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Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) is a Lie That Can Ruin Your Life
The FIRE movement is all about becoming financially independent from work so that you can retire early. People go crazy over it, but underneath are some hard truths that nobody wants to face.
This is troubling not just because FIRE can make life worse, but also because it masks the truth of what will really help you find financial security and happiness.
The Problem With “Financial Independence”
Let me start by saying that I am not telling you to stay poor or in a job that underpays you. There is a severe problem with companies not paying people what they are worth and it needs to be fixed.
What I am about to say here doesn’t mean that you should avoid trying to get a raise or that you shouldn’t move companies if yours is underpaying you. I’ve done this myself and I believe everybody ought to do the same.
What I am saying is that financial independence, as we most often think of it, is a recipe for misery.
We romanticize this idea that getting a ton of money and living without work is suddenly going to fix all of our problems. It won’t. That doesn’t mean that more money can’t fix some of your problems, though.
