- Millennials joining the FIRE movement are prioritizing financial independence over traditional early retirement.
- Many people say they want to retire from nine-to-five jobs, but would prefer to continue working in less stressful roles.
- Five millennials on their path to financial independence explain why they’re not planning on retiring early.
Shelley October, 41, believes she’ll have enough saved up to retire early by her mid-50s, but she has little intention of doing so.
Ms. October, a speech-language pathologist for New York City public schools, began her path to financial independence several years ago and said she has always followed the movement’s central tenet: working and saving to have enough money to retire comfortably.
She and her three sisters are starting out together, and plan to work a few more years before they can retire. They moved to Yonkers, a city north of New York City, where the cost of living is much lower and they’re keeping their day-to-day expenses down. She found a townhouse through the American Neighborhood Association, with no down payment, no fees, and a mortgage interest rate of 1.625%.
By age 55, she expects to have enough saved up from her pension and retirement accounts to retire. But she says she doesn’t plan on leaving the workforce entirely. She’s already working on monetizing her passion with a small tutoring business. Once she retires from her current job, she plans to focus on raising awareness of dyslexia across the U.S. and empowering other Black women to reach their financial goals.
“When I started listening to podcasts, I got really excited about the idea of potentially retiring early, and maybe growing my business, and I started crunching the numbers to try to make it happen,” October says. “Then I realized I could live a really good lifestyle while working without feeling like I was killing myself.”
October is one of many millennials working toward achieving financial independence, one of the main goals of the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) community. The traditional FIRE movement, which began in the 1990s, emphasized working hard, building up significant savings from multiple sources of income, and quitting work years or even decades before turning 64.
Millennials achieve financial independence She told BI that traditional retirement is overrated, and instead she’d rather take a low-stress job, produce a podcast, care for her young children, or pursue her passions.
“The biggest change I’ve noticed is the emphasis on FI and the decrease in emphasis on RE,” says Scott Riekens, executive producer of the film.Playing with Fire“I think this is great because financial independence is the main motivator, and it is, and it shows that work and purpose really do matter. Retiring early without doing anything is a bad idea.”
This philosophy drives five millennials, who told BI that reaching “FI” and not “RE” is the more important part of the equation. All say their hard work to achieve financial independence won’t suddenly stop, nor will retirement on the beach or in a cabin in the woods bring them joy. Rather, they hope to give back to their communities while working to further their careers.
Aiming for financial independence
Millennials who have not yet achieved FI are trying a more balanced approach and not setting themselves strict timeline goals.
Oz Chen, a financial technology designer in Los Angeles, tried the digital nomad lifestyle for two years after being laid off from his job in his mid-20s. But the 35-year-old realized he wanted more consistency and a stronger social network, and even with $1.5 million invested, he changed his goal from early retirement to hitting a career milestone.
While he enjoys the freedom his job gives him and the ability to set healthier boundaries, many of his life goals remain unfulfilled — he continues to set aside money for experiences over material things other than coffee — he plans to keep striving to better himself and those around him.
“I always thought of my financial independence as a so-called single-player mode. I’m not married yet, I don’t have kids, so I thought maybe I need more money to achieve that,” Chen said.
Gabriela Ariza, 31, also has a lot of life goals she wants to achieve, but she already knows she doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon. She sees financial independence as an extension of her drive to complete her passion projects. The Illinois resident, who is moving from Chicago to the smaller city of Rockford, plans to achieve financial independence by 40, but she has no plans to quit her job in cybersecurity and real estate.
She plans to use her years of real estate investment experience to build new affordable housing and expand technology and education in Haiti as part of her nonprofit organization. Haiti’s Common SpaceHer husband wants to leave his 9-to-5 job and become a full-time business owner.
“I’ve seen so many people sacrifice their health, and that’s the last thing I want to do if I want to achieve financial independence,” Ariza said.
Even if you don’t want to quit your job completely, the prospect of a less stressful career is a win-win, but letting go of the constant need for financial success takes effort.
David and Jill Pauley, ages 36 and 34, plan to retire in seven years, but both feel that pursuing their passions is more important to them. The couple, who have a net worth of $820,000, save 55% to 65% of their annual salaries as city employees in Michigan. They say the low cost of living and their modest upbringings are what keep them financially stable, even with the expense of raising two children.
“Looking back 12 months ago, our savings rate was 64 percent, and we think that’s too high because we’re not planning on retiring,” David Pauley said. “We’re trying to bring that number down and figure out how to spend the difference, because our goal is not to die with $10 million.”
They both believe they plan to work until their jobs no longer satisfy them, and they question whether their large savings are worth it. They made rules, like not choosing restaurants based on price, which allowed them to pursue what they really wanted and changed the way they raised their children.
“Last month, I told Jill to spend $300 by the end of the month,” David Pauley said, “and she was really sweating.”
Are you part of the FIRE movement or live by its principles? Contact this reporter nsheidlower@businessinsider.com.
