Second Generation FIRE

The ChooseFI duo does a great job introducing and dissecting an all-encompassing spectrum of topics related to financial independence.

I am pretty familiar with most of the life and money matters in the smörgåsbord of goodies they serve up, but they introduced me to an idea I hadn’t much considered before: second generation FIRE.

Second Generation FIRE

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It would be unfair and untrue to say that no one retired early before Generation X came along. But the concept wasn’t popularized, acronymized, or celebrated until roughly the last decade.

We are First Generation FIRE

I learned next to nothing about money and personal finance from formal schooling. In high school, we had a full year of macroeconomics, watching videos starring Richard T. Gill, but scarcely touched on investing and personal finance.

In college, I loaded up on science and math and the closest thing to money management was me memorizing the weekly drink special calendars at all the neighborhood watering holes.

When I finally encountered the term FIRE at age 39, I realized I was essentially FI and RE was an option there for the taking. That was over two and a half years ago, and I’m just now getting comfortable with the idea.

Many of us who have achieved or opted to pursue financial independence are parents. In fact, I think the presence of kids in the home is a major motivator for Moms and Dads to strive for financial independence.

Second Generation FIRE

We learned about this ultimate life hack in our twenties, thirties, or forties. That means we have the opportunity to teach our kids about this amazing loophole decades before FI entered our own lexicon.

Giving our offspring the knowledge and tools to achieve FI on their own terms and timeline is the essence of second generation FIRE.

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