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Playing with FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early): How Far Would You Go for Financial Freedom?

Scott Rieckens

3.83 · Rating details · 1,614 ratings · 186 reviews

What if a happier life was only a few simple choices away?

A successful entrepreneur living in Southern California, Scott Rieckens had built a “dream life”: a happy marriage, a two-year-old daughter, a membership to a boat club, and a BMW in the driveway. But underneath the surface, Scott was creatively stifled, depressed, and overworked trying to help pay for his family’ ...more

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Paperback, 224 pages

Published January 11th 2019 by New World Library (first published January 1st 2019)

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Jun 22, 2019 Leigh Anne rated it it was ok

Maybe they struggled, maybe it was white privilege.

The first thing you need to know right off the bat is that the couple featured in this book earned over $142,000 a year, lived in California, belonged to a boat club, and owned a BMW at the beginning of their journey. Realizing that selling the BMW and quitting the boat club were HUGE epiphanies for them, so you can imagine how the rest of this goes. Add in not one, but TWO sets of parents willing to let them live with them RENT FREE, and I almo Maybe they struggled, maybe it was white privilege.

The first thing you need to know right off the bat is that the couple featured in this book earned over $142,000 a year, lived in California, belonged to a boat club, and owned a BMW at the beginning of their journey. Realizing that selling the BMW and quitting the boat club were HUGE epiphanies for them, so you can imagine how the rest of this goes. Add in not one, but TWO sets of parents willing to let them live with them RENT FREE, and I almost just gave up and threw it across the room.

I am, apparently, a masochist, so, okay. Everybody has to start somewhere, and Rieckens and his wife wake up and realize that their consumer lifestyle wasn't making them happy. So they decide to cut back and discover the joy of living with less. Because "less" is relative, however, I need to point out that the house they bought at the END of their journey STILL came with a mortgage payment of over $2400 a month, which is more than many families spend on their entire budget. In fact, watching these two wake up to the realities of packing their own lunches (!), brewing coffee at home (!!), and NOT dropping $100s of dollars on dinner with their friends (!!!) will make most people want to reach through the pages and throttle them while screaming "FIX IT LORD JESUS!"

Ahem. Reickens pays lip service to the idea that "anybody" can do the FIRE method, but the examples they give are all of middle-class white couples. Furthermore, the one couple that DOES live on two non-profit salaries ultimately decide to take for-profit jobs that pay more, which hurts me in ways I cannot begin to describe. A grand total of ONE paragraph is devoted to these affluent white folks contemplating their privilege, and the solution they provide is....

....wait for it....

teaching financial literacy classes in schools.

LORD

JESUS

FIX

IT.

Sigh. Look. If your childhood involved hunger, housing insecurity, secondhand clothes, or furious scholarship hunting because your parents couldn't afford to send you to college, spare yourself the anguish and don't pick this up. You will just hate everyone and everything in this book. If, however, you are rolling in cash and trying to figure out how to stop spending money on luxuries and live like regular people, this is your book. Recommended only for libraries in the fanciest of neighborhoods.

...more

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Feb 15, 2019 Christina rated it it was ok

Shelves: whatevs

It's a fun intro to FIRE for anyone who can't adult and handle personal finances. Really, it sounds like a dream that you can hop from being ignorant about how your 401k works at age 29 to having a net worth of over 300k.

This book ignores some pitfalls of FIRE. It also dispenses inaccurate advice and misuses the word "hack" so terribly that I wonder how smug the author must be.

As someone who says (and I paraphrase) "I want to show how an average American family can FIRE and not be extremely ~~chea~~ It's a fun intro to FIRE for anyone who can't adult and handle personal finances. Really, it sounds like a dream that you can hop from being ignorant about how your 401k works at age 29 to having a net worth of over 300k.

This book ignores some pitfalls of FIRE. It also dispenses inaccurate advice and misuses the word "hack" so terribly that I wonder how smug the author must be.

As someone who says (and I paraphrase) "I want to show how an average American family can FIRE and not be extremely ~~cheap-as-fuh~~frugal," he seems oblivious to his privilege. His parents house him and his wife and his kid FOR FREE for months. You mean free housing and free childcare for months and voila you save 60% of your income?? Why didn't I think of that? OH YEAH. Because free housing and free childcare (with an added bonus of a remote job!) isn't some magical given. Also it doesn't sound like they need to worry about their parents' retirement. That's another burden that many face.

As for dispensing bad advice:

...a Roth conversion ladder, where you roll money from your 401k or other tax-deferred retirement accounts into an IRA and then withdraw it, tax-free. p. 129

What's a Roth conversion ladder without a Roth account? You don't magically jump from an IRA to tax-free withdrawals, WTF. You roll your money from a 401k to a traditional IRA. Then you convert from your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA at which point you *gasp* pay taxes. Then you withdraw the principal tax-free, but you still have to pay a penalty on any gains accrued in the Roth IRA until you hit retirement age. I guess that sounds too complex for his nice FIRE narrative.

And all these clever "hacks"...

...all the FIRE-approved methods for hacking college, like attending a community college, focusing on scholarships, living at home, or working during the summer to cover her tuition. p. 146

Since when has any of those things been "hacks"? They're just things frugal people or people without so much privilege do. And summer work to cover tuition doesn't work given that tuition increases have outstripped inflation and the rise of prices of just about anything else that is humanly possible to buy. If those qualify as college "hacks," then he forgot things such as "attend a public university" and "don't pursue your dream but pick your major based on best ROI." ...more

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Jun 05, 2019 Natalie K rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: finance, nonfiction

Not a bad book if you know absolutely nothing about finance, but for those of us who have more than a basic knowledge, it's kind of redundant. I appreciate the shout-out to Vanguard funds (I'm a proud Vanguard investor), but his description of a Roth conversion ladder was just... not right. Remember, friends, you can't ever avoid the tax man. You WILL have to pay taxes if you convert your 401k (deferred tax) to a Roth IRA (taxes already paid). That's just how it works. This PSA courtesy of your ...more

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Jan 27, 2019 Ronald rated it really liked it

This was a great short read on both the idea of FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) and the FIRE movement. I had heard of this movement before but didn't know much about it. It was an interesting and personal read about a family choosing to abandon living the typical upper-middle class California lifestyle to a frugal life that allows for the savings necessary to achieve financial independence. The basic idea is to decide upon a set amount of annual expenses per year for your family and m ...more

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Jul 05, 2019 Julia rated it it was ok

Shelves: finances

The more I think about this book, the more I reevaluate my feelings about it. I'm a huge finance nerd so I definitely enjoyed the process of reading the book. However, as many of the critical reviews suggest, the extremely privileged situation of the author and his family is tough to ignore. It was still interesting to learn about the principles of FIRE and learn about their story but the reality is that it is not at all relatable to the majority of people who will read this (and while that isn' ...more

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Jan 14, 2020 Siah rated it it was ok

I am mad because the book is somehow surprisingly even worse than the movie. I mean who can afford to start their financial independence journey by dropping $500k on a house, not working for many months and traveling to various conferences? This does not really add up and in fact goes against every principle of the FIRE movement.

By the end of the book I was not really sure what was the purpose of this book. Basically a relatively privileged duo let go of their BMW and their country club members ...more

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Dec 06, 2019 Djamilla rated it did not like it

Shelves: money

This book is just a man sharing his family's year-long financial adventure with us. I don't feel like his mission was to teach anything. They had an extravagant lifestyle. Therefore, most of the steps they took are really not applicable for most people:
- Drop the BMW (savings: $400/month)
- Opt for a daycare, instead of a nanny (savings: $700/month)
- Cooking instead of buying lunch & coffee EVERY SINGLE DAY
- moving out of the beach house
- Save $50k in one year by travelling around the country, l ...more

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Jan 22, 2019 Dakota rated it really liked it

Playing with FIRE combines what you need to know about retiring early, wraps it around an approachable, relatable story, and lays out why it matters. In short, family, satisfying and fulfilling ways to spend your time, and feeling empowered about money instead of owned by it.

I've read the blogs, listened to the podcasts, and this book wraps it neatly into one package. Scott writes with humor, candor, and isn't just selling an extreme frugality approach. Even if you're in the FIRE movement and on ...more

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Mar 08, 2019 Heidi rated it it was amazing

About a year ago I went to a hackathon and the key takeaway for me was that I needed to retire as soon as possible because I won’t be able to upkeep myself in the world controlled by various of AI. And yet, nothing really happened but gradually I saw it in other people’s life and then I saw FIRE, it gave a very simple yet critical insight to help me rethink what I want my life to be and what I treasured the most was not the great paycheck I got, fancy big title in even more fancier company, and ...more

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Feb 08, 2019 Rebe rated it really liked it

Shelves: money-lifestyle, male-authors, memoirs-bios-etc, nonfiction, adult, reviewed

An enjoyable read. Although it's more memoir and less how-to than I expected, it's a good introduction to the concepts of radical savings for early retirement (FIRE, Mustachianism, what have you). It's no Mr. Money Mustache, but then again, for an introduction to the topic, maybe that's a good thing. MMM is like an Olympic athlete of the extreme early retirement movement. A more moderate path to the same ends may reach a wider audience. ...more

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Oct 01, 2019 Christa Maurice rated it did not like it

DNF. This is the literary equivalent of a toddler digging something out of his diaper and proclaiming it something brand new that he discovered. Financial independence has been around for as long as there has been money, but the author writes as though his personal experience is groundbreaking. And it's ALLLLL his personal experience. I have no interest in WHY this yodel did this, I want to know HOW.

Read Your Money Or Your Life, Affluenza, and The Tightwad Gazette instead. ...more

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Oct 22, 2020 Glenn rated it liked it

Helpful to those new to the FIRE experiences who want to hear a story of someone's introduction to FIRE. Would suggest 'Your money or your life' or 'Early Retirement Extreme' for more practical examples though. ...more

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Jul 25, 2019 Jenny Thompson rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, finance

A quick read that will feel very familiar to most of its likely readers (people who already read a lot of fi/re blogs). In fact, the target audience is a bit unclear. For people in this community, there is nothing new, and you can get better info elsewhere.

I have to assume it's meant as an introduction, but the Rieckens' journey will not be accessible to any readers who are genuinely struggling to stay afloat. The author detailing his painful decision to sacrifice his boat club membership and h ...more

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Apr 17, 2019 Patrick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Less a 'how to' and more of a 'what happens when'.

If you are loking for a 'how to' book for financial independence than this isnt the one. It follows the authors decision to follow FIRE and his ups and downs including trying to get his wife on board, dealing with friends and family views on FIRE. It discusses how he and his wife felt like quitting and regrets when they splurged to feel like they used to when they didnt think of how they spent their money. A very worthwhile read for anyone thinki ...more

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May 15, 2019 Trish Barlowe rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is an excellent introduction to FIRE. I devoured it in a day and a half. When I first started looking into FIRE, everything seemed a little bit overwhelming. This book provides a quick overview of FIRE principles, introduces you to the key players in this movement, all while following real people with real examples. After reading this book, many of the FI blogs made more sense and I knew which resources to grab next. Highly recommended!

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Sep 16, 2019 Jay rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: retirement

Reading a book on Financial Independence nowadays is a combination of pleasure and pain to me. It happens the same way with many of these recent crop of FIRE (financial independence, retire early) books. I start reading and have an immediate negative reaction. Why? I’ve been on this path for roughly 30 years, and I haven’t hit the finish line yet. It’s because I tend to the conservative in investing, and it’s because I have lived life and found that my wants and needs are constantly evolving, an Reading a book on Financial Independence nowadays is a combination of pleasure and pain to me. It happens the same way with many of these recent crop of FIRE (financial independence, retire early) books. I start reading and have an immediate negative reaction. Why? I’ve been on this path for roughly 30 years, and I haven’t hit the finish line yet. It’s because I tend to the conservative in investing, and it’s because I have lived life and found that my wants and needs are constantly evolving, and I’ve experienced the occasional unexpected setback. I’ve found these FIRE books to mostly ignore hedonistic adaptation, or increases in standard of living. They also tend to ignore some of the inflation to things you buy or will be buying in the future, which sometimes isn’t reflected in official numbers. And I’ve not run into one that handles risks in a thorough manner. In this case, life insurance isn’t mentioned, making me wonder if they’ve thought through any future scenarios including children. Disability isn’t mentioned. Atrophying of job skills, which makes the option of returning to well-compensated work difficult, isn’t taken into account. And the possibility of an inheritance, which is like a kind of insurance on FIRE, isn’t mentioned, and you can’t tell if it has been taken into account. When you’ve considered, or analyzed FIRE for any length of time, you hope to see these topics discussed in FIRE books as a validation of thoroughness. They had only been at it for less than a year when the book was being written, so you get limited reflection. I’d have to give this an “incomplete”. These books, with this one as a good example of the genre, drive me nuts when I start to read them.

If I can get over my initial disbelief that the authors didn’t take what I consider common issues into account, I often get to where I enjoy the story. This happened with this book. As long as I totally disregarded the “how-to” aspects of the book, and instead regard the book as documenting someone learning from scratch, I can enjoy it. Here, I was able to enjoy the journey. Part of that enjoyment is that the author is making a documentary of his family’s journey, and I enjoyed the description of his research and the process. If you are farther along in thinking about FIRE, I don’t think you’ll learn much with this book, but if you are new to the concept, this explains the basics and provides an example of a path, but makes it look a bit too simple.
...more

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Feb 10, 2020 Megan rated it it was ok

Shelves: financial-literacy

They have a story that I think is relate-able to lots of people, and the book was filled with lots of good information/things to think about....however I didn't enjoy reading it, something about the tone of the narrative did not resonate with me. He also made a documentary about this same topic, and even though I wasn't a fan of the book, I still want to see it. Sounds like his background is more in the documentary/production world and maybe that was the difference and why this book fell flat fo ...more

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Apr 22, 2019 Kate M. Colby rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Playing with FIRE provides one example of one family's journey toward financial independence and retiring early (FIRE). It also laid out the core strategies of FIRE (increasing income, decreasing expenses, and building investments until the interest outweighs your expenses) and explained the reasons why people want to reach financial independence and retire from traditional employment early.

As someone who wants to be a full-time author-entrepreneur, the tenants of FIRE appeal to me a great deal ...more

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Apr 27, 2019 Greg Golz rated it really liked it

My wife and I have been living a life were we always saved for retirement aggressively. However, since learning about the f.i.r.e. movement, it had really focused or goals and discussions about finances and hopes for our present/future. This book is another great resource to focus our discussions. It was a quick read since the author really humanised his families story about their journey.

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Sep 03, 2020 Petra rated it it was amazing

As someone who just finished their debt journey, looking forward to the next financial adventure and this book inspired me and might just be what I’m after in life. Highly recommend it and learning more about FIRE

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Jun 24, 2020 Elliotte rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A Good Starter Read

Interesting introduction to concepts while remaining pretty non specific. Enough to get you interested in investigating further on the topic.

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Jan 31, 2019 E Fluellen rated it liked it

Quick, approachable read on FIRE movement.

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Mar 28, 2020 Evan Bassford rated it did not like it

Wealthy California couple learns what frugality is. The entire book is about basic personal finance philosophies. Nothing in this book seems to resonate with people who have low to mid level incomes.

Reading on, I discover the couple moves to my hometown. Again, wealthy Californians move to nice town driving up home prices and make it difficult everyone else to afford to live.

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Apr 15, 2019 Tony rated it it was amazing

Excellent starting point for FIRE -- especially since Scott focuses on the emotions, relationship changes, and mindset shifts you need to make the transition.

Where other books focus on strategies and tactics (the "how"), "Playing with FIRE" focuses on the "why" and "what." As such, I think it's a much easier starting point than many other, similar personal finance books. ...more

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Apr 16, 2019 Rene rated it it was amazing

Financial independence Retire Early book made into a move. Read this in a day! Informative and inspiring path to save $ to retire early. I look forward to seeing the movie soon!

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Apr 14, 2019 Patrick rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

Insightful book with lots of practical tips for developing a personal path for reaching FIRE. Still might not work perfectly for people in high cost of living areas with low income levels and/or lots of financial strain.

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Apr 06, 2019 Eric rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great book

This was a great book about a real family trying to figure out personal finance in an age of mass information, while also learning what is truly important in life. I found this book highly inspirational, and am making changes based on the insight I received reading this book.

Open your mind, be real with yourself, and get set on FIRE.

And one more thing: it’s been a long time since I read a book with no noticeable typos. I am impressed.

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Mar 30, 2019 Rosanne Macek rated it it was amazing

I think every young person starting out on their own should read this book. The concept of FIRE is simple: spend less than you earn, invest the surplus, and avoid debt. There is a very useful exercise in the beginning of the book to write down the 10 things that make you happy. It's likely that most of these don't involve spending money. So, aligning your spending with your goals is a key concept in the book and can lead you down the path of retiring early to focus on what really makes you happy ...more

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Aug 22, 2019 Karen rated it it was ok

Shelves: nonfiction, memoir, library-book, money

Hmm, this wasn't quite what I expected. This book is definitely more like a companion to the documentary. The documentary sounds interesting as it sounds like it includes more stories from others who are on the path or have already reached FIRE status. I haven't seen it and it's not showing anywhere near me in the PNW so I can't comment on that. Yes, there are some details on how to work toward FIRE in the book, but it's mostly memoir and I didn't find myself connecting with the author and his w Hmm, this wasn't quite what I expected. This book is definitely more like a companion to the documentary. The documentary sounds interesting as it sounds like it includes more stories from others who are on the path or have already reached FIRE status. I haven't seen it and it's not showing anywhere near me in the PNW so I can't comment on that. Yes, there are some details on how to work toward FIRE in the book, but it's mostly memoir and I didn't find myself connecting with the author and his wife much. Partly this is due to the wide gap in where we are financially. I had a hard time when he wrote about how hard it was to cut back and then goes on to say their wildly pared down budget is still well over $4,000 a month. While they're living with family and house sitting? I'm guessing a good portion of that was spent on travel since they did a fair amount of that in the year or so the book spans, but it still seems really high to be still struggling to stay within it. Then they buy a more "budget-friendly" home for $420k?! So yeah, not really relatable for me or a good portion of readers, I'd guess. I hate to say, but I think this book might even discourage some from trying since they aren't starting with an income of $142k take home a year.

There are several brief stories of others and some are easier to relate to. Although the woman in Seattle who spends only $50 on food a month... HOW? It says she's in a small condo so she's apparently not growing a lot of her own food. I can't see how it's possible to eat healthily for an average $1.66 a day. I've read a couple books by people who are on this path or have reached FIRE status and both are married couples with higher than average incomes to work with. I'd love to see more from singles with average incomes making this work (and without them moving in with family and living rent free so they can just bank their paychecks).

If you are interested in learning about financial independence or even just getting your spending under control, I highly recommend Your Money or Your Life Your Money or Your Life for good exercises to change how you think about money and a good plan for getting where you want to be financially. ...more

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Mar 28, 2019 Jenny Belardi rated it really liked it

There's a lot of privilege in the FIRE movement, but Scott at least acknowledges it in the opening pages (unlike most!). He's a bit early on the journey to figure out if this will actually work for him and his family, but it was an entertaining read and gave my husband (a total personal finance nerd) and me some good things to discuss. ...more

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