About my Financial Independence (FIRE) Chautauqua experience in Ecuador

In November 2019, I attended a FIRE Chautauqua in Ecuador. It took me a long time to learn to spell Chautauqua. Also, I was the only British attendee but thankfully, I wasn’t the only financial adviser there.

What is Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE)?

Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) is a strategy dedicated to a programme of extreme savings and investment that allows one to retire far earlier than traditional methods like pension plans would allow. By dedicating up to 70% of income to savings, the idea is FIRE aspirants may eventually be able to quit their jobs and live solely off small withdrawals from their portfolios or rental income or other forms of passive income. Consuming carefully also helps one ruthlessly cut out any expenses that do not bring fulfilment. The goal is to live a highly intentional life, freeing oneself from having to exchange hours of time and life energy for money and using the freed-up time made available to follow passions or work you really want to do, not have to do.

What made me go?

Vicki Robin. The author of ‘Your Money or Your Life’ mainly was a big motivation for me. We met in London a couple of years ago; I really enjoyed hearing about how Vicki created a supportive community where she lives, the values that she incorporates into her spending/investing money and of course her engaging, light-hearted activism. She has been FI for over 50 years and was even on Oprah in 1992 and 1995, wearing the same purple dress at the televised interview to make a point. When I saw Ecuador and Vicki Robin in the email invitation from Cheryl Reed who organises these events, my eyes almost popped out of my sockets. I also love to travel and had never been to Latin America.

The other big motivation was to soak up the energy of a group of people who are liberated enough to feel comfortable talking about money. Besides, the speaker list was all women. As a female financial adviser, it is rare that I get to immerse myself in a mostly female environment, so this was another aspect I was looking forward to.

Chautauqua?

A Chautauqua is basically a retreat with an educational format where you can delve into deeper questions focused towards the enrichment of life. This is my definition, there may be other better ones. With FIRE attendees, conversations at this one mainly revolved around money and life, investing strategies, happiness, US healthcare (not so relevant to Brit’s), managing rental properties and basically talking about anything money-related. 

The week was intentionally geared towards creating a meaningful post-FIRE life. ​The four speakers included Vicki Robin, author of Your Money or Your Life, Paula Pant from Afford Anything, Tanja Hester from Our Next Life and Cheryl Reed from Above the Clouds Retreats. 

We had about 30 attendees, mainly American, the group size felt small and snug. The group comprised of doctors, nurses, a pharmacist, full-time mothers, FIRE retired folk, lawyers, teachers, office workers, financial advisers (2 including me) and corporate employees.

The daily format was usually a 2-hour presentation in the morning at 9.30 am and some options for the afternoon session starting after lunch. Each speaker gave a formal presentation in the morning, after a sumptuous breakfast. We also had time off to take in some local sightseeing. There was plenty of time for interesting conversations around mealtime and after dinner.

At the Equator. A lot of bendy people did back bends at the Equator including Paula and Vicki. I stood.

The initial feedback I heard from most people at our very first meal was how wonderful it was to be able to talk about money freely and be open about FI goals. I was astonished at the high level of financial literacy, clear conceptual clarity on financial terms and general confidence about life. I would like to see more of this in the world- both confidence and to feel free to speak about how we do, save, invest and spend money.

More on the presentations themselves:

Day one: Cheryl’s presentation was about happiness and ‘being happy for no reason at all’. There were some great questions for reflection and useful resources for further reading. I was excited when Cheryl mentioned Byron Katie; I love Byron Katie’s ‘The Work’ which consists of four questions and turnarounds, being sceptical about our deeply held beliefs is a valuable practice. I was quite surprised when writing out a list of 15 things that make your life meaningful; my partner made it to no.1, he is not a thing. I haven’t told him yet, he knows now.

Day two: Vicki’s presentation covered important issues: the story of how the book came about, over-consumption, tackling the cultural story that ‘growth is good’ and that we are using more planets currently (about 1.6) than we have available. I was all ears.

 Here are some bits I loved that I hurriedly wrote down in my diary:

• Money is life energy. You are trading hours of your life energy.

• You are conservative with money out of self-love and self-respect. It's my life energy and I’m going to maximise it.

• Our systems are designed for productivity but not for happiness.

• Once you have enough, you get really happy with whatever you give rather than what you get.

• FI is not a doctrine where the ‘good’ people go FI and the ‘bad’ don’t.

• What would be the life you would love living?

• FI for me is 90% of freeing your mind.

• We need to get financially sane.

• FI is a strategy, it is not a movement.

And finally, my favourite question from Vicki: What is the opportunity for social good with FIRE?

I particularly enjoyed Vicki talking about Manfred-Max-Neef, a Chilean Economist, and his work on fundamental human needs because of my interest in the consciousness of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). The core assumption of NVC is that everything we do is in service of our needs. Vicki also pointed out that money is needed for one human need: Subsistence. The other needs can be met with and without money.

A very lively Q&A followed Vicki’s engaging presentation

Day three: Tanja’s presentation got straight to the point of ‘Using FI for good’. Tanja and Vicki seemed to be very much on the same page there. I wasn’t familiar with Tanja’s work and by the end of her presentation, you got a pretty good sense of exactly what she stood for. Tanja encouraged having a year of expenses saved rather than full FI, for those still on the way. “You get your power knowing you could quit your job”, she advised.

Here are some bits I loved from Tanya’s presentation that I also hurriedly wrote down in my diary:

· FI is a feeling.

· FI gives us real power to change the world. For FI to be a movement, it would need to benefit those who are not a part of it. For example, you do not have to be part of a labour union to benefit from better employment conditions.

I particularly enjoyed Tanja saying we could choose not to optimise every choice. Values-based spending, not value — she pointed out the small but large distinction. To me, this would mean stepping away from being purely utilitarian with money choices; for example, buying locally rather than from a large store or buying organic food rather than the cheapest option in the supermarket.

Tanja also called out condescending words or judgements that are used when talking about FI. These include shaming people as ‘losers’ who aren’t FI, using the language of oppression such as wage ‘slave’, able-ism, ageism and so on. At this point, Vicki had an insight and added proselytise which I had to look up. Proselytization can mean convert or attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.

Tanja’s blog Our Next Life and podcast Fairer Cents are worth subscribing to. Like Paula, her voice is very pleasant to the ear and the content of the podcast outstanding. Tanja also organises women’s money retreats — celebrating this work which is so needed.

Tanja Hester. Tanja spelt with a j. A very engaging presentation.

It’s true. Not everybody can cycle 70 miles a day to work. There is no ‘right’ way to FI.

Day four: Paula’s presentation was a welcome break of interactive exercises including introducing oneself without using the usual labels and roles we tie in with our identity, reflecting on meaningful change as well as fulfilling work, and playing a hilarious improvisation game called Hitchhiker which involved making up bizarre and goofy answers to the question’ what do you do for a living?’ . We had high calibre comedic talent in our group and the resounding belly laughs left us all feeling great. It was very well facilitated and a welcome relief from the headier stuff we had been discussing the previous few days.

SRI, Impact and Nonviolent Communication

Finally, I also met my own needs for contribution during the open space times by offering information on investing in socially responsible investments and impact investing. I also offered a small presentation on ‘Nonviolent Communication, Needs and Money’ which was lots of fun. The practice of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) helps to create a high quality of connection out of which people spontaneously enjoy contributing to one another’s well-being and needs; needs can be met with and without money.

While the FIRE community tends to stress prioritising the cheapest fees and investing in passive funds, optimising for values means looking at funds that also weed out harmful elements. As Vanguard was spoken about quite a bit, I had a quick look and there are four ESG funds in the US from Vanguard, there are two ‘Socially Responsible Investment’ funds accessible in the UK. Stocks in passive funds may not be as thoroughly weeded out as active funds or as well picked for social and environmental impact as Impact investing funds investing in clean energy, for example, however, they are a good strategy for those who wish to invest ethically, passively and with as low fund fees as possible.

In the UK, on average, active ethical fund total expense ratios can range from 0.6 per cent for bond funds to 0.7 to 0.8 per cent per annum for equity funds. Passive funds are comparatively cheaper, often as low as 0.1 per cent to 0.2 per cent per annum. Fees of an overall 0.8 per cent would cost £800 per annum for a portfolio size of £100,000; fees of 0.2 per cent would cost £200 per annum for a portfolio size of £100,000.

I can talk nonstop about NVC. I stopped at 15 minutes though.

We can optimise our investment choices too for values.

Some reflections

Being able to wake up and free our mind from the conditioning of what we are told to be or have or do is possible for anyone really who gets the FIRE philosophy.

There is also the personal shadow work that is needed around repressed feelings or suppressed identities; issues like depression may come to the surface, when one eventually hits their FI goal and retires. Taking away the stigma about talking about grief and sadness are important for all of society, not just the FI community. You will still have obstacles to overcome and the suffering of life is still there; just not necessarily money problems.

US savers tend to use house hacking, passive funds investing and aggressive saving as part of their strategy towards getting to their FI number as soon as possible.

For UK savers new to FI, I would suggest getting clear on your FI number (25 times annual expenses), keeping clear financial records and learning to ‘pay yourself first’ by intentionally saving/investing mechanically. Working out your real hourly wage is also an eye-opener; I cut back on my useless shoe spending after working out how many hours of shoes I had worked too hard for!

Of utmost importance is also learning one’s way around financial concepts and tax-saving wrappers like Pensions or Stocks and Shares ISA’s. From what I saw, the US FI community really seem to know their way around financial jargon like Roth IRA’s, house hacking as they call it, the US healthcare system, investment funds, fees charged and how to engage a financial adviser if needed.

So, building up one’s own financial competence by reading books and blogs, watching videos, listening to personal finance podcasts and setting up a learning community to talk about how to invest/save money would all be helpful steps. If you have a financial adviser, ask all the questions you need to, so you feel more competent around money decisions.

The psychological work within our consciousness is learning how to undo this conditioning of a ‘More is better’ approach. We have been indoctrinated to consume mindlessly, to compare, blame or shame ourselves, to hoard even what we don’t need. We seek happiness outside of ourselves and assume more may make us happier. I generalise of course to make a point. Adopting a mindset of voluntary simplicity and frugality should go hand in hand with the practical steps like taking time to be more financially literate, saving more, spending less and investing the difference where possible.

Being with people who have already made it to FI does give me the conviction in talking about this to people who are interested in FI. After hearing the speakers, I am definitely interested in continuing to create spaces where people can talk about all things money. FI can be used for good. 

I am very lucky that I enjoy my work thoroughly and have no particular rush to retire; I already live a fairly intentional life which includes work. I long for a world where everyone would have enough for their basic needs to be met including housing, food, shelter and healthcare.

Would it be worth attending a Chautauqua? 

Yes, if you were keen on Financial Independence and very into learning about the FIRE philosophy, although it may set you back a few pennies. You aren’t really going for the information in the presentations; you can read blogs or listen to podcasts for that. To my mind, the motivation would be to spend time with people who are living their life on their terms, free from much of societal conditioning, using their recreational time to follow their passions and hobbies, impacting the world in a positive way.

A positive experience

I enjoyed every conversation whilst I was there, met many interesting people, laughed, cried and ate delicious food. The speakers were fairly accessible, available at mealtimes and on bus trips; it was definitely a very positive experience. Plus, I got to see an amazing country and travelled to South America for the first time. I feel guilty about my carbon footprint and yet, travelling with a purpose made it worthwhile. We collected a tidy sum in tips to hand over to the staff; a lot of the money we spent on the trip also went back into the local community in Ecuador.

- What three things would I recommend people who want to join FIRE do to get started?

• Read ‘Your Money or Your Life’ by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez, the latest edition. Follow the 9 steps, they help. Record your expenses down in a diary or a spreadsheet. Pay yourself first.

• Read as many personal finance books and FI blogs as possible. Geek out. It helps. I love Mr Money Moustache’s blog. 

• Find a tribe to talk to about money.

Finally, I offer a monthly ‘Conscious Money’ newsletter with resources on finding inner freedom and clarity with money. Read more or subscribe here.