I stopped seeing FIRE as one number and started seeing it as levels of freedom

Investing / Others
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For a long time I had one main target in mind: CHF 2.5 million. Reach that number, then I am free. Everything before that was just progress toward the real goal. Lately I started looking at it differently. Different net worth levels unlock different options.

At one level I could stop working and live a simple life in Southeast Asia. At another level I could live very comfortably there. Higher up Switzerland becomes realistic. This changed how I look at my spreadsheet. I still have a final target, but I no longer see everything below it as “not enough”. Each milestone buys a different version of freedom. That framing is much more motivating to me than just staring at one huge number years away.

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My piece of advice,

Stop life gamification and just focus on something else. This has to run in the background. All these graphs, excel and numbers addictions will develop into anxiety and depression.

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Fully disagree.

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And what do those new milestones change for you?

I have the impression (maybe wrong) that you build your life around fire. Another approach is the other way around. Define what a happy and richful life looks for you and then adapt your finance to that.

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We are on a FIRE forum!

I view finances a bit like health/fitness. Both are important things to get right and you can join forums to discuss, get tips and motivation.

This doesn’t mean that the topic should be all-consuming (though examples both in fitness and FIRE have seen people get a bit obsessed!) but when you are on a FIRE forum, the context is that we are discussing these topics.

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Well, Cortana, I understand what you are saying. Every single invested/saved dollar is indeed token of freedom. When you start out, it gives options and breathing space in the event of an unexpected bill, much later, in the event of a job loss, much later, in event you dont want to work at all, and finally, eventually it allows you to fully design your life and time - doing what you want, when you want, with who and how long you want (Ultimate freedom).

if this improves your motivation and feeling of incremental wins (which it is), then use it by all means! FI is not a I/O state, it is gradual

I am at Ultimate Freedom level - except one thing: I need to free myself of 2 decades obsessing over FI. I kid you not.

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I guess you can view it as a hobby/interest.

I certainly have hobbies that are less practical and less helpful to others


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It‘s honestly just a hobby. I mean yeah it‘s a big goal for me as it means ultimate freedom, but the road up there is still a hobby. Of which I have many. Tennis, gym, cooking, motorcycles, playing videogames, tech-stuff like my NAS, watching movies and TV shows that captivate me, travelling the world and spending time with the people I like and love.

So I get why it seems that my life is mostly about FIRE. We are in a FIRE forum, so that‘s what I like to discuss here.

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I am almost 1 decade in, 1.5 decades left, and beginning to realize that this obsession is not healthy. Except that it helps me stay away from most of social media traps (while staying comfy in FI and finance trap).

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Same.
(Not healthy for people who don’t earn enough to become FI in less than maybe 5 years from discovery of the concept I’d say.)

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Thank you for agreeing even if you won’t say.

Let’s launch my unfire product.

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