What is FI/RE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)? And is it for POC and BIPOC?

Recently while mindlessly scrolling Facebook, I came across a post from a former high school friend that asked what topics could you talk about for hours with little preparation. One of the topics I listed among, cooking and traveling, include the FIRE movement. This friend, who also happens to be a black female, asked what the FIRE movement is?

And it got me thinking about the FIRE movement and the amplified and specific voices within the personal finance industry.

FIRE stands for "financial independence retire early." It's this concept that through intentional savings, paying off debt, and investing, you can reduce your working years and retire early. Countless amounts of individuals, both married and single, with or without kids, have been able to retire early in their 30's and 40's. Many of these individuals have shifted their former working time to pursue their passion projects without the constraint of needing to work to have a consistent income.

When I first started learning about the FIRE movement about four years ago, I was obsessed. The traditional setup of working for 30-35 years, ideally only enjoying 10-15 years, didn't quite sit well within my soul. Especially because so much of that is dependent on you having a stable job and being in decent enough health in your senior years even to enjoy retirement. However, the concept of making minor changes to cut your expenses and intentional steps to increase your income was a concept that I could quickly grasp.

However, you know what I discovered pretty quickly? Most of the points of view for the FIRE movement were from white males.

Now listen, I believe that excellent advice, especially money advice, can come from various voices and perspectives. But I would be lying if I didn't say it was disheartening not to see more representation of the FIRE movement from POC, especially BIPOC. Every book, blog, and documentary were from white men who never stopped and addressed their privilege. If I go a layer deeper, I can even pinpoint within those gurus that the conversations were usually from engineers working in tech. Often, their salaries started in the six-figure range right out of college, and they were able to cut their expenses by living extremely fugal drastically.

What was missing from this train of thought from financial experts were gender and race. And most importantly, how that impacts one's ability and access to building wealth. As a 2x first generational college graduate and black woman, this general wealth-building approach did not work for me. On EqualPayToday.com, they state that the "wage gap for Black women compared to non-Hispanic white men is $0.63". While this frustrating number will not stop me on my journey to wealth through FIRE, the "I did it, so can you" approach is semi-offensive to diverse communities.

The second biggest concern I had with the guru FIRE advice was the gloss over student loan debt challenges. According to Investopedia.com, the average student loan debt is $37,000, with "54% of college attendees taking on debt, including student loans, to pay for their education".

In my case, I'm still working through paying off my 6-figure student loan debt. From my experience, it's not just about putting your head down and paying the minimum payments. I had to figure out how to increase my income to add extra payments to my principal and refinance to save on interest over my loans' life.

The third concern I had, was that a significant portion of advice was coming from individuals who lived on one of the coasts, either California or New York, hence the more tech-focused careers and the higher wages. I wondered how this advice could be more inclusive to consider people living in the midwest and south, which have lower total compensation and compressed salaries.

Lastly, the most important to me is the cultural nuances within the black and brown communities that the FIRE community often does not address. Usually, if you happen to be on the side of success when it comes to money and education, there is an unspoken but known expectation that you will take care of your family. It feels like a blessing and sometimes a point of stress to be considered as "the who made it out," and you often carry the financial weight of responsibilities that go beyond your FIRE number.

Wooosahhh, that was a lot. Are yall ok?

I still believe in the FIRE movement and the ability to build wealth. I think that women, POC, black people, especially black women, will have to redefine how we get to a place of retiring early and building wealth while working through the existing barriers. 

For me, the FIRE movement has been more of a long and steady marathon versus a sprint to the finish line. It took me recognizing that my financial freedom journey and the move to retire early is not going to look like the "experts" plan. It will look like a fantastic journey of discovery and excellence, as told by a black woman. 

Are you on the path to FIRE? What would be a passion you would pursue if you had the wealth to retire early? I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts in the comment section.

-Ashley