Is FIRE Just For People Making Huge Salaries Or Can You Retire Early With A Normal Or Even Low Salary, Too? ‘I Retired At 38. She Was 35’

The dream of retiring early used to feel like it belonged to Silicon Valley software engineers, crypto whales or people with $300,000 salaries. But scroll through the r/leanfire subreddit and you’ll see a different side of financial independence, retire early movement, one that’s powered by electricians, roofers, librarians and people who never cracked six figures.

A Growing Movement Of “Normal” People Hitting FIRE

“I made around $80K at the highest. My wife made $48K. I retired at 38. She was 35,” one person shared. They were both librarians. They now live in Ecuador with their preschool-aged daughter, spending just $2,500 to $3,000 a month. His wife works remotely part-time and earns $26,000 a year, which almost covers their living expenses.

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Their secret? Low-cost living, consistent investing and taking advantage of options like the Roth IRA ladder. “We retired with about $500K a year and a half ago. Now we have around $560K,” he added. “We rent a really nice two-story house now for $450/month in Cuenca, Ecuador.” They also own a house in rural Oklahoma, which is worth around $90,000 and is rented out.

Another person, a roofer, said he never earned more than $40,000 annually working seasonally, but now has $400,000 saved by age 35. “Mind you, I’m living at my parents and paying cheap rent,” he said. Others in the trades echoed similar stories, with welders, arborists and fast food workers sharing plans to retire in their 40s or switch to part-time work.

It’s Not All About Income

A common theme emerged: your salary matters, but your spending matters more. “I’m currently making about $45,760 per year,” one 30-year-old wrote. “Net worth just over $100k at this point, and I didn’t start seriously investing, besides my 401(k), until the past year.” Another said they never made more than $50,000, but had an 80% savings rate most of the time.

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What allowed them to save so much? Living in low-cost areas, avoiding debt, skipping expensive cars and vacations, and choosing cheap hobbies. One summed it up: “Budgeting, constant investing, and having cheap hobbies with almost no expensive vices.”

Another said, “I never earned more than $30K to $60K a year and will retire in a few years around 39. It is possible, but obviously FIRE is much easier on a bigger salary.”

Avoiding The Lifestyle Creep

Many in the thread emphasized how easy it is to spend more as you earn more. But they stuck to simple living, even when income rose.