Many starting out on the road to financial independence (FI) look for high quality resources. Before purchasing this book, I read a post about a new FIRE documentary . The author discussed what everyone gets wrong about the FIRE lifestyle before lamenting the scrutiny from the mainstream media. To illustrate this point, he referenced a documentary that following a young family on their path to frugality.
The film will be released commercially in late 2019, but the filmmaker also published a book on the same subject. I picked up a copy on Amazon.
I don’t claim to be an expert in financial independence. Indeed I started writing this blog to force myself through the hard research of getting to the bottom of how it works. After finishing the book, I felt Playing with FIRE was a useful addition to any FIRE library. It gets to the softer side of many of my personal questions with FIRE.
How do you convince a loved one to sacrifice the pleasures of today for the freedom of tomorrow? What happens when you forget to budget for something like Christmas? How do you overcome the (many) moments of doubt?
Answering these questions is where the book excels. The author offers clear insights that will be valuable for anyone interested but hesitant to engage in FIRE.
The book
Playing with FIRE is a book about Scott Rieckens, his wife and daughter, and their story of finding the Financial Independence (FI) movement. It charts how they change the way the live and film a documentary about the FI community.
The challenges faced provide a consistent narrative for the story, but the core of the book is really about Rieckens and his newly discovered passion for reducing spending, getting debt under control, and convincing (dragging?) his family along for the ride.
I say dragging, because when the story opens the family is leading what sounds like a perfectly wonderful life. Settled in Coronado, the couple is expecting their first child. They rent a stylish three-bedroom house in a desirable location. Leisure time is spent at the local boat club or dining out with friends. They lease a BMW sports car and regularly take vacations. In essence, they live the classic middle class dream.
If you’re a sometime reader of this blog you will likely notice that these activities describe the lifestyle of most Americans. Lots and lots of spending with minimal savings.
After Jovi is born, Scott realizes he needs a “million dollar idea” to escape decades of work with limited family interaction. Driving to work one day, Scott hears a podcast with Mr. Money Mustache. FIRE ends up being that million dollar idea.
Eventually the couple gets to a point when they realize their life in Coronado is too expensive to sustain. The rest of the story is how they hunt for a new home, integrate with the luminaries in the FIRE community, and film the documentary.
The handy bits
Along the path to FI, the couple experiences moments of friction. Rieckens spends the first quarter of the book attempting to convince his wife of their unsustainable spending. She moves from ignoring the many articles from various financial independence blogs to outright resistance to fundamanetally changing her lifestyle.
One of the most compelling moments in the book is when Rieckens, growing increasingly despondent with his failure to convince his wife of the benefits of frugality. In a last ditch effort, he asks her to participate in a simple exercise: list the ten things you enjoy most.
The two take an evening apart and draft their respective lists. When they come together the following morning it is a poignant moment. Each list is heavy with spending time with the family, friends, drinking coffee and relaxing. Not a single item on either list is linked to the costly lifestyle they live. Neither describes the expensive car, multiple night eating out each week, or the boat club. Instead, the top things are time, togetherness, and physical exercise. Many others can relate.
Christmas
In another poignant moment, Rieckens and his wife are living with family as they save money to purchase a new house. By this point they are living on a strict budget. Every expense for the next year is accounted for. Both are beginning to appreciate the benefits of the new new lifestyle. They are closer to family and getting pumped to begin the house hunt.
One night Riecken’s mother asks him what he wants for Christmas. He realizes in that moment he had not planned for the costs of presents for friends and families and laments the previous $1500 budget and feelings of generosity. He worries that the couple’s newfound frugality will negatively impact their relationships with family and friends.
They ultimately find a solution, but these moments are common for those adjusting to the new lifestyle.
These moments are ultimately where the book excels. Confronting the problems new FIRE adherents experience and offering common sense solutions will benefit many who decide to give FIRE a try.
Conclusion
At its most successful, it is a story of finance in relationships and the strains of aligning different approaches to finance. The story is worth a read for those early in their FIRE journey who are looking for some flinty advice on getting through the normal growing pains each of us face on the road to financial independence.
