back to indexThe Problem with the RE in the FIRE Movement
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- This is part of my gripe with the FIRE movement. 00:00:09.040 |
Now, I'll caveat, so I was in a documentary on it, 00:00:14.840 |
'cause a lot of the community has watched it. 00:00:18.360 |
If anyone hasn't, I'll link to it in the show notes. 00:00:26.480 |
like this idea that we should get all this money 00:00:29.080 |
so that we can stop working and just kind of do nothing 00:00:35.160 |
And I think the word retirement is too messy. 00:00:41.580 |
many people I think say, "Oh, retirement, no more work." 00:00:44.740 |
For me, I think if we could reframe that concept 00:00:53.120 |
then you already are, you know, like you said, 00:00:57.180 |
you would have been financially independent, you know, 00:01:00.520 |
or maybe once you paid your medical bills, but maybe not. 00:01:07.160 |
thinking about people trying to have this goal 00:01:11.480 |
How do you feel about that RE part of the movement? 00:01:14.200 |
- So I think that was both the greatest thing 00:01:19.640 |
'cause it made it exciting and fun to talk about, 00:01:22.520 |
but also the most detrimental to the real message. 00:01:26.360 |
Because the real message is not retire early. 00:01:42.560 |
and I think most of us enjoy doing some kind of work. 00:01:49.080 |
all those things that make us feel good about. 00:01:54.160 |
we're not really talking about not doing things, 00:02:03.120 |
or create some kind of content or product, right? 00:02:05.200 |
We build something, we make something, we write something. 00:02:08.400 |
This is all very important to our sense of identity, 00:02:13.160 |
and feeling like we have something productive, 00:02:15.900 |
But what we're really looking for is control. 00:02:23.680 |
and then you have control of what type of work you do, 00:02:32.080 |
And that's something that most people feel is lacking 00:02:47.320 |
that you could stop working for the rest of your life. 00:02:49.640 |
I think what you said about people often end up 00:02:52.000 |
being able to monetize whatever they would do 00:03:02.160 |
I think for a good number of people, not everyone, 00:03:04.720 |
but for a good number of people they'd find within a year, 00:03:08.080 |
that thing that they love actually does generate income. 00:03:17.640 |
But that goal of maybe, if you're on the coast, 00:03:23.680 |
find out that the thing you love doing makes more than $0. 00:03:27.360 |
Well, then the amount you actually need to do that full time 00:03:32.080 |
It could be nothing because it makes enough money 00:03:36.040 |
So I think that far too often we assume that in retirement, 00:03:45.760 |
is just doing something you would do for free, 00:03:49.100 |
many of us can get paid to do that thing also. 00:03:58.640 |
'cause people look at my story and even probably your story, 00:04:10.040 |
It's really easy for you to say these things, 00:04:20.980 |
but for me, I don't have time to do all this stuff. 00:04:22.860 |
And this is the conversation I really wanna have, right? 00:04:25.540 |
Because again, it's easy for us in our 40s and our 50s 00:04:27.700 |
when we have some savings to start talking about meaning 00:04:30.460 |
and purpose and side hustling and monetizing things 00:04:33.420 |
so that we can stop doing what we don't like. 00:04:37.900 |
the people who are struggling to put money on the table 00:04:41.120 |
yeah, that's a real privileged version of life 00:04:45.580 |
But I wanna start thinking about those people too, 00:04:49.960 |
We talk about money as if it is the and only tool, 00:04:54.880 |
but the truth of the matter is we have lots of tools 00:04:57.400 |
that help us live a purposeful and meaningful life. 00:05:00.280 |
So if you were 22, you just got out of school 00:05:02.840 |
or you didn't go to school and you're just working 00:05:08.160 |
and you're like, I don't have space in my life 00:05:10.360 |
I don't have space in my life for these things. 00:05:12.880 |
I would like to look at those people and say, 00:05:14.600 |
well, money is one tool, but again, you have other tools. 00:05:18.140 |
You've got your energy, you've got your youth, 00:05:20.980 |
you've got your communities, you've got your skills. 00:05:23.520 |
So maybe you work your eight to six Monday through Friday, 00:05:29.320 |
pick something you're really passionate about