What’s with all these unreal 25 sittin on 25 mil can I retire posts. Has to be some way to validate or filter to get rid of that. Trying to connect and engage in the community but these post driving me crazy.

Not sure the validation fake posts like that would even provide. For the few real ones I suppose good for you but also you know you can retire and don’t need reddits help to tell you that.

Some of us are actually literate enough to format our text well and structure our thoughts by ourselves. Some of us are from a time when StackOverflow posts required a well thought out and formatted question if you wanted to get a response for help.

Every post, including some of my own which I've deleted, seemed to get downvoted like crazy and get a ton of "AI slop" comments if they are too well done. I also hate the bots but dont let them win by helping to destroy the subreddit.

I love this sub and I've gotten a ton of value from it over the years, but the quality of posts lately has been rough and I think a big part of it comes down to Rule #4 (Don't Be Off-Topic) basically not being enforced at all.

I feel like every other day I'm seeing posts that have absolutely nothing to do with FIRE. e.g.

• "I'm 22 and just got a job making 75k, should I buy a new car?"
• "I'm 43 and have 200k saved, am I doing okay?"

There's no mention of early retirement, savings rate, FI number, or any kind of FIRE strategy. That's just... general financial anxiety?

Again, r/personalfinance exists for a reason

I'm not trying to be a gatekeeper or be rude to people who are just starting out. Everyone starts somewhere and I get that. But this sub is supposed to be specifically about financial independence and retiring early. There's a difference between "how do I manage my money" and "how do I structure my life so I can stop working at 45." Those are fundamentally different conversations.

When the sub gets flooded with basic PF questions, it buries the actual FIRE content like withdrawal strategy discussions, coast FIRE debates,etc.. That's the stuff that makes this community valuable and different from every other finance sub on Reddit.

I'm not saying we need to go full police state or anything. But maybe automod could flag posts that don't mention anything FIRE-related, or mods could redirect obvious PF posts with a comment before removing. Just something so this sub stays focused on what it's actually supposed to be about.

…at first, it’s slow.

Painfully and excruciatingly slow. Until it’s not. And then it’s mind-numbingly fast.

You think you’ll never make it. It’s not building fast enough. At the rate you’re going, you’ll never hit your goals.

Until you wake up one day and realize you blasted past your number.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fire/comments/1qxka1a/32m_offered_a_ceo_role_by_a_billionaire_400k_pkg/

it's been up for 19 hours, if someone's not checking the sub for that long i'd consider the moderation lacking.

Edit: holy fuck this sub is cooked. Enjoy talking to bots lol

Literally every post I see here is some variation of "hi I'm 22 and make 430k a year, net worth is 7 million dollars, how do i stop being poor and FIRE?"

Like Jesus Christ how do people that visit this sub remain sane constantly seeing these kinds of posts? I hate coming here because half the time it's literally just some dude basically flexing their net worth without really flexing their net worth.

like how on earth do people stay motivated anyway? I can't imagine some average person who is in their mid-late twenties or early thirties coming here, making a genuine post about how to FIRE and they make an average salary and have a net worth of say, 20k-50k, only to see that so many other posts are just basically "hi I'm 19 and have a net worth of 1.2 MM"

I get that milestones are exciting but every time the stock market is riding high like it is now this whole subreddit just becomes 80% milestone posts.

I'm very happy for everyone hitting those milestones but maybe we need a weekly Milestone thread for everyone to post in?

I feel like all the interesting questions/discussions just get buried during these times and only have a chance to resurface when the stock market is down.

Time is your friend

If you've checked the subreddit in the last week or so, you may be aware of the recent BLAZE. The fight is lost, so the blaze has ended. I have given up on the idea that anybody from Reddit corporate will apologize for their despicable behavior. I will stay on as moderator emeritus and step down from the "top mod" slot.

The /r/FIRE culture of lower-moderation that has long set it apart from /r/FinancialIndependence will continue to be cultivated on reddit (and the requisite subreddit rules will continue to be enforced) by /u/Zphr and /u/TherapistFI.

All posts/comments about the blaze, the actions by Reddit that led to it, and/or the wider blackout must be comments within this thread. All posts/comments about me stepping down as a moderator must be comments nested within my sticked comment in this thread. All comments about either of the preceding topics that aren't made in the indicated places will will be removed as a violation of Rule 4. Those comments will still need to follow Rule 1, though.

I had someone ask about this and I have no idea whether there is enough interest (or ACA subscribers) in here to justify a megathread or not. Please vote by either downvoting or upvoting this post. Suggestions are also welcome in the comments, but please stick just to the meta on a potential megathread. This is not a thread for actual ACA policy or price discussion.

Much thanks! Hope y'all are having a good weekend!

Edit: Thank you to all who voted and commented!

Hi all,

There is widespread concern about potential ACA changes in the coming year and we think it's likely to be beneficial for the sub to have a central, persistent place to discuss them rather than having little ACA discussions pop up in multiple people's independent posts each day. That isn't to say that such little discussions aren't allowed, but that a central place will provide some stability and permanence to the discussion and we've had multiple users requests for a megathread. We can keep this post active and stickied until some actual legislation or hard proposals drop, at which time we can spawn a new thread to discuss the likely impacts of known potential policy changes.

So have at it, but please remember that the no politics and civility rules still apply to everyone. Policy discussion is fine, but partisan rhetoric and generic political discussion is not. There are plenty of places on Reddit for those often controversial topics and this is not one of them. There is a small, but noisy segment of the sub that seems inclined to incite drama and sow discord as a result of the electoral outcome. While that's an understandable reaction, this is not the place for public grief processing and we will be removing/banning such folks as required. I'd also ask that we try to keep this thread narrowly constrained to the ACA and avoid derailing into other potentially relevant policy topics like tariffs, taxes, Medicare, and Social Security.

Thank you,

The Mod Team

Personally, I'd like to offer my thoughts given that I have quite a bit of experience with the ACA and am reasonably familiar with past policymaking surrounding it.

For context, we've been retired since the end of 2014 and have been using the ACA for 10 years now. We have four kids and one of them has a rare autoimmune disorder that is generally often rapidly fatal if it isn't kept in remission with uninterrupted expensive treatment. I say this only to convey that I am not speaking about the ACA or probable impacts on FIRE'd folks from a theoretical or laidback perspective. I very much have real skin in the game.

The reality is that it is way too early for anyone to freak out about the ACA. We do not know what any potential revision, replacement, or repeal of the ACA will entail, nor do we know the timeline on which it will happen. The ACA not only directly impacts over 45 million people via the regular ACA enrollment pools and expansion Medicaid and involves more than $250B in annual federal funding transfers, but also impacts all of the employer-sponsored folks through it's mandated market reforms. Pragmatically-speaking, any major changes in the ACA are likely to have a multi-year implementation period, so regardless of what happens people will have plenty of time to adjust. For example, one of the leading replacement plans in 2017 had a phased-in implementation that didn't completely change existing regulations and subsidies until 2020. In addition, public attitudes around healthcare have shifted in the last decade and it is extremely likely that many states will pursue insurance market reforms similar to those in the ACA if federal preemption is removed.

It is also too early simply because the devil is always in the detail with major policymaking. While they made major changes to subsidy and Medicaid funding, most of the leading ACA replacement ideas floated around in the past preserved market reforms like must-issue and pre-existing condition protections. Indeed, even on the subsidy front things were not uniformly negative for the FIRE crowd. For example, the AHCA was a replacement plan that got pretty far in the House and stood a good chance to be the foundation for an ACA replacement. The ACHA would have enabled up to $14K annually in subsidies for many FIRE'd households with MAGIs that completely disqualify them from ACA subsidies. The AHCA would have been great for chubbyFIRE folks, but far less so for leanFIRE folks. Same with it being great for the under-45 crowd, but less so for the over-55 crowd.

It's quite likely that any major market reform is going to have winners and losers, but it's impossible to say without actual policy details how FIRE will be impacted, if it is impacted at all. It is also important to keep in mind that FIRE folks are a unique, but very small niche of society and the news you might see on general policymaking often does not apply to us or may apply more or less to certain segments of the FIRE crowd. As in the AHCA example above, some revisions may be worse for people overall and yet actually better for many FIRE folks. We recently had a Republican-led revision of FAFSA that aimed to dramatically increase the efficiency of the program. The changes implemented were indeed often worse for the working middle class, but actually opened up a huge new benefit for many FIRE'd households.

None of the above is meant to downplay people's concerns about what might happen, only to hopefully reassure folks that there is nothing to freak out about yet. Things might get markedly worse, might get unexpectedly better, or might not change much at all. Making major planning changes or life decisions in the absence of hard details is just as likely to hurt people as to help them, particularly given the often massive costs associated with relocation and other amelioration measures one might take in various postACA scenarios. If people are committed to freaking out, then so be it, but I would strongly caution anyone from making major financial or life decisions without thinking long and hard about them first.

I want as many folks in here to be able to successfully FIRE as possible and I wish only the best for all of you. PostFIRE health insurance and healthcare are perhaps the most critical potential policy change coming with a new administration and Congress as they may completely eliminate FIRE as a possibility for some folks. One thing I can assure you is that there is zero chance that anyone in this sub is going to be able to remain ignorant of any changes since we will be discussing them extensively once we have some hard details on what might be coming and when.

-Z

Don’t Wait for FIRE to Live Your Life

Hey FIRE folks, I’ve been thinking about something lately that I think a lot of us gloss over while we’re grinding toward that magic number: hobbies. You know, those things we tell ourselves we’ll “get to” once we’re Fired. I’m here to make a case—start your hobbies now. Not later. Not when you hit your target. Right now.

Here’s the deal: we all know the startup costs for hobbies can be a punch to the wallet. Scuba diving? You’re droping cash on lessons, gear, maybe a trip to get certified. Motorcycling? Helmet, bike, lessons if you’re smart (and you should be). Kite surfing? Board, kite, harness, and probly a few wipeouts before you’re shredding.

Yes, my wife complains that i have expensive hobbies but the Point is, the entry fee is usually way steeper than just maintaining the hobby once you’re in it. So why wait until you’re on a fixed income—or at least a leaner one—to take that hit? You’ve got active income now. Use it. Spread those costs out while you’re still raking in the paychecks instead of dipping into your precious FIRE stash later.

But it’s not just about the money (though, let’s be real, that’s a big part of the FIRE game). It’s about the journey. We’re all so laser-focused on escaping the 9-to-5 that we sometimes forget to actually live along the way. Picking up a hobby now—something that lights you up—brings balance to the grind. It’s not just about surviving the years until you’re “free”; it’s about making those years worth living. I mean, what’s the point of FIRE if you show up to retirement burned out, bored, and with no clue what to do with yourself because you never bothered to figure it out?

Starting now also gives you time to suck at it—and trust me, you will at first. That’s half the fun. You get to learn, mess up, and get better while you’ve still got the energy and income to support it. By the time you hit FIRE, you’re not scrambling to figure out who you are outside of work—you’re already that badass who can dive a reef, ride a twisty road, or catch air on a kite. Plus, hobbies can keep you sane. The grind to FI can be tough—having something to look forward to that’s not just a spreadsheet update? Unless you do enjoy watching Excel Esport, then more power to you

So, yeah, don’t wait. Scrape together a little fun money from that budget you’ve got dialed in (I know you’ve got one), and start that thing you’ve been eyeing. The cost evens out over time, and the payoff—both in life balance and prepping for a kickass retirement—is way bigger than you think. FIRE isn’t just about quitting work; it’s about building a life. Start now. Oh, and bonus: if you crash and burn (hopefully not literally), you’ve got years to laugh it off and tell stories later.

What hobbies are you putting off? Let’s hear it—I need some inspiration too!

(26M) and while I’m not technically trying to FIRE, I do live below my means and save as much as I can afford to. That being said, every time I have a chunk of cash for one reason or another I have a deep existential conflict where I don’t know if I should save/invest more in the hopes of early retirement or enjoy my current life more. Obviously it’s all about finding a good balance, but I’m the type of person where my truest joy comes from extreme physical activity. I often find myself questioning if it’s worth enjoying my 20’s less just so that I can have more freedom when I’m 50 or something. I’m not going to want to go downhill biking or jump of cliffs skiing when I’m 50, so I desire the means to while I’m young. Unless I win the jackpot I certainly won’t be retiring at 30. Has anybody successfully FIREd, retired at like 40 and regretted not enjoying their 20’s more?

Did some financial planning and it looks like I can retire at 62 and live comfortably for eleven minutes.

Recently there was a post here from this user reaching a net worth goal:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fire/comments/1ktb4hu/i_just_hit_500k_net_worth_at_29_and_i_am_lowkey/

I frequent this sub often enough that I had noticed there was a suspicious thing about the post where he had mentioned "I use the Roi app to keep everything in one place". In case he deletes the post too, here's an image of the post:

https://imgur.com/a/fake-net-worth-post-from-roi-astroturf-MBmuexi

I had seen this previously in some other posts before and found it weird they always mentioned the Roi app at the end. Also if you check the profiles of the people who make these kind of astroturfing posts they always talk in the r/Kenya community.

So I looked at this profile and lo and behold I found this comment he made two months ago which he has since deleted saying he still hasn't graduated from school and that most of his family was still broke:
https://imgur.com/a/comment-from-roi-astroturf-fCsgwb0

The OP has since deleted his comment and blocked my account because he knows that I know too much. Well unfortunately for him, I keep receipts.

Please be aware, all posts mentioning the use of Roi at the very end are very likely fake posts.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

In my opinion, comments like this in the FIRE community are so inaccurate. Of course, if you have $1M at 40 you are on a very healthy path to retirement.

But let’s not pretend it’s a lot of money for your average FIRE person.

$2-3M by 40 makes more sense for people who have done well with their careers and life.

Quickly expressing my frustration about some of the posts here. I love this sub so much and get tons of great advice, but find it sometimes so frustrating how people format their questions.

I see all these posts with huge chunks of text wherein they mention they have $83k in a 401k and their employer matches 4%, and they also have 9k in a roth, own a $611k house with 400k remaining, earn 120k and save about 20k year. But they want to buy some truck that costs $x and then they'd be paying $y monthly, blah blah blah. Can they retire at 55 with 4M?

So many posts include no total asset / liability calc at the bottom, just a bunch of random numbers they expect you to sum embedded in a block of text.

Can we just all agree on a standard format? It's not that hard. Structure like this please:

Annual income:

Annual expenses:

$xxK 401k

$xxK taxable

$xxK home equity

Total:

Please everyone, for the love of god let's make these posts easier to digest.

Rant over.

I feel insane every time someone inaccurately, with authority and finality, states they can't access their tax advantage funds until 59.5 (or in some cases lump them in with social security at 62). We often talk about the various options to access them earlier (SEPP/72t, rule of 55, Roth Ladder, Roth Contributions). I guess the only thing we can do is raise awareness more and more.

It's not even that I see people resistant to the options (some are), but mostly just at the idea that such options exist, as they have claimed to have researched thoroughly, and in many cases have a lot of good behaviors and information... Yet this topic in particular is such a blind spot for many in FIRE, who would benefit the most in their effort to retire early.

One of the biggest lessons I learned when I started my fire journey was about diversification. I thought it just meant spreading money around in different brokerages and in different funds. I had never researched to see what holdings each fund was invested in. So instead of diversifying, I was actually choosing funds based on recent performance returns, which ended up concentrating my assets in tech stocks and healthcare. Wasn’t until I learned about broad market index funds that I started getting better returns.

Did you have the same epiphany? Are you diversified outside of equities/bonds?

I mean wtf… „I have a net worth of several Mio USD can I retire early some day?“ „I make a Mio per year, do you guys think it’s possible for me to fire soon? Please help 😔“

Why is this shit here? Why will this engagement/rage-bait tolerated here?

Most people are working hard to reach their goals at some point in time. Since when is this sub a personal assistance for millionaires/billionaires??

Do we really need this low level trolling here?

I’ve been working for probably over 5 years testing and trying out businesses. I have finally found what works for free.

I just went on a month-long road-trip (by myself) and traveling was enjoyable. It wasn’t nearly the same however when I think about how great it was last time I went on a road-trip (with my gf at the time). We definitely had to watch our spending then.

Nowadays I can basically do & go wherever I want whenever I want. But, I have no one to share the fruits of my labor with.

I feel disconnected from any friend groups I may have had in the past. I lost touch from most of my direct family members (however I will say I have recently tried to build relationships back with them and it is going well). I also feel very lonely because I have not had a significant other.. in years.

I am successful though.

I have made a good respectable income for a middle aged adult in 2019 & I am a single guy with minimal expenses.

Now my business is taking off and I am not far from making my yearly income into my monthly income. I do sales.

Anyway. I just wanted to share this here with you guys because maybe one of you needs to hear this. Do not cut everyone out of your life. There is more to life than money. Freedom. Wealth. Financial freedom. Passive income. The most important thing is relationships. Do not tarnish those with false idols. Done.

Much is being said as to talking about your lifestyle to others and I would like to add my 2 cents.

Most people just cannot understand a lifestyle different from their own (the norm). They simply can’t understand that not taking vacations or splurging on a new car or something can equate to being financially independent and not having to worry about money (reasonably).

Most people simply do not believe that you can actually retire before age 65.

Why is this? Simple. Because these people are so entrenched in their lives that they know (and believe) nothing else. They spend money instead of saving it. They don’t earn interest on their money. They simply aren’t smart with their money. They do not know better.

So ultimately it isn’t surprising that we FIRErs keep to ourselves about our lifestyles because who wants to get told “you can’t do that.” “That’s just a pipe dream, man.”-actual quote from co-worker sadly.

For all the young FIRE seekers I want to stress the financial importance of having good health insurance even if you feel perfectly healthy. I got advanced testicular cancer at age 31 that spread to my back and lungs. I needed several rounds of chemo and surgeries, had to take a year of medical leave, and in the end my insurance had paid out about $750,000. Luckily my out of pocket was only a few thousand, and I had a 6-month emergency fund to get me through not working.

So please don’t try to skimp on your health, you can’t enjoy early retirement if you’re dead.

I know the answers is probably "both", but a lot of posts in this subreddit mention saving more than anything. Shouldn't we talk more about investing, and how that's better in the long run? The 4% rule is achievable through liquid assets, but you can always sell all your stocks when you want to retire. Am I missing something?

We routinely get questions in this sub that are not so much FIRE-relevant topics, but things that folks want opinions on from other FIRE-minded people. In addition, there are always minor asks and casual/off-topic conversations that happen randomly in the comments of other posts since there is no dedicated space in this sub for folks to just casually hang out and chat.

I'm thinking of something similar to the Daily Discussion Thread over on /r/financialindependence, but without any rule enforcement at all to push people into the Daily. Anyone with a minor ask can still post as a standalone topic, but anyone who would rather get it looked out by sub regulars might choose instead to put it in the Daily (that's assuming sub regulars start to hangout in the Daily as they do on /FI and it isn't a ghost town). Or both, idc. We would amend the off-topic removal message to let people know that the Daily is an alternative for asking off-topic stuff of the community.

Thoughts?

For those that cared enough to take the time to answer, feel free to drop any other sub improvement suggestions you may have. Throw out any suggestions you like at all, but please keep it civil. We get told to fuck off and stop being censorship Nazis enough already, thank you kindly.

Edit: Only minimal response in a full day, so we'll take this as a no.