I really enjoyed this article about what happens post-FIRE and the secret to staying fulfilled when you don't have a career/specific goals to work towards.

The quest for financial independence is not a fixed endpoint. Rather, it is an ever-evolving journey that involves acknowledging the dynamic nature of one’s identity, financial situation and place in society. This holistic approach, encompassing personal values, goals and ongoing growth, is key to ensuring a fulfilling and empowered life.

An issue I always have with early retirement is whether it is morally acceptable. When retiring early from a skilled profession you are depriving society of a big contribution you could have given, that was also expected and invested in by society. Utilising a power dynamic by having more money and knowledge to capitalise on other people exacerbates this issue.

How are you dealing with this? Are you of the mindset that you do not owe anything to society? That it is completely fair, as you earned that money and there is a perfect market that trades all aspects in a meritocratic fashion (e.g., delayed consumption should be gratified this hard)? Or that you were not just lucky to have the talents to earn so much money?

Hi all, I see lots of subscribers in this community. What stage of FIRE are you guys in? curious about the demographic in here.

• Neither FI nor RE
• FI but not RE
• FIRE'd
• ?

I am in the first category, working towards FI for seven years now and recently reached 100K NW. Unfortunately I live in very HCOL area so I still have long ways to go 🥲

I'm using the good ol' Excel spreadsheet to track expenses, income, NW, etc. Are there any other tools or apps that you guys found useful?

Also shoutout to my fellow spreadsheet power users 😎

Would be cool to hear from those who have and how you got started. Were there any pitfalls or things you would have done differently?

Many people around me are saying US based index funds is enough coverage to FIRE but I want to know if it's worth diversifying even more, maybe 10-20%?

I recently FIREd, and am enjoying every minute of it. I thank this (migrated?) community for their stories, struggles, successes, and wisdom. Adaptation to a life of FIRE has been pretty easy, except for one thing. Prior to FIREing, I kept a close eye on my portfolio, the markets, and everything financial. As you know, if you’re driven to FIRE, it takes a bit of effort to keep things fresh in your portfolio. To some, managing your own portfolio can be a hobby, or other form of enjoyment. Not me. I get no joy in monitoring the markets. I would now prefer to focus on living and not financial management. Question: do you have any suggestions on the best way to put a portfolio on autopilot? What I’m seeking is something bot-like that monitors my holdings, applies a variety of policies, and alerts me when action is needed. Some factors:

• I’ve looked at managed account options. They all seem to be pricy offering little in return. This option seems viable to those with > $10M.
• I’m reluctant to go with “target” funds. They don’t seem to be very efficient, and are not at all tunable.
• There seem to be some promising software packages out there that go beyond mere monitoring.
• I don’t think ChatGPT is quite ready for this task :).