# Retirement and FIRE



## MrMatt (Apr 15, 2011)

Have any of you chaps done or are you along the FIRE (financial independence retire early) process?

Feels like a nice thing to be able to consider but a lot of sacrifices / living well well within your means / lowering expectations along the way.

Just interested in some real feedback, psychological impact etc rather than on some of the money forums where people seem to just spend £2.50 a month on everything they need.


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

Putting aside daily living costs and running costs are you ready to stop work?

Materialistic wise do you have what you need?

Is there some large or expensive item you are considering at present?

Are you happy with where you are?

Can you cover a large expense in an emergency?

Are you able to chill or are you desperate to be doing something? Is your job so high pressure you can't switch off or if you stopped doing it would it be a relief and you could?


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## baxlin (Oct 8, 2007)

I think the first of Andy’s questions is very relevant. Are you ready? I didn’t ‘do’ FIRE, in fact I didn’t retire until age 69, because I just wasn’t ready earlier.

From the requirements listed in the OP, if you have been holding back in lots of ways, it would be a huge sea-change to suddenly have all the restrictions removed.

FWIW, I cut down to 4 days a week a couple of years beforehand, then to 3, and in the last couple of months I only did a couple of hours a day, if that. By then I just seemlessly moved into retirement. OK I was part owner of the company, so I had the flexibility, but it worked for me.


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## Taxboy (Aug 23, 2006)

I've just retired early and really pleased with the decision. I did however cut my spending really hard in the 12 months run up to clear off a relatively small amount of debt and add some savings.

From a financial perspective I think you need to review your current spending habits e.g. do you spend pretty much all your monthly income or are you able to make savings. If it's the former then you will need to prepare yourself for a lifestyle change. In some ways I've been even more focused on budgeting since retirement - not being mean, but checking if monthly income is covering expenditure. I've also not got any major capital expenditure planned e.g. new car in the immediate future. I probably will change get the car but I want to have a year of retirement before deciding what I want /need in a vehicle

Whether you are ready to make the leap is something only you will be able to decide. Having hobbies I think is pretty essential - not just detailing  The nice thing is having the time to do stuff without the pressure of having to get it completed before Monday comes plus the freedom to just go out and not be at anyone's beck and call.

Hope this helps but happy to provide more info if you want

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk


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