I sometimes feel that we are playing the Game of Life here… imagine yourself going through cycles, from lack of financial awareness, directly into debt in college, and then clawing your way back to Par, and beyond. It really is a common path, and a sadly expensive one. Today, as the dust settles on the new home, I ask myself, where do I stop?
There’s a view out there held by some that the FIRE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) movement should focus on getting to FI as soon as possible, and doing so you can cut down wastefulness. The guys over at Mr Money Mustache are into this. Don’t get me wrong, they are savvy folk, but they cut earning perhaps too soon. They do that by not going for the Ferrari, and leaving work as soon as they have enough of a nestegg to support an often frugal existence.
On the flip side of this, we have the people who are traveling to excess today, claiming that if they work hard now they might not be able to travel when older. My view on that is you might not be able to earn money later either, and you also might have an Android Lollypop Jetpack by then anyway – climbing Everest would really be a blast…. To clear up my view on that, I don’t believe you can travel to excess, but I believe you can use it as an excuse to not knuckle down when you should.
Of course, it seems quite possible to keep earning within FIRE, so there is nothing stopping a person working in the rat race until they have enough money saved to cover their costs, then just work a few months of the year to earn something fancy if they so choose, though doing so would certainly make things a lot slower to achieve.
Personally, I am not at FIRE stage yet, becoming a parent just shifted that equation somewhat further again. However, a lot of that is because of existing lifestyle choices. What do you guys think, are you ready to get out as soon as possible, or willing to put in a bit longer to get the life you really want, not one you will settle for?
With a great income facilitated by a necessary education, I too am saddled with a great deal of student loan debt. Thankfully my position offers high returns and I’m able to pay it down without compromising my lifestyle too much. As a new parent myself, I struggle with finding a work-life balance that will give me the ability to pay down loans and put additional money into retirement with the ability to spend time with my child. It’s quite the razor’s edge to walk.
It is a real challenge. I am lucky to be a stay at home dad at the moment, so I get lots of time on that side, but not enough on the earning! It’s a balance that requires give and take. I’m wondering where it all ends though… do we need a Ferrari? The common FIRE crowd says no, but I kinda like them.
I like the Mustache guys, too. But if you have the capability, and have always wanted a Ferrari, go for it – just be conscious of the tradeoff you are making (and I am assuming you already have the basics taken care of).
I found out that although I thought I was a car guy, once I had the money, I really didn’t care any longer.
I think part of the Mustache philosophy is not so much self denial, but being happy with simpler things.
Peoples focus is often on maximizing money, rather than maximizing happiness (why is GDP a measure of a countries success? Shouldn’t it be GNH?). Personally I don’t think I’d be very happy being retired at 30, I’d rather do meaningful work into my 40s/50s and splurge a little bit more in the short term.
I know a lot of people who retired early and are absolutely miserable because they didn’t make the most of their youth and don’t really have any hobbies apart from saving money and retiring early. As you said, it’s about finding a balance. I cut costs when I can, but I’m not going to forgo on a trip just so I can retire one hour earlier in the future.
Absolutely. I really am exploring this nuance within FIRE and frugality – are people ‘settling’ for an inferior existence for the sake of ‘freedom’?