What’s FIRE and why it could change your life

Maybe you might’ve stumbled upon a blog post on FIRE, or listened to Mr Money Moustache’s story on how we achieved FIRE at a young age?

Nevertheless, I thought I’d be good to give a brief introduction to what FIRE is and how it could be a lfiechanging trajectory that’ll set you up financially for life!

What’s FIRE?

FIRE (which stands for Financial Independence Retire Early) is a worldwide movement for workers (and business owners) who are challenging the status quo and on a mission to retire early (typically within 10-15 years of starting).

If you search up “financial independence retire early” in google trends, you’ll notice how there’s a clear noticeable increase in the popularity of that term. And you can thank Mr Money Moustaches for that! Ever since Mr Money Moustache’s story came to fruition, it has changed the lives of 100,000s of even millions of people who’ve reached early retirement in their 40s, 30s or even 20s. And I’m not kidding when I say that people are literally retiring in the 20s.

I know this might sound strange, especially with the common consensus that we work for 40+ years and maybe enjoy a comfortable retirement in our 60s (or even 70s of some people). But even as a young teenager, have you ever thought to yourself that you don’t want to live that kind of lifestyle? That you don’t want to be stuck in a cubile for 40+ years slaving away at work?

And don’t even get me started on the “weekends”. The weekends not only go by so incredibly fast, but you can’t even enjoy the full 2 days off you have since you have to do other errands like go to the dentist, clean the house, wash the dishes, grocery shopping, and half of Sunday is worrying about going to work on Monday (Yikes!).

And let me say that FIRE isn’t just about retiring early and never working a day in your life again! All it’s is that it gives you the freedom and flexibility to do whatever you want and you’re no longer reliant on your job.

That’s it! I want you to ignore the “early retire” part and just focus on the “financial independence”. It’s about having the independence to not have to rely on your job to pay your bills and live like a literal rat.

Okay, now that we’ve devled into what FIRE is, let’s dive deeper into how FIRE could change your life forever!

How FIRE changed my life (and how it could change yours)

When I first discovered FIRE, my eyes lit up with joy knowing that I’m not slaving at work for the rest of my life. Pursuing FIRE has completely changed the way I view the world, others around me and how freedom is possible (and even astonishingly simpler than memorising your timestables).

Here’s how my perspectives changed after pursing FIRE:

1. I realised that people don’t give a damn about my money. So I stopped buying crap that I don’t need.
2. An enjoyable life doesn’t need to cost much. As long as you get your housing covered, everything else doesn’t cost much to enjoy
3. I have a greater purpose to then serve my employer at a corporate desk. When you pursue FIRE, you start to pursue other passion projects that serve your community and beyond who you are.
4. View things in a long-term horizon in all aspects of my life like fitness, sleep, relationship and career. There’s no such thing as “quick success” but if you stay consistent, weathering all the ups and downs, then I promise that you’ll succeed no matter what.
5. I’ve stopped listening to noise in the media that’s all doom and gloom. Stop complaining and do something about it! Nothing ever comes to those who complain. It’s those who take full responsibility and act upon their problems that’ll reap the results.

The way FIRE will change your perspective on your health, fitness, sleep, relationship and career will have a profound effect in your life. And you know what’s another amazing thing about the journey to FIRE? Unlike starting a business, where there are many uncertainties, you’re pretty much guaranteed to hit your FIRE goals if you stay mad consistent and keep putting away your money into income-producing assets.