Fire

Fire is a slang term for awesome or cool that is often seen as "straight fire." It may also be used as "hot" when describing someone's physical appearance.

The term is often seen on social media in comments about how good a person (typically a female) looks in an outfit. It also commonly appears with a fire emoji.

FIRE is an acronym for "financial independence, retire early," a lifestyle movement focused on retiring early. People who adhere to the FIRE mantra work hard, aggressively save money (at least 50% of their income), and live below their means when younger to retire early (30s, 40s, or 50s).

The main reason behind FIRE is to have more years to spend in retirement instead of retiring at an older age when people may be limited physically and can't enjoy the fruits of their labor as much (or as long). FIRE is difficult for many since it requires working extremely hard when younger to maximize saving potential (e.g., investing, compound interest savings, etc.) and living frugally (e.g., vacationing less, seldom eating out, etc.).

Origin of FIRE

It is unclear who coined the FIRE acronym, but various sources credit the 1992 book Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez for popularizing the idea. However, it took until the 2010s to really catch on, when millennials and young Gen Zers on Reddit and financial blogs adopted it and spread the word.