Why I’m Not Pursuing FIRE

Why I’m Not Pursuing FIRE

While we’re a minority in the personal finance blogger world, we represent the vast majority of American workers, many of whom will struggle to be able to retire AT ALL, let alone early. As such, I wanted to spend some time giving you FIRE pursuers a glimpse of the other side by telling you why I’m not pursuing FIRE.

I Enjoy My Job and it Gives Me Purpose

I take that sentiment to heart, and I try as hard as I can to get kids the individual attention they need to get caught up before they transition out. The most challenging students in the state are successful in my class and I’m making a difference. What higher purpose can you have than that?

I Get Enough Time off to Pursue Other Endeavors

Aside from the great sense of accomplishment and purpose my job gives me, another reason why I’m not pursuing FIRE is because my job also allows me enough time off to pursue other endeavors. I’m a teacher, so obviously I get a lot of time off.

I Have a Great Pension Plan

Yet another reason why I’m not pursuing FIRE is because my job as a teacher means I have a great pension plan. In Oregon the state employee plan is called PERS (Public Employees Retirement System), and it’s one of the rare pension plans still offered by employers.

I Have Good Pay and Great Benefits

One area I think people pursuing FIRE tend to underestimate is healthcare. With my job I pay about $100 a month for healthcare, but if I had to pay out of pocket it would be more like $500-$1,000 depending on my coverage.

I’ll Be Able to Retire Early Anyway

Yet another reason why I’m not pursuing FIRE is because I’ll be able to retire early anyway. Seriously. Of course I won’t be retiring in my 30’s or 40’s like many FIRE folks, but I’ll be able to retire much earlier than the average American who waits until their 60s to retire.

Every Job Has its Good and Bad Points

While I generally enjoy my job and have a clear purpose, it definitely isn’t all unicorns and rainbows. I have days where I don’t want to go into work. I have high stress days, problems with administrators, parents, and co-workers. However, the thing to consider isn’t that I have struggles in my job, but that EVERY job has its good and bad points.

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