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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My husband used to be get into the FIRE movement before we had kids... When I got pregnant, the only way to convince him to read parenting books with me was that I agreed to read a "mr. Money mustache" article.

(Btw, MMM is now divorced, owns a Tesla, and doesn't seem to abide by his own rules anymore).

We have two kids and do not abide by a FIRE mentality, and the kids can pursue activities, we go on vacation, etc. 
But all that reading shifted our thinking and we do a few things that are FIRE-ish:

We bought a house we could afford on one income (though we had two when we bought). In our case, that meant buying in a gentrifying neighborhood in DC to get a better deal.

Our house is a duplex (two apartments that are connected.) until our kids were about 5 and 8, we lived in one and rented out the other, which covered the mortgage. Now we use both and connected them. When the kids are in college, we will rent the other side again and be income-positive on the house, and soin after that our mortgage will be paid and we will have a pretty significant source of monthly income from the house.

We drive a Toyota that I bought for $9,000 in 2009. That thing is not going to die anytime soon.

We don't have any car commutes in our life -- we can all bike to work/school . This cuts down on costs tremendously and increases happiness.

Part of my husband's desire to FIRE was that he hated his job. So, he was daydreaming about early retirement. After our conversations about it, he switched to a mission-driven organization that he cares about and now he really likes his job.[/quote]

Another FIRE ish family here. We have a lot in common with this PP, except their duplex move was genius. We wish we'd thought to do that (we did buy in a market when that would have been easier than it is now, we just didn't think ahead to renting out). Acknowledging here that so much of financial success is luck and timing.

It's also a sense of gratitude and abundance. I come to this site for specific advice but often end up feeling inadequate based on the wealth and lifestyle posts. Overall I try to stay grounded and grateful for everything we have - the community we have built in this area, not many vacations but we do have living (and loving) relatives we frequently visit, and all of DC to explore and enjoy for free. [/quote]

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