I always wonder how americans can achieve FIRE with the healthcare system. It seems doable until something goes wrong and you get a huge bill?
Most Americans who want health insurance have it. Insurance pays the the bulk of a huge bill. The individual pays a small fraction of a huge bill through deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance (depends on the policy.) This fraction can be paid from the savings a FIRE retiree would have accumulated without significantly affecting their investment income. The individual pays a larger fraction of smaller medical bill…
Everything you said is the opposite of reality in America in 2020.
One think I like to keep in mind with this sort of situation is that building retirement savings and an emergency fund can have immediate benefits of the added security blanket they provide, aside from the long-term goal of retirement. Even if someone got a late start or has a high amount of debt and retirement isn't looking so possible, building a safety net and improving your financial situation is never a bad idea…
> I just got laid off myself
Been there. It’s a good opportunity to think about what you want to do. If you’re interested in a tech job contact me privately.
Most Americans who want health insurance have it. Insurance pays the the bulk of a huge bill. The individual pays a small fraction of a huge bill through deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance (depends on the policy.) This fraction can be paid from the savings a FIRE retiree would have accumulated without significantly affecting their investment income. The individual pays a larger fraction of smaller medical bill…
Everything you said is the opposite of reality in America in 2020.
There are a number of reports of out-of-pocket spending and insurance plan policy detail is generally available. Do you have a preferred source for that data? This conversation is about FIRE, but a summary of the prevelance of burdensome healthcare costs in respect to the broader US population was published here: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2...
Again, these are just gentle introductions to the data. I would be happy to read what you’re looking at.
> Is there really a significant difference between retiring at 55 vs. 65? Ten years of life is a VAST lifespan. Plus, you might not even make it till 65.
That kind of just illustrates my point. In order to FIRE at 55, you're looking at a difficult time for a decade+, from 40-50/55. Who's to say you won't drop dead a month into your retirement at 55? All the research and anecdotes I've come across illustrate how staying active and working (in whatever way possible) extend lifespan more than being retired and purposeless. So personally, I think FIRE only makes sense if…
Totally agree. There is risk of death but also risk of failure(recession, medical issues, etc...) and the risk/reward analysis goes downhill fast as you age. I was on track for FIRE. Then the great recession happened and that became semi-on track. Then I got married to someone who wasn't FIREing and had a kid. Game over. I'm now too old(late 30s). The guaranteed hardships required to achieve FIRE are totally not worth it for the potential extra years of retirement. For a few decades of retirement as a recent grad, yea. For a few extra years of retirement as a married with kids, nope. I can't subject my kid to that, and the payoff is too little, too late, too uncertain. We're focusing on living our best life now, and if I manage to achieve some degree of FIRE by virtue of high salary and not being wastefull then yay, bonus. If not, oh well. The transition from FIRE lifestyle to living our best life now lifestyle has been fantastic, joyful, and totally life altering.
One of the best things I can recommend is getting control of finances, instead of letting others and money control you, using Dave Ramsey's 7 baby steps: https://www.daveramsey.com/dave-ramsey-7-baby-steps
I can attest it makes life better!
(...with or without purchasing one of his books/dvds/etc; no affiliation but customer; we bought some of his materials for our children. Some of them told us they prefer a free BYU personal finance course, but I dont have that link as handy at the moment).
I've always thought that FIRE was comprised of two separate things that weren't necessarily related, but one required the other before it could be achieved. 0. fix your personal finance situation 1. attain financial independence 2. retire early (if at all) 0 is a pre-condition that most people in the world are stuck at. Some manage to get to step 1. Step 2 is optional because it has a hard time limit and has a fuzzy…
About getting to 0 (as i noted elsewhere): One of the best things I can recommend is getting control of finances, instead of letting others and money control you, using Dave Ramsey's 7 baby steps: https://www.daveramsey.com/dave-ramsey-7-baby-steps
I can attest it makes life better!
(...with or without purchasing one of his books/dvds/etc; no affiliation but customer; we bought some of his materials for our children. Some of them told us they prefer a free BYU personal finance course, but I dont have that link as handy at the moment).
Read the book "Millionaire Fastlane" by M.J. DeMarco. You need to create massive value that is automatable and scalable to make millions in < 10 years.