Saving isn't binary - it's a spectrum of choice.
Saving is one of the core pillars of any FIRE journey, but also the biggest reason I have seen people criticize it. The assumption is that the FIRE journey is about living frugally, saving, and making sacrifices throughout life to hit the magical FIRE number, which often leads to poor lifestyle and anxiety.
Problem is people think saving is binary: you buy it or you don't, you do it or you skip it.
It's not. And honestly, learning to spend matters more than learning to save.
The real spectrum is something like this:
Cheap
Affordable
Affordable luxury
Luxury
Navigating this spectrum is what learning to spend means. You'll save the most with cheap, but you can't always pick cheap, especially when safety or health is involved. Affordable is usually the right call most of the time, and that's fine. But the whole point of earning money is also to live a better life, and that better life should start on day one, not after you retire.
The difference in the spectrum could be just ₹500 in cases like clothes (Zudio - Westside - H&M - Zara/Uniqlo), which can make your life better without denting your FIRE goal, or worth lakhs in the case of cars (Maruti - M&M - Skoda - BMW), which can seriously derail your FIRE journey. It's not about whether you can take that trip or not, it's about how. A luxury resort and a campsite can share the same mountains. One isn't better than the other. They're just different points on the spectrum of spends based on your earnings/savings.
I have also noticed that people make sacrifices in smaller things, especially for personal needs, and waste money on grand social spends. For instance, saving ₹1,500 per year, ₹15,000 in 10 years, for a YouTube subscription and watching or skipping ads 365 days a year, only to spend that ₹15,000 on table decorations for your wedding sangeet. Not saying people should subscribe, but just highlighting how we save on small personal expenses and make big spends for others to see.
So if you're earning well, occasionally enjoying the finer things in life, especially for yourself and not for the world to see, isn't drifting away from your FIRE journey.
The concern is lifestyle inflation, and it's valid. But there's a difference between lifestyle improvement and lifestyle creep. One is intentional. The other just happens to you. Finding a balance can save your FIRE journey from turning joyless.
Just had this thought while discussing with a friend, so thought I'll share the gyaan here.