Don’t FIRE – Join The Work LITE Movement Instead!

I’ve spent the past two decades planning for early retirement. That was the number one long term financial goal right out of college. I used to tell people “I work hard now so I don’t have to work hard tomorrow.” Retirement was a constant financial target for me and I diligently monitored and tracked it year after year.

I was sold on the concept of FIRE (financial independence, retire early). Imagine achieving financial freedom at an early age, there will be plenty of time to enjoy life, travel the world, and pursue hobbies. If I want to spend more time with my kids and be a parent volunteer at school, I would be able to do that so the thinking goes.

What is FIRE?

FIRE is an acronym for financial independence, retire early. There is a whole cottage industry which sprouted out in the personal finance blog-sphere around FIRE. One such blog I follow is Retireby40.org (Mr. RB40). Mr. RB40 defines FIRE as:

“Financial Independence is the ability to support your lifestyle without having to work.

Early Retirement means choosing to retire early and pursue your own agenda.”

I like his definition of FIRE. It would be great to have the ability to support my lifestyle without having to work for it. Additionally, the ability to choose to retire early and to pursue my own agenda sounds great to me. That is why I was so interested in, at a very young age, to reach FIRE.

About 5 years ago and 15 years into my working life, I was able to build up a nice financial nut. I was also able to have a better handle over the level of spending which would allow me to maintain a happy lifestyle. With the retirement goal within reach, I started to tell a few close people in my life about my desire to walk away from Corporate America.

The common response I got was along the lines of “you are too young to retire, what would you be doing with your life?” and it usually came accompanied by an eye roll or a look of get real. That was the initial response from my wife when I first mentioned it to her. It was the same response from my folks. Even a recruiter who called me up to tell me about a great job opportunity had the same reaction.

A couple of years ago, as I continued on my retirement journey pursuing FIRE and made great progress to get to the finish line, I started to have a different take. All those reactions, responses and looks started to make sense to me. If I retire at around the age of 40, what would I be doing with the rest of my life?

As I’ve read more and more about early retirement online, especially from people who have accomplished this feat, there is a common question that needs answering. What is next? It seems that for a lot of the folks who have achieved FIRE, that question is still constantly burning for them.

Currently, I’m performing a self-introspection as I inch closer and closer to the FIRE finish line. What do I really want and is FIRE right for me. Is there something better? As I though more and more about this, I just recently came to the realization that FIRE isn’t what I was really chasing.

I want some of the benefits of FIRE but not necessarily go into what we traditionally view as retirement mode. Then it finally hit me, I want more of what I coin to be a work LITE (location independent, time enjoyment) arrangement.

Now FIRE is still a great goal for certain people, but as I’ve gotten closer and closer to my FIRE date, I’ve come to the realization that FIRE isn’t what I seek. I seek certain benefits of FIRE such having freedom to choose where I work (that is the part of retiring early and having the ability to travel or sit at home all day) and the ability to enjoy my time (i.e. pursue my own agenda).

What is work LITE?

As previously mentioned, LITE is short for Location Independence, Time Enjoyment. In the same vein as Mr. RB40, I define work LITE as:

Location Independence is the ability to be where I want to be while working.

Time Enjoyment is choosing to pursue work that brings meaning, fulfillment and happiness to me. It also means I can choose my own schedule and timing of when I want to do the work.

What are examples of a work LITE arrangement?

A work LITE arrangement has to provide both location independence and time enjoyment. I think the location independence part is self-explanatory. The work has to provide you with the flexibility to work wherever you want. You can choose to work from the office, at home, at the beach, in New York City one day and Chicago the next day or on a cruise ship. Location doesn’t matter.

The time enjoyment aspect encompasses two parts to it. The first part is that the work can be performed when it is convenient for you. That means if you are a morning person and enjoy starting your work at 5 AM, you can do that. If you choose to work between 9 PM to 3 AM, the work allows for that as well. The work should be agnostic to when and how many hours you put in as long as the work is done to a high quality.

The second part of time enjoyment can be a bit more challenging. The work has to be rewarding, meaningful, provides fulfillment and happiness to your life. It is unique for each individual. What you enjoy might not be the same as the next person. This is also harder to tangibly quantify. You just need to figure it for yourself.

Why should you subscribe to the work LITE model as opposed to FIRE? It is because of the benefits.

Benefits of work LITE over FIRE

While there are many benefits to FIRE, there are also a number of drawbacks. In the work LITE model, you get some of the key benefits without some the major drawbacks.

No need to dodge the question of “what do you do for a living”.

It is incredibly hard, especially if you are of a young age, to tell people you are retired without them coming back with a snarky remark. Based on my own experience, people’s reactions were not positive when I raised the prospect of wanting to be retired by 40.

It is also hard to convince my wife to allow me to walk around from work at such a young age. But as a work LITE member, you have a job which you enjoy. You don’t have to feel the anxiety at a social function when inevitably the question of “where do you work?” comes up. You no longer need to try to skirt the question when asked.

No need for extreme frugality.

Underlying the FIRE movement is the need to save up enough money to be able to live off of your savings. That is the financial independence part. For a lot of people, that means being extremely frugal. It is impossible to save only 10% of your post tax income and be able to retire. In order to retire early, you need to be saving around 40% of your post tax income. Therefore, a lot of the FIRE folks preach frugality.

Let’s have a minimalist lifestyle, save as much as you can as early as you can, and then invest that savings. Hopefully, you can get to a financial position where your return on the savings can pay for the lifestyle.

You don’t need to have extreme frugality with the work LITE model. Since you are still gainfully employed or working, you will be generating income from work and won’t rely solely on your savings in order to maintain your lifestyle.

Can be more productive at work without needing to walk away.

Since you are working a job which provides you with meaning, fulfillment and happiness, you do not need to walk away. There is no need to retire from the job. All the effort developing your reputation and establishing relationships will not go to waste. You can put your time and energy into long term projects without having to be concerned about not having enough time to complete them. You can continue to be a productive member of your company and of society.

Can start to enjoy your life sooner rather than later – no need to be stuck in a job you don’t enjoy.

You don’t need to worry about toiling away at a job you don’t enjoy doing. A common sentiment for people aiming for FIRE is that they don’t want to continue to work at their job. That is why they want to retire early and walk away as soon as possible. Maybe the stress or dissatisfaction from the job itself caused those folks to want to pursue FIRE. They endure working a job they don’t enjoy because they need to have the income from the job. They are willing to trade their time in anguish for a higher income.

As a work LITE member, you don’t have to worry about that. You have a job which provides you with the location and time freedom, as well as, enjoyment. You don’t need to reach the point of retirement in order to start to enjoy your life.

You don’t waste your skill set.

Imagine walking away from a profession in which you have spent 4 years or longer pursuing a college degree in and then the next 20 years perfecting your skill set in that profession. Wouldn’t that be quite a waste?

So much money, time and energy have been expended in order to obtain and refine that skill set. Why throw it all away by retiring early. Don’t you want to be able to further develop the skill set?

People who can achieve FIRE have a natural tendency to want to continue to work hard. No need to fight that natural tendency.

I believe the people who can achieve FIRE are wired a certain way. They have a long term perspective, can stick to a plan for many years, are willing to work hard to build the financial nut, and can live within their means. Those people are type A personality folks in their own way.

It is probably not in the nature of a type A personality to just walk away and retire. They might not find much meaning in their life if they are not constantly challenged. FIRE might be great for those folks early on, but then they start to think what else can I do to spend my time productively. That might lead them back to work.

With the work LITE model, that feeling of a lack of contribution would not set in. The work LITE member is still joyously working, but with the advantages of having location and time independence.

Certain jobs fitting the work LITE model

There are jobs which I think can fit the work LITE model well. The key is for you to find one that works for you.

Technical Jobs

Jobs in the technology industry can offer location independence and flexible hours, largely due to the fact that they can often be done remotely. There is also freelance and contract work available in this industry. A sampling of such jobs includes:

⇒ Web Designer

⇒ Web Developer

⇒ Graphic Designer

Online Education Jobs

Education jobs are increasingly more flexible with location and hours. This can be attributed to an increase in educational technology and the prevalence of remote learning. A sampling of such jobs includes:

⇒ SAT/ACT Instructor

⇒ Tutor

⇒ Curriculum Writer

⇒ Curriculum Designer

Science/Medical Jobs

There are certain science and medical jobs which can be performed remotely on your own time schedule. Nurses are available to offer diagnoses over the phone, and tele-radiologists can review x-rays via computer. This provides greater opportunities for a flexible schedule. A sampling of such jobs includes:

⇒ Telecommuting Physician

⇒ Telecommuting Nurse

Business Jobs

There are business jobs which can provide great flexibility in both location and time. Some of those jobs have existed for quite a while. A sampling of such jobs includes:

⇒ Sales Representative

⇒ Customer Service Representative

⇒ Real Estate Broker

⇒ Actuary

Media/Communications Jobs

Writing, editing, and communications jobs are some of the most common jobs where you can schedule where and when you want to work. This is especially true when they are freelance-based.  A sampling of such jobs includes:

⇒ Copywriter

⇒ Copy Editor

⇒ Blogger

⇒ Content Writer

⇒ Content Marketer

⇒ Email Marketing Manager

Conclusion

Work LITE has many benefits compared to FIRE. Next time, instead of retiring early, choose a job which provides you the benefits of location and time freedom while fulfilling you with a sense of enjoyment.

To the audience: Do you believe the work LITE model is superior to FIRE? Can you see additional benefits to work LITE? Are there downsides to work LITE when compared to FIRE?

SoM @ SportofMoney.com

Many people work hard to better their physical and mental health. What about their financial health?

I started this blog back in 2019 to help people better their financial health as well.

My financial journey began with tens of thousands in student loan debt. Over the span of 20 years, I am close to achieving financial independence.

I truly believe anyone can get to strong financial health. Hopefully, this blog can help you on your financial journey to greater wealth and financial independence.

You can read more about me here.

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