Financial Independence
Financial Independence.
This phrase is often used synonymously with retirement, but I believe it’s something completely different. For some, financial Independence is that magical day when you walk into your boss’ office and say, “it’s been a pleasure, but PEACE OUT!”… then head to the beach to live out the rest of our life in a state of constant relaxation and 4pm dinner specials.
Or is it?
I believe financial independence is the point at which you can sustain your desired lifestyle without HAVING to work, if you don’t want to. Sounds a lot like retirement, I know, but it can be much different.
What if I told you that you could attain financial independence in your 50’s, 40’s or even 30’s? That would be a game changer, right?
It may sound crazy, but it’s happening more and more often, and the people that are doing it aren’t inheriting their nest egg or making half a million dollars a year. They are simply making a very deliberate decision to align their goals with their values and living their life out accordingly.
Is your life dream to be a yoga instructor? Is your passion woodworking? Whatever your dream or passion might be, why wait? Well, one reason is that it can be difficult to pay the bills following your dreams and/or passion – I understand that. But why not figure out what it would take to get to that point as soon as possible, then do it.
I first heard of this idea of early financial independence listening to a Tim Ferris Podcast. His guest was a guy that writes a blog called “Mr. Money Mustache”. Great name, awesome blog, I highly recommend it (https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/). Mr. Money Mustache retired at 30, and now lives out his life doing whatever it is he chooses to do. Pretty fun to think about that… what would you do if you didn’t HAVE to do anything? I bet you’d do A LOT!
A few disclosures I feel I must make; you can’t fake the math. If your goal is to transition to freelance work that will cut your income by 75% by the time you’re 45, you’ll likely need to save more in your early years to afford yourself that flexibility (unless you have a rich benefactor).
Also, a common theme among the early financial independence pioneer’s is that they typically have a very low cost of living. So, if your accustomed to enjoying the finer things in life… often… then maybe a longer-term plan is more aligned with your lifestyle and values… and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you are more interested in designing a life that allows you to have the flexibility and control of waking up each day and deciding how you want to spend it, as soon as possible – then keeping expenses down is a must.
Either way, whatever your goals might be, they likely aren’t getting accomplished unless you have a plan. If you have a “crazy” idea of not wanting to work the corporate job until your 65 years old, then let’s chat about what you can do now to position yourself to do just that. It might be a simple change, it might be a big change, or it might be no change at all – regardless, until you have a plan your dreams aren’t likely to become a reality.
We all strive to achieve financial independence so that we can finally do WHAT we want to do, WHEN we want to do it. Do something about it. Let’s have a conversation today to get you on the path to financial independence.