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"FIRE" has been coopted by influencers and content creators who need to sell their ideas to others to keep making money. I have been absolutely disgusted by the hype that has come from the concept, and my tolerance is very low as a result.

Financial Independence means recognizing our INTERdependence, it doesn't mean being able to save enough money to go live on a beach or in an ivory tower while making videos trying to attract people to THIS investment or THAT new thing to buy to "would you like to learn more". (in the voice of Starship Troopers)

Retire Early means being able to make more of our own choices. It doesn't mean telling the rest of the world to jump off a cliff. Retirement means being able to do what we want without worrying as much about the financial side of our lives.

Our financial world consists of Income, Expenses, Assets and Debts. The goal of savings, investing, "FIRE", or whatever is to build our collection of assets that generate an income large enough so that the capital we need can come from our assets instead of working for someone else doing what we might not want to do. That kind of collection of assets takes a lot of time to build, there are no shortcuts. Bitcoin is not a get rich quick scheme, it is a way to accumulate capital in a way that cannot be debased by incompetent governments or corrupt businesses.

If advocates of FIRE are not promoting and using Bitcoin, then they are just encouraging people to step over and onto each other while trying to reach the bottom rung of a ladder. It's not helpful at all.

sorry to go onto a rant under your note, but FIRE as a movement really bothers me. It's like the people making the money from it are the only ones that matter.

Scott Wolfe 1y ago

I appreciate where you’re coming from. There are different segments to FIRE community and yes, some are simply self-interested and just about getting ahead and to that beach life at almost any cost. Same could be said for many groups or movements though. I also think there’s a very sizeable portion of the FIRE community that is composed of people who look at the world we occupy, driven by debt, employment bereft of meaning, and creeping nihilism and are saying “no”, I choose a different path. Influencers pushing FIRE are often looking to monetize that pursuit and we should question incentives…but same could be said for Bitcoin content and influencers. All said, I think the vast majority of Bitcoin and FIRE adherents and content creators are net positives, especially because both are still a relatively small portion of societies at large. Therefore, there’s still a large market to educate and get on board. They’re not simply trying to capture and gain financial benefit from an already captive audience. My two sats on this.

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Discussion

Chad Lupkes 1y ago

After my experience in the dividend hype community with so many people trying to monetize on Youtube, I may be a big jaded. I looked at doing it during the pandemic when I was on furlough from my job, and realized the only way to do it is by trading my honor and values in exchange for clicks. Thankfully my job called me back before I had to go down that road.

I believe the best way we can encourage the growth of real community is by focusing on circular economies in areas of the globe that are hurting the most. Let the FIRE burn, and let's work on spreading the word that there is an alternative monetary system, and alternative currency, and an alternative sharing system that treats people with respect.

Scott Wolfe 1y ago

Great points! I too started to go down the content creation path with FIRE in my early moments, trying to figure out how I could turn it into my “side hustle”. I never got far and quickly pulled the plug. It didn’t feel right and I realized that my interest in having a side hustle that could be monetized had taken precedence over my ability to actually share something meaningful and of value. I’m glad that I discovered Bitcoin not too long after and the proverbial rabbit hole have me new adventures to pursue!

Chad Lupkes 1y ago

I still work on building the dividend community, and I'm slowly inviting them over to Nostr and away from FB & X. It's hard to get their attention on something new, though.