FatFIRE is the latest viral workplace trend, but is it any better than quiet quitting?

Social media is rife with people talking about “quiet quitting” their jobs, which essentially means doing the bare minimum at their workplace, having demotivated contact with their bosses, and not having ambitious career goals – all for the sake of getting by.

But have you ever heard of a new viral TikTok movement called FatFIRE? The “fat” stands for the limitless nest egg needed for one to retire early, while the acronym stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. This group of people don’t necessarily enjoy their jobs either, but in stark contrast to quiet quitting, they are focusing on getting rich as quickly as possible to retire young and use their wealth to enrich their lives in the way they authentically desire.

These people put all their drive, focus and resources into making a lot of money, working long hours and taking on extra work to achieve this. Most of them tend to work for huge tech companies, high-profile law firms and up and coming start-ups, where they are guaranteed enviable compensation packages and perks. The hustle doesn’t end there, as they will use their income to invest in cryptocurrency markets and / or start other businesses.

A group on Reddit entitled “Wealth and Financial Independence/Retire Early” has 331k followers who come together to give tips and tricks on making money, being frugal, and putting in the hours so that they retire by their early forties. The goal is to have a cash flow of $100,000 (an average of £90,000) so that they can spend $100,000 each year in retirement, which means that $2.5 million should be generated before a person quits the workplace early in life.

The reasons for people wanting to join the FatFIRE movement can include:
-Wanting to retire in a city with a higher cost of living.
-Budgeting for luxury travels.
-Costs of caring for loved ones and children.
-Simply having the freedom to do what they want.

One of the FatFIRE movement’s incentives is that it is an obvious way out of the hustle culture and rat race in the long run. However, getting there may put considerable pressure on a person in the short-term to amass considerable wealth. With its pros definitely comes its cons, and leadership coach and author Jennie Blumenthal told Protocol that those choosing to follow the lifestyle should “go deeper and ask themselves what financial security really means to them.

“If you’re amassing wealth and intentionally making a trade-off on certain parts of your life and are aligned with significant others on this strategy, it could work out. But if you’re making these decisions based on old stories running in the background, telling you that money will solve all of your problems, it’s time to decide whether that old story is still serving you.”

Just remember, when doing your research on the FatFIRE movement, do your research, plan ahead logically, and always remember that mental well-being goes hand-in-hand with achieving financial freedom.