Lean FIRE: Only The Essentials
Do you hate your boss, and just want to leave your job as fast as possible? Well, do not. Consider getting another job but if you think you have enough savings left or are going to have enough for you to just live a retirement life with the bare necessities then consider this method of FIRE.
FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), the famous moment has slowly been gaining traction over the period. This moment has various categories. We’ll be discussing one such type.
Lean FIRE is another variation of FIRE. It is known as the minimalist FIRE, as it utilizes the method of minimalism for earlier retirement.
In this method of FIRE, the retiree can only live with minimum things. These things are only those which are necessary for survival. Necessities such as food, water, a place to live, clothes when urgently needed, etc.
This method does not expect you to live a life of luxury. You are only expected to live life with the absolute bare money that is needed to survive.
This tactic of Lean FIRE is what makes some people attracted to it. This FIRE method requires careful planning of your retirement funds, and through that, you can retire even earlier due to its lesser requirement for FIRE.
Who is Lean FIRE for?
So the question arises who is Lean FIRE for? Well, the answer to that question is a bit complicated. Lean FIRE is for someone who wants to be a part of the FIRE movement but does not have enough income to sustain themselves or might want to retire even earlier. However, both of these conditions require the person to be an adequate survivor. The person must be able to survive at the minimum needs and only necessities without being able to fulfill his wants.
In short, Lean FIRE is for someone who is ready to live a minimalist life and wants to retire early with financial independence.
How can you be Lean FIRE?
Before you start readying yourself for Lean FIRE, know what you require to begin your journey of financial independence and early retirement.
Have an Income Source: The first point is obvious, to retire early you need to have an income source. If the profession pays higher, then you can retire earlier, and if not then you can maybe also try to have another job or any other income source that will help you reach the goal faster.
Be Good at Saving: To reach FIRE, you must be good at saving up. As, if you spend all your money the same month you get it, you will not have anything to retire early on. You need savings to be financially independent.
Have a Set Goal: Lean FIRE requires you to have a set goal at which you will reach financial independence. You must decide this goal according to you, as it differs for everyone. You must take your city, country, income level, job opportunity, etc. into consideration.
Live a Life of Only Necessities: To achieve Lean FIRE, you must be prepared to live a life of minimalism with only the necessary items you require and cut down on luxury. You should start living the life of being a minimalist before retirement as it will help you know whether you are ready or are willing to do it. This will also help you save faster as you will be not spending money on expensive wants that you do not require to live on.
The Good
Lean FIRE is pretty famous in niche communities and has a following due to its minimal needs. Some advantages of picking Lean FIRE are:
Easy Requirements: This method as mentioned has more straightforward requirements for a person to join the already FIRE-fulfilled members. It requires a lesser amount of money to retire than others. This method is considered the opposite of Fat FIRE as in the other method, the requirement of FIRE is higher.
Earlier Retirement: Using this method, you might be able to retire earlier, as it does not require you to save up a lot. It is the minimalist version, so you would want minimal savings at which you can survive with the necessary commodities.
The Bad
While this method might be loved by some, it is also disliked by a part of the community due to its restrictive nature. Some reasons why the community dislikes this method are:
Only Necessities: While this method might have an easier requirement to get it. The problem arises at the cost of easier early retirement. You only get access to necessities, and you cannot spend money on items you would want that are not needed for your survival.
No Luxury: Some might dislike this method, as they believe FIRE leads to a comfortable life afterward. In Fat FIRE, you retire with enough money for your needs and more while in lean FIRE, you are unable to afford the luxury items you would like due to your absent amount of funds.
Emergency Fund: True Lean FIRE does not account for an emergency fund. In Lean FIRE, you just save up enough money to live your life as it is, or at the bare minimum, your savings are not prepared for any kind of emergency. If any trouble arises, you might need to work again after retirement to get enough money to pay it out.
Harder to Sustain Family: Now, Lean FIRE is even tougher to carry out when you have a family. As, if you have a family you would need to be able to account for everything and Lean FIRE will not be able to help you with that. You would need to account for your children’s growing needs, their college funds, etc. Performing Lean FIRE with a family is going to be challenging, and very few people and their families would be up to it.
To Cut it Down
Lean FIRE is another way through which you can take part in the movement of FIRE. It might not be for everyone, as not everyone would be able to survive on necessities and might need to get a job later after retirement if things do not go to plan. However, if someone is dedicated enough they might be able to fulfill it, even if it includes moving through states or countries where they could live an easier life on that amount.
All in all, research all FIRE models and try the one that fits you. Be sure to change the models according to your needs, as they are not a one-size-fits-all. Happy FIREing.
