Why FIRE is a Form of Procrastination

The YNAB Podcast

The FIRE movement, which stands for "Financial Independence, Retire Early," has a long-lived and strong fan base on the internet. The idea behind FIRE is simple: figure out how much money you need to live on each year, then calculate how much money you would need to save up in order to live on the returns from your portfolio indefinitely. Once you hit your number, BAM! You're retired, and live happily after ever. Right?

Jesse sees this idea as, ultimately, just another form of procrastination about money. When you put all your focus on the number you need to retire, you forget about the most important thing about money -- how you will spend it! After all, money has to be spent to be useful, whether you spend it now or save it to spend later. Saving until you hit a magic number doesn't help you get closer to figuring out what you want your money to do for you, and therefore how you should spend it.

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