Live Happy and FIRE

Retirement is changing.  There is a shift taking place on how we retire and who can help us get there.  Gone are the days of working somewhere for 40 straight years and leaving with a pension to live on.  Life is happening now, and if you haven’t heard of it yet, it’s called the “Financial Independence, Retire Early” (FIRE) strategy.  Many people are saving as much money as possible over the first 10 to 20 years of their lives and then retiring.  No more sales meetings, late nights at the office, or middle management conference calls – it’s about writing your amazing retirement story and living out some of the best chapters of your life.

The movement talks about leaving your full-time job that has you slaving away to the corporate grind and finding a part-time gig that brings you more joy.  Using some of your savings now, in smaller doses, along with your part-time work, may be an option if you’re willing to make some changes in the budget.  Possibly one spouse works full time in a low-stress job, having benefits and a modest income while the other spouse finds part-time work.  People that are a part of the FIRE movement are finding consulting jobs instead of full-time employment.  They are traveling more and spending less, while traditional jobs keep us from being able to grab last minute travel deals off the internet.  These FIRE believers are dropping their big expenses such as cars, downsizing their homes, and moving to less expensive areas around the country and abroad.

Below are a couple of articles that talk more about this retirement middle ground, sharing different approaches on how to get there and how FIRE has changed their lives for the better.

Want to Retire, But Can’t Quite Yet? Welcome to ‘Barista’ FIRE

The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement

Photographer: Oliver Sjöström, https://ollivves.com