Luke Macmichael, an ardent follower of a movement called FIRE — financial independence, retire early — pushes frugality to the extreme

Published Oct 31, 2025 • Last updated 17 minutes ago • 7 minute read

Luke Macmichael, 46, achieved financial independence in his 30s. He’s an ardent follower of FIRE — financial independence, retire early. Photo by JANSON DUENCH/The Sault Star

In a world that tells you to buy more, spend more, and work forever to afford it all, Luke Macmichael has chosen a different path.

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The 46-year-old father of six from Sault Ste. Marie earns a modest salary in technical support at Algoma Steel, but he saves half of it.

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He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t eat out often. He drives a Toyota Corolla, “the cheapest car on the lot.” And by his estimates, he could have retired more than a decade ago.

But Macmichael doesn’t see frugality as sacrifice. To him, it’s freedom.

“I more or less feel like I’ve been retired since I was 35,” he told The Sault Star, over coffee and juice at a café, a rarity in his lifestyle. “Work is always better when you don’t need the money.”

That sense of freedom, he explained, came from decades of discipline.

“I’ve always been very frugal,” he said. “I remember getting a 25-cent allowance when I was six and just saving that money. I collected piggy banks. Every birthday and Christmas, my parents would get me a new one, and I just kept filling it with change from my paper route.”

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He still gets the same thrill today — only now, the numbers are a little bigger.

“For frugal people, we treat ourselves by saving money,” he said. “That gives us the same dopamine hit as other people get from buying something nice.”

From piggy banks to FIRE

Macmichael had always lived frugally, but it wasn’t until he was 30 that he discovered the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement, and realized there was a well-detailed philosophy behind it.

He found it through Mr. Money Mustache, the website and alter ego of Canadian-born blogger Peter Adeney, who retired from his software engineering job in 2005 at age 30 by saving aggressively and investing the rest.

Adeney popularized what’s known as the “four per cent rule,” the idea that with a balanced investment portfolio, one can withdraw about four per cent of their savings each year, adjusted for inflation, and live off it indefinitely.

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The idea — to live simply, save aggressively, and buy back your time — fit Macmichael perfectly.

“It doesn’t matter how much you make,” he said. “It’s about how much you save. If you make $50,000 a year and spend $25,000, you can retire in 10 years if you put it in a decent stock market, exchange-traded fund, or index fund. That’s the game.”

He calls it gamifying money — tracking savings, optimizing expenses, watching the numbers climb.

“It’s fun,” he said. “Watching the numbers change feels like a game — you just want to reach the next level.”

With a partner and six kids, most people would assume saving like that is out of the question.

But Macmichael’s household of eight runs on careful planning and conscious decision-making. Clothes are passed down through siblings — a practice Macmichael was accustomed to with six siblings of his own. Groceries are bought in bulk — cereal is a breakfast staple. His children participate in pickleball, cross-country, and disc golf — not hockey, dance, or skiing. Family outings mean hikes and picnics — not restaurants or resorts.

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The Macmichaels live comfortably on about $50,000 a year — a figure that, to him, proves frugality and a large family aren’t exclusive.

In some ways, he said, the scale of his family makes saving easier, not harder. Once the systems are in place — meal planning, hand-me-downs, shared activities — the costs don’t rise as steeply as people assume.

“They can entertain each other,” he said of his children. “You always have someone play games with, or someone to go on hikes with or play sports with. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to have fun.”

His kids, he said, are already set to carry that mindset forward. Three have been sent to university now, debt-free or close to it.

With careful planning and government supports like the child tax credit, Macmichael insists the cost of raising children can be manageable.

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“It’s not hard to have a good, efficient lifestyle if you plan it out well.”

Finding community in frugality

For years, Macmichael’s journey toward financial independence was a solitary one. But through the FIRE movement, he began finding others on the same path.

Two years ago, he attended his first Mr. Money Mustache camp — a kind of summer retreat for people chasing financial freedom — and he’s been to five since.

The most recent, held this past September northeast of Toronto, was called CMTO Firescape. About 65 people gathered for a weekend of workshops, campfires, and long conversations about life after work.

Macmichael, who also attends a similar event in Cincinnati, Ohio, stayed at the latest camp with his 20-year-old son, Thomas.

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“It’s twice a year, we go away to these camps for three or four days and just really enjoy nature,” he said. “We have karaoke nights and dance parties and games. But the best part is just talking to people and hanging with friends. That’s the big draw — you find your people.”

Although FIRE has a niche following, spots in the camps have become increasingly difficult to secure. This year, around 200 people entered a lottery draw for the 65 spots at CMTO, and the event’s location was kept private by organizers for fear of outsiders crashing the weekend. The FIRE subreddit has gained more than a million members.

At his first camp, Macmichael was struck by how open everyone was — eager to swap stories about money, purpose, and the choices that brought them there.

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“You can talk about literally anything — politics, religion — which I love talking about because I love pushing buttons,” he said with a laugh. “Everyone comes from different backgrounds. Everyone’s story is completely different on how they came to FIRE.”

The common thread, he said, is optimism — a shared belief that the treadmill can be stepped off, that work can become a choice rather than an obligation.

“You realize that every person there is basically living their best life no matter where they are on the stage,” he said. “Everyone there is positive, everyone’s happy. Everyone knows that this is an option.”

For some, the events are a break from the quiet grind of tracking expenses and living below their means — a way to remember the why behind it all.

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Within the mix of attendees, he’s seen everything from ultra-frugal friends who live on frozen vegetables and ramen to others who splurge without guilt.

“We like to tease each other,” he said. “If someone spends money on something that’s not worth it, you give them a theoretical punch in the face. But really, it’s all about making conscious choices. If that’s what makes you happy, great. Just own it.”

The irony of saving

But there’s an irony to Macmichael’s particular brand of frugality: after decades of careful saving, he admits he sometimes has trouble spending the money he’s accumulated.

“It’s really hard to change the habits of saving and working, because you’ve been working for your whole life,” he said.

One of the habits instilled both in him and his children is window shopping, a longtime delight for Macmichael.

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“We walk around the mall, and when my kids want something, I would just get them in the habit of saying, ‘Is it really worth the money for that?’”

It’s an exercise Macmichael has always enjoyed, but in the past few years, and particularly after a family trip to New York City where they opted out of several experiences, such as the Guggenheim Museum, to save a buck, he realized his cutthroat approach to saving was in need of some tweaks.

“I enjoy saving and I enjoy living on as small an amount as I can,” he said. “But every once while it’s nice to splurge too. We definitely don’t want life to pass us by.”

To that end, all in the past few years, Macmichael purchased a timeshare, “splurged” on a massage chair, booked a family vacation to Disney World, and has tried to make the most of his time with family and friends, which he said was always supposed to be the goal of his saving to begin with.

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“It’s just trying to make every day a good day, and sharing as much happiness and joy and fun as I can with as many people as possible.”

Breaking free from ‘the rat race’

For Macmichael, the appeal of financial independence goes even beyond his own family’s balance sheet.

He talked about saving as a kind of service — a way to model freedom from “the rat race.”

In his 20s and 30s, he ran six times for the Green Party, hoping to push systemic change on the municipal, provincial, and federal levels.

When politics proved too difficult to effect change, he channelled that energy into his own life: a podcast, a book, and the quiet evangelism of helping friends get a handle on their finances.

“The more I can save and make, the more I can help other people find this financial freedom,” he said. “If we save and invest well, we can get to a point where we work because we want to, not because we have to.”

It might sound idealistic in a world where many Canadians can’t afford to save much at all. But for Macmichael, the discipline is its own reward.

“Building good habits and having fun with less money is really a big part of the game.”

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