It just happened again!  Over the past few months, maybe a year or so, I’ve encountered so many people that explain FIRE (to others) as “people living a very-low cost life so they can afford to retire in their 20s or 30s.”  Sometimes they add “so they can live off of 20 or 30 thousand dollars per year.”

When I hear that description I have to wonder if this definition is based on the sensationalized news stories of the rare few—often the content creators who possibly have huge incomes streams from sharing their FIRE life, or recent young “retirees” with no track record/multiple retirement years of experience—rather than the large group of us who are actually just living below our means to be financially, stressfully, and proactively wise?  More specifically, those of us who can choose to leave our work career or lifelong profession any time before the age of 65ish?  (“9 to 5 to 65”)

FI:           We all know what FI is.  We know FI will different for every person.  Today’s FI number may differ from that same person’s future FI number.  So in a sense, FI is an ongoing challenge/process for many of us.

RE:          The Retire Early definition can vary over a far greater range of possibilities.  These may be: sit on a beach, become an activity machine, using your time to help others in many ways, finding a different level of part-time work, or even a fully-funded career change.  RE may simply (or massively) be the ability to change from the normal working grind.

As you get older—remember it seems like one year you’re 25 then the next year you’re 45—you may be surprised to find that there are “young retirees” in their late 50s.  Yes, if you really think about it, retiring “very early” at 57 compared to “normal” social security age of 67 is VERY early.  To be clear, it’s an entire decade of retirement enjoyment compared to your age peers.

I would argue (well, I wouldn’t put in the effort of arguing) that you are a true FIRE person at 57.

I’m sure it seems quite strange for people who are FIREd in the 45-57 age range to think that the perception of financially-wise success of the FIRE ideal is targeted to those 15+ years younger based on media reports.

In other words, why shouldn’t the stories of FIRE successful people in their 50s or 40s be shared with the masses?  Well first, it’s not as attention-grabbing as “29-year-old retires with $800,000 saved.”  And secondly, maybe it’s good to promote people in their 20s saving large chunks of their income (while still enjoying their lives) to put them in better, or amazing, financial situations that will allow serious control of future money decisions they get to make.

For those in their 20s and 30s, you are a super amazing part of the FI world.  Your story absolutely should be shared with the masses.  What you’re doing—living intentionally with your money and life—should be shared on a grand scale and be far more commonplace.

I say “stop thinking FIRE is only for 20s & 30s both age and spending in thousands.”  That is only concentrating on the smallest tail of the distribution of FIRE-ers.  They’re missing the tail of distribution on the overall country that are money smart in their 20s, 30s, 40, 50s.

If you think I’m wrong, that’s cool.  However, I bet over the next decade or so we will all see a lot more low wage workers in their 70s…and probably not because they “want to stay active and meet people at their workplace.”  It may become a necessity based off NOT being intentional with their money—a core trail of FI.  As you know, RE is just an option of FI.  (RE-FI?)

*** Nothing in this article is to be construed as financial advice.  I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend to be.  You should always consult your own professional when seeking advice.

My wife and I took a little journey thru the history of our country last month when we visited Virginia.  We encircled almost the entire state on our little journey exploring the mid-Atlantic.

We were able to see representation on what life was like in 1607, the 1770s, 1860s & 1960s.

We were quite surprised to learn that our nation’s founders were riddled in debt.  Behind the scenes, these leaders who lived on large plantations had large staffs, and even multiple businesses/business interests revealed upon their deaths that they owed so much money their families had to sell many items and assets to try and settle their debts.

Amazing and Enduring Accomplishments

We toured the grand homes and/or museums of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe (third, fourth, fifth- presidents).  To be honest, there was so much historical information flowing at us (Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Monroe Doctrine, British, French, Civil War, Slaves, Ships, Cuba, more Cuba, etc) my facts could be a little jumbled.  I apologize if I’m inaccurate.

What you see is now what you get.

Here’s a little more detail to the best of my knowledge:

Thomas Jefferson:

was a well-educated man who knew many languages (seven?).  He researched multiple government structures and attempted to put together a structure that was fair and could prove long-lasting.  He owned a massive and growing plantation in Virginia.  The large staff included 100+ slaves at multiple locations.  Jefferson was a man of science and tinkered with, and displayed many technology items in his home.  Upon his death, his family has to sell his books/papers to the Library of Congress, then sell his slaves, then sell the plantation home to pay his debts.  I believe the debt was equivalent to 2.5 million dollars in today’s value.

James Madison:

also owned a very large plantation in Virginia.  When he passed away his debts that were managed by his family, yet the famous Dolly still lived quite well.  I recall the plantation/home was eventually sold after his books were sold off.

James Monroe:

had a plantation near Charlottesville VA which was sold upon his passing.  Monroe also had a home and a business in Fredericksburg VA.  The business location/building is now his museum.  I really wished we had known about his plantation while we were in Charlottesville so we could have visited the plantation as well as his Fredericksburg museum.

These presidents were worth 30m-230m in inflation-adjusted dollars according to online sources, but all struggled or were crippled by debt in their lives/deaths.  (references below)

What you see is now what you get (2019 version).

I can’t help but think about the huge plantations/homes the nation’s founders enjoyed while living.  Is there a comparison to today?  I think about the “Joneses” who have McMansions with fancy cars, amazing travel (vacations), workers around their home, and fine furnishings, only to wonder if that lifestyle is just modern-day following along the lines of the historical “American Dream” presented to us hundreds of years prior.

In this case, I’m not judging anyone’s lifestyle choices, not at all.  I was simply amazed and shocked that multiple founding fathers passing away without a positive net-worth.  The correlation of their stories to so many current news articles referencing US savings/debt.

Maybe this is just the “American way.”

References:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/13/donald-trump-george-washington-net-worth-us-presidents/39011559/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States_by_net_worth

https://www.bankrate.com/finance/politics/us-presidents-who-were-deep-in-debt-1.aspx#slide=1

*** Nothing in this article is to be construed as financial advice.  I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend to be.  You should always consult your own professional when seeking advice.

Hey you, yeah you, go to the back of the store! 

Are you like most people who walk by, or into a store and see all the cool merchandise up front attempting to draw you in?  Yeah, we all see that stuff.  However, the financially astute of us bypass those racks/shelves and head for the back of the store.

The back of the store often contains the sale racks.    seasonal items, Unloved items, final few sizes of items, etc.  Maybe even something wrong with the items

If shopping to you is anything like a “treasure hunt,”—boy that description of “entertainment” shopping just stresses me out—then finding the diamond in the rough on the sale racks seems perfect for you.

Thrift store shopping is also a great way to find special “treasures.”  My newest hunted item seems to be stretchy jeans that are thin material.  These are great for wearing when riding my scooter.  I wouldn’t have even known about such a product except I was killing time while my wife was treasure hunting one day at the/a thrift store.

Shop different than others, so you can live differently than others, both now and in the future.

*** Nothing in this article is to be construed as financial advice.  I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend to be.  You should always consult your own professional when seeking advice.