The Single Biggest Risk That Could Stop Your Early Retirement (& How to Dodge It)

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

BiggerPockets

Investing, Education, Business

4.6 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 29 April 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You’re part of the FIRE movement (financial independence, retire early) so you can quit your job, have complete time freedom, and truly enjoy your life. But what if early retirement isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be? What if you grind for years or decades, reach your FIRE number, quit your job, and realize… you’re bored? Your schedule is wide open, but what do you fill it with? You start asking yourself, “Did I pursue FIRE for financial freedom—or to escape something else entirely?” Tyler Gardner, former portfolio manager and financial advisor, has seen the toxic side of FIRE far too often. Tyler believes that working on something you love can be far more meaningful than early retirement, and he might be right. Early retirees often struggle with their post-career lifestyle, and many find they can’t thrive without meaningful work. This identity shift can cause profound dissatisfaction, even after so much sacrifice to get to this point. Tyler’s advice: slowly phase out of work or have other income streams that can keep you going, not just for your mental health but your portfolio’s health. So, how do you do that? Mindy, Scott, and Tyler have a meaningful debate, with significant disagreements, on the best way to phase out full-time work, why a 100% stock portfolio may be safer than you thought, and the toxic side of FIRE nobody talks about. In This Episode We Cover The problem with FIRE and why early retirement won’t solve everything The #1 risk early retirees are NOT prepared for and how to ensure you keep your FIRE blazing How to phase out of work even if you have a demanding, full-time, 40+ hours per week job Why working during early retirement is not a bad thing and has massive benefits Creating cash flow before you retire and how to minimize the dreaded “sequence of returns risk” And So Much More! Check out more resources from this show on ⁠BiggerPockets.com⁠ and ⁠https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-635 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email ⁠[email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	What if the fire movement isn't about financial freedom, but about something much deeper?
0:05.0	Is it an escape from a system that's fundamentally broken?
0:08.5	Today, we are not celebrating spreadsheets and savings rates.
0:11.4	We are pulling back the curtain on the real psychological engine driving thousands of people
0:16.5	to obsessively pursue financial independence.
0:19.5	We're driving deep into the uncomfortable truth.
0:22.6	What are you really running from?
0:24.9	And can financial independence truly set you free?
0:28.0	Please note that this recording with Tyler is so amazing.
0:31.2	We're bringing him back for part two.
0:41.2	Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the Bigger Pockets Money podcast.
0:42.5	My name is Mindy Jensen.
0:46.7	And with me as always is my newly moustachioed co-host, Scott Trench.
0:47.9	Hey, Mindy, great to be here.
0:50.6	Yes, this is my money mustache that I have been growing.
0:54.3	Bigger Pockets is a goal of creating one million must, I mean,
0:57.6	millionaires. You are in the right place if you want to get your financial house in order because we truly believe financial freedom is attainable for everyone, no matter when or
1:01.4	where you're starting, as long as you finish with a portfolio capable of sustaining financial
1:06.0	independence. Before we get into the show, I have a quick question. How many hours did you spend last month
1:11.4	chasing down rent payments, sorting through piles of receipts, or filling in spreadsheets?
1:16.1	If the answer is too many, then I need to tell you about Baselaine, a trusted Bigger Pockets
1:21.0	Pro Partner. Baselane is an all-in-one banking and financial platform built specifically
	...

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