Are we still believers of FIRE? Are we still planning to FIRE?
Questions, questions – we haven’t blogged much about these topics so it’s valid and understandable that these are questions on our readers minds. Thanks for not holding back and asking us. We love the engagement, sorry we took time.
Are we still believers of FIRE? Yes we are still very much believers of the concept. FIRE is possible as long as you have a solid plan and think larger than just numbers – think of values, goals, and purpose. We’ve not wavered. Recent market conditions hasn’t changed our mind. We’ve in fact seen larger benefits of the FIRE mindset, some themes I’ll cover below. And in Mr.C’s famous(?) words in the CNA feature – In the end, just the act of pursuing FIRE will put you in a financially better place than if you did not even embark on this journey.
Are we still planning to FIRE? Well, we’ve not really thought about it very seriously in recent times. It’s taken a backseat with life events. We are in high inflationary times and recently headlines are dominated by layoffs at big firms. We remain grateful for the current employment we’re in, and the fact that we’re quite happy with it. Occasionally we get dreamy and think about how wonderful it was to travel with our young coconuts in 2019 and how we would love to do it again. Our view of the future continues to evolve, on the kind of lifestyle we want for our family and our children’s needs as well and how all of that blends together.
So for now, the short answer is, we’re riding this wave till we feel like stepping off. We’re happy, we’re content, our children are so happy with their schooling and friends. We’re not too eager to shake things up immediately. Besides, the goal was to FIRE by the age of 40. Actual act to FIRE aside, here’s where our thoughts are nowadays when we think of FIRE.
FIRE Themes That Remain Close to Our Hearts
- FIRE and Mental Health: There’s definitely a relationship here. Achieving FIRE can improve one’s mental well-being and how to maintain balance and happiness while pursuing financial independence. Then comes the Mental Health post-FIRE which we have thought a lot about but it’s one of those things, you don’t really know till you’re actually there?
- FIRE and Social Impact: We’ve always thought of using our eventual financial independence to make a positive impact on the world – be it impact investing, sustainable living, and giving back to the community. What if we could set-up a charitable trust fund and manage it, and direct the money to causes we see as close to our hearts – children’s education, eye-wear for children, simple things like footwear for kids? Wouldn’t that be amazing.
- FIRE and Remote Work: Ah, the dreams of a location-independent lifestyle. We’ve said this again and again, we do enjoy the challenges of work. We also enjoy the alternative lifestyle FIRE can provide. Could we marry the two and have bouts of interesting remote work every now and again? Yes – for sure. We just haven’t started working on this yet.
- FIRE and Cryptocurrency: I threw in the potential of digital assets as a way to generate passive income and achieve financial independence just because it’s a buzz word and we don’t talk about it enough, or at all! In short – we’ve stayed away altogether. We’ve been tempted but we’ve not touched it.
- FIRE and Entrepreneurship: Another topic always on our minds and we constantly discuss possible ideas where we can leverage our skills, talents, and passions to create a business that generates income! The idea of starting a viable business (again) is always exciting!
I wonder if your thoughts on FIRE has changed or evolved since you’ve first started on your journey?
