The Intersection of FIRE and Disney

[SouthFayetteFan]

Relevant to how you might define FIRE - I found this post on r/financialindependence to be very insightful and “in sync” with myself and most of the people I know who are chasing FIRE:

Spend extravagantly on things you love, and cut mercilessly on things you don’t.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I have read the same stuff about fire, save everything and eat peanut butter for lunch every day to retire. Then get a second job after you retire to supplement the retirement. Not exactly for me. Ill save and when i retire, im retired. Ill get a job if im board, not because i need to earn. So ,im not a fire type, but im still a saving type. I think thats the diffrence. At least thats how i understood it.

I think people are confusing LeanFIRE with regular FIRE. If you exclusively have read ERE or MMM blogs, then your idea of FIRE might be different from what the movement has really become.

Sure, LeanFIRE is an option, but I’m not sure it’s even the norm among most people in the movement these days.

Also of note: There’s a decent amount of overlap between FIRE and CC churning, where people are able to travel extensively and/or luxuriously while still achieving their savings goals.

 

[DetroitDisney]

I mean if you’re just saving for retirement that’s not FIRE, that’s basic common sense/personal finance. But you can certainly call it whatever you want.

 

[Sjm9911]

Not arguing, but to me that was always fire, i never followed it because of that. It may have broken off i guess, into lean and reguler. But things do progress. Thats why i never read this or followed here. Thought it was a waste of time untill i read it. Carry on , fire, reguler , or just financial responsibility is basicly the same thing. Lean fire i guess is ok for those that want to do it also. All basicly the same on principle , save for the future. Call it whatever you like, and use whatever you can i guess. If it helps you , do it.

 

[Mome Rath]

I think people are confusing LeanFIRE with regular FIRE. If you exclusively have read ERE or MMM blogs, then your idea of FIRE might be different from what the movement has really become.

Sure, LeanFIRE is an option, but I’m not sure it’s even the norm among most people in the movement these days.

Also of note: There’s a decent amount of overlap between FIRE and CC churning, where people are able to travel extensively and/or luxuriously while still achieving their savings goals.

This is how I see it as well. Add in that you have to look more at percentages than raw numbers when determining FIRE status, IMO. If I'm making over 200,000 a year, and I have a high savings rate, one well-done trip to Disney is not going to break "FIRE protocol." It definitely wouldn't be leanFIRE, but that's a particular subset with it's own "rules."

 

[IamGroot]

I dont consider myself to be doing "FIRE", I just have becoming wealthy as a life goal. I also day trade for the lols.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

One of our good friends here once said "People waste too much time arguing over how to define FIRE; When they should just go out and achieve FIRE!" @bernina is a very wise woman! I think we should all heed her advice. The purpose of this thread is to build up fellow DISboards FIRE chasers and provide advice & also originally was to avoid the "bro culture" that dominated r/financialindependence.

I for one am chasing FIRE. I also enjoy 3-4 vacations year! I've made sacrifices in other areas of my life to make both of these dreams a reality! I hope everybody else's FIRE journey has started as well as mine has in 2021!

 

[RamblingMad]

One of our good friends here once said "People waste too much time arguing over how to define FIRE; When they should just go out and achieve FIRE!" @bernina is a very wise woman! I think we should all heed her advice. The purpose of this thread is to build up fellow DISboards FIRE chasers and advice & also originally was to avoid the "bro culture" that dominated r/financialindependence.

I for one am chasing FIRE. I also enjoy 3-4 vacations year! I've made sacrifices in other areas of my life to make both of these dreams a reality! I hope everybody else's FIRE journey has started as well as mine has in 2021!

Yep. I sleep in a $300 dollar tent, not a $35k RV when I go camping.

 

[IamGroot]

Does anyone else trade options?

 

[RhodyKP]

Also of note: There’s a decent amount of overlap between FIRE and CC churning, where people are able to travel extensively and/or luxuriously while still achieving their savings goals.

I attempted to dive into the I Love CCs thread about 18 months ago, but found it too intimidating. And trust me when I tell you that I am not easily intimidated! I was considering jumping back in again and asking for advice, following the guidance/format in the first few posts.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I attempted to dive into the I Love CCs thread about 18 months ago, but found it too intimidating. And trust me when I tell you that I am not easily intimidated! I was considering jumping back in again and asking for advice, following the guidance/format in the first few posts.

Don't be intimidated by our crazy group of churners! Perhaps you don't want to go nuts with churning, but I'd venture to bet that by even getting 2-3 new cards this year, you could find yourself with $1,500 - $3,000 towards a trip! You can dip your toe in and still do pretty well!

 

[IamGroot]

I think credit card churning is stupid. If people spent as much time and energy learning skills (like day trading or things that would advance their career) as they do trying to find "life hacks" and cheats, they would have so much more money. If you find it satisfying opening tons of credit cards, tracking benefits, spending more than you normally would to get space points, then go right ahead.

I'll just stick with day trading.

 

[TinkSassy]

My point is just that FIRE is about cutting all costs going buck wild to get financial freedom to retire as soon as possible. If you take a $10k vacation before you’re retired, you are by definition not doing FIRE.

It’s perfectly fine to enjoy life, but you can’t say you’re doing FIRE.

It’s like going on a diet where you’re cutting calories but still eating carbs and saying you’re on Keto. No, you’re not on keto but you ARE on a diet.

I'm SlowFI so I define FIRE as cutting unnecessary costs and increasing savings rate but also spending on areas that actually bring you happiness. I spend on travel and my dog - I don't however go out to eat much, drive a fancy car or have a huge house (as these are things that will not increase my happiness - though they might for someone else). Everything is a conscious decision.

 

[TinkSassy]

Don't be intimidated by our crazy group of churners! Perhaps you don't want to go nuts with churning, but I'd venture to bet that by even getting 2-3 new cards this year, you could find yourself with $1,500 - $3,000 towards a trip! You can dip your toe in and still do pretty well!

Amen - I am doing WDW alone next month. I will have spent only the cost of my WDW ticket, food that is yet to be purchased and the airplane taxes - everything else is points. I only do 2-3 cards a year - usually I make 3 trips a year (one domestic, one international and one to see family). If you are ok traveling in coach and not at the fanciest hotels you can get multiple trips a year for hundreds instead of thousands with just a little strategy.

 

[RhodyKP]

Don't be intimidated by our crazy group of churners! Perhaps you don't want to go nuts with churning, but I'd venture to bet that by even getting 2-3 new cards this year, you could find yourself with $1,500 - $3,000 towards a trip! You can dip your toe in and still do pretty well!

Thanks for the encouragement! See you over there ...

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

I think credit card churning is stupid. If people spent as much time and energy learning skills (like day trading or things that would advance their career) as they do trying to find "life hacks" and cheats, they would have so much more money. If you find it satisfying opening tons of credit cards, tracking benefits, spending more than you normally would to get space points, then go right ahead.

I'll just stick with day trading.

well! I think your opinion will definitely change how I and others here view CC churning!

In general, it’s typically best to avoid being condescending about other people’s hobbies. Especially when most hobbies produce negative returns... at least CC churning is net positive

I wish you and your stonks all the best.

 

[platamama]

I wish you and your stonks all the best.

Only because I have a teenager do I have any idea what stonks are.

 

[IamGroot]

well! I think your opinion will definitely change how I and others here view CC churning!

In general, it’s typically best to avoid being condescending about other people’s hobbies. Especially when most hobbies produce negative returns... at least CC churning is net positive

I wish you and your stonks all the best.

I mean when you know what youre doing its really easy to make money. My point was that if people spent their time learning skills (of which trading was an example) you would make much more money in the long term than trying to game travel points. Not to mention the fact that they have shown time and time again that churners on average spend much more than their peers which leads to a reduction in your perceived benefit.

But call me crazy for saying that maximizing spend on credit cards is a bad idea in a financial freedom thread.

 

[calypso726]

I think credit card churning is stupid. If people spent as much time and energy learning skills (like day trading or things that would advance their career) as they do trying to find "life hacks" and cheats, they would have so much more money. If you find it satisfying opening tons of credit cards, tracking benefits, spending more than you normally would to get space points, then go right ahead.

I'll just stick with day trading.

Let's start with the false assumption that one needs to spend more than they normally do to earn points and miles. If you're doing that then you're doing it wrong.

Now let's talk about satisfaction. I for one find it quite satisfying to travel hack my way all over the world. I love staying in castles in Ireland, over water bunglaows in the Maldives, Bedouin suites in Dubai, flying in a double suite on Singapore and drinking endless Krug, taking a shower in the sky on Emirates first class A380, flying to London for the weekend just to see a play, flying to Iceland just to see the Northern Lights and countless other things over the last few years I've been able to experience with "space points". The Maldives/Dubai vacation I did was $57,000 alone. I would NEVER spend real money to actually experience that. Why should I? I prefer to spend real money on other things. The 23 night Antarctica, South Georgia and Falkland Islands trip I am working on will be well over $65,000 and I also will not pay real money to do that trip either. But 15 minutes of my day and earning "space points" as you say, ABSOLUTELY! I don't mind spending "space points" on whatever absurd or seemingly out of reach travel related idea crosses my mind. There are few things more satisfying to me than an amazingly awesome trip that would have cost a lot of money but I got to experience for next to nothing out of pocket.

 

[IamGroot]

Let's start with the false assumption that one needs to spend more than they normally do to earn points and miles. If you're doing that then you're doing it wrong.

Now let's talk about satisfaction. I for one find it quite satisfying to travel hack my way all over the world. I love staying in castles in Ireland, over water bunglaows in the Maldives, Bedouin suites in Dubai, flying in a double suite on Singapore and drinking endless Krug, taking a shower in the sky on Emirates first class A380, flying to London for the weekend just to see a play, flying to Iceland just to see the Northern Lights and countless other things over the last few years I've been able to experience with "space points". The Maldives/Dubai vacation I did was $57,000 alone. I would NEVER spend real money to actually experience that. Why should I? I prefer to spend real money on other things. The 23 night Antarctica, South Georgia and Falkland Islands trip I am working on will be well over $65,000 and I also will not pay real money to do that trip either. But 15 minutes of my day and earning "space points" as you say, ABSOLUTELY! I don't mind spending "space points" on whatever absurd or seemingly out of reach travel related idea crosses my mind. There are few things more satisfying to me than an amazingly awesome trip that would have cost a lot of money but I got to experience for next to nothing out of pocket.

Ah yes, because the average person gets $100k in free vacations. These billion dollar finance companies are too stupid to keep up with some intrepid forum warriors.