‘Ika nga ni Bugoy na Koykoy… “hindi para sa lahat”. My mediocre ass was lucky enough to find a global tech job– work that said ass 3pm ’til midnight, and even then, make only the baseline level of “high-earner”.

I am the typical American FIRE target market. A high earner in tech, retiring in her early 30s. But I do believe stopping at any age before 60 is still early retirement and being “high earner” is subjective. Depende yan sa kung magkano ang perang natitira sayo.

Since I talk about FIRE… I’m going to have to share my “number” here… traditionally, Php12,000,000. I figured that my monthly retirement expense would be at Php40,000. That is just enough for me. Half of that can be enough for someone else… heck Php16,000 nga ang minimum wage sa Pilipinas (not glorifying this). Say Php20,000 monthly is all you need, that makes your “number”, Php 5,760,000 when 20,000 is multiplied to 12 months and multiplied again with the magic number 25. Enough na daw yan to last you a lifetime when invested at kurutan ng 4% lang per year.

While just enough is different for every people… one way or the other, one has to have some sort of leverage to reach your number before enough won’t be enough. Papasok na kasi ang inflation in the picture.
You could either be a high-earner like me… a DINK (double income, no kids), an entrepreneur or dang it— married to a rich man! But you can also be an extreme frugalist who spends way, way less than what you earn… that can be your leverage.

Because you see, wanting anything more than just enough is just lifestyle inflation. To let you in on a little secret, some rich people are the most kuripot people I’ve ever known— as in.

Kaya siguro sila mayaman kasi bawat piso mahalaga.

I believe every spending beyond your basic needs and leisure would mean nagpa-uto ka sa man-made capitalist trends gaya ng Labubu at mechanical keyboard. Kung meron kang Labubu, may pagka mahina na talaga ang ulo mo for lack of a better term. Once you become aware of this trends and have seen through it, kasalanan na ang pumikit. Pinapayaman mo ang mga kapitalista who are banking on your boring life… and you’re getting farther and farther from your FIRE number.

Moreover, to amass wealth beyond your actual needs to me is a waste of time. When you already had what you need to survive yourself and generations to come 10 years ago, you basically worked your body more than you’ll ever need in this lifetime, ipinag-camping mo lang sana sa Tanay o chongke sa Thailand.

Since I married into a family of business men, I am surrounded by people hoarding money, but that is not stopping me on trailblazing my own path.

My journey through FIRE so far hasn’t been easy. It requires discipline and a sprinkle of JOMO… joy of missing out. This thing is impossible to achieve if you enjoy “healing your inner child”… how about preparing for future you? Who’s making sure your future will not be traumatic again? Healing is not brought about by material things, it is a mindset. Ang bagong bili mong mechanical keyboard bago lang for a few days, and then the joy subsides… and here you are stuck with a clanky keyboard that you didn’t really like.

So yes, FIRE, hindi siya para sa lahat, because 1- you need to know what is enough… 2- you have to know when to stop hoarding money and 3- hindi ka para sa lahat, keep your energy to yourself, keep your money to yourself! Pay yourself first… invest on future you and buy your time back.