r/FatFIRE Frequently Asked Questions

Please see below for some of the commonly asked questions about FatFIRE in general, and the r/FatFIRE sub specifically. This FAQ will be updated on an ongoing basis.

What is FatFIRE?

FatFIRE is Financial Independence / Retire Early at an overabundant or luxurious level. Unlike FIRE (and leanFIRE in particular), FatFIRE is typically achieved through high incomes rather than minimalism or extreme frugality.

What are the minimum levels of income or net worth required to be considered FatFIRE?

We do not have a set minimum to be considered FatFIRE. Individual circumstances vary so greatly that it would be impossible to set a single level – a family with high fixed expenses in a high-cost-of-living-area might require double or triple the income or assets of an individual living in a low-cost-of-living-area to enjoy a similar quality of life.

I see that there are members with flair marked ‘Verified by Mods’. What are the requirements for verification, and how do I get verified? 

Members can be verified as being on the ‘path to FatFIRE’ at an annual income of US$150,000+ per year, or net worth greater than US$1 million. Some adjustments are made for those living in low cost-of-living countries on a case-by-case basis.

To verify, please submit your proof of income or net worth via modmail, along with your requested flair. If you are requesting a certain income or net worth be included in your flair, then you should be including proof of those specific claims.

To verify, take your smartphone and make one continuous video recording of the following:

1. Go to the login page for your verification proof on your desktop/mobile browser (you do not need to show us the login credentials). The verification proof we accept are official statements like pay stubs, bank statements, brokerage statements, etc. We do not accept websites/apps that combine external assets from different places into one place (e.g. Mint).
2. Now log into the website while keeping your camera recording the URL of the browser the entire time. Do not move the camera away from the address bar of your browser this entire time. We want to see the URL change from the login page to the page you end up with after you login.
3. And without ever moving the video away from the URL, browse to the verification screen that has the numbers that you want to show us (if you're not already there). You're welcome to frame/crop the video to block out any personal info/account numbers or put something over the personal info to cover it, but do not block the URL from being seen. We only care about the number you want to verify with while making sure the URL of the website matches the location of this verification proof the entire time.
4. Once you have the number and URL in the same video frame, refresh the browser once to show us that the numbers don't change to something totally different when you refresh.

You can upload the video to imgur as a private video link (or any other video service) and send us the video via modmail to complete your verification.

We do not need proof of your entire net worth or income, just enough to meet the threshold. However, if you wish to have a number in your flair (eg. NW $15M, Income $350K+) then we need to see proof of those amounts.

We are also willing to consider other verification options if you'd prefer - anything that would objectively demonstrate your wealth. Mods are volunteers, so please allow a day or two for us to verify. If several days have gone past without a reply, please feel free to follow up with us.

Do not set your own flair as 'Verified by Mods' if you have not been verified, as that may result in a temporary or permanent ban from this sub. Verified members should not modify their own flair once verified - instead, please write to us via Modmail to request a change to your flair.

How do I know if someone is really verified?

Verified members' flair appears in special colors which are visible in old.reddit.com.

Is there a chart that explains what the different colors mean?

No - it's only for mod use. But feel free to speculate.

What are the benefits of verifying?

Generally, verified members’ opinions are given a greater weight than those who have not been verified – at least for new members to r/FatFIRE. Verified members are also able to take part in ‘Verified Members Only’ posts.

Will verification ever become required?

There are currently no plans to make verification mandatory. Many of our regular contributors are not comfortable with the verification process. Also, FatFIRE mods are not able to commit the potential time and effort required to verify tens of thousands of members.

What do you mean by “specifically relevant” to FatFIRE?

A post may be removed under rule 1 when it’s not specifically relevant to FatFIRE. This means that it must be relevant to FatFIRE alone, and not more relevant to leanFIRE, FIRE, Financial Independence, investing, etc.. High dollar values are not sufficient justification for relevance, unless they fundamentally change the nature of the question.

For example, “where should I invest $5 million?” is generally not considered specifically relevant, as the question of how to invest is largely the same for $50,000 in investments as opposed to $5 million. “Is $20 million enough to justify support from a multi-family office?” is relevant, as multi-family offices are generally the purview of wealthy families.

What do you mean by “no ask-a-rich-person” questions?

We define “ask-a-rich-person” questions as those questions where the only specific relevance is found in wanting to get FatFIRE’s take on a specific issue, and questions that are posed with limited personal context. For example - “What are your favourite books?”, “How long is your mortgage term?”, or “What is your advice to a new millionaire?”

My post was removed, and I don’t believe it violated any rules. Can I appeal this decision?

If you feel your post was removed despite not violating the rules, then you can contact the mod team via modmail to request that another mod review your post. Generally, any post with negative karma will not be reinstated.

Bear in mind that if your post contained insulting, discourteous, or judgmental content then the subsequent review might end up with you receiving a temporary or permanent ban, rather than a reinstatement.

Someone posted a judgmental comment, and I reported it. Why wasn’t it removed?

The “no judgement” rule applies specifically to comments and posts that judge others based on income or asset level, or living a luxurious lifestyle. Comments that are otherwise critical of members – say, the efficacy of their investment strategies – will not be removed, provided that those comments are neither insulting nor discourteous.

Someone replied to my post with "Go fuck yourself" or "Make me some breakfast." I reported this comment for being discourteous, but it wasn't removed. Why?

If you have recently FatFIREd or experienced a sudden windfall, then being told to "go fuck yourself" is considered a term of celebration in which the commenter is expressing a kind of envious admiration for your situation. "Make me some breakfast" is similar, but specific to r/FatFIRE.

In instances where OP has not FatFIREd, such comments may be considered discourteous and dealt with accordingly. But otherwise these comments will be left up.

Is there an index of relevant FatFIRE posts from over the years?

Yes - please check out The fatFIRE Index. Thanks go to u/flowingserenity for putting this together.

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Acronym list:

ETF - Exchange Traded Fund. Typically refers to an investment fund that tracks a specific stock market index, such as the S&P 500.

FIRE - Financial Independence, Retire Early.

FAANG - Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google. Sometimes used to refer to other large tech firms in general.

HENRY - High Earner, Not Rich Yet

GFYS - "Go fuck yourself." A term of congratulations when OP has FatFIREd.

NW - Net worth

SWR - Safe withdrawal rate. Generally considered to be 4% or less, though this is a subject of some debate throughout the FIRE community.

(V)HCOL, MCOL, LCOL - (Very) High Cost of Living, Medium Cost of Living, Low Cost of Living

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If you have suggestions for further questions (and / or answers), please leave a comment on this post or send us a message via Modmail.

We would also appreciate if members could include links to previous FatFIRE posts that they believe provide definitive answers to frequently posted questions such as how to establish a family office, when to fly first class, benefits of establishing a donor advised fund, etc.