I want this blog to allow me to explore thoughts leading up to FIRE, thoughts in FIRE, activities, lifestyle choices and options.

Let my thoughts, experiences, opinions/ideas and mistakes give you another perspective on retirement, pre-retirement and possibly your FIRE.

My interests are Personal Finance—I consider this my new/lifelong job, Technology, Health, Fitness, Weight loss/management.

So much of what I’ve accomplished in life is relate to goals, clearly identified, measurable goals. I’m really not an overachiever— type A person. I believe I’m a type A- person. I knew what it took to earn an A in school—generally 91% — and used the other 9% of my time to do things I enjoyed. Some call this the “good enough” mentality. This mentality has served me well. I definitely meet my goals, yet truly enjoy so much of my life. I tend not to overstress about much, except maybe the 91% getting in the way of my 9% time—but that’ not real stress at all.

My plan is to alternate posts between pre-FIRE and FIRE if possible. That will allow those preparing for the future (pre-FIRE) and those living LifeInFIRE to get ideas that may help give another perspective. One interesting note that I’ve learned over the past few years is, pre-FIRE people should understand what LifeInFIRE is like to not only plan for the financial Independence activities, but also for the lifestyle and attitude of being FIREd. One thought is that even while living LifeInFIRE, you still have to plan for the future with regards to spending, tracking investments and cash flow, spending wisely, etc. pre-Fire and LifeInFIRE are not mutually exclusive. If done correctly, there is quite a bit of overlap in planning and attitude, the main difference is your available time for all activities.

Never forget that your planning and controlling your existence do not end even if you reach your goal. New goals emerge every time. That must be the nature of goal seekers.

Retirement!     I love my wonderfully happy LifeInFIRE.

FI/RE, for many people, can be simply defined as living the wonderful life—or a future goal—of Financial Independence/Retire Early.

The date of “early” can simply equal being able to retire.

• It may be to retire at 60 with enough financial independence to not be dependent on Social Security’s determined retirement age/options.
• You may be a great saver (and of course a great spender) allowing you to leave the working world in your 50’s.
• You could be an extreme outlier who’s a super saver finding financial independence in your 40’s, some people even FIRE under 40.
• Many people now have the great idea of mini-retirements. Maybe taking a year off every few years. They save with a plan that allows them to travel or volunteer or learn something new.
• Maybe even being able to retire at all, at say 70 or 75 even when you didn’t think retirement would be possible. This does not have to be the same as the 19^th century, when you worked your entire life, until the day you die.

To be sure, the Retirement Early half of the acronym gets most of the attention, but it’s the FI half that really makes all the difference. Consider that many people in the past decade+ have been laid off, left work for medical or family reasons, or had a drastic employment change. Of these people, many had a hard time finding comparable new employment in the very tough economy. It goes without saying that a large percentage of older workers were targeted in these cost-saving moves, in which their age amplified their struggle to find new employment. Many of these people may have thrown in the towel and decided to abandon the job hunt and “retire.” Now for the hard question, did these workers build some FI prior to this stressful forced “retirement?”

If you’ve been in the jobless—no matter how temporary—situation, you know the stress. The stress is lessened by having an emergency fund. Actually, working and living with an emergency fund lessens stress even if there is no employment change. Savings gives you freedom, power and the ability to set your own path whether in FIRE or while working.

I often think about the saying “he who has the gold makes the rules.” Every little bit of additional savings, the little bit more of control you have.

Get some “gold,” and make some rules for yourself. It’s a wonderful goal to enjoy each day in your own way.