100 Questions for Someone Who Achieved FIRE on 7/24 (4 Months After Retirement)

I did this 19 days after retiring, and now, about 3 months later, I've tried doing the same thing.

■ Basic Profile Section

1. What is your nickname?
On note, I am "Anonymous." It doesn't have any particular meaning.

2. What is your FIRE style? (Multiple or unique combinations are also okay)
Standard FIRE (unemployed, no income)
My wife works part-time, but I don't have her earnings put into the household budget.

3. When did you achieve FIRE? How old were you at that time?
Final day at the office: End of March 2026 (I hadn't been to the office in 6 years due to telework)
Retirement date: End of May 2026
44 years old

4. What was your profession before FIRE?
I suppose something like a systems engineer

5. What were your assets when you achieved FIRE, and what are they now?
About 100 million yen

6. What is your title after FIRE?
Home security guard

7. Was your residence before and after FIRE in an urban area or a rural area?
A mix of city and country

8. What is your family structure?
My wife and a child in college

9. What are your monthly living expenses before and after FIRE?
A little under 200,000 yen

10. Why did you want to achieve FIRE? What was your motivation?
・As a full-time teleworker, there was the benefit of not having to go out, but I hated the feeling of being locked in a room even though I was free.
・I had been working on the same project for a long time and there was no stimulation.
・Coordinating with others is a hassle, and I didn't want to carry the burden of other people's lives (I didn't want to contribute).
・I wanted to be free.
・My assets luckily increased.

■ The Road to FIRE Section

11. What triggered you to aim for FIRE?
I watched YouTube videos and thought that maybe I had a chance too.

12. At what age did you start being conscious of FIRE?
Around 40 years old

13. How many years did it take to achieve FIRE?
About 3 to 4 years

14. What sources of information (books/YouTube channels, etc.) were useful for achieving FIRE?
YouTube. I watched most of the videos.

15. What is your monthly savings rate?
I don't know exactly, but 50-60%.

16. What tools or apps did you use for household accounting?
Spreadsheets (more for asset management than household accounting)

17. How did you decide on your FIRE target amount?
① Know the amount of expenses for 1 month/1 year.
② Calculate the asset amount (target amount) that can cover those expenses.

18. Where did you feel you achieved FI (Financial Independence)? What was that feeling like?
When I thought I might be able to live without a salary.
The feeling of being released from being a corporate slave. Like I could take off the chains that were tied to my legs.

19. Did you hesitate to resign from your previous job? How did you explain it?
I didn't hesitate even 1%.
I told the company, "I haven't decided what I'm going to do, but I want to experiment for myself to see what I would want to do when I have nothing left to do."

20. What personal traits or characteristics do you think were useful in achieving FIRE?
Being able to think that things have no value. Things are not assets.

■ Investment and Savings Section

21. What is your current asset allocation?
US Mutual Fund/ETF: 45%
US Bond ETF: 18% (including leverage)
JEPQ, QYLD: 16%
India: 1%
Gold: 4%
Cash: 16%

22. How much emergency fund do you have?
2 million yen for myself (enough to live for about 2 years including dividends)

23. What investment method contributed the most to achieving FIRE (generated the most profit)?
Buying ETFs and mutual funds in NISA and leaving them alone

24. What was the first investment you made? At what age?
SPYD, probably around age 39

25. What is your biggest investment failure?
Leveraged ETFs. I don't know why, but they end up in the red.

26. How do you withdraw assets after FIRE?
I thought withdrawing would be mentally tough, so I rely on dividends from Rakuten JEPQ, EDV, and TMF, knowing the tax efficiency is poor, and cover the shortfall by selling mutual funds.

27. What is the most effective saving method?
It's the accumulation of many things, so there is no single saving method.
I do anything that reduces expenses.

28. Is there anything you spent money on without hesitation even while saving?
No. It would push the goal further away.

29. What are you conscious of regarding the balance between saving and quality of life?
I don't save to the point where my quality of life suffers.
I don't make meaningless expenditures just to care about what others think.

30. What saving habits or mindset do you recommend for those aiming for FIRE?
Buy "assets". Do not buy "things".

■ Life After FIRE Edition

31. What is your main daily schedule?
Morning: Watch Dodgers games
Lunch: Go to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant (3 times a week)
Evening: Running (2 times a week)
Other: YouTube, reading, walking, creating YouTube videos once a week (no revenue)

32. What is your weekday/weekend routine?
Since I am unemployed, there is no difference between weekdays and weekends.

33. Are you more of an indoor or outdoor person?
Indoor

34. What do you do to maintain your health?
Running, walking
Don't eat cup ramen

35. Are there days when you do nothing? How do you feel on those days?
Yes, there are.
I think, 'I have to do something!', and look for things I want to do, but I can't find any.
(It's been hot lately, so I can't go outside)

36. What has changed compared to before FIRE?
・I don't have to deal with other people, so my stress is zero.
・I don't have to worry about meetings or presentations tomorrow.
・I don't have to think, 'I must sleep for work tomorrow.' I sleep when I want to sleep.

37. Has your level of happiness increased compared to before FIRE?
It has increased by leaps and bounds. I can't go back now.

38. What has been troublesome since achieving FIRE?
Investmentlosses cannot be covered by a salary.

39. Do you feel lonely?
I was lonely to begin with.

40. Will you continue the same life in the future? If you want to change it, how would you like to change it?
I can't do it now because it's hot, but I will go out more.
I want to travel using the Seishun 18 Kippu.

■ Ideal vs. Reality Edition

41. What was the ideal life you envisioned before FIRE?
Cooking meals and snacks, and going on free-spirited trips.

42. How much of that have you been able to achieve?
I cook meals occasionally, but I gave up on the trip I planned for the summer because it was too hot. I plan to do it in the winter.

43. What was different from what you imagined after FIRE?
Even if I'm not doing anything in particular, the day ends in the blink of an eye.

44. Do you have any regrets after FIRE?
Not a single one.

45. What new things have you started after FIRE?
Reading.

46. What did you plan to do after FIRE that you ended up not doing?
Baking.

47. What was an "unexpected reality" you realized only after FIRE?
Weekdays are fun, and weekends are boring.

48. What was the moment you thought "FIRE is the best!" the most?
Being able to go out whenever I feel like going out.

49. What was the moment you thought you failed after FIRE?
None.

50. Tell us some "common occurrences" after FIRE!
When my wife asks, "What do you do all day?" and I have no comeback.

■ Work, Learning, and Purpose Section

51. Are you still working after FIRE? What are you doing and to what extent?
Home security guard.

52. What are your main activities other than work? (Hobbies, etc.)
Creating videos once a week (zero revenue).

53. What is your motivation for the work or activities mentioned in 51 and 52?
1,000 channel subscribers (currently 867).

54. Are you learning anything new or relearning anything?
No. I wonder what I want to do...

55. Has your way of thinking about labor changed?
Since I've retired, I feel like I've gained some distance from labor.
I worked hard at my studies from age 0 to 22,
and I worked hard at labor from age 22 to 44.
From now on, I feel like I'm graduating from labor and living freely.

56. Is there anything you can get absorbed in or immerse yourself in?
Running, I guess...

57. What is something you were only able to challenge yourself with after FIRE?
I walked nearly 30 kilometers to a ramen shop to eat.

58. Have you ever done volunteer work or social contribution activities after FIRE?
A little bit of neighborhood association activity.

59. When do you feel like you are "learning the most" in your life?
I don't know... I'm not that kind of noble person.

60. Have you found your purpose in life after FIRE?
・I want to ride the Asuka II with my wife.
・Conquering all 47 prefectures (currently 2 prefectures).

■ Hobbies and Leisure Section

61. What hobbies have you increased after FIRE?
Reading, going to restaurants I've never been to before.

62. What is the happiest time of the day?
Before going to sleep (no Sazae-san syndrome).

63. Do you ever feel bored?
Yes. I'm tired of watching YouTube. I get depressed when I'm at home all day.

64. Do you travel often?
I haven't traveled much at all until now, so traveling is a goal.

65. Where would you like to go after FIRE?
All 47 prefectures. Among them, I definitely want to go to Cape Soya.

66. What are your luxuries after FIRE?
If "luxury" refers to money, nothing has changed.
I want to spend money, but my habit of saving hasn't changed, so I can't.

67. What activities are you trying to "master" by spending time on them after FIRE?
Being able to continue my current lifestyle.

68. What have you stopped buying since FIRE?
I didn't really buy much even before I retired.

69. What do you do to "kill time" after FIRE?
Running, eating out.

70. What hobby goods or gadgets have you bought after FIRE that you are glad you purchased?
Smartwatch
Smart lock, security camera
Google Gemini

■ Human Relationships & Values Section

71. Are your friendships from before FIRE continuing?
I was a full-remote worker, so I didn't really have any to begin with.

72. What was your family's reaction to FIRE?
・"Are you really going to quit?"
・"It's a waste to quit such a good company."

73. Have you made any "new friends" or joined any "new communities" since FIRE?
No.
If there were a FIRE community, I'd like to join it. But I don't really want to meet people...

74. Have your values regarding money changed?
Not yet, for now. I want to gradually move into the phase of spending money.

75. Do you interact with other FIRE achievers? What insights have you gained from that?
No. Same as question 73.

76. Have you ever felt a difference in values regarding money or work with family or close friends?
My wife seems to have understood my retirement (presumably), so I'm grateful for that.

Many of my acquaintances are also aiming for early retirement, so I don't feel a difference.
The only difference is that my child is already a university student, so I can see the future, whereas those acquaintances still have small children; I think that's the only difference in our circumstances.

77. Is there a difference in your sense of time before and after FIRE?
No difference; in both cases, a day ends in an instant.
However, there is a difference in whether that day is driven by others or by myself.

78. Do you think talent is necessary for FIRE? Why?
I think anyone who can control their spending can do it.

79. Have you ever been envied for FIRE?
It's someone else's emotion, so I don't know.

80. What was the moment you truly felt "free" after FIRE?
Being able to go out whenever I want.

■ What-If & Imagination Section

81. If you hadn't known about FIRE, what would you be doing now?
The same job as before I retired.

82. If you could redo your life up to FIRE, what would you do?
I don't understand the meaning (intent) of the question.

83. Do you plan to use up all your money by the time your life ends?
I'd like to use it all, but I don't know what the future holds.
However, I am not thinking about leaving extra money for my children.

84. What is the first thing you would do if your assets returned to 0 yen?
Get a job.

85. What would you like to ask other FIRE achievers?
Nothing.
I can ride a bicycle, and they can ride a bicycle; in such a situation, there is nothing I would want to ask about how to ride a bicycle.

86. If a universal basic income were realized (making everyone almost in a state of FIRE), what do you think would happen to Japan?
Labor participation rates would likely drop, and it seems like it would become a disaster.

87. Would you recommend FIRE to your family, children, or friends?
I wouldn't recommend it myself, but many of my friends and acquaintances are already aiming for it.

88. What would you do if you got bored with FIRE life?
Since I have money, couldn't I just use it to do something?
If it's about human relationships, I suppose I would just have to join some kind of community.

89. What do you wish you had done before taking the plunge into FIRE?
Nothing in particular.

90. What are your goals for your FIRE life over the next 5 years?
I hope my assets continue to grow while I do the things I want to do.

■ Advice for those aiming for FIRE

91. Things to do before FIRE
・If possible, it is mentally easier if you can save about 5 million yen more than your target amount.
・Handing over work to subordinates (without saying you are quitting, implicitly hand over tasks to them).

92. Things you should not do before FIRE
・Telling people at work.

93. Ways to avoid getting bored with FIRE
I think it's enough to just make a list of things you want to do.

94. How you overcame the hardest time before achieving FIRE
There wasn't really anything that was particularly hard.

95. A word for those aiming for FIRE
Anyone can do it if they can control their spending.

■ Life Philosophy

96. Is FIRE a goal or a start?
It is the goal of a working life and the start of an independent life.

97. Did your life priorities change before and after FIRE?
Of course. Almost everything is now self-directed.

98. What is the "essence of money" you saw after FIRE?
I'm actually starting to not understand it. I wonder what money really is.
I don't really understand why it increases.

99. What kind of "mental preparation" is needed before FIRE?
Are you sure you'll be okay when your salary disappears?

100. Finally, is FIRE ultimately "happiness"?
I might be happy, but it won't make the people around me or others happy.