Last week I attended a conference of 2200 people involved in personal finance and media called Fincon. I was slotted to speak alongside four other familiar faces in the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) community. JD Roth (Get Rich Slowly), Pete (Mr. Money Mustache), Carl (1500days) and Leif (Physician on FIRE). We were given an 8 am slot late in the conference when most goers are dragging and perhaps a bit hung over. When my alarm went off I thought, “If I wasn’t speaking at this thing, there is no way I’d get out of bed!” But when 8 am rolled around the room was packed out until people were standing in the back. We tackled all the common misconceptions of FIRE and shared our personal stories. I left the conference feeling great about the whole thing.
Until I sat down in my home church the following Sunday. I’ve been attending church there for 6 years. Little did I know that the pastor would be preaching the anti-FIRE sermon. He had seen the recent New York Times article featuring my fellow panelists and set aim. He spent over half the sermon taking pot shots at the FIRE community and perpetuating all the common myths.
I went from slightly amused, to concerned, to hurt.
When I’m featured in major news outlets, I never read the comments. Same for Youtube comments. I haven’t put my toe into Reddit. But sometimes the critics are closer to home. Sometimes you’re sitting at your home church on a Sunday morning. I sunk in my seat, being publically called out and criticized from the pulpit.
Any counter-cultural lifestyle opens you up to attack.
Even from people who you are on the same page with. If all the misconceptions about FIRE were taken out of the sermon, I agreed with most of the points. His same points were a lot of what I share on this site.
It’s easy to attack things instead of taking the time to understand. It’s easy to see anything different and throw stones.
Cue the Haters
Let’s say you do some odd stuff like…
- Maybe you aggressively pay off your house. (Or pay cash like we did!)
- Maybe you don’t drive a new car every four years.
- Maybe you eat dinner at home.
Or maybe you’re really weird.
- You don’t carry credit card debt.
- You ride a bike.
- You take family vacations to National Parks.
Someone won’t understand. Or even care to understand. Instead, they will just criticize.
Maybe it’s your friends, people you share the Thanksgiving table with or old coworkers. Someone will have opinions.
Others will be confused.
How do we deal with others confusion?
Do anything different. Create something. Say something that matters to you. Live the life you feel called to live.
And someone will be confused. By confused, I don’t mean take the time to ask good questions and understand you with empathy.
I mean they will criticize. Throw you under the bus. Try to shame you. Turn others against you. Not everyone of course. It just takes one person out of a 100 to shake us. Or make us doubt ourselves.
At Fincon this year, one author shared how the Amazon reviews for his book were 3.5 stars. He highlighted all the great reviews. And then showed us one that simply said, “Blah, Blah, Blah.”
It just takes one. One person’s confusion about our work or our value. You might get 500 glowing reviews on your financial plan, life plan, or choices. But one person comes at you with a “Blah, Blah, Blah” comment and our eyes and mind fixate there.
Never let someone else’s confusion become your confusion.
I drive a 20-year-old Honda Civic (ironically, driving this old car instead of upgrading to a $40,000 SUV enables us to give more generously above and beyond our tithe to our church).
Driving an old car confuses people. They pity me. They assume I’m poor. Occasionally they look down on me as though I have less value as a human being (like the old coworker who said I shouldn’t be allowed to park with the other employees because my car was so embarrassing).
They are confused. But I’m not.
- Our net worth is around a million.
- I hit financial independence at 32.
- I was able to foster and adopt 4 kids.
- We volunteer in our community and giving is our largest line item.
- I’ve started working part-time this fall and invoiced more in two months than I used to make in a year.
- My life, impact, and contribution is greater than it’s ever been.
And I drive a beater car.
I went to have snow tires put on my car last year. The young guy who went to pull my car into the garage gave me a look of pity that clearly said, “I’m so sorry that a pretty girl like you has to drive an ugly piece of crap like this.” The look on his face was so clear, I could read his thoughts word for word. I was tempted to reply, but that seemed weird. Instead I just telepathically responded, “Dude, it’s OK, really. I’m rich.”
When we know who we are, others confusion doesn’t need to shake us.
I could have easily, neurotically, started babbling about lifestyle inflation and passive income and living my best life. But I didn’t have to. It wasn’t my job to help him understand.
It’s not your job either.
Others confusion isn’t your job to fix.
My pastor can think I’m a lazy bum who will be ashamed when I get to Heaven. My parents might not understand why we travel so much with our kids. I might write things that other people think stinks. I might create things that others love to trash talk about.
That’s not my problem or my job. Life can’t be lived by a popular vote. If people want to understand, that’s wonderful. I’d love to explain it. But it’s not my job to chase people down and sell them on the value of my ideas and contributions, or my value as a human.
Fearing the Critics
I know so many people who are terrified to step out. To step into the area where others might criticize them or misunderstand them.
I really empathize with that. I spent most of my life in that space. And occasionally hang out there still. Wanting to create, wanting to live out my highest point of contribution, wanting to do something that mattered. But simply terrified of the critics.
- What if someone misunderstands?
- What if I fail and then everyone will KNOW. They will know I’m not good enough, or smart enough or talented enough. They will know that I’m not enough.
- What if I say the wrong thing? Or come across the wrong way?
- What if I step out and not every person loves me? What if it creates an opportunity for someone to be critical?
Friends, it will happen. Good people won’t always understand. People who love you won’t always understand. And then there are people who just love to tear the scared/brave soul in the arena down.
Brene Brown said that after her TED talk went viral her husband, friends and therapist told her NOT to read the comments. So naturally, she went and read every single one. And she said: They validated every single reason I ever had for staying small and not stepping out. Everything I was terrified someone might say about me was in the comments.
What’s the alternative?
The cost of a life lived without criticism is high. You have to give all your most important choices over to the majority. At the same time, you need to keep your life really, really small. If too many people see it, you’ll lose the consensus of approval.
Every time I stepped out and did something big, at least one person strongly disagreed with me. When I went to Bible college, married Adam, adopted Micah, when we had our first baby, moving to Europe, giving away 50% of our income one year, moving to Montana, adopting a sibling group of three from foster care, going back to work, leaving work, starting to write again….
Purpose Driven Life
I think our lives should be driven by our purpose. Our values and gifts should get center stage. Not social consumerism.
You might have to make some counter-cultural choices to get there. You might have to try things that might fail. There will be risk. Someone will be confused along the way.
Let’s tackle a few of the common FIRE misconceptions.
- We drink all day…on a beach.
- We don’t do anything./ We stare at ceiling fans.
- We aren’t taking new ground or having an impact.
- We hate work and are rebellious, entitled jerks
- We just want to travel all the time.
1. We drink all day…on a beach
This might be fair of normal retirees. The rise of alcoholism for people’s in their 60’s and 70’s is staggering. When their entire life, identity and purpose has been a 40-year career, it can be a hard transition.
Except, I know a lot of early retirees and this describes zero of them. (Although the obsession for craft beer is a real thing!)
What I do see is people thinking that when they retire early they will have ALL the time to do ALL the things. Then being painfully disappointed they can’t squeeze everything in. They overcommit. They get early retiree burnout because they take on too much.
2. We don’t do anything. We stare at ceiling fans all day.
This one might be my favorite. I’ve written about creating a Highlight Reel. Every early retiree warns that you need something to retire TO. I talked with Steve from Think Save Retire about it. Very few people actually think they will lead happy, fulfilled, meaningful lives staring at ceiling fans.
Most people view “retire early” not as a finish line but as a starting line. Now I get to fully lean in. Now I get to do the things that always mattered. Now I get to run faster towards my goals and dreams because I’m not spending all day earning money to pay my car payment. I want to be like Betty White and Eugen Peterson!
3. We aren’t taking new ground or having an impact.
I take it back. THIS is my favorite.
Folks, I use to sell furniture, and mattresses and coffee. I was OK at it. Did I try to do it “for the glory of God?” Sure, most days. Did it actually matter that I did it? No. Was it the best use of my skill? No. Was I amazing? Nope.
There are a few things I’m actually good at. I just rarely picked those things as professions. At the start of this mini-retirement I crafted a bold plan: Spend 90% of my time in things I’m actually good at. Areas I have a deep knowledge, passion, natural skill set and flow.
“Taking new ground” and “having an impact” is hard to quantify. But I’ll do my best for you. You can judge however you see fit.
- Every week someone reaches out to me because my story gave them hope/encouragement/motivation.
- Thousands of people read the words I write.
- I speak to audiences near and far.
- I mentor people through difficult transitions to creating a life full of purpose and meaning. (And I always have a 3 months wait list.) I make more money working part-time than I ever did working full time.
- I was able to adopt 4 kids.
- We are able to give more generously than we ever had. (Because our passive income covers 100% of our expenses, we could give 100% of our income to charity.)
Or I could go back to making an awesome cappuccino earning barely above minimum wage if that would make everyone more comfortable.
4. We just want to travel all the time.
Well, there might be a bit of truth here. For most people work ended up being their entire life, for a long time. After our three adopted kids moved in with us, Adam used every single sick day and vacation day to help take the kids to appointments, doctors, attend court dates and meet with caseworkers.
We were ready for our kids to have new adventures. Not courtroom adventures, or having a social worker drop them off at a new house adventure but outdoor adventures. We wanted to help them explore, learn and find wonder in this amazing world. So we do weekend adventures each week where we get out of the house. We travel around in our pop-up camper to National Parks. We try to make up for a few lost years.
5. We hate work and are rebellious, entitled jerks.
I’ll admit a lot of people stumble upon FIRE after a horrible day at work. They can’t imagine doing this for another 30 years. They think, “There HAS to be more to life than suffering through this job just to pay for all this stuff that is supposed to make life suck less.”
Sometimes people are burned out. Even the Bible talks about Sabbath years. God didn’t create a Sabbath year every 7 years because the Israelites were lazy and entitled. God knew we needed rest. Our best life is often a well-rested life.
The word Sabbath has fallen out of favor in lieu of the new term mini-retirement. It’s not that we are lazy, rebellious, entitled jerks. Sometimes we are just tired. Sometimes we miss our spouse, kids, extended family and friends. Sometimes we have kept our nose the grind for so long we have forgotten who we are. So we step away. For a month or a year. We take a Sabbath year.
FIRE makes that possible. FI gives us options and freedom to do the things we feel called to do.
I think financial independence is the perfect expression of faith.
It’s knowing your purpose, wanting to have an impact, wanting to live true to your values. And being willing to buck the trend and make some hard tradeoffs to do it.
I didn’t strive for FIRE so I could opt out of life. FIRE let me fully opt-in. My greatest work is still to come. The only difference is it doesn’t have to earn income anymore.
You would think the church being full of passionate, hard-working, disciplined, wealthy, purpose-driven folks who happen to have time and freedom would be a good thing! I think it is.
A note on comments: You all are amazing with comments! But sometimes when we feel attacked it’s easy to attack back. And it’s extra easy to trash talk church stuff when it seems out of touch or mean-spirited. Trust me, while writing this I had MANY sharp barbs I could have thrown. But during the Fincon FIRE panel, we were each asked how we respond to mean comments and critics. And my big fat mouth said, “with empathy.” Geesh. So I tried extra hard in this post to do that. And I hope your comments will be the same. Actually, it’s fine if they aren’t, I’ll just delete them. =)
I am so sorry this happened – and at church? It really magnifies the misunderstanding about what this movement is all about. Perhaps your pastor needs an introduction to PastorFI here in SanDiego? The AH-mazing thing about Financial Independence is exactly the thing you point out. It gives us the freedom to DO more. To GIVE more. To be emotionally available to LOVE and SERVE more. You do good work Jillian. Hopefully this allows a conversation in your church community. <3
I want to meet PastorFI! Next time I’m in San Diego! You make such a good point about being emotionally available. Having the rest and margin to really love people well. To show up for others. That is so hard to make happen when we are working to pay bills 12 hours a day.
I am sure he would love that!
Wendy, you couldn’t have said it better ❤️
Does he record/broadcast his sermons?
Very Honest Post. I loved it because I can relate.
I’m glad you loved it and sorry that you can relate. It’s such a universal struggle, but if nothing else, you know you’re not alone. I’m right there with you!
What a wonderful post, Jillian. It is so, so hard when someone we respect says things that hurt us. And I can’t imagine the pastor meant to make the sermon about you. (If he DID, then it’s time for a new church!) Kudos to you for showing grace. Just remember that what ultimately matters is that you’re accomplishing God’s purpose in your life – His approval is all that matters. I think you and your husband are doing amazing things, and that God’s looking down saying “you go, girl!”
I’m sure it wasn’t personal, it just felt like it at the moment. It’s a daily work to be grounded in our purpose and identity, no matter what circles we are in or what people are saying. That was really clear coming out of Fincon this year, then hit home at church.
Jillian, you are SO MUCH MORE than just enough! It’s very sad that so many people constantly have to compare themselves to and judge others. I am completely inspired by how you live your life and the amazing contributions that you are making in your world every single day. You exude a sense of purpose and true happiness. Isn’t that what life is all about?
Thanks so much Julia! It’s a work in progress but I think hitting FI really helped me lean into the things that matter to us. It’s been great to see that bear fruit in our family, marriage, work, and relationships.
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Jill! FIRE is about getting control of your financial life. Control of your financial life neither means that you are adhering to your faith nor means that you are failing to adhere to your faith.
Our faith should be much more important than FIRE. If you are doing something that does not adhere to your faith in the pursuit of FI(RE), you should not do it. So much of this is priorities – God should be way ahead of your portfolio – but that does not mean it is impossible to build up a strong portfolio and reduce your expenses.
Ideally, FI(RE) helps you adhere more fully to your faith because it helps you de-emphasize the pursuit of money and de-emphasize consumption.
Sorry to be rambling – this is a great topic – I’m sure I’m not alone among your readers in having all sorts of thoughts on this one.
Oh, I had a few days of all sorts of thoughts so I’m right there with you!
I love that you had the courage to write this. I’m sorry your pastor didn’t/doesn’t understand how much more we can give when we are living a life of intention and I really hope you have the chance to open eyes to see all the good that can be done when we aren’t living paycheck to paycheck. Your talk of sabbath years really resonated with me when I first started reading your work and was a light bulb moment for me. Thank you for the writings..
That’s great to hear Tracy! When we don’t have to worry about bills and keeping our heads above water financially, it really frees us up. Our time, our emotional energy and our ability to care for those around us. A lot of that comes out of rest. I’m a much kinder and loving person when I’m rested…to everyone!
As a pastor myself, I’m surprised (and appalled?) that your pastor would preach at you like that. Does he know what you do? Who you are? Did he know his sermon was aimed at you?
If so… that’s not cool. At all.
If not… well, it sounds like he still didn’t approach it well.
I’m hoping you’ll make an appointment to talk with him about it. Again, speaking as a pastor here, if I hurt someone in my congregation like that, I’d want to know so I could apologize, both personally/privately and publicly.
I’m also very curious now as to where you go to church and if I can catch this sermon online somewhere…?
I’m assuming he has no idea who I am or what I do. Just bad luck, I hope. I would love a chance to share this other perspective on FIRE because I think it could do amazing things in our church, and really we are on the same page with so many points. Honestly, I doubt that will happen. But love hopes, right?
Sorry for the delay in replying…
Yes, love hopes… So I hope you’ll reach out to your pastor to give him the chance to hear your take on this. It may make his life better and your church’s life better! Or he might not give you the time of day. No way to know which way it will go until you ask… 🙂
And I’m still curious which church it is. Maybe you could email it to me privately?
I did request to chat someone on staff a few times, but no word back. Shoot me an email and I’ll send you the info.
your situation may look odd to an outsider. i get it, being one myself in a different way. y’all seem very wholesome while we live a rock’n’roll lifestyle unapologetically. this one single life is the only one we get and we’re not hurting anyone (except maybe some liver damage). i’m sure you’re not hurting anyone either and probably helping, as you mention.
why in the hell can’t so many people disapprove silently?
I love my rock’n’roll friends! I grew up in a small rock’n’roll town and it’s build into my DNA. At Fincon, I appointed myself chief dance walker. =)
i know you did that without even being there. best dance walker i’ve seen, that jillian, i was just saying. the life works for us, but we let wholesome people into the house too. that’s the beauty of being judgement free.
“I think financial independence is the perfect expression of faith.” Thank you for writing this!! This perfectly captures what I’ve been trying to say for some time now. This article is so powerful. I completely agree that reaching FIRE allows one the ability to live out the life they were called to live. Be it volunteering, serving in ministry or missions or raising up the next generation through avenues that otherwise wouldn’t be available if work is required and not optional (like homeschooling), the freedom and flexibility this lever provides is truly outstanding.
Thanks Cody! I think FIRE is what heaven will be like. =) Working in our gifts and skill sets, doing things that are meaningful and enjoyable. With no worry of making car payments or compromising on our best work because it pays $2 more an hour.
Jillian! How devastating, I am so sorry you had to sit through that sermon. It’s so frustrating and sad to hear about church leadership using the lectern to shame, condemn, and comment on things they don’t understand or feel threatened by.
I’m so impressed with your empathy and grace! I would be writing a list of all my accomplishments and “take thats” to publish in the bulletin next week.
The fruit of you and Adam “being weird” for the last 15 years is unbelievable and doesn’t need to be defended. The proof is in your family, in your local community, in the blogosphere…everywhere you invest! The other day your name came up and (my) Adam said, “Jillian is a disruptor in a niche of disruptors. She is saying and doing things with FIRE that no one else is!”
Hugs, friend.
Sabbath years–what a good way to think about it.
What were the specific criticisms of the FIRE movement, if you don’t mind my asking? It seems like a stretch to call it unchristian when it allows you to A.) Devote more time/resource to service and B.) live your fullest life and therefore have more room for rejoicing and thanksgiving.
The biblical argument against was….well, he used the verse “Give us today are daily bread” as evidence that we are praying for people to be showing up in their 9-5 jobs in the bread industry. Normally, his scripture references are really strong. I might have found a different supporting one for anti-FIRE.
Love it Jillian! This post reminds me of WHY I want to pursue FIRE and to not lose heart due to an OPINION.
Thanks Nate! Hopefully it was easy to see the sermon was build on basic misunderstanding of FIRE and not the lives we are trying to build.
Wow, that would be a little unnerving to be called out like that so close to home. It does seem like the recent Suze Orman interview highlighted how most people that have heard of FIRE don’t actually understand it. When the majority of people don’t understand even saving a little for the future, I’m sure even more can’t wrap their heads around the freedom FI brings us.
Any resistance just means we’re making an impact, although it’s easier said than done when it’s right in your face like that. If only people understood the power they could harness though! Their lives could be so much more impactful and they could make a bigger difference than they could have otherwise.
Suze has done a great job of getting attention by playing out the misconceptions, in her case more math based. Someone will always be confused. We just can’t let their confusion be ours.
I just wanted to add in here that I, along with many others, continue to be inspired by the human being you are.Thank you, sweet friend!
August, I miss you. Call, text or stop by any time friend.
Thank you, Jillian for writing this. It is so hard to put ourselves out there. You read my mind when you said; “I think financial independence is the perfect expression of faith.” It really is. I have always been passionate about volunteering and helping others.
Seven years ago, I was looked down on for leaving my job to be a stay at home Mom. Even my husband wanted to be a stay at home Dad. There will always be critics. When I learned that some of the people in the FIRE movement had wives and husbands that stayed at home and that it is okay to do. I felt included! I have the ability to volunteer and help more people. This last year thanks to the other groups mentioning coaching and mentoring and I can now do more of my passion and teach what I know part-time.
Thank you!!! *hugs*
I’m so excited for you and all the new things that might grow in the next 10 years! Keep up living out your best life.
Oh Jillian! Of all of your posts I have read (and I think I’ve read them all) This was the post that resonated with me the most.
This is such a great response to the criticism you received. I wholeheartedly agree with what you have said. When I’ve brought FIRE up among fellow Christians I usually get the “the love of money is the roof of all evil” type of response. Sometimes they say it aloud, but often it is with a judgmental glance. And I totally get it and sometimes we can go overboard, but if we are generous along the journey and still pursue FIRE, then I believe we should.
“You would think the church being full of passionate, hard-working, disciplined, wealthy, purpose-driven folks who happen to have time and freedom would be a good thing!” I really like this quote. I think of a couple of missionaries right now that are struggling to raise their support. If they had pursued FIRE before then, they could be doing their best work now, not having to ask someone to support them at $50/month.
I would love to hear more about your thoughts on faith and FIRE and keep up the great work despite the critics.
Money in faith communities, especially Christians can be a really tricky topic. It can so easily get tangled into ideas of greed, generosity, pride and envy. But Jesus talked about it a lot. So I try to do the same.
Way to live (and write) courageously, friend! You are certainly making an impact. And this awesome article just gave a lot of people the extra boost they needed to live life on their terms and push through the criticism.
Our best life often generates a bit of confusion. Hopefully it encourages people that if nothing else, all people leading big, impact driven lives face a bit of this.
There’s much to comment on here. I’m very surprised at the perception of FIRE people – I would think to achieve such an exceptional goal they’d be exceptional people – no one could have achieved it with the “lazy” attitude suggested. That aside, I loved the point about how the only way to avoid criticism is to lead a small life. What a fear-based way to live. Live a big life, flourish and become who you were born to be and ignore the haters.
I think facing the fact that a small life is the only solution to criticism will be the motivation to face a bit of confusion. It’s doesn’t mean your doing anything wrong, but on the right path.
But what kind of Christianity is this that you heard? Did Christ measure value in mere hours of toil, money produced or objects purchased? No , that is certainly not the case.
Jesus taught that we should use our financial resources to help the poor and needy through benevolence (Luke 10:29-37; 18:18-25; compare James 2:15-17) and missions/ministry support (Luke 8:1-3; 10:1-9).
Jesus taught that we should use our material possessions to meet essential family needs (Matthew 7:7-12; Mark 7:9-13; compare 1 Timothy 5:8 and 2 Thessalonians 3:7-10).
Jesus taught that we should exercise careful money management and exercise shrewd wisdom prior to making any purchase (Luke 14:28-30).
Jesus taught, particularly through his frequent illustrations of stewards (Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 16:1-13) and farming that it is appropriate, and even expected by the Lord, to invest our resources for long-term gain and/or financial security. Jesus also taught that, since we are merely stewards, we should invest ourselves into the lives of others, not hoard our resources to ourselves (Matthew 25:34-40; Luke 6:30-38; 10:25-37; 12:15-21).
There is nothing inconsistent with financial independence and faith. In fact, frugality is the fundamental moral virtue that leads you there. Moreover, it is consumerism that is the false idol or Baal of today upon which people sacrifice themselves and their children on hamster wheels for the sake of shiny objects and peer approval. You can do very much for anyone else if you are fixated on keeping up with the Joneses.
I am influenced in this regard by two aunts of mine who are Sisters of Mercy in Belize — vows of poverty, the whole nine yards, and still going strong in their 80s. Wealth itself is neutral, like a hammer or a saw — its just a tool. Remember its not money that supposed to be the root of all evil, but the love or worship of money to the exclusion of other values.
Many of the FIRE principles would be familiar to Jesuit thinking, especially the idea of developing the whole person (all kinds of skills) as one of life’s fundamental objectives. You can’t really develop your whole self if you are fixated on copying the way other people live.
Consider the deeper roots of what we are doing as expressed in this video, and the reference to St. Francis of Assisi, and corresponding Eastern roots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npNc5P_66tQ
It’s an interesting connection to the Jesuit roots. When I lived in Germany, I studied them a bit along with European history.
Thank you for the video. It put into words something I believe in deeply.
Well… this was timely: https://www.marieforleo.com/2018/10/brene-brown-dare-to-lead-interview/#
People who live in a Spirit of Fear shouldn’t be teaching, but that’s my two cents and I’ll stop before I become a stumbling block (should note I no longer identify as Christian).
Oh, I love Brene! Thanks for sharing, Lauren. Anytime her and Marie hang out, I want to hear that! With not identifying as a Christian, if that was because of how horrible church or christians can be, or hurt, or being pushed out of the circle. I got you. I stand outside of the circle on purpose. Because some of the best people get pushed out of the circle. If that faith didn’t resonate, that’s cool. But if there was too much hurt, I’m so sorry. Church and chrstains should be known for love, but often it’s because of all the pain caused. Feel free to email me if you ever need to chat. montanamoneyadventures@gmail.com
So sorry to hear that you are getting negative vibes from your Christian community about Fire goals…
I am a pastor from small town montana and have been so encouraged by your parenting ideas and insight into your journey with money. (We are a getting close to our Fire goals as well using realestate)
My heart gets heavy when I hear Christians say that “money is the Root of all kinds of evil” thinking that they are quoting the Bible. But it says that the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil. I agree with that one. When money is more important than our family, relationships and time, things are way outa wack in our life.
But that’s not what fire is all about! Fire isn’t about money… it’s about family, relationships and people!
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Joshua! Where in Montana are you?
Columbus, mt Just west of Billings about 40 miles… so like a 6 hours from you guys. (I hate that Montana is so dang big)
It is so darn big!
“Spend 90% of my time in things I’m actually good at. Areas I have a deep knowledge, passion, natural skill set and flow. ”
Best line in the whole piece! That’s exactly what I visualise my retirement being like.
It’s a wonderful goal for retirement! It’s amazing what can happen when we stay in our gifts. Most of my success post-career has been from avoiding things I’m just not awesome at. When all our time and energy go to our strengthens, we take so much more ground.
I’m so sorry you had to endure that experience, and at church no less! No one should have to experience a public shaming. I’m glad you have the wherewithal to see that people often attack things that are so different from their norm and that they do not understand.
I agree, if anything, FIRE allows followers of Christ pursue the things He has laid on our hearts without fear of financial insecurity.
Thank you so much for continuing to share your story.
I love that idea. Following our faith with out fear. And it frees up our bandwidth, no having to hustle to pay bills or stressed about putting food on the table. I grew up with that stress and it sucked up so much energy.
Can’t Waste Good used to be my favorite post.
Now it’s this one.
You channeled frustration with misperception into a beautiful manifesto.
Nice work. ☺️
Right??
Thanks Raina!
This is one of my favorite posts. I can only imagine how difficult it was to write such a gracious response. I wouldn’t have expected anything different from you. Well done!
I was trying to explain my FIRE plans the other day and got a bit of silence on the other end. It can be hard to explain but you captured the essence of FIRE well in this post. Thanks!
Thanks Valarie! It took a bit of editing to take out the snark and add in more love. =)
“I think financial independence is the perfect expression of faith.”
First off, my heart breaks for you having to sit through this in your home church. The grace you model in this article and in everything you do is refreshing and inspiring.
As a follower of Jesus, I hope you continue to share more about how your faith and FIRE align and help you live a purpose-driven life. You have shown how powerful FIRE is when it’s built on a foundation of the gospel. It’s so clear that you’ve grasped the unconditional grace we’ve been shown, and that the natural response is to extend that grace to others when they don’t deserve it.
This isn’t why you do it, but please know that your radical generosity, other-centered mindset, and the grace you model is noticed – it comes through in your posts, emails, and tweets and in the sea of everything on the internet, it’s just refreshing.
Thank you, Jillian! I hope my wife and I get a chance to meet you and your family someday! We’d especially love to talk about the fostering and adoption journey you have been on!
Thanks so much Kieran! Let me know if you ever make it to Montana. And if you have foster/adoption questions, feel free to email me!
Hey Jillian! I’m excited that you have a post with some more links to your faith, though sorry it had to be under these circumstances.
We recently had a study in our life group with multiple verses about people selling their extra belongings and sharing with each other; other verses on giving of our abundance from good stewardship, a very godly principle. We asked ourselves, “Do we think this is true today, that all believers should give up belongings & share it all?” We mostly answered no, and had various reasons for it. Mine was realizing the dispensations (“house law”) God put in place in the Bible to govern various seasons of man’s existence. For instance, in early Acts, the believers were sharing their abundance and none had need (awesome!) In late Acts, Paul was getting together collections for the Jews! (I have much more to say about that, but will keep it short here 😉 Anyway – I love that a balanced life allows for generosity – leftovers that we can give away that were not consumed by debt and poor choices!
Certainly the Bible has a lot of passages of interest on money (over 2000 verses). Luke 12:13-21 stands out to me when I think about possible FIRE criticism – the man who said “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”
This relates to your point #1 – people who would kick back and relax, but don’t do anything. The opposite of a “life well lived in financial freedom” that you propose in your blog articles! I agree, of the early retirees I know and most of the normal age retirees I know, they are all active in some way! Indeed, life goes through ebbs and flows of energy and capability in the workplace.
I have found many powerful Bible verses that would be for a “flexible FIRE” notion – mostly around the topic of being a good steward. In my mind, that’s the best answer in cases like these – the power of the Word readily accessible! 🙂 I’m curious if you’ve collected anything like that? Would love to see it if you do! (And, something I should do on my own blog!) BibleMoneyMatters has some good resources as well.
Cheers, Jillian! Looking forward to our next mentoring session 🙂
That Luke verse would have been a much better anti-FIRE verse. But your right, that most people aren’t doing that. Especially early retirees. I don’t know any who are sitting around, drinking and being merry. On the FIRE panel, we all talked about how FIRE people “like to do stuff” we just want to do better stuff and not worry about how much that stuff pays. FIRE gives us the option to do the stuff we feel most called to.
Hello there, I remember from scripture classes in school, over 40 years ago, and i believe this story is from the
Book of Parables, i apologise upfront if i’m incorrect in anyway. Briefly, the story involves an old,rich man who
plans to go on a 7 year journey, but at his age he is unsure if he will survive the rigours. Since he has no family
he offers his 3 servants a “deal”. he will split all his money equally between them, and if he returns from his travels
the servants will return the original sum of silver given to them, but he will allow them to keep any interest they
will have earned from using the money. If he fails to return, the 3 servants will keep all the money.
The old man does return home safely after the 7 years, and asks the first servant how much money he has made.
He replies that he buried the money safely away,and thus is able to return all the silver the old man gave him – but
he has not earned a penny interest/profit. The old man tells him he has done badly. The second servant informs
the old man that he used the silver, and has managed to increase it by Half, the old man tells him he has done
well, and he allows the servant to keep the interest/profit he made. The old man then asks the third servant
wether he made a profit from the original sum, the servant replies that he has doubled the money. The old man
congratulates him on his abilities, and allows him to keep the interest/ profit he made.
So – this story, in my view,
gives the bibles view of how you might make proper use of money. Out of interest, if you were to leave a sum
of money on deposit, and expected it to double in 7 years, how much interest, compounded up, would you need
to earn? i’ve worked it out to be just under 11% per annum, I am happy to be corrected on this story, feel free
to take it/me apart.
Hi James, thanks for sharing! It’s funny how those stories stick with us, even after 40 years. And I never have any interest in take people apart. I’m more in the “build people up” kind of writing. Thanks for sharing!
Great post. Have you talked to your pastor about it? It seems like a completely unbiblical way to rebuke you if that’s truly what he was going for.
I would love to chat with him about it, but that probably isn’t possible. I’m going to assume that he had no idea that someone in his congregation was a creator in the FIRE movement. I doubt it was personal, probably just poorly researched.
Since you drive a beater car and a “lazy bum”, you could probably get some discounts with some of the car services that you need. Ha ha. That helps the bottom line. Or you could drop off the money you got from the discount and give it to the pastor signed “Lazy Bum”. Ha ha.