Playing with FIRE Documentary
Tomorrow I’m leaving for Atlanta to attend the premiere screening of a new documentary film that I helped sponsor called Playing with FIRE. I helped sponsor this film because it is the first film that documents the lifestyle of a couple as they move through the FIRE journey.
Getting to Know the Cast and Crew
I first met the director Travis Shakespeare at FinCon last year as well as almost all of the characters in this documentary. It was exciting to hear how the film was progressing and what it means for the FIRE movement and for the content creators in the FIRE verse.
This documentary offers a concise video message where we can share our lifestyle, financial values, and commitments that don’t fit neatly into mainstream materialistic culture. This video depicts an alternative to the mentality of working until you die or until you’re too old to truly appreciate and live life.
What This Film Means for Our Community
What excites me about this film is not just that I get to meet up with like-mined comrades for a social event or even to meet up with fellow bloggers in the FIRE space who I’ve become good friends with. This video really represents an opportunity for FIRE walkers to share their countercultural lifestyles with others that are uncultured into the FIRE movement. Perhaps this is a medium through which I can share my financial values with family members and friends who don’t understand what I’m committed to. Or perhaps, more importantly, don’t understand why I am committed to it.
This film offers a good opportunity for me to explain the simple math behind early retirement and simple principles of cutting expenses, living frugally, and stashing cash early in life so that compound interest can simply work its magic as I eat avocado toast laying on my back staring at my ceiling fan in retirement. Of course, I may choose something slightly more exciting to do with my retirement then what the critics of the FIRE movement assume we early retirees will do.
Retire with Your Youth
In actuality, you are much more likely to find me volunteering in my church and community as well as abroad, traveling the world and learning new languages and cultures by emersion, education my children by actually visiting the historical sites in person, and spending quality time with family and loved ones that have moved across the nation chasing higher paychecks and opportunities to advance in their respective career tracks.
Bid me safe travels as I pack up for this exciting premiere. At this point, I can’t tell you if I’m more excited to see this film or to meet old and new friends from the fire community. A community that it is so easy to connect with, with this common lifestyle and shared goal.
Keep the FIRE burning my friends.
