The Single Biggest Risk That Could Stop Your Early Retirement (& How to Dodge It)

9 snips

Apr 29, 2025

Tyler Gardner, a former portfolio manager and financial advisor, shares his insights on the FIRE movement. He discusses the unexpected challenges of early retirement, such as boredom and a loss of identity. Tyler emphasizes the importance of finding meaningful work rather than just quitting to enjoy free time. He advocates for gradual work transition and diversified income streams to maintain mental and financial health. The conversation also explores the real risks of early retirement and how psychological factors can influence financial independence.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

FIRE: Escape or Freedom?

Many in the FIRE movement pursue financial independence to escape a toxic work culture, not just for freedom.
Early retirement alone may lead to boredom without meaningful work or purpose in life.

INSIGHT

Start Asset Allocation Early

Purely growth-focused 100% stock portfolios can be risky upon retirement due to market volatility.
Asset allocation should start early to balance growth and reduce risk when drawing down.

INSIGHT

Meaningful Work Beats Retirement

Retiring early without meaningful activities often leads to boredom and dissatisfaction.
Work aligned with passion and flexibility provides purpose beyond financial independence.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

You’re part of the FIRE movement (financial independence, retire early) so you can quit your job, have complete time freedom, and truly enjoy your life. But what if early retirement isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be? What if you grind for years or decades, reach your FIRE number, quit your job, and realize… you’re bored? Your schedule is wide open, but what do you fill it with? You start asking yourself, “Did I pursue FIRE for financial freedom—or to escape something else entirely?”

Tyler Gardner, former portfolio manager and financial advisor, has seen the toxic side of FIRE far too often. Tyler believes that working on something you love can be far more meaningful than early retirement, and he might be right. Early retirees often struggle with their post-career lifestyle, and many find they can’t thrive without meaningful work. This identity shift can cause profound dissatisfaction, even after so much sacrifice to get to this point.

Tyler’s advice: slowly phase out of work or have other income streams that can keep you going, not just for your mental health but your portfolio’s health. So, how do you do that? Mindy, Scott, and Tyler have a meaningful debate, with significant disagreements, on the best way to phase out full-time work, why a 100% stock portfolio may be safer than you thought, and the toxic side of FIRE nobody talks about.

In This Episode We Cover

The problem with FIRE and why early retirement won’t solve everything

The #1 risk early retirees are NOT prepared for and how to ensure you keep your FIRE blazing

How to phase out of work even if you have a demanding, full-time, 40+ hours per week job

Why working during early retirement is not a bad thing and has massive benefits

Creating cash flow before you retire and how to minimize the dreaded “sequence of returns risk”

And So Much More!

Check out more resources from this show on ⁠BiggerPockets.com⁠ and ⁠https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-635

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email ⁠advertise@biggerpockets.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices