Coffee wrote:
That site strikes me as a bunch of college kids advocating the pauper's life. Sure-- I can live like a 3rd World peasant, too. But why??? So I can retire early and live like a peasant??
I participate in that forum too, although I am only "extreme" in some areas. A lot of people have a strong desire to make their livelihood independent of wage income at a young age for various reasons. Examples: the rat race is unfulfilling; unable to find stable work; anxiety about long-term career prospects in the US; wish to pursue a life's work which is not compensated well (e.g. art, writing, parenting, activism); peak oil concerns. ERErs prioritize economic freedom over luxuries and status symbols.
Mathematically if your savings rate is >50% it doesn't take long to reach financial independence due to the perfect storm of rapid savings and only needing a relatively small portfolio to cover expenses.
Storm wrote:
The thing that kind of turned me off - I started reading on their forum - the investing advice is just terrible, extremely ill-informed.
Yeah.
Storm wrote:
The general concept is great and I have a ton of respect for people that can make their life work on only $1000 a month.
I can't fault anyone pursuing this lifestyle because it lies within the established parameters of honest society. They choose to spend very little, invest in the capital markets, and live on the proceeds. The other models for opting out of paid work seem to involve mooching off someone, abusing social programs, pyramid schemes, or some other violation of the golden rule.
FWIW, Fisker (the author) cites "How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World" as a key influence.