There has been a lot of focus on the FIRE community from the media lately. And I get a ton of questions from people who have never heard about financial independence before.
So I thought a FAQ article was a good thing to post.
Why do you strive for FIRE? (Financial Independence, Retire Early)
I have reached a point in my life where I have realized that none external things is going to make me happier. If I can’t be satisfied with what I all ready have, then I will never be happy.
Because of that I end up with a lot more money than I need. And that gives me the opportunity to reach for financial independence quiet early in life.
That is something I think I will appreciate more later in life.
What If you get hit by a car and die tomorrow?
This will take us back to the first question.
If we imagine that someday in the future I will declare myself as financial independent, that would be lovely. But. I’m not expecting that day where “I finally will be happy”.
Far from it. I will see it as an awesome opportunity to do more or less what I want. And I can’t see how that can harm me.
So I would be very sad if my last day will be tomorrow. But only because my life would come to an end, and not because I had money in my bank account that I didn’t spend.
Are you willing to mooch on your community because you won’t pay taxes?
The media loves to bring up the word “retirement”. And whenever people hear that word, we immediately think of a person who is laying in a hammock or playing petanque all day.
And that is not what I’m attending to do.
I love to do stuff. And I can’t imagine me going through a week where I don’t do something I enjoy, and not making some kind of money out of it. Maybe it won’t be much but I think I will keep working.
But let’s imagine that I manage to save enough to pull the plug from a full-time job at age 35 and NEVER EVER earning another dollar from manual labour. I would still be paying taxes from my investing. Which I gladly do.
What if everybody did like you? Then there won’t be no stock market you could benefit from.
And that is true. If everybody decided to only work on Saturdays and Sundays, and then do what they like on the weekdays. Mostly commuting by bike. And 80 % of their meals would be vegetarian.
Then yes, I think the modern way we see capitalism would have a hard time. But if everybody lived liked that, we would fix the environmental problem in no time, and I genuine believe that people would be happier.
And this is a price I’m willing to pay ten folded. If people read all of this and they think the whole point is for me to get rich (at all cost), they are misunderstanding the whole thing.
If we don’t take action about the environmental issues on our own, it looks like we won’t be here on planet earth for much longer.
What about kids, don’t you wanna have a family?
Sure I do. That is also one of the main reasons I’m doing this.
I keep hear friends and co-workers how tough it is to have kids. And I believe them. I love visiting my friends with kids. But it is just as big a relief to leave them again. Because it is awesome just to arrive home with some quiet time. But if you are a parent, you can’t just leave your kids.
It is more or less like a full-time job for the first 5 years of their lives, and from age 5-18 it will be more like a demanding part-time job.
And I can’t imagine how a full/part-time job (having kids) combined with a real full-time job is the most optimal to our wellbeing.
I think it is way better to give the kids the attention they need, without the stress a fulltime work can give to your child raising. Plus it can give myself some free time. Where I can do some work if I feel like it, or just let the day pass by as it suits me.