[ad_1] Although 2020 has been an economic dumpster fire of epic proportions for many, the last few years were filled with plenty of prosperity and, of course, stock market growth. After all, the S&P 500 rose by 29% in 2019 and the unemployment rate was crazy-low, dropping to its lowest level (3.5%) since 1969. And the years before that weren’t too shabby, either. The S&P 500 dropped 4.8% in 2018, but it grew by 21.83% in 2017 and 11.96% in 2016. Don’t get me wrong — things were not perfect, nor will they ever be. But for the most part, the economy became a well-oiled machine. Interestingly, the prosperity of this last decade brought about a brand new movement — the FIRE movement. “FIRE” stands for “financial independence, retire early”. The main premise of FIRE is living on a small percentage of your income during your working years so you can retire early (often as young as age 30) and live off your investments. Sounds good, right? The thing is, the FIRE movement has a lot of holes, and it made considerably more sense during one of the greatest bull markets in history. During a pandemic, and in a time with so much economic uncertainty, the idea of the FIRE movement makes even less sense than it did before. Here’s my advice: Save like your future depends on it (because it does), but treat each day like it’s your last. How Does FIRE Work? The logistics of achieving FIRE vary from person to person, but the underlying narrative is always the same. Here’s how FIRE works, or how it’s supposed to work, for the majority of its subscribers. Earn as much as you can, while you can. Most people who pursue FIRE have high incomes and careers in engineering, medicine, or entrepreneurship, which is the reason they are able to save so much money. FIRE enthusiasts who want to retire early need to work hard early-on so they can save significant sums of money and reach their goals faster. Set a retirement goal and create a plan to get there. When talking to individuals pursuing FIRE, they almost always have a “retirement savings number” they plan to reach before leaving their jobs. This number is usually figured as 25x their annual expenses ($1.25 million if you want $50,000 in annual spending during retirement), but others use formulas like the 4% rule to determine how much they need to save. With this rule, retirees plan to make their nest eggs last by withdrawing only 4% of their portfolio each year. Ruthlessly cut your expenses. The key to retiring early usually involves cutting expenses to the bone so you can save 50% of your income, 70% of your income and sometimes more. For the most devoted FIRE followers, that can sometimes mean living in a tiny home or a mobile home, never dining out, only buying used, or even buying nothing at all. They also use apps like Trim to cut subscriptions, and I swear every single FIRE person I know tracks their spending on Personal Capital to stay on course. Related: How to Drastically Cut Expenses Invest in income-producing assets. To retire early, many FIRE enthusiasts invest in businesses that produce income. You’ll also find a subset of the FIRE movement that invest entirely in rental properties to fund their retirement, although some might buy REITs or invest with a platform like Fundrise instead. Build passive income streams. Most who pursue FIRE also invest in stocks and bonds, but normally into low-cost index funds. Index funds let them grow wealth based on average market returns with some of the lowest expense ratios possible, and without worrying about buying or selling stocks at the right time. Some who pursue FIRE also swear by robo-advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront, which help them grow wealth with some investment help and low account management fees. Once you’ve cut expenses, invested heavily, and reached your “retirement number,” the rest of your FIRE journey is all about the “RE” side of the equation. With plenty of passive income, you get the chance to spend your time pursuing hobbies and passions you never could before. This final piece is a critical component of FIRE. The entire point of the movement is buying time to spend your life doing what you want instead of being beholden to an employer. With FIRE, you work hard for a decade or so, save all of that money, then spend the rest of your years on hobbies and relaxation. At least, that’s what the goal is supposed to be. Caveats of the FIRE movement The thing is, I’ve found that FIRE enthusiasts don’t always practice what they preach. And even when they do, they don’t always recognize the fact that not everyone is set up to achieve the same results. The pandemic has also created even more holes in the FIRE story that anyone can achieve early retirement if they try hard enough. After all, it’s a lot easier to invest for retirement in a year when the S&P surges by 29%, vs. pretty much any other year on record. Here are some of the lesser known caveats of FIRE that hardly anyone mentions. #1: Most need to continue working Most FIRE bloggers, podcast hosts and media personalities are less than transparent when it comes to making their numbers work. They insist on saying their family spends just $25,000 per year or some other arbitrary number, but they don’t break down their expenses or explain how that’s possible when the average family is spending a third of that on healthcare alone. The not-so-hidden secret of the FIRE movement is the fact that most people who talk or write about FIRE are still working and earning an income. A lot of them earn plenty due to sponsorships and affiliate partnerships, and this is income the average family pursuing FIRE won’t have access to. Ask yourself: Do you want to continue working, or do