did in Sydney. There's a budget (I now do some share trading as my primary source of income), we follow that budget and live comfortably.

Another benefit of this "developing" nation (AKA "a shit hole jam packed with people"), is a cheap labour force. This means we have a cleaner and a cook that both come daily! :D

So yeah, I'd definitely say FIRE is achievable and the first step is cash flow (an income), then savings, then investing, and lifestyle decisions.
Click to expand...


Paste &Cut
The forum for Australian and New Zealand expat traditional Wet Shavers all living in India ...
 
Mark1966 said:
Paste &Cut
The forum for Australian and New Zealand expat traditional Wet Shavers all living in India ...
Click to expand...

I'll tell you what though...this country is horrible for this hobby! There's just nothing available!

I order stuff and have it sent to my parents back in Sydney, which they then bring over to me on their visits. Their next visit will yield 4 razors, 5 brushes and 20 soaps.

The only things I can get delivered directly are my brushes from Yaqi, Frank Shaving etc

The mindset in India is that if you use a DE, you're low class and backwards because generally only the poverty class still uses DE razors.

My wife and two sisters in law find my hobby cool! Both their husbands don't shave regularly so the concept is lost on them, so I'm the "unique" one in the family...apart from being Aussie that is! LOL
 
SpeedyPC said:
@nav1 why don’t you just come back home to Australia 🇦🇺
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And spend my life in an office?...naaahhh!!

The freedom is much better!
I also have my first child about to be born and knowing I'll be able to spend my entire time with it is awesome! Just this factor makes it worthwhile.

I would have preferred to live in South East Asia but it's just too damn humid for me. I now live at a famous hill station and have beautiful mountain views and the climate is very similar to Sydney.

20180316-103003-01.jpg


FIRE...get on it!! :D
 
nav1 said:
And spend my life in an office?...naaahhh!!

The freedom is much better!
I also have my first child about to be born and knowing I'll be able to spend my entire time with it is awesome! Just this factor makes it worthwhile.

I would have preferred to live in South East Asia but it's just too damn humid for me. I now live at a famous hill station and have beautiful mountain views and the climate is very similar to Sydney.

20180316-103003-01.jpg


FIRE...get on it!! :D
Click to expand...
What kind of job are you doing over there for money, while you’re enjoying the freedom and I’ll bet you’re still paying taxes
 
SpeedyPC said:
What kind of job are you doing over there for money, while you’re enjoying the freedom and I’ll bet you’re still paying taxes
Click to expand...

I do share trading and yes, I do pay taxes to this rotten government!!

Boy did I take the Aussie government for granted! Labor, Liberal, Greens etc etc...they're all good! LOL 😆
 
The opportunity to be in a situation where your work needs you more than you need them is a great position to be in.
 
the quote 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' comes to mind.. to put it into living / financial terms there are a lot of people who do not care about personal possessions and are quite happy without them.. there are others who live/work/breathe for personal possessions and are not happy without them..

in my own personal beliefs i truly believe that those who chase possessions are not happy, regardless of how much they acquire.. money does not bring happiness IMHO and i have great admiration for those that live a minimalist lifestyle and are happy for it

so it really comes down to what you are happy with. for myself? i do like some possessions so i am happy to work for them.. but i dont pursue and endless chase and get to a point where i am quite content

Those that always chase for more will always be chasing..

I have zero aspirations of climbing any corporate ladder, live by the principle of 'working to live'not 'living to work' and plan to be at least semi-retired by 55 the latest.

My first wife suddenly passed away when my son was only 1 yo and that taught me a lot about life. We are only here for a short time so might as well spend as much time as possible on the things that actually truly really matter in life.
 
You are quite right-
It’s very much a personal journey and I’m very sorry to hear about the passing of your wife.
My wife and I arnt really materialistic, that said we both do have a mobile (iPhone 4/5 respectively) a car each (under 3k each) and the usual comforts like a TV, a computer for work and so on.
I think there is quite often an interesting comparison where being frugal gets called minimalism.
 
Thanks ferret

Sounds like you have a good balance, that's what is its all about with everything in life not just $$ lets not forget the guitars lol

yeah not quite right, being frugal = tight arse

minimalism to me is where people go an live off grid and stuff.. although i could never do it myself, i truly believe going off grid and living like our ancestors lived by growing/culling your own food/shelter/clothing will reconnect us back to what made us human in the first place. Away from all the distractions of modern life, it would allow our brains to think as they once used to and form closer bonds with our families and other humans
 
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