The night was January 17, 2020, a Friday. My mom, my husband Troy, and I were deciding on what to watch that evening since the baby was finally asleep and we had just opened a bottle of wine to share. Despite access to all the streaming services, we couldn’t decide on a show to watch. So, out of the blue, my mom asks Troy and I, “What would your ideal day be like if you were FIRE?”

We had learned about the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) Movement a few months earlier, around Thanksgiving, on a road trip back from visiting family in Pennsylvania. Being that my mom and Troy both enjoy financial podcasts, my mom played an episode of the Choose FI podcast. On this particular episode, Brad and Jonathan were discussing a new documentary that was premiering, “Playing with Fire.” Intrigued and a bit skeptical, Troy decided to preview the film when we got home. After watching the trailer, we were hooked and went ahead and purchased the movie! (We figured that if we watched it a second time, we would get our money’s worth.) The film follows a couple with a small child who decides to completely leave the life that they knew, full of working, spending, and living in the one of the most expensive cities in the country and chose to forge a new path toward Financial Independence.
The core principles of the FIRE movement rely on the ideas of saving as much money as possible, so that eventually, you’ve saved enough (in various investments) to live off of and no longer require you to work. You heard me…following the guidelines of FIRE could realistically allow you to CHOOSE to work rather than HAVE TO work. Instead of saving money to spend it, you are saving money to earn back years of freedom in your life.

Now that my family is on the FIRE journey, it was only fitting to play my part and focus on our grocery and meal budgets. My husband is the numbers man and works out all the figures to help financially align our bills, investments such as our 401ks, 403bs, our Y2ks, and blah blah blah. I love it… I mean, I love that he LOVES it. Personally, I couldn’t do it. My mind goes to mush when I try and crunch the numbers. So, playing to our strengths, I’ve decided to track all things food for the family. Food?! Now, you are talking my language. 😀

If you want to learn more, I would listen to the pros, and check out the Beginner’s Guide to Reaching Financial Independence on Choose FI.com.