What is FIRE and how can you achieve it?

First, a little refresher on what FIRE means and how you can work towards it.

FIRE stands for ‘Financial Independence, Retire Early’ and it’s basically exactly that. It involves reaching financial freedom and being able to retire much earlier than the norm (which, in Australia, is around 56 years old, according to the ABS ).

There are lots of different ways to achieve FIRE . These depend on the lifestyle you want once you retire and how much money you’re willing to put away as you work towards it.

Generally, though, they all have one thing in common. FIRE involves investing and saving your money so you’ve got enough stashed away that you no longer have to work. It’s about creating a more fulfilling life beyond the 9-5 grind and spending your time doing the things you want to do rather than have to do.

You can read all about it in the Aussie FIRE eBook , listen to the Aussie FIRE podcast or check out our many Financial Independence resources .

Why some people fear retirement

No matter their age and stage of life – whether they’re retiring early or preparing to finish work at the typical retirement age – many people have fears about giving up work.

There are several reasons for these fears. Retirement is a dive into the unknown – a place that lacks certainty and structure. Where working life had you getting up at a particular time each day and heading to the same office, retirement could have you living day-to-day without any obligations.

Depending on how you live your life, you may face a lack of social stimulation, too. Work involves numerous social interactions with all kinds of people, whereas retirement could be a potentially isolating experience.

Some fear no longer having a purpose that keeps them going. During their working life, their job may have offered a sense of direction and self. Perhaps they were working towards a career or financial milestone, or their job massively contributed to their identity.

Then, there’s the very reason we’re here: boredom. It’s a common concern for many who are facing retirement, because their job gives them something to keep their minds busy each day. In fact, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, boredom is one of the primary reasons retirees end up returning to work.

Thankfully, though, there are lots of ways to spend your time once you retire early that can help alleviate these worries.

Nine ideas for filling your spare time

The way you spend your time once you reach Financial Independence will largely come back to why you decided to work towards FIRE in the first place. Was your goal to see the world, spend more time with your kids, or finally get around to writing that book?

But if you haven’t quite gotten to the goal-setting stage, or you’ve still got some spare time to fill, here are a few ideas.

1. Pursue your hobbies

Love gardening? Got a burning passion for baking? Like to spend your time building model trains? Have a pile of books that never got read?

Retirement is a great time to do the things you couldn’t manage when you were working. Now, you’ve got near endless time on your hands, and you can indulge in whatever your heart desires entirely guilt-free.

If you don’t have any hobbies, consider retirement your opportunity to discover new activities you like doing. You never know; you might discover an untapped penchant for something.

2. Work on your passion projects

You may have projects you want to work on that you couldn’t previously justify because they didn’t generate an income (or you simply couldn’t fit them into your busy schedule).

Maybe you want to write a book, get a blog off the ground, or launch a business idea. Or, perhaps you’re keen to start a band or community group.

The beauty of doing these once you’ve achieved FIRE is that you don’t have to put pressure on your passion project to be financially successful.

3. Learn a new skill

Learning is an excellent way to keep your mind sharp and give yourself purpose.

There are lots of things you can learn in your spare time. You could master a new language, instrument, craft or sport. Or, you could teach yourself to cook or bake and give yourself the challenge of trying new recipes every day.

There are endless avenues for learning, too. You could teach yourself using online tutorials or join classes in person.

4. Spend time with friends and family

For many, being able to spend more time with friends and family is a primary goal of FIRE. After all, work only leaves so many hours in the day to do so.

You could enjoy more quality time with your partner, get together with extended family, or make more opportunities to meet up with friends for lunch. If you’ve got kids , you could take on a bigger parenting role during the week.

5. Get social

Alternatively, you could look at other ways to maintain social connections outside of your nearest and dearest.

Staying connected is incredibly important for your mental health. With the absence of enforced socialising at work, it’s on you to maintain interactions with the outside world.

Sign up for classes, join a sports team or book club, connect with your local area by contributing to a community garden or group, or look for local meet-ups focused on different interests.

6. Volunteer

If there’s a cause you want to get behind, retirement is your chance to give time to it. You could volunteer at a charity shop, animal shelter, with a conservation group, or in your local community.

You could also sign up for a mentoring program where you share your skills and knowledge with others.

7. Get fit

If you haven’t had the time or energy to look after your physical health, now could be your chance.

You could try implementing a new exercise routine – like running, yoga, or a sport. You could also work towards a fitness goal, such as running a marathon or being able to lift a certain weight.

Exercise is really good for your mental health, and it helps with creating a bit of routine each day.

8. See the world

For many, FIRE is a brilliant opportunity to travel. With endless free time, you can go wherever you want, whenever you want.

You could hire or buy a camper and roam Australia. Or, you could hop over to different countries – perhaps even spending months at a time overseas.

9. Keep working

Hold up: isn’t the point of FIRE to stop working? It kind of is, but the difference here is that you can choose to work rather than be obligated to work .

You could decide to work in a capacity that suits you: part-time, casual, freelance or as a consultant. You could take on an entirely new hustle in a field that interests you or you could even start your own business.

How to set yourself up for FIRE success

To reduce the risk of getting bored once you achieve FIRE, it pays to lay a bit of groundwork. Rather than only planning for the point of retirement, you want to prepare for life post -retirement , too.

• Go through the emotions. Transitioning to retirement is a major change that’s bound to bring up lots of fears and emotions. Instead of pushing them to the side, embrace them. Remember that the change is going to take some time to get used to and that, eventually, you may find you adapt to retirement pretty well. This is specially true if you’ve given lots of thought to the life you want to achieve
  
• Work out what’s important. Reflect on why you want to achieve FIRE and what your goals are post-retirement. When you come back to your core purpose, you’ll be giving yourself a sense of direction and making sure you’re spending your time in line with your values. Don’t be alarmed if not every single day is filled with limitless productivity. You’ll inevitably have times that are a little tedious
  
• Create a routine. Some people can handle it, but an unstructured lifestyle isn’t for everyone. If you thrive on routine, continue implementing one once you retire. Get up at the same time each day, give yourself a schedule, and plan activities that keep you in some semblance of structure
  
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle. You’ll have plenty more time to maintain your health once you retire, so make it a priority to look after it. Not only will your body thank you, but you may just find that it helps with the boredom side of things, too. This is because pursuits like exercise and preparing healthy food are great ways to pass the time. Give yourself opportunities each day to move your body, meditate, get out in nature, and cook – whatever works for you and your new routine
  
• Give yourself some direction. Humans need purpose to feel fulfilled. Establish a goal to work towards so you still feel like you have some kind of direction. It could be completing your debut novel, reaching a fitness milestone, travelling to a certain number of countries or launching your first business. The goal doesn’t even have to be that lofty; even aiming to complete a run each week can do the trick!