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What is FatFIRE?

Started by Captain, August 15, 2018, 10:58:47 PM

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Captain

I know FIRE is financial independence retire early, but what is FatFIRE? I can't keep up with the crazy acronyms that keep popping up these days.  ;D

Sydney

Haha I hear ya on all the acronyms!  :D

Great question! The simplest way to put it is FatFIRE is a form of FIRE with the goal of living large in FI early retirement. In other words, people who want to achieve FatFIRE don't want to feel like they have to scrimp, constantly save, and watch every single expense. They want a comfortable, perhaps even a lavish lifestyle. Most associate it with at least an upper middle class lifestyle.

The opposite is LeanFIRE, people who want to achieve FIRE asap and are willing to aggressively budget and minimize all expenses in order to do so.

So it's a matter of personal preference. People who feel they fall in the middle are usually just in the "FIRE" bucket, (I'm laughing as I type that b/c is sounds so funny), but all are forms of FIRE.

romeojeremiah

Quote from: Sydney on August 16, 2018, 10:24:19 AM
The simplest way to put it is FatFIRE is a form of FIRE with the goal of living large in FI early retirement. In other words, people who want to achieve FatFIRE don't want to feel like they have to scrimp, constantly save, and watch every single expense.

First I heard of this myself! Thanks for the explanation! I like it.

Howard312

What would be the plan to live a regular to lavish life style and be able to gain FIRE? I have some answers but would like to know what people are thinking.

Sam

FATFire is the highest level of financial independence IMO. It's a level where you get to live your life at the same level as your highest earning years, while not having to work a day job.

In places like SF/NYC, that number requires a passive income figure of ~$300,000+ IMO.

Hence, Honolulu is looking good to me :)
Regards,

Sam

Howard312

I think that FATFIRE is like "having your cake and eating too" and I believe it is very possible to do with the right investment strategies focused on real estate. That is, with enough time.


MarkS

Like the term! Sounds like FatFIRE requires @ $10m investable assets, outside primary residence?

Sydney

Quote from: MarkS on September 10, 2018, 11:12:26 AM
Like the term! Sounds like FatFIRE requires @ $10m investable assets, outside primary residence?

There isn't a strict definition since living large is subjective. But a lot of FatFIRE folks would say having enough to comfortably spend $100,000 or some other six figure amount a year. 10mil sounds high to me but it all depends on your situation, living expenses, number of dependents, what age you plan to FatFIRE  etc. I've read some people say 2.5mil or more but again it's gonna be subjective.

Sam

Quote from: MarkS on September 10, 2018, 11:12:26 AM
Like the term! Sounds like FatFIRE requires @ $10m investable assets, outside primary residence?

For coastal city living folks, yes, $10M or more sounds about right. After all, $3 million is the new $1 million.
Regards,

Sam

Jon Sharpe

I've heard the $100k per year figure bounced around quite a bit as the fatFIRE target. For us, that would cover all living expenses and leave us about $10k-$20k for travel. Not bad...

physicianonfire

Some people (like me) see it as a generous FIRE budget. I like the 6-figure mark as a minimum ($100,000) but obviously the number will vary not only geographically, but also by the size of your family (if any) and other extenuating circumstances.

Others see the "fat" as the extra multiples beyond 25x your typical or expected expenses. So having 40x to 50x could be fatFIRE regardless of spending.

There's a Reddit and Facebook group devoted to the concept.

Cheers!
-PoF

rtysmith

Also - don't forget Barista FIRE - that is FIRE plus a fun job that provides some income and hopefully bene's (named so for working at StarBucks where you can get Health Insurance). I can't imagine not working until my brain will no longer support it.

romeojeremiah

Quote from: physicianonfire on September 12, 2018, 09:00:06 PM
Cheers!
-PoF

Hey! What's up PoF! See ya FinCon this month?

Anyway, I think like the others said, FATFire is as relative as any other FIRE. It's all a matter of how quickly you want to draw down your assets.

EmilyMorgan

I think I want to be in the FatFIRE bucket. First of all, it means I would be living an upper-class life and secondly, I would not have to give up all the good things in life.

It would be great to know how to live a FatFire life. I think I'll start another thread here asking people where do they invest, how much do they earn and save in order to lead a FatFIRE life.

I thought that having accomplished a 401k is a good retirement plan. Now it is time for me to rethink how to apply my skills to earn more and achieve FatFIRE.

P.S. I was planning to write an article about the FIRE movement and its basics for the FitMyMoney blog. Now, I'll definitely add the new 'term' to it  :)