|
Retire Early
Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler
|
In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age
of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this
financially independent lifestyle, they invite you
to take advantage of their wisdom and experience. |
|
Are We
Being Misleading about FIRE?
Q & A with a Reader
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
Hello,
Saw
the article on MSN about both of you
- Congrats on your success. ….. I am
sure you are getting tons of emails….
What the article doesn’t mention is
how much money you started off with? I have
seen some articles that say $500,000………We are obviously not all
stock brokers
and successful restaurant owners….
I think it is a bit misleading excluding that information.
My guess is you had well into 6 figures, if not more, to take off and do
this…..I am not trying to be confrontational and I know that info is private,
but people need the “whole story” or else its of little value….. at least to
me….
I think it would take over a million in today’s dollars to do what you are
doing…. Not a reality for the majority of the population….
Thanks for any feedback….
Scott
Mosquito
Point, Holbox, Yucatan
Hi Scott,
Thanks for taking the time to write. We appreciate it.
Catey Hill from MarketWatch didn’t ask us what amount of money we had when we
retired in 1991 – but there are other stories that state we had $500k. Yes, in
today’s dollars that would probably be a million or so.
That being said,
the FIRE choice isn’t for the majority of
the population.
It would probably be safe to say that most people would rather live a
conventional life, fitting in with their peers, have a job, a pension, own a
home, have a pet, maybe have kids, and live in the same neighborhood for a decade or
more…
Beautiful Mayan child at Lake Atitlan,
Guatemala
But that doesn’t mean Early Retirement can’t be done on less, or with an income
less than $100k a year to save up for
Financial Independence.
The internet is full of FIRE-ees who have done this (Jillian Johnsrud with her
family of 5 kids, Mr. Money Mustache, and countless others). Take a look online
for personal financial bloggers or on "X" for the same. I think you would be
surprised.
Everyone is different. We all make choices and have different priorities. Life
has never been a one-size-fits-all.
You might be interested in our article
How to Create a Pension for the Average
Joe. And take a look at our
Retirement Issues Page for more articles on this
topic.
Food vendors in Saigon, Vietnam
And just to mention, in our
world travels, we have met many people living on
their Social Security income. Countries such as
Mexico,
Guatemala,
Thailand,
Vietnam,
Laos,
Ecuador, and
Panama offer a good quality of life for less money.
It just depends on what you might want to do.
The hardest thing isn’t living the FIRE lifestyle, I think it’s the decision to
live the FIRE lifestyle. It will definitely separate you from your peers, and
some people don’t like that.
Everything in life has a trade-off. You just have to ask yourself if you want to
make that negotiation with yourself.
Then commit to it.
Wishing you the best.
Feel free to write any time.
Akaisha and Billy
Retire
Early Lifestyle appeals to a different
kind of person – the person who prizes their
independence, values their time, and who doesn’t
want to mindlessly follow the crowd.
HOME
Book Store
Retire Early Lifestyle Blog
About Billy & Akaisha
Kaderli
Press
Contact
20 Questions
Preferred
Links
Retirement
Country Info
Retiree
Interviews
Commentary
REL
Videos
|
