Playing with FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early)
How Far Would You Go for Financial Freedom?
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Average rating4.1
What if a happier life was only a few simple choices away? A successful entrepreneur living in Southern California, Scott Rieckens had built a “dream life”: a happy marriage, a two-year-old daughter, a membership to a boat club, and a BMW in the driveway. But underneath the surface, Scott was creatively stifled, depressed, and overworked trying to help pay for his family’s beach-town lifestyle. Then one day, Scott listened to a podcast interview that changed everything. Five months later, he had quit his job, convinced his family to leave their home, and cut their expenses in half. Follow Scott and his family as they devote everything to FIRE (financial independence retire early), a subculture obsessed with maximizing wealth and happiness. Filled with inspiring case studies and powerful advice, Playing with FIRE is one family’s journey to acquire the one thing that money can’t buy: a simpler — and happier — life. Based on the documentary
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I have been reading about Financial Independence for a few years now, and I really feel that this book helped me grasp some concepts in a deeper way. We follow the transformation of S and K, moving from a high-spending lifestyle in San Diego to a more conscious and deliberate life in Oregon.
I really liked that they shared all the ups and downs of the journey, especially after the excitement of becoming FIRE melts down to anguish, doubts, and frustration. They also share the downsize of the FIRE philosophy, for example missing the highest earning years of your life, not being able to extend your budget in case of a family emergency, the hard reality of budgeting for Christmas gifts, and the estrangement you can feel from people outside of the FIRE movement.
They did not decide to go towards the extreme of frugality, but still managed to considerably lower their expenses and increase their net worth. They reminded us that FIRE is about bringing more happiness and fulfillment into your life, not about bringing more stress and tension in your life.
I also enjoyed the inserted interviews from other FIRE enthusiasts on their journey, and the exercises to help us discover what we want most out of this life.
I would recommend this book :)
Read and reviewed: 2020-06-04
If you are a regular low-middle class person working a stupid job this book might make you laugh (bringing a bagged lunch to work THE NOVELTY!!!!) anyway. If you save most of your income to invest into passive revenue streams then you can retire early and live in a low cost of living area - if those still exist after that damn covid zoom town bubble. I do wish we could harness these frugals to get more active transport / bike lanes in urbanity.
