Why Pursue Financial Independence
Why not spend your money now? What is the point of pursuing Financial Independence? Life is finite and you never know what’s round the corner. Off the top of my pea brain there’s a few reasons to look to go down this path that I’ll briefly list here.
Build a safety net:
Being someone who’s pretty risk averse, the idea of spending all income as it gets into your account just sounds pretty scary of me. As we said before you never know what’s around the corner, and the pot towards FIRE could just help you out of shit hits the fan.
Fuck You Money:
You ever been asked the simplest thing from your manager and thought to yourself “You do it yourself cunt”. No, just me then… But I’m sure there’s times you just feel like you’ve had enough of work. If you’re unfortunate enough to be in a job that is really bringing you down it might be best to leave and give yourself a rest. Having this portfolio might help you allow you to do this whilst you look for a different role.
Career Change:
Similarly to the above you might just have enough of the career you’re in and may look to jump into something new, or go into going self employed instead working for a company. Most likely when jumping into a new career you’ll need to start at a lower salary than you was on in your previous job. Having a buffer could be vital bridging the gap between salaries during the initial starting stage.
Travel:
There’s the saying about your when you’re young you have the energy and time without the money, then when you’re a little older the money and energy without the time, and at retirement age the money and time but not the energy. What a depressing saying, so let’s bun that off!
Give yourself some time in your younger years to go make some memories and happiness. Have you heard anyone who’s ever been on a trip to a different part of the world and said it was wank? Even when things haven't gone to plan on people’s travels, there’s usually a good story/lesson to get from it.
Charity Work:
Similarly to travelling maybe you haven’t been able to get the time to help on a cause that has a lot of meaning to you, Financial Independence can allow you the time to help on a cause that is much greater on yourself. One thing I know I want to do is go and volunteer at an animal sanctuary. If I can do this before I don’t have the physicality to be of benefit to the cause brilliant.
Health and Fitness:
Getting stuck in a rut in them long days where you’re at your desk all day and don’t have the time to exercise or even prepare a healthy meal will be a huge detriment to your overall health on top of the mental stresses of work. Financial Independence can give your the time back to really be able to look after your self mentally, physically and nutritionally.
Family/Relationships:
You often hear about how late nights at work whilst having a young family is a regret to many a parent. Mr Money Moustache didn’t have this problem. In his pursuit of Financial Independence he and his wife were able to retire from their corporate jobs in their 30’s, allowing them to be in their words “Super Dad and Super Mum”. Whilst it doesn’t automatically make you a better parent, having the option to spend more time with your kids is something I’d love to have when I become a parent. Need to lose my virginity first…
Any others that spring to mind, or think I’m chatting a load of bull, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments. Thank you for reading :)
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