Did Coronavirus Destroy The FIRE (Early Retirement) Movement?
If you’re a member of the FIRE movement, you may be justifiably concerned about the economic and financial turmoil of the past few months. Most members of the movement have no experience with a serious downturn, at least not since retiring early.
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If you’re not familiar with the FIRE movement, it’s a moniker for Financial Independence, Retire Early. Participants in the movement use a combination of high income, radically reduced living expenses and other strategies to build an outsized investment portfolio quickly.
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For example, a 25-year-old may commit to saving and investing 50% of his or her income to build up a seven-figure investment portfolio by age 35 or 40. At that point, there’s a choice to either retire early or downshift to a life of greater leisure and a lot less work. But the coronavirus pandemic has certainly put in a speed bump for more than a few members of the FIRE movement. For those hoping to reach FIRE status, it may take a few years longer.
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But if you’re already in early retirement, there are special challenges. For early retirees, the financial and economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic may signal the need to make some radical adjustments. That’s not a bad development either. If you retire in your 30s, you should fully expect to face multiple crises over the next 50 or 60 years.
Read more @Forbes
