No. 156 / Mar 7, 2022
Mr. Kim, who lives in a studio apartment, works at a small company. He saves more than half of his income, and does not spend on what he wants to eat, buy, or play. His goal is to retire in his late 30s or early 40s and live a life that is not economically lacking, even if he does not work. Recently, an increasing number of young people have been trying to retire and freely live their lives without committing to work when they are younger.
Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) refers to people who want to retire within a short time through economic independence. The FIRE movement began in the United States (U.S.) in the 1990s. Since the 2008 global management crisis, it has been prevalent mainly among young, highly educated, and high-income groups around the world, and is currently prevalent among younger generations, including Generation Z in Korea. The goal of the FIRE movement is to earn money without working. Therefore, most FIRE participants try to achieve economic independence through investments in stocks, funds, and real estate. Everyone dreams of a life in which they earn money without working. FIRE people sacrifice many things in their lives to achieve such a life. Items that need to be replaced continue to be used, sometimes they are bought secondhand, and in some extreme cases, food ingredients are grown at home for self-sufficiency. These consumption habits contrast with “You Only Live Once (YOLO)”. YOLO means that you should enjoy what you want to do in your life; rather than giving up the present for the future, you should spend money on what you want to enjoy and buy it now. Following the YOLO concept is a group of individuals known as “car-poor people”. Even if they currently live in a studio apartment for which they pay monthly rent, they buy expensive foreign cars.
Why are FIRE people more popular than YOLO people among the younger generation? This is because various negative social phenomena, such as anxiety about Korea’s future employment market, growing population cliffs, employment instability even after employment, and prolonged lifespan, are increasing. In particular, Generation Z has heavily endorsed the FIRE movement because of their high anxiety about the future. FIRE people have a clear purpose in their lives; however, their problems can increase in the future. FIRE people can live a slow-paced life after retirement because they reduce their consumption, do not enjoy leisure and hobbies, and do not go out to social gatherings. It is good to live with minimum resources in the present to be happy in the future, but such a time is not guaranteed.
By Kim Jae-hyun, AG Reporter
zxc2337@ajou.ac.kr
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