FEEL THE FIRE
SAVE A FEW MILLION BUCKS AND RETIRE AT THE AGE OF 30? YEAH, RIGHT. WELL, MICHELLE IVES IS NEARLY THERE
MICHELLE IVES LOVES HER JOB as the owner of a successful copywriting business. But during the past three years she’s saved
$500,000 so she can quit. “If you’d asked me 10 years ago if I could save 80 per cent of my income, I’d have said, ‘No way, what kind of life is that?!’” says Ives, 27. But she and her husband do just that so they can FIRE – that is, achieve Financial Independence and Retire Early – by the time she’s 30. Yes, that’s retire, as in stop working and live off passive income ($70k a year) from their investments. (There is a FIRE movement in Australia — see the subreddit r/fiaustralia.)
“I’d never really bought into the idea of working until old age,” says Ives. “When I found the Mr
Money Mustache blog, run by a man who achieved financial independence by 30, it blew my mind. It wasn’t rocket science: he just lived below his paycheque and the rest went into savings and pretty boring investments. Now he has a great lifestyle that’s funded by investment income.”
Ives and her husband started from scratch in 2016, with no debts other than a mortgage, but no investments, either. They channelled
80 per cent of their income into an investment portfolio – “which is largely exchange-traded funds and listed investment companies, plus our superannuation funds and property” – and spend the rest on living costs and fun. And they do have fun: “I have a handbag fund,” says Ives. “We love eating out. We love travelling; we buy fresh, healthy produce; we buy organic skincare; we buy big-ticket items sometimes. We just do it with an intentional plan.”
She writes about her journey, too: “I started blogging at thatgirlonfire.com because there weren’t a lot of women at the coalface of FIRE. Investing isn’t behind this huge gate guarded by white men who say you need a minimum of $400,000 – you can learn and do it yourself.”
Once she retires, Ives plans to travel and volunteer. She might even continue her business. “There’s this misconception that when you’ve reached financial independence, you down tools,” she explains. “I might want to work on a passion project, and I might not care if it makes money because I love doing it. That’s contributing to the world in a better, healthier way than you can if you’re chained to a desk.”
Ultimately, like all life goals, FIRE is all about happiness. “We don’t subscribe to the idea that we need to have everything all the time in order to be happy,” says Ives. “I’m more fulfilled than I’ve ever been.”