Playing With Fire

2019 • 75 minutes

About this movie

How far would you go for financial freedom? One young family is about to find out. A successful entrepreneur living in Southern California, Scott Rieckens had built a "dream life": a happy marriage, a two-year-old daughter, a membership to a boat club, and a BMW in the driveway. But underneath the surface, Scott was creatively stifled, depressed, and overworked trying to help pay for his family's beach-town lifestyle. Then one day, Scott listened to a podcast interview that changed everything. Three months later, he had quit his job, convinced his family to leave their home, and cut their expenses in half. Follow Scott and his family as they devote everything to FIRE (financial independence, retire early), a subculture obsessed with maximizing wealth and happiness. Filled with inspiring stories and the influencers who make up the FIRE movement, Playing with FIRE is one family's journey to acquire the one thing that money can't buy: a simpler ― and happier ― life.

Ratings and reviews

The lower reviews complain nobody held their hand thru the exact #s and math of the family's financials. This film is more about concepts. Just bcuz these people may make 100k and you only make 40k doesn't make this info worthless. They meet with teachers and more avg income ppl who are doing it too. The ideas in the abstract are enough to change your life if you haven't considered them before. Watch as an outline for how to start and know it can be done.

Discovering FI/RE is a bit like discovering you're living in the Matrix. This fascinating movie follows one American family that decides to take the red pill and we get a bird's-eye view of their pursuit of financial freedom. Along the way you'll be captivated by the stories of others in the financial independence movement. You'll laugh and cry and in the end you will find yourself pondering deep questions about how you're living your own life and what you might do to pursue a better future.

Finally a film that introduces this topic through emotional story telling. The team did a great job showing the many aspects of the journey and the impact that the mindset change can bring about. The honest self reflection by the main characters is refreshing and welcomed. I look forward to sharing this with others. Disclaimer: I was aware of the concept beforehand and wanted to like film prior to watching it. Still impressed with the result regardless.