‘Fire’ may let you retire early but it’s a miserable way to live

With four cats and two children to feed, I’m not very Fire. But then I am not sure I want to be. ‘Fire’ is the ‘Financial independence, retire early’ movement that has proved popular among burnt-out millennials wanting to quit the corporate rat race. 

It began in America with a 1992 book, Your Money or Your Life, which advised followers to live frugally and simply in order to achieve financial independence. One of its biggest proponents is a man dubbed Mr Money Moustache, who describes himself to his 112,000 Twitter followers as a ‘thirtysomething retiree who now writes about how we can all lead a frugal yet badass life of leisure’.

He told me that to be truly Fire, I should limit the number of children and pets that I have, as both are expensive. But that is not enough. Fire involves extreme austerity, significantly limiting the amount you spend, and saving hard — up to 75 per cent of your income.