Financial Independence, Retire Early: 'It took us three years to save 100,000'

""But you can take it at your own pace as well," he says. "There's no strict requirement. Some people do deliberately go slower. It can be hard to find that balance sometimes between saving now and wanting to live your life at the same time.""

""We were in the habit of simply spending all of it, as most people would do, anyway. I sat down with my wife - I found a new project that came with a 20pc pay increase - and I said, 'Look, maybe this time we just hold our spending. We don't look to increase our spending. We just look to actually save some of this money and see how that goes'.""

FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early and originated in the early 1990s in the US. The movement remains popular despite 2020s hustle culture, with many aiming to retire in their 30s, 40s or 50s rather than traditional later ages. FIRE involves significant lifestyle changes and high savings rates; traditional saving targets can reach up to 50 percent, though individuals can progress at their own pace. Practical challenges include balancing current living with future savings and adapting extreme frugality. One practitioner shifted spending habits after a pay increase and set an initial first-year savings goal of €3,000.

Read at Irish Independent