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Playing with FIRE: trailer

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The FIRE concept (Financial Independence Retire Early) seems to be a new one to many people.

There's a brand new documentary about it: Playing with FIRE by Scott Reickens. It's his family's journey into the FIRE movement. Their attempt to buck the consumer culture and bring forward financial freedom.

Check out the trailer.



I was stunned that 69% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings - and that one-third have no savings at all. It seems US advertisers have milked Americans for every last dollar they earn.

Who is Scott?

If you want to know more about the leadup to how Scott Rieckens got into this you may want to check out this episode of the Choose FI podcast.

His earlier life

Scott talks about "lifestyle creep" - moving to bigger places and buying stuff just to fill the space. He was paying $2850/mth for rent (that's $34,200 a year).

On top of that he paid a nanny to watch his kid (which he'd prefer to do himself) and realising that half the time he was at work to pay for the nanny so he could be at work. He describes this as the definition of being on the hamster wheel.

Together the rent and the nanny totalled $64,000 per year in expenses- equal to about $100,000 before tax.

His wife's happiness

Scott asked his wife to list things that make her happy on a weekly basis. She wrote:
  • read her baby a book
  • listen to her baby laugh
  • have coffee with her husband
  • have a glass of wine at night
  • eat delicious chocolate
  • ride bikes with our family
  • go for a walk
  • spend time with our parents and family
Most of those things are free. For very little money we can have both happiness and "financial stability for decades to come".

What is the FIRE community?

The host describes the community of FIRE people as "a community that has utterly crushed the hamster wheel. By being willing to make some slightly more optimised choices over an extended period of time they have purchased their freedom. Now they can dedicate that space to the people they care about and the projects they are passionate about."

Where can I see the film?

[Update] Since I wrote this article, the live screenings have ended. The movie is now available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play or Vimeo. Or you can buy the DVD on Amazon.

PS. In the podcast they mention Zillow, a US website for comparing housing costs. In Australia the best equivalent I've found is Real Estate's Neighbourhoods. I refer to it in my article on how to save thousands in rent. Domain's Suburb Profiles has good info for purchasing but rental data is less user-friendly.

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