Investing

If you visit the large FIRE Facebook groups, you’ll see that virtually all of the posts are people discussing their investment strategies. Here is a typical post from one group:

“Hello,

I’m working on my portfolio right now, trying to get some reassurance that it’s approximately optimal.

I’ve written some Monte Carlo code to compute my Sharpe ratio and E[log(money)], but having trouble entering some inputs, namely correlations between assets, and tail events / Black Swan scenarios.”

Almost none of the posts are about frugal living, budgeting, cutting back, etc. That means, most people involved in FIRE are focused on maximizing their investments.

In addition, it looks like these folks know a little about investing. They might not be sophisticated day traders, but they discuss EMFs, bitcoin, IRAs, indexed mutual funds, bonds, real estate investment trusts and so on.

If you’re just getting into FIRE, or are simply looking to cut back your spending and increase your retirement savings, you might want to start by looking at these basic investing/retirement concepts.

What is a 401(k) Plan? – John Hancock

What is an IRA? – CNN Money

The Basics of Mutual Funds – The Balance

What is a Pension Plan? – Investopedia

Online Stock Trading 101: A Beginner’s Guide – The Balance

The Basics of Bonds – Investopedia

What Is a CD (Certificate of Deposit)? – NerdWallet

Life insurance 101: A Step-by-Step Guide – Principal

Why do I need a CFP? – Investopedia

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