Long time no blog! I am using this time of quarantine as a way to get reacquainted with the wonderful habit of journaling and blogging with a first person voice, keeping you and me entertained in the process. You may feel like you have missed a few episodes, or rather a whole season! I will try to catch up as we go. In the meanwhile, stay safe and wash your hands 🙂
To some extent, financial independence and early retirement can be compared to a candy store. You can eat all you want, all day, every day.
The first day, you are that kid in the candy store. Eyes wide open in awe, marveling at all the freedom and opportunity.
Except tomorrow, you can go back and spend all day in the candy store. And the day after that. And every day for the rest of your life.
Will you be that glutten kid, who wants to grab all the candy and gobble it down at once? Or will you be more like Charlie, when he visited the chocolate factory, carefully selected one piece of candy, and savored it with all his senses?
Both financia independence and early retirement are much more likely to be sustainable if you pick the latter.
The FI part boils down to a simple mathematical equation. If you start spending like crazy because “I deserve it I’ve worked so much”, you risk outliving your nest egg and being forced back to work.
The current times are the perfect example of why even “I can always go be a barista” is not a sound backup plan. Nor can you find a job at 70, after 30 years of early retirement, when your back is aching and arthritis prevents you from typing 80 words per minute.
I find that I haven’t changed my spending habits after reaching FI, if anything, I have prioritized even more what brings me joy, and stopped pinching pennies when spending a little more means more convenience or saving time.
The RE part, that many of you are getting a preview of right now, should also be consumed in delectable little bites, rather than an all-you-can-eat buffet.
There can be too much of a good thing. Too much sleeping in makes me feel like my day has gone to waste. Too much food at lunch renders me useless for 5 hours. And after spending two years exploring the world on a motorcycle, that 500th church? We didn’t even get in to see it.
Keep your candy store bright eyes, go slowly. Expore your options, make mistakes, find your groove… You’ve got all the time in the world.