. The game plan is demanding: Avoid debt, cut spending and invest diligently enough that you’re able to live off your investment income and work less or not at all. No one knows how many F.I.R.E. followers there are, but the trend is big enough to have attracted sharp critiques from some U.S. personal-finance authorities.
The F.I.R.E. retreat, frugally priced at $275 for food and accommodation, is officially called Camp Mustache. That’s a reference to Mr. Money Mustache, a blog written by a U.S.-based Canadian named Peter Adeney, who built a school of personal finance based on self-reliance and financial independence. His followers include Chris Potvin, 46, a Whitby, Ont.-based traffic engineer who organized Camp Mustache and is basically head counsellor for the weekend.
Camp Mustache is mainly about networking, but there are some guest speakers and recreational activities. Among the attendees who have come a long way is Suzanne Carrière, a 42-year-old citizenship judge from St. Adolphe, Man., which is just south of Winnipeg. For her, the trip to Waterford is about networking with other F.I.R.E. followers. “I want to meet my tribe – people who think the same way,” she said.