Playing with FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early)

If you are a regular low-middle class person working a stupid job this book might make you laugh (bringing a bagged lunch to work THE NOVELTY!!!!) anyway. If you save most of your income to invest into passive revenue streams then you can retire early and live in a low cost of living area - if those still exist after that damn covid zoom town bubble. I do wish we could harness these frugals to get more active transport / bike lanes in urbanity.

I have been reading about Financial Independence for a few years now, and I really feel that this book helped me grasp some concepts in a deeper way. We follow the transformation of S and K, moving from a high-spending lifestyle in San Diego to a more conscious and deliberate life in Oregon.

I really liked that they shared all the ups and downs of the journey, especially after the excitement of becoming FIRE melts down to anguish, doubts, and frustration. They also share the downsize of the FIRE philosophy, for example missing the highest earning years of your life, not being able to extend your budget in case of a family emergency, the hard reality of budgeting for Christmas gifts, and the estrangement you can feel from people outside of the FIRE movement.

They did not decide to go towards the extreme of frugality, but still managed to considerably lower their expenses and increase their net worth. They reminded us that FIRE is about bringing more happiness and fulfillment into your life, not about bringing more stress and tension in your life.
I also enjoyed the inserted interviews from other FIRE enthusiasts on their journey, and the exercises to help us discover what we want most out of this life.

I would recommend this book :)

Read and reviewed: 2020-06-04