I’m pretty sure that I have an unhealthy obsession with money. You’re probably obsessed with money too. This obsession snuck up on me disguised as a goal to get my financial act together. A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
OBSESSED WITH MONEY
The odd part is that I don’t feel like I’m obsessed with making or saving money, although all of the evidence says otherwise (Hello! I’ve got 2.5 personal finance blogs and four personal finance twitter accounts).
I wouldn’t call it an an all-consuming obsession, but I think about the stuff way too much. If balance is required in all things, I’m out of balance.
FINANCIAL PYROMANIAC
I blame the obsession on FIRE. Discovering this mathmagical retirement calculation was a HUGE epiphany moment for me
Since that moment I’ve been on a perpetual hunt to:
- Cut unnecessary expenses
- Negotiate my bills lower
- Boost my income
- Optimized my tax burden
- Look for side hustles
- Hoard cash
I’m on a never-ending quest to make my finances as efficient as possible, all in the name of reaching financial independence and retiring early.
I’m not just pursuing FIRE, I’ve become a FIromaniac that’s obsessed with money and I can’t stop thinking about and working on achieving financial independence as soon as possible.
/ˌfīrōˈmānēˌak/
noun
A person with an unhealthy obsession with the FIRE movement is a firomaniac.
- A person suffering from an obsession with financial independence and early retirement
- “Ty can’t stop thinking about the FIRE movement and has become firomaniac”
- synonym: plutomania
DOESN’T NEED TO BE THIS WAY
The sad thing is that it doesn’t need to be this way. Personal finance is easy. Want to know how to drastically and quickly improve your financial situation? Here you go:
- Spend less money than you earn
- Eliminate, then avoid debt
- Invest the difference in low cost index funds
- Avoid lifestyle inflation
That’s it. Want to become financially independent and retire early? That’s simple as well:
- Save 25 times your annual expenses; invest this in index funds
- Live off 4% of what your index fund portfolio generates
That’s it. Personal finance is easy. I should have taken this info, got my financial act together, then moved on to another part of my life that needed work. But so far I’ve been unable to do so.
WHAT’S NEXT?
I wish I had a solution to this problem, but I don’t. At least I’m aware of it and can try to regain balance. I’m publishing this blog post today for a couple of reasons:
- To admit to myself that I’ve become a FIromaniac
- To provide a warning to readers that becoming a financial FIromaniac is dangerously easy
Chime in!
Are you obsessed with money? Have you crossed the line and become a FIromaniac? Have you ever found yourself out of balance? If so, what have you done (or are you doing) to re-center yourself?
15 replies on “An Unhealthy Obsession With Money”
That’s where having my husband around is a very good thing for me. He doesn’t get into the nitty gritty and reminds me there’s more to life – the same way he’s the reason for my curbed workaholic ways.
If it weren’t for my wife pulling me back in, I’d have gone off the deep end loooong ago. Thank goodness for spouses!
Hey Ty. The first step of being an addict is admitting you’re an addict! It’s certainly possible to become addicted to saving too much money. I have a friend who was too obsessed, and it cost him a lot of joy in life.
In all things, balance.
Especially money. Go live a little, just not too much.
I need to come up with the Pryo prayer for FIRE addicts 😀 Definitely working on enjoying the now more.
Compared to the average American I’m a pyro. Compared to the average FIRE enthusiast I’m not. Perhaps it’s because we’re no longer climbing and doing more financial coasting. Still, if I can take action to impact our budget and get value out of it, like a recent Provider switch to Total Wireless, I’m in.
haha. Good call … compared to the average American FIRE bloggers are definitely all pyros! 😀
Well played sir! Is there a support group I can join?
I suppose there are far worse things to be obsessed with.
I actually think that blogging exacerbates my problem. Constantly looking for posts to feature on Camp FIRE or thinking of posts to write for GRQ keeps me sucked in more than I otherwise would be.
Great post! Perhaps change the name to FIROmaniac.. financially independent, retirement on!!!
Say it ain’t so, Ty. Are you saying extremism in the pursuit of FIRE is a vice?
This one hits home.
I was just saying to my wife that I feel like I’m maybe consuming a bit too much FIRE content and it’s making me discontent with my job situation and impatient for reaching FI. Part of the trouble is having money constantly on the brain and part of it is the unconscious comparisons that we all make with each other. It’s hard not to feel twinges of jealousy when you’re reading about someone further along the path, with a higher savings rate, or who has retired early and is “living the dream”.
I’m thinking a low-information diet might be in order.
BURN BABY BURN!
I used to be obsessive about money, but not anymore. I’m a lot more relaxed these days. I tell myself that we’ve earned it. It’s okay to be obsessive for a while, but not forever. We’ve reached FI so we don’t have to worry about money as much anymore.
Keep at it!
Obsession about a topic is required if you’re going to do something out of the ordinary. Obsession is nothing else than extreme focus. You just have to handle it in a healthy and constructive way. Maybe it will take you to FIRE earlier?
The word obsession is mostly used by people who justify their lack of results by calling others obsessed. When you reach FIRE you can shift your focus to other areas of your life and enjoy them even more, now you don’t have to worry about money anymore. Stay focused.
What price am I prepared to pay to achieve the things in life most important to me?