A millennial who retired early says she 'got bored' 6 months in and shares her top takeaway from hitting FIRE
"I thought FIRE was the goal for a really long time," she told Business Insider, referring to the financial independence, retire early movement. "And, at 32, I basically achieved a version of FIRE — living in my camper van and having freedom — and it was fun for like the first six months."
But less than a year into early retirement, "I found that I got bored and didn't feel all that fulfilled."
Han's financial independence journey began with a lot of debt: about $100,000 worth of student loans and credit cards. It forced her to increase her income, rein in her spending, and save aggressively, habits that she maintained after becoming debt-free and helped her achieve a seven-figure net worth.
Only after quitting her Wall Street job did she realize she was chasing the wrong thing all along.
"The question shouldn't be: How can I retire early and finally live my life? The question should be: How can I build a life I don't want to retire from?" she said.
At least for her, she'd rather spend her time working on something that lights her up than sit around doing nothing. "It might sound a little idealistic, but I really think that it's possible. It just takes maybe a different way of thinking and some effort."
Building a life you don't want to retire from
The way Han sees it, there are two main paths to building a life that you don't want to retire from.
"The ideal would be: What you love to do is what also makes you money, so you never have to retire, and it never feels like work," she said. "That's one possibility, and that's a sweet spot that I have more or less found, where the work that I do is what I love."
Han runs a financial literacy business that began as a passion project. She hosted free personal finance meet-ups and started a YouTube channel to share her own experience with money, which evolved into a profitable business with multiple revenue streams: online courses, brand deals, affiliate links, book sales, and AdSense for YouTube.
"It doesn't feel like work, and it makes you money. That's the whole package," said Han.
The second main path — establishing a reliable income stream that will pay the bills while pursuing your passion on the side — may be more practical.
"Elizabeth Gilbert talked about this in her book 'Big Magic.' She decided waitressing would be the thing that pays the bills so that writing would not need to have that pressure, and she could maintain her passion for writing," said Han. With this path, "you have a cash cow and you also have your passions. They don't have to be the same thing. It's like being the lawyer who has a rock band on the weekends."
If, over time, your rock band starts making enough money to sustain your lifestyle, that's when you could decide whether to quit your corporate job and pursue music full-time.
"I don't think you should just starve and pursue your passion. You also need to think about your cash cow," she added. "If you can make both one and the same, great. But if not, there are other ways to do it."
Changing her mindset from accumulating money to accumulating experiences
For years, Han poured much of her energy into making money and investing aggressively, but her single-minded pursuit of FIRE came at the cost of connection and deeper life experiences.
"The overall emphasis on money and the accumulation of money has just gotten out of hand, because capitalism has gotten out of hand," she said. "It's taken us away from what really, really matters, which is time with our loved ones and relationships."
Once she hit a $1 million net worth, one of her first thoughts was, "OK, well, now why don't I get to $10 million?" she said, a mindset she has since started to question. How much is enough, and at what point do you stop chasing more to enjoy what you already have?
"I feel like that's one outdated piece of advice: Overemphasis on accumulating money and dollars versus accumulating moments and core memories that you can never replace," she said.
She's not the only one waking up to this idea. She pointed to the "great resignation" of 2021 and 2022: "People were quitting their jobs because they were realizing, 'Oh, being away from home and working for somebody else who doesn't even really value me is not worth it anymore. I'd rather just have less money, but actually be able to do what I want with my time.'"
For Han, her happiest moments have come since moving to the same city as her boyfriend.
"The moments where we're just camping in our camper van, making a little fire, and my dog's running around the campsite, and it's just the three of us," she said. "Super simple moments that cost very little. That's what I live for."
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