2808: [Part 1] How My Perspective of the Fire Movement Changed After Turning 40 by Lisa Harrison of Mad Money Monster

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Kundenservice kontaktieren? Für viele Menschen ist das der beste Weg, einen schönen Tag zu ruinieren.

[00:00:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Aber bei Zendesk sorgen wir für eine bessere Customer Experience. Besser für die Großmutter, besser für die Floristin, besser für den jungen Mann in Hausnummer 3a, besser für sie, besser für alle.

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Denn während einige behaupten, dass der Kunde immer Recht hat, sagen wir, dass KundInnen immer Menschen sind. Und da wir auch Menschen sind, wollen wir etwas Gutes für uns alle tun.

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Zendesk – Customer Experience mit KI für Menschen gemacht

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep?

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_01]: That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep.

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations.

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And these affirmations aren't just comforting. They can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_01]: So press play on good sleep tonight, because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep.

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Just search for good sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily.

[00:01:10] [SPEAKER_01]: This is Optimal Finance Daily.

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_01]: How my perspective of the fire movement changed after turning 40.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Part 1 by Lisa Harrison of MadMoneyMonster.com

[00:01:21] [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm your host and personal finance enthusiast, Diana Merriam.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Now I have a bit of a longer post.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_01]: I'll read the first half today, and then finish the rest for you tomorrow.

[00:01:32] [SPEAKER_01]: So let's dive into the first half and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_01]: How my perspective of the fire movement changed after turning 40.

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Part 1 by Lisa Harrison of MadMoneyMonster.com

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_01]: I used to be forever young.

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not kidding.

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER_01]: At least, that's how I viewed myself and the relationship I had with life.

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_01]: I would often look at other people my own age, and even younger, and think they seemed way older than me.

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_01]: I just had a tendency for embracing youth, and believed I would live to be 100 years old and stay in perfect health.

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_01]: That all changed when I hit 40.

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_01]: And along with that, so did my perspective of the fire movement.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't often talk about my age on the site, because I really do identify with the younger crowd,

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_01]: and try to avoid being seen as old.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, I'm letting the cat out of the bag today.

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_01]: It's not a surprise that I'm a member of Generation X.

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_01]: However, that's pretty vague in terms of actual age.

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_01]: My actual age is 43.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_01]: There, I said it.

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_01]: And in fact, I'll be 44 this coming September.

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Yep, I'll officially be in my mid-40s in just a few months.

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_01]: So why does it matter?

[00:02:50] [SPEAKER_01]: It matters because I can't believe how my perspective of the fire movement has changed since cresting that middle-age marker.

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Let me just cut to the chase.

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_01]: After hitting 40, I started to realize there are three categories topping the list of important things in my life.

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Family, my health, and enjoying the moment.

[00:03:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I know you must be thinking that those three things would make me want to chase an early retirement even more.

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_01]: But for me, it was the exact opposite.

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Since my husband and I are earning nice salaries, but nowhere near investment banker salaries,

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_01]: we would need to really cut back in every aspect of our lives to reach that dream.

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Then, once we got there, we'd need to be very cautious with the way we spend our money

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_01]: and cross our fingers we didn't have major health catastrophes before being eligible for Medicare.

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_01]: All this added up to just not being worth it.

[00:03:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Perspective on fire in my 30s.

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Before hitting the 40-year-old mile marker, I still felt like I had a lifetime ahead of me.

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_01]: I've always been late to every party.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_01]: What do I mean by that?

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_01]: It took me more time to graduate from college than normal because I went part-time.

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_01]: The pursuit of my graduate degree didn't commence until after my 20s were well behind me,

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_01]: and I put off buying a house and getting married until my mid to late 30s.

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Due to my delayed progression in nearly every slice of life, I've always identified as being

[00:04:22] [SPEAKER_01]: younger than I actually am.

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_01]: And since America doesn't seem to value age as much as it does youth, I was just fine with

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_01]: keeping up the charade.

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_01]: So when I stumbled upon the fire movement in my late 30s, I was all about it.

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_01]: After all, I hadn't checked off all of life's boxes yet.

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_01]: I was still a single gal just finishing up my master's degree and starting to date the

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_01]: future Mr. Mad Money Monster.

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Basically, in my mind, I was just like all those young millennials writing about their

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_01]: journey toward an early retirement.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Although I had a home, a daughter, and a successful career, I still had some big events in front

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_01]: of me.

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_01]: So the concept of living a mighty lean life for quite a few years in order to achieve financial

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_01]: independence seemed like the absolute right thing to do for my family.

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_01]: After all, I had gobs of time in front of me, remember?

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Life was good.

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Perspective on fire in my 40s

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Then I hit 40, and I experienced accumulation of reminders that my life is finite.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Although I've always been and thought of myself as healthy as a horse, whatever that means,

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_01]: I realized that I was aging despite my identification with the younger crowd.

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_01]: I noticed for the first time that it wasn't as easy as it used to be to maintain my ideal

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_01]: weight and my body was starting to make cracking sounds every now and then.

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_01]: And I just didn't feel as limber getting out of bed as I did before turning 40.

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_01]: As if that wasn't enough, my first mammogram exam yielded a suspicious area that required

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_01]: more tests, including an ultrasound and a six-month follow-up visit.

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Thankfully, nothing was found, and all exams since then have been normal.

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_01]: But it was a slap-in-the-face reminder that things can and do go wrong, and aging is the

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_01]: main factor in those things.

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_01]: As a biologist by trade, I knew this very well and was slowly beginning to realize that

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_01]: these rules of nature also applied to me, despite my former young mentality.

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_01]: On top of my first mammogram debacle, my eyes decided to go blurry on the day I turned 40.

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but it certainly felt like I was falling apart after

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_01]: that milestone birthday.

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_01]: When I couldn't ignore the tension headaches any longer, I dragged myself into the eye

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_01]: doctor and purchased my first pair of real glasses.

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_01]: The next year, my eyes were worse, and I needed a stronger prescription.

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_01]: The next year, not only did I need a stronger prescription, but I also needed bifocals and was

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_01]: told I have cataracts starting in each eye.

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Not to worry, though.

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_01]: The doctor assured me that they're so tiny I won't have to address them for at least a

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_01]: couple of decades.

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Yet another big sigh.

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Wait, that's not all.

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_01]: To be continued.

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_01]: You just listened to part one of the post titled,

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_01]: How My Perspective of the Fire Movement Changed After Turning 40, by Lisa Harrison of

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_01]: madmoneymonster.com, and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_01]: I think this article demonstrates some of the misconceptions of the fire movement.

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_01]: The reality is that there's no one right way to pursue fire, and the only thing that we all

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_01]: agree on is that we should spend less than we earn.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Because we all have variances in income and preferences, the execution of this concept will

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_01]: look different for everyone.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Some perceive that fire has a rigid framework requiring extreme sacrifice, but in reality,

[00:08:05] [SPEAKER_01]: the movement is highly adaptable.

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Individuals can tailor their approach to fit their unique circumstances.

[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Whether they aim for lean fire with a minimalist lifestyle, fat fire for a more luxurious lifestyle,

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_01]: or coast fire, which can include part-time work.

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Also, early retirement as a goal only really makes sense if your full-time job is getting

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_01]: in the way of something else you really want to do.

[00:08:32] [SPEAKER_01]: It's like a stepping stone to the real goal.

[00:08:35] [SPEAKER_01]: I have a friend who says that fire itself isn't a goal.

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_01]: It's a gateway.

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_01]: It's a financial position that allows you different options.

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Just like money on its own isn't a goal, it's a tool that can be used towards an actual goal.

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Unless you're moving towards something other than not working, it's going to be extremely

[00:08:57] [SPEAKER_01]: difficult to stay focused on retiring early.

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_01]: But this was just the first half of the article, so be sure to come back tomorrow where we'll

[00:09:05] [SPEAKER_01]: finish up this post and where your optimal life awaits.