Is $65K a year enough to find financial independence and retire early? How to make it work — without getting burned

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The FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early) has grown in popularity over the past decade, thanks to books like The Simple Path to Wealth, Quit Like a Millionaire and Your Money or Your Life — but what was once a grassroots movement to live with less so you can get out of the rat race has, according to r/Fire Reddit user teric233 [1], grown into a community for “software engineer[s] making $400K/year, saving half and aiming for 10M by 35.”

They wonder if the movement has shifted into something else entirely.

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“I thought FIRE was always about being resourceful. Learning to do things yourself,” they wrote. “Fixing your car instead of buying a new one. Rebuilding an engine, replacing your AC or your roof, being handy. Finding freedom by spending less because you’re capable, not just because you make a lot.”

The FIRE community has grown in recent years — /financialindependence subreddit membership jumped about 300,000 people between 2020 and 2021 based on old Reddit API data [2] — but does that mean FIRE is no longer achievable for those making less than six figures?

“Now it feels like the conversation is mostly about getting rich enough to pay people to do all those things in retirement, which feels kind of backwards?” teric233 continued. “Like, those are the exact skills that could’ve saved you thousands and helped you get to FIRE faster — especially if you’re not in tech or making six figures.”

In 1992, Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin’s Your Money or Your Life was released and became a bestseller, widely popularizing many of the concepts the movement was built on, according to Investopedia [3].

The book laid out a nine-step path to financial independence, where “Step 6: Valuing Your Life Energy — Minimizing Spending” focused on reducing your spending to increase savings.

In the 2010s, the movement expanded thanks to bloggers like Mr. Money Mustache [4], who focused on living well below your means to achieve financial independence as soon as possible.

His frugal advice included tips like: “Live close to work. Move to another city if you enjoy adventure. Don’t borrow money for cars, and don’t buy stupid ones. Ride a bike wherever you can. Cancel your TV service. Learn to appreciate the life-boosting joy of using your own body to get things done. Learn to mock convenience.”