A 21-year old’s financial explaining struggle

Hello folks

Yesterday I enjoyed a nice FIRE meeting, having the opportunity to talk with like-minded people. As I haven’t met any people spontaneously in real life that share the same ideas about DGI as me, it’s hard to talk and conversate about it. But hey, which 21-year old is gonna care about his financial future, or who even has already some means to do it?

I consider myself in an extremely lucky position, no student debts or loans, hitting a 6-figure net worth turning 21. This stash is due to the fact that I have been working since I turned 18.

So what about the struggle? Some of my friends know I’m intrested in the financial markets and stuff, but that’s literally it. They don’t care themselves to invest for their future or have no knowledge nor the interest. Earlier on I tried to talk about it more to them than I do know, because it felt like bringing water to the ocean.

Even when I try talking with my parents about FIRE and DGI, things go pretty heavy. I tell them I invest for my retirement because I do not plan to work untill I’m 65 (best case). I calculated a bit and I should be able to retire at 35 maintaining my current investment ratio. If I would continue untill I’m 40, it would put me in a luxury position. I don’t get the point why people would trust the government to take care of their pension. I rather do things myself so I only rely on myself to accomplish them. Having this told to my parents, they started boulder-laughing. “You’re 21 and already thinking about retiring at 35?!?!”.
Sad but true story. Why working your ass off untill you die? Why trusting the government on such important things? Those decisions are a complete life-changer, take care of them yourself. It feels like spinning the wheel of fortune and hoping for a nice outcome. wheel-of-fortune

Will I eventually retire at 35? I don’t think so, I have a nice job and growth opportunities. But what I do want, is the freedom to choose. I would rather continue investing and getting the numbers up. This way I would 1) be able to provide for my family 2) take care of friends. I love to travel and I like to do this with friends, so why not pay it for them if I’m pretty comfy myself? Or contribute more to charity? Why stop at the limit of only maintaining the family’s standard? Why not go the extra mile? The future will provide answers. The extra mile is never crowded.


Another thing I just can’t understand is the fact people don’t know shit about their personal finances. People work 5-6 days a week for money, so why not letting your money work for you? If I ask my parents about how much they save, they have no clue. Neither do they have an idea about how much their savings yield on different bank accounts. I just don’t get it. By taking one afternoon the time to check those things, you could save up a lot of free time in the future. Switching money between accounts to have a higher intrest rate or invest more, can easily save up more than 100 euros/dollars a year. Imagine having an extra day off every year (and still getting the same pay), because you managed to get your finances on track.

In general I just don’t understand how people can be so negligible regarding their finances and not caring at all. Especially if I try to explain them some financial things, they’re looking at me like: You’re only 21, what the hell would you know? I don’t know much, but I do know that my snowball is starting to roll down a very long hill. Who knows it might turn into an avalanche?


Do you encounter similar challenges too in your daily life?