Have the LA fires made you rethink FIRE strategy?

The fires happening in LA are devastating and I have been thinking of a few things that have come from it.

Insurance: No matter where you are, you should review your insurance policy and see if there’s sufficient coverage. Especially if you live in an area of high natural threats like hurricanes, floods, tornados, snow storms etc.

Principal Residence: Having your retirement plan tied up in your principal residence is a risk. Where I live, a lot of people have that idea that their home is an investment but it’s not. A natural disaster like in LA will wipe out a ton of wealth for many people relying on their home.

Lifestyle creep: As our incomes grow and our nest egg is slowly building, you get that lifestyle creep since you can afford more things. I’ve been thinking about getting a nice watch or even upgrading cars as an example. I saw a video of the aftermath of one of the neighbourhoods and saw Porsche after Porsche that’s burnt up on driveways. At the end of the day, it makes you think about what really matters. All this consumption is just “stuff” which can disappear in a day. Focus on what I have now and try to reach my fire goal faster instead of allowing lifestyle creep in.

Disaster preparedness: HENRYs may have more means to do this compared to others but I live in an area where we’ve had bad rains and storms. Thinking about moving up my timeline for certain repairs around the house that could help mitigate water damage if we get a really bad storm( which we did get last summer) and will have to reallocate some funds for that.

Has this event prompted some thoughts for you about financial independence and your pathway towards it?