He retired at 34 with $1.2 million. Two years later: depressed, divorced, back at work. He's not a cautionary tale — he's the median FIRE outcome nobody in the movement wants to admit. We critique financial independence and early retirement not on the math (the math is fine), but on the meaning. What is your life for, after the exit? The episode ends with a single exercise that exposes whether you're chasing freedom or just running from something.

KEYWORD TAGS

FIRE movement · early retirement · financial independence · mr money mustache · coast fire · barista fire · personal finance critique · retirement psychology · die with zero · purpose