Despite the provocative title, I’m actually a big believer in the FIRE movement. Pursuing financial independence and early retirement can help you achieve a happier life. That said, if you start this journey believing that happiness is waiting on the other side of that finish line, you’re likely to be disappointed. The FIRE movement won’t solve your problems or magically make you happy… at least not on it’s own.
Critics of the FIRE Movement
There are a number of criticisms about the FIRE community floating around the internet. One of the few that I think has some truth to it is the accusation that FIRE bloggers tend to promote the movement in an overly favorable light. Said another way, we only show the highlight reels from our lives and how awesome early retirement is.
From what I’ve seen around the community, I wouldn’t entirely disagree. But at the same time, isn’t that what 99% of us do on social media (and in life) every day?
It’s only human nature to want to put our best foot forward. We want to showcase our strengths and successes. No one wants to broadcast their fears and failures.
I don’t think people embracing the FIRE movement are any different in this regard. That said, I also believe that the FIRE lifestyle lends itself to more freedom with which to create happy moments.
I would guess that nearly every self-help personality you follow is shielding you from some of their dark sides. And that’s ok. We’re all entitled to share with the world whichever parts of us we choose. We are also entitled to hide whichever parts we want to keep private.
Sharing our journey
I’m passionate about spreading the FIRE movement. I try to share our experiences on this blog in an open and transparent way. This means sharing both the ups and downs along our journey.
Your FIRE journey will most certainly be different than mine. We’re different people, coming from different backgrounds, living different lives.
However, on the off chance that you do experience similar challenges, triumphs, and/or emotions on your journey, I want to share openly with you. I’m hoping my experience might help you prepare for it, or at least not feel alone.
Hopefully you don’t mind the vulnerability in my posts. It’s real. It’s human. And, I want to share it (anonymously, of course).
The FIRE movement creates its own pressures and can be a challenging journey, but I believe it ultimately allows for more control over your life. Studies have proven time and time again, that having control over our lives is a leading factor in achieving happiness.
But, the FIRE Movement won’t make you happy
After recently achieving financial independence and having been retired for over two years, I feel obligated to forewarn others on this journey.
Reaching your FIRE Number and quitting your job won’t instantly make you happy.
Sure, it will feel great in the moment. It’s a huge achievement! Yet, those feelings will quickly fade. You’ll eventually return to your own baseline level of happiness.
I overestimated how happy early retirement would make me. I also overestimated how happy I’d be after reaching our FIRE number.
The FIRE movement cannot make you happy on its own. If you have problems in your life, reaching FIRE will not solve them. Nor will it provide you with purpose, if you are lacking it.
So, what can the FIRE movement do?
What financial independence and/or early retirement can do is remove many of the largest barriers to happiness.
If money worries, a stressful job, or lack of time with your family are the major factors causing your unhappiness, then achieving FIRE can help to reduce those obstacles.
Financial Independence provides you with the space and freedom to find your happy place. It allows you to make choices and changes that are not based on a paycheck. It gives you the freedom to take back more of your time.
But the thing is, you have to do the rest of the work.
Figuring out what you want and what your purpose will be after leaving the workplace takes introspection. No one can decide this for you.
I’m starting to realize that happiness is nearly impossible to come by without a clear plan or purpose. Finding purpose in early retirement has been much harder than I thought it would be.
I was surprised and disappointed by how little early retirement and reaching financial independence improved my own happiness levels.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely happier now than I was at my last job. My life required a change. However, I’m still not at my optimal happiness level.
FIRE has provided me with the freedom to explore and remove major obstacles, but it will not and cannot complete the equation. I’m continuing to work through this.
I am not alone, and neither are you
For a while, I kept these feelings bottled up inside. I know that I’m privileged to be in this position, so it felt wrong to express any dissatisfaction with my life. I should be super happy.
At the end of the day, we are all people and entitled to our feelings. Perhaps I’m not the only one who will feel this way.
Recently, I heard Carl from 1500DaystoFreedom speaking about this topic on his podcast, Mile High FI. I found comfort in listening to him speak about how FIRE didn’t make him as happy as he’d expected either.
I’ve since heard of others who also found that they had unrealistic expectations regarding the impact that FIRE would have on their happiness.
Hearing these things made me feel less alone. You are not alone, either.
The FIRE Movement is awesome, but it’s not a guarantee for happiness.
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Cheap Eco Wanderer
THANK YOU for posting this. I have the frustrating tendency to always think “if xyz happens, THEN I’ll be happy.” After some introspective work I’m getting better at recognizing my if/then happiness thought processes, but I still very often fall prey to the mental trap that happiness is just around the corner if only [insert event here]. I did it with minimalism, I did it with van life, and I sure as heck did it with financial independence. Talking about how FIRE won’t bring happiness might not be popular or click-baity, but it helps to change expectations about the movement and shed light on the fact that life is going to continue to be life, regardless of whether you’re financially independent or not.
Mrs. RichFrugalLife
So well said. Thank you for sharing!
I can absolutely sympathize… I’ve too have suffered from the if/then happiness syndrome for as long as I can remember. Usually stemming from my weight or something else completely trivial when it comes to what would actually impact my happiness. Even when self aware, it can still be a challenge to overcome. I’m still working on this myself, but wanted to put it out there for anyone else expecting FIRE to solve be that one thing.