Overview

• The community has grown from niche blogs and forums into in-person events like Camp FI where early retirees and aspirants exchange strategies
• Practitioners warn of the “arrival fallacy,” a psychological pitfall in which financial freedom brings unexpected voids in identity and daily structure
• Harvard Business Review data underpins advice to conduct two- to three-month sabbaticals as real-world tests of early retirement and mental well-being
• Profiles such as Nik and Adinah Johnson show how frugal saving built a $1.6 million nest egg but underscore the need for emotional resilience after quitting work
• Founders like Peter Adeney (Mr. Money Mustache) and Vicki Robin continue to shape discussions on frugality and defining what constitutes ‘enough’