Author Topic: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism  (Read 15102 times)

Offline Kobe Bryant

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FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« on: April 26, 2021, 05:05:43 PM »
Anyone here part of this movement?

Offline Euclid

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FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #1 on: April 26, 2021, 05:10:19 PM »
Anyone here part of this movement?
Extremely hard to do for a typical frum person with a family.

Offline Kobe Bryant

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #2 on: April 26, 2021, 05:11:16 PM »
Extremely hard to do for a typical frum person with a family.
“Normal is broke” DR

Offline Euclid

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FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #3 on: April 26, 2021, 05:23:09 PM »
“Normal is broke” DR
I mean short of moving to like Wyoming and home schooling the kids while making $500k a year, the numbers just don't work.

People have trouble creating a budget and sticking to it, let alone trying to retire early. Additionally, retirement for a frum person has to factor in weddings/supporting children. The math is really hard.
« Last Edit: April 26, 2021, 05:28:14 PM by Euclid »

Offline yos9694

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #4 on: April 26, 2021, 06:05:40 PM »
Frum Idea to Retire Early (FIRE): having enough money to retire before your children turn 65

Offline ExGingi

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #6 on: April 26, 2021, 09:19:00 PM »
Why would anyone want to retire early (or at all)? Unless you are planning on signing up to Kollel (or some other "second career" in an area that you have a passion for), retiring so that you can sit around and do nothing while you wait to die sounds like torture.

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #7 on: April 26, 2021, 09:44:03 PM »
Why would anyone want to retire early (or at all)? Unless you are planning on signing up to Kollel (or some other "second career" in an area that you have a passion for), retiring so that you can sit around and do nothing while you wait to die sounds like torture.
Why would anyone want to be forced to work their entire lives in a 9-5 job they dislike?

Offline ari3

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #8 on: April 26, 2021, 10:10:11 PM »
Why would anyone want to be forced to work their entire lives in a 9-5 job they dislike?
The answer isn't to work like a dog for a few years and then retire in some far flung location in Africa and help save the world there, the answer is to switch to a job you actually like

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2021, 10:15:46 PM »
Why would anyone want to retire early (or at all)? Unless you are planning on signing up to Kollel (or some other "second career" in an area that you have a passion for), retiring so that you can sit around and do nothing while you wait to die sounds like torture.

I know several people who worked govt jobs, retired with a pension after the # of years, and joined the local kollel.

Offline Lurker

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2021, 10:22:36 PM »
Extremely hard to do for a typical frum person with a family.

There are many aspects of the mentality behind the movement that I have trouble reconciling with a frum, Torah lifestyle and approach to life.
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Offline Kobe Bryant

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2021, 10:25:32 PM »
There are many aspects of the mentality in the frum community when it comes to finances that I have trouble reconciling with a frum, Torah lifestyle and approach to life.
FTFM

Offline Lurker

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #12 on: April 26, 2021, 10:26:57 PM »
FTFM

I completely agree, and I don't think those statements contradict each other in the slightest.
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Offline Kobe Bryant

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #13 on: April 26, 2021, 10:27:11 PM »
The answer isn't to work like a dog for a few years and then retire in some far flung location in Africa and help save the world there, the answer is to switch to a job you actually like
M”DS? Not sure where the dog and Africa fit in to the conversation.

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #14 on: April 26, 2021, 10:27:55 PM »
I completely agree, and I don't think those statements contradict each other in the slightest.
What is it that you find contradictory?

Offline Lurker

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #15 on: April 26, 2021, 10:29:39 PM »
What is it that you find contradictory?

About the statements, or between FIRE and frum living?
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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #16 on: April 26, 2021, 10:31:53 PM »
About the statements, or between FIRE and frum living?
The latter

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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #17 on: April 26, 2021, 10:58:01 PM »
The latter

First, I question the technical feasibility. In order to make it work with a secular lifestyle, you need to be making six figures. The secular lifestyle allows cheap food, finding cheap housing with little regard to amenities, marriage between 28-35, first chIld after 30, an average of 2 children, possibly public schooling, and no religion-related expenses (shabbos, yomtov, garb, etc.). Factor in the cost-of-living differences, for a frum person to be putting away 75% of income, they'd need to be making very significant money. This is without calculating how to make the money stretch over a lifetime of expenses in the frum world. There are very few who could even consider trying.

I had a paragraph typed up with a bunch of points where I felt it was not in-line with Torah values, but it didn't feel right. Too judgemental. I'll just say this: if someone can find a way to live this life without compromising Torah values, or losing sight of why they were put in this world and what they feel they should be accomplishing in their avodas Hashem, kol hakavod. My personal opinion is that it is very hard to walk that line, but that doesn't mean it's impossible or shouldn't be attempted. I don't think most can pull it off, va'ani b'rosham.
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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #18 on: April 26, 2021, 10:59:52 PM »
I know several people who worked govt jobs, retired with a pension after the # of years, and joined the local kollel.
We have a retired NYC traffic engineer in our shul who literally retired at the first possible moment he could and is waiting to die. Its scary how someone with million dollar a year skills and experience can just be so closed minded. His vice pre-Covid was getting up for the second minyan instead of the first minyan he attended his entire career.
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Re: FIRE movement & Financial Minimalism
« Reply #19 on: April 26, 2021, 11:03:16 PM »
We have a retired NYC traffic engineer in our shul who literally retired at the first possible moment he could and is waiting to die. Its scary how someone with million dollar a year skills and experience can just be so closed minded. His vice pre-Covid was getting up for the second minyan instead of the first minyan he attended his entire career.
certain skills tend to correlate to closed mindedness.
Actuaries have that reputation, for example (deserved or not)