Affiliate Disclosure
The FIRE Movement
FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The lifestyle movement has set itself the goal of saving as much as possible through frugalism in order to be able to live on the savings as quickly as possible and thus be able to retire early. Over the past 10 years, the movement has grown in popularity, especially among the so-called millennials. The topic has long been debated in numerous podcasts, blogs and social media channels.
The implementation
The followers of the movement usually live a very minimalist lifestyle. In some cases, they treat themselves to virtually no consumer goods or vacations for a few years, and basically do without everything that is not essential. Sometimes strategies are developed or taken up by self-proclaimed financial gurus who promise to maximize the investment amount as quickly as possible based on profits. Within a defined period of time, the aim is to accumulate at least a previously defined budget that should then enable you to achieve “financial freedom”. The years of renunciation should pay off for the person concerned at some point.
Does it work out?
Problems with the implementation
In some cases, very risky investment strategies are advised in order to maximize the investment amount as quickly as possible. In many cases, those affected have lost immense sums of money in such attempts. Because often the followers are blinded by self-proclaimed financial experts from the Internet. Even though they may know what they are doing, watching a YouTube video is not enough preparation to sufficiently understand and apply risky investment strategies. It is inevitable that this will go wrong, but such dangers are often not sufficiently warned of, on the contrary, it seems to have been a real trend for some time now with titles and phrases such as “7-figures”, “millionaires”, “billionaire” XY and associated content to suggest to consumers that reaching such high sums is child’s play. As if anyone could replicate this in their sleep these days after watching two or three YouTube videos and with the help of ChatGPT and co. In my opinion, this is not the case and I think most people will fail with such projects. In addition, the Internet with inferior content and inferior products is downright promised, which can be observed for some time on e.g. print on demand websites in really extreme proportions.
Disadvantage lifetime
Life is short, sometimes even shorter than we can foresee. Unfortunately, I have already seen some young people die in my life. You never know how much time you have left. That’s why I find the idea of living properly a bit problematic until an imaginary time in the future. Isn’t it more important to make the most of your life and the time you have on this earth? To create memories? Doing things that make you happy? To grow in experience. Spending time with people you love? I know from my own experience how much you miss when you work almost exclusively and how quickly time flies by. If you knew beforehand that you only had 5 years left to live, would you work like crazy for 4 of them in order to be able to afford a year off afterwards? Or would you rather work for 5 years just as much as absolutely necessary to have as much free time as possible? I think most people would opt for the second option.
Misconception financial freedom = early retirement = fulfilled life
I think the idea of not having to work anymore sounds incredibly tempting to most people at first. You may be chronically overworked, feel underpaid, and undervalued. He hasn’t really been able to stand his work for a long time and really only does it because of the income he needs. Of course, you dream of just being able to stop. But as someone who unfortunately also tends to throw in the towel when overwhelmed, I would like to tell you that you only want it at that moment, this feeling is not permanent. Rest don’t quit, say “rest, don’t give up”. I think we all want to know and live out our purpose. If you retire at the age of 30 or maybe 35, you will certainly be terribly bored after a few months at the latest and may even be depressed in the end, because a life without purpose and meaning does not really seem to be the basic way of people. This is also proven by the many millionaires who are unhappy, depressed and often even addicted. Financial freedom is no guarantee of a fulfilled life.
The Hyperfocus Trap
As someone who has ADD myself, I know very well what it feels like when you are extremely immersed in something and literally lost in the fulfillment of a task. When you are affected by such hyperfocus phases, you often forget everything else. You forget to eat, drink, go to sleep and more. Having financial freedom as a goal for oneself is, I think, a kind of long-term hyperfocus trap that you fall into and forget everything else around. I think people who follow the FIRE movement probably have a tendency to behave in this way.
Result
I think you have a more fulfilling life in the long run if you live every day the way you really want to. And this is not postponed completely for many years. When you pursue an activity that you find fulfilling. And if you can afford things that bring you joy at the same time. As well as pursue hobbies and pastimes that enrich life.
What do you think about the FIRE movement or the idea of financial freedom in general? Feel free to leave me a comment, I’m interested in your opinion on the topic. 🙂
I wish you a successful and fulfilling week.
All the best,
Christina
“Human life is strangely arranged: after the years of burden, you have the burden of years.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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About the author
Christina Ernst is the founder and CEO of Linen & Quince. She is also a designer, writer and real estate expert. She shares her experience and knowledge not only in her personal blog on christinaernst.net , where she writes about financial literacy, business start-ups, real estate knowledge and personal development, but also on our Linen & Quince blog. There she regularly writes about interior design, fashion and lifestyle topics. She loves interior design, art, antiques as well as elegant, sustainable and high-quality fashion.
