I Have An Addiction
Living for FIRE, or Living Fully?
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about something I wrote at the end of my last blog post. Here's the excerpt:
“Sometimes, I find myself wondering what I’d do differently if I weren’t pursuing FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). How would I spend my time and money? I’ve also asked myself whether keeping a fun car—even at the cost of delaying FIRE by a year or two—might be worth it.
I’m a bit indecisive on that point. I recognize that even reaching FIRE at 40 is still considered young. I also recognize that you only get one life, and once your 20s are gone, they’re gone forever.
So here’s the real question I keep coming back to:
How can I achieve FIRE in a reasonable time while still making the most of life now, and reducing the chances of regret later?”
This was from my last post, “I Really Did It”, where I explained my reasoning for selling two of my cars. To summarize, it came down to one thing: opportunity cost.
The Trade-Off: Cars vs. Compounding
The cost of keeping those cars for years really started to add up. I estimated that over about 15 years’ time, the opportunity cost of owning those vehicles could be close to $364,000.
But that also means giving up the one thing I enjoy most. If you looked at all my discretionary fun spending, it would become very obvious that most of it goes toward cars. They’re what I truly enjoy, and my spending reflects that.
As I’ve mentioned in past posts, my goal is to reach some stage of FIRE between ages 37 and 40. The money saved from selling the cars and investing the proceeds could easily shave a year or two off that timeline.
As of writing this, I’m 24 years old. That gives me 13 to 16 years between now and my goal—plenty of time to plan and invest wisely. But it also means there’s a lot of life to live between now and then.
Lessons from the Past
Something I find helpful is looking back at past decisions to assess whether I made the right call—or if I regret it. That reflection helps me imagine how future me might feel about the choices I’m making today.
Example: Past Me and Cars
I thought about all the cars I’ve owned. Do I regret buying any of them? Not at all. I took risks, tried new things, and drove cars I’d always wanted. Even knowing the opportunity cost, I don’t regret a single one. The experiences and memories I gained? Worth far more than the money I could’ve saved.
Now I can apply that same thinking to future me—let’s say the 40-year-old version of me. If I manage to achieve FIRE by then, will he wish I had delayed everything fun just to get there a bit sooner? Or will he wish I’d enjoyed the journey a little more?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say… he’ll wish I enjoyed the journey more.
The Hard Truth
As I get older and life takes me down new roads, one thing becomes clearer: You only get one life. There are no do-overs.
Wished you had saved more in your 20s but now you're 35 and broke? Wished you’d asked that person out in college? Wished you hadn’t bought that expensive BMW right after graduating? Unfortunately you can’t go back and change any of them, only hope that going forward you won’t make the same mistake twice.
My hope is that future me appreciates the decisions I made today, even if they weren’t always “right.” Because the real goal isn’t just FIRE—it’s maximizing life while saving aggressively and aiming for financial independence at a reasonable age.
FIRE: Balance, Not Burnout
Don’t get me wrong—I’m not doing a 180 and going full YOLO. I'm not planning to blow all my money on cars.
But I do ask:
Is achieving FIRE worth it if it means delaying what you love most in life?
Personally, I don’t think so.
Sometimes I bounce between extremes. One day I want to be a full-on penny pincher, saving every cent and imagining the huge pot of money waiting for me at 40. Other days, I remember that tomorrow isn’t promised, and living decades in frugal mode just to enjoy life later feels... risky.
In my post about “My FIRE Journey”, I wrote about how my parents delayed their dreams just a bit too long—and never got to enjoy them. I don’t want to make the same mistake.
So… About Those Cars
Why am I talking about this again?
Well… I recently explained why I sold my cars—and now I’ve bought two more. Yeah… oops.
The Miata
Here’s a short excerpt from my last post:
“I came home with a shiny, new-to-me 2006 Mazda Miata. For years, I’ve wanted to learn how to drive a manual transmission, and I also wanted to experience a lightweight car, especially a convertible. Coming from the world of Mustangs, I thought this might be a good experience. This car checked all three boxes.”
“I paid just under $10,000 for it—only about 40% of what I made selling the other two cars. My plan is to learn to drive stick over the summer and then sell it before winter. I intend to list it for sale between late July and early August to give myself plenty of time to sell.”
That pretty much sums it up. It’s not staying long-term—it’s a summer learning experience. Although… I might be a Miata fan now, but that’s for a future blog post.
The Mustang
Are you kidding me? Another Mustang? I wish I were. But here’s the backstory.
Back in 2021, I sold my first Mustang: a 2007 Torch Red V6. It wasn’t special to most people, but it meant the world to me. After selling it, thanks to inflated values during the COVID bubble, I set my sights on a GT premium version.
Specifically, I wanted:
A 2005–2009 Mustang GT Premium
Torch Red
Red or black leather interior
Interior upgrade package
Shaker 500 or Shaker 1000 sound system
Clean title, no accidents
Fewer than 20,000 miles
Preferably automatic
This was my version of an attainable dream car.
But for years, I came up short. A few popped up nationwide, but after shipping costs, they were $25k or more. So I waited.
Eventually, one showed up about an hour from me—but it was rough. Despite the low miles, the condition wasn’t great, so I walked away.
Then just last week, while microwaving a dinner at work and scrolling Facebook Marketplace… there it was. Another one. Local. Clean. Low miles. And exactly what I’d been looking for.
I drove it home this past weekend. $21k out-the-door, or about $19,600 for the car. And just like that, I finally got the car I’d been chasing for years.
Even crazier: two years ago, I wrote in my journal that I wanted to own my dream red Mustang by the time I turned 25. And now I do.
The Math
Right now, I have about $46,000 worth of paid-off cars—the most I’ve ever had. The Miata will be sold soon, but for now, my vehicles represent just under 12% of my net worth at age 24.
Is that unreasonable for a “car guy”? Maybe. Maybe not. On paper, it doesn’t sound like a lot—but I know the exponential ripple effects that money could have if invested instead.
But one thing’s for certain: if I do keep the new red Mustang long-term, it’s going to make my FIRE journey a hell of a lot more fun—even if it adds a year or two to the ride.