I so need this on a sweatshirt!

I couldn't get past the pay wall to read the article buy I don't put much stock in people trying to forecast the future. They have no clue what the future brings.

With that said, I don't think were seeing any more turmoil than at other points in history. If you look back at history there have been major disruptions about every decade (give or take) with more minor static in between. Covid, financial crisis, 911, gulf wars, oil embargo, Vietnam war, Korean war...etc.

People that thrive over time have their investments diversified and adjust as circumstances dictate. Setting and forgetting may not yield optimal returns but you'd probably do just fine long term. The key phrase is long term. I'm talking 40-50 years not just a few years.

I love shows like that. There is one called something like 'How I caught my killer' which usually involves digital forensics of some sort. It's cool and super creepy at the same time. It also makes me wonder how far I should go with trying to be anonymous. If someone had a Grapheneos phone bought anonymously and only used e2ee communications on a VPN..what sort of hindrance would that be if that person was murdered. Lol these are the thought exercises that I go through while I'm walking the dog....that and how to keep the dog from noticing that bunny in the next yard.

Have you factored in old age costs? Lawn care or household help when it gets to be too much for you to handle on your own. I didn't factor that and am now thinking I will regret that as I'm currently watching my mom start to decline and need more help.

It does get easier. At 100k is about where I started to see the effects of compound interest really take hold. Hang in there. It is so worth it.

Are you in the US? I can't speak for other countries but I would have a hard time believing the US economy could devolve into that kind of situation. If it did, I think my original arguement still holds. FIRE seeking folks would still be better able to adapt to the situation. They would just step up their intensity.

Growing your food > making meals at home > eating at restaurants Walking/biking everywhere > public transit/carpooling > driving everywhere

Dealing with that sort of extreme situation would require extreme changes to your lifestyle. Building up skills to be more self sufficient and lower your spending to absolute minimal levels. If you are really interested in this, you might want to check out the Early Retirement Extreme book and forums. Jacob was an early FIRE blogger that focused on building skills to lower his expenses. I believe he was living on < $10k a year. That community is pretty hard core on slashing spending and closer to the prepper mentality it would take to survive hyper inflation.

I think the FIRE community is best suited to handle inflation. Let's face it, if your seriously pursuing FIRE, you probably aren't buying a ton of stuff. Housing, food and medical expenses are going up but when you aren't spending on a ton of other stuff it doesn't hurt as much. It makes saving tougher but not impossible. I think our current inflation is also a good reality check for people that haven't experienced the ups and downs of inflation before. We have to account for that in our financial planning because it isn't always a rosy 1-2%. The 7% mortgages that you are seeing today are laughable to someone like my folks whose first mortgage was around 13%. It's all just part of the long term financial cycle that we have to find the best way to deal with. The best way to beat inflation is the best path to FIRE. Keep your frivolous spending low, invest in a diverse and well balanced portfolio and be flexible to change as life changes.

I'm in the Bitwarden camp. There is no other way for me to have complex/secure passwords and remember them for my gazillion accounts.

Yep, it's pretty quiet here. What areas of personal finance interest you most? What sort of conversations are you looking to have?

I got into the early retirement movement and subsequently optimizing my spending and investing. In general I like to talk about money matters because most people don't like to discuss money IRL.

Agreed. I've been trying to actively participate in communities that I would otherwise just lurk in.

I love not having a set schedule. Ive wanted to do volunteering somewhere just for the socializing but having to commit to a set volunteer schedule has held me back from following through on that.

Do we have many other already FIREd folks here? I FIREd 2 years ago and kind of felt like I lost my online community was I hit my goal. I'm more than happy to share my experience with folks still in the boring middle but am hoping to find some already FIREd folks to discuss the after FIRE life too.