Who coined the term FI/RE (financially-retirement (at least in the sense we mean it today) gained traction. But despite my research, I still have questions, such as: What’s theWho Coined the Term FIRE?
Recently at “Things That Are Stronger than Death and Fear”. (The post is worth reading even today, 21 years later.)
“This is the essence of FI/RE,” writes wanderer0692. “Freedom from financial want. It is a tribute, in our case, to luck and a bull market, and to our adherence to what we refer to as the six fundamental principles of FI/RE.”
Those six fundamentals of FI/RE are:
- Have a motivating purpose.
- Take a high-paying job.
- Live below your means.
- Slash your taxes.
- Practice geo-arbitrage.
- Invest in low-cost index funds.
The fundamentals of the FIRE movement haven’t changed much since 2001, have they? These are still the basics that most of people preach and practice today.
“A Fire That Burns in Me”
Anyhow, as a sort of addendum to his excellent post, wanderer0692 makes an observation:
Has anyone else noticed how “FI/RE” looks like the word “fire”? I remember attending church (a long, long time ago) and, during the benediction, the preacher saying, “Take our minds and think through them. Take our eyes and see through them. Take our hearts and set them on fire.” I always liked that turn of phrase.
I’m not much for religion, but I do believe in the sanctity of the human spirit. FI/RE is a fire that burns in me. Maybe it consumes me, but I like to think I am that phoenix, rising from the ashes, to fulfill his special mission of realizing his true potential.
So, from now on, I’m gonna drop the slash. A “FIRE” it is. May it be ever thus.
And so it has been ever thus.
So, there you have it. Until somebody provides evidence otherwise, I’m willing to accept Greaney’s version of early FIRE history. The dude has been writing about this stuff online since 1996, after all. He knows his stuff.
What Does the FIRE Acronym Stand For?
There’s another interesting insight from this FIRE origin story. Today, most people (including me) believe that the FIRE acronym stands for “Financial Independence/Retire Early”. That’s pretty damn clumsy, and we all know it. In actuality, the FIRE acronym originally stood for “Financially Independent, Retired Early”. That makes a lot more sense!
That said, I know it’s a losing battle to try to convince people that we’re mis-labelling what FIRE stands for. Hell, I’ve spent two years trying to get people to stop saying “savings rate” when they mean “saving rate” and I seem to have made zero measurable difference. I suppose I’ll have to resign myself to failure on this one too.
Further Reading
Want to read more about the history of personal finance and financial independence? Well then, you’re a nerd. That’s okay. I’m a nerd too. Here are a few pages that might interest you, weird-o:
- The history of financial independence at Get Rich Slowly
- What early retirement was like in 1957 (according to Life magazine) at Get Rich Slowly
