My first encounter with the concept of Financial Independence was about 9 years ago. I picked up the book Your Money or Your Life and the ideas inside were absolutely fascinating to me. Financial freedom before traditional retirement age!? Sign me up!
This was before the online FIRE movement. But I soon discovered Get Rich Slowly, The Simple Dollar, Free Money Finance, and, eventually, Mr. Money Mustache (and other personal finance blogs). That sealed the deal. I was SOLD on the concept of FI.
It was THE ANSWER. It would allow us to create a whole new life – a better life. It would simplify everything, free us from money problems, eliminate the need to work for money, and we could travel to our heart’s content.
Once we reached FI, the stars would align and all would be right with the world now and forevermore.
When people first learn about the concept of FI, I venture to guess that this is a common reaction. It’s not unusual for people to dive into the weeds and start making changes to get on this path to freedom ASAP. They see others doing it, they hate their jobs, and they want out. They yearn for freedom, time, and money.
And there’s nothing at all wrong with wanting to take control of your money, make it work for you, and use it to build a life you love. I mean, we’re right there doing it too.
But what I didn’t realize in the beginning, and I think many others don’t either, is that, once we reach FI, life will not magically change for the better.
Then what?
On that wonderful day, when we wake up and realize we have reached our goal – then what?
It’s the “Then what?” that many of us forget to think about when we’re in the trenches because we’re hyper-focused on the goal. Yet, it’s one of the most critical pieces of the journey to Financial Independence.
So, you reach FI. Then what?
Well, maybe you will walk away from your job. And maybe it was a job you despised. Perhaps it caused a ton of stress in your life and, by quitting, your life will be better without this added stress. That’s a definite win – and that unquestionably adds to your quality of life.
Initially, you’ll have more time to do many of the things you’ve wanted to do but couldn’t do when you were working.
But, after all of the work-related stress disappears and you’ve done many of the things you put off before, then what?
Financial independence is not going to make you happy
Once you reach FI, life won’t automatically be all rainbows and roses.
If you haven’t defined your values before FI, they won’t spontaneously reveal themselves to you after FI.
If you don’t know what you want out of life before FI, you won’t know after FI.
If your relationships are less than stellar before FI, they won’t miraculously improve after FI.
If you don’t know what brings you joy before FI, you won’t instinctively know after FI.
If you weren’t healthy before FI, without conscious time and effort, your body won’t naturally transform to feel or look better after FI.
Financial independence is about more than just a number.
It’s about creating a life aligned with your values and priorities.
To create a great life, you have to dig deep and take a long, hard look at what it is that you want in this life.
In other words, while you’re on the path to financial independence, you have more than just the money to figure out. If you get tunnel vision and focus solely on that money goal, your relationships and health and joys aren’t going to just be there waiting for you at the end.
You don’t want to finally reach financial independence only to realize that the only thing left is a pile of money.
Go beyond the numbers
Setting the money goals is the easy part. That’s just math. The rest isn’t so easy, especially if you haven’t given it much thought before.
It can be difficult to define your values and priorities, especially if you’ve just been going through the motions and doing what’s been prescribed to you for much of your life. I mean, we’ve all been marketed the “American dream,” right!? So, digging deeper and questioning the path we’ve been sold our entire lives can be uncomfortable in the beginning.
But defining your values and priorities – your “Why” – that’s the key. It’s not easy. And, of course, everything in life changes – so your values, priorities, relationships and everything else will change with time. You have to look at them, work on them, and redefine them often.
How?
To start, it helps to think about why you have the goal of financial independence in the first place. What do you hope to get out of life when you reach financial independence?
Do you want to quit work? Why do you want to leave your job? What will life look like after you stop working? What will you do? How will you spend your time? What will be better about it? What could be challenging?
Do you dream of traveling the world? Why do you want to travel? What joys do you derive from travel? Will you want to travel all the time? Have you ever tried long-term travel? Will you want a home base? How will you spend your time when you travel? What do you like and dislike about traveling?
Do you want to spend more time with your kids? What’s the biggest barrier to spending time with them right now? What will you do with them when you have more time? What will your days look like with your kids when you quit your job?
Maybe all of these are your reasons for wanting to reach financial independence, or perhaps you have different reasons. But ask yourself the hard questions and try to imagine, realistically and honestly, what life would be like once you get what you’re after.
Start today, not someday
Now, take that information and start applying it right now. Today is the day to start living your life the way you want. If these are the things you want after financial independence, why not start getting them now, even if it’s in smaller doses?
I’m not saying don’t work toward financial independence and go all YOLO. I think getting control of your money and on the path to FI is a great, life-changing goal – it’s a goal Alan and I are working toward ourselves.
What I’m saying is you shouldn’t use a big goal, such as financial independence, as an excuse. If you want a change in your life, if you want to try something new, if you want to spend more time with family, traveling, or on a hobby, figure out a way. Even if it’s not something you can do all the time, find a way to incorporate at least some of what you want into your life today.
If you want to quit work because you’re miserable, look for another job, save some money and take a mini-retirement, or find a way to make your current job more bearable.
If you want to travel more, look into travel hacking, take longer trips, camp, try working remotely, or try house swapping.
If you want to spend more time with your kids, schedule it if you have to. Wake up earlier, go to bed later, take time on your lunch break – do whatever you need to do to get more time with those kids.
Rather than delaying the life you want once you reach FI, ask yourself how you can get at least a little of what you want today.
More than anything, realize FI isn’t the answer to your happiness. It can be part of the equation, but it won’t solve all your problems and make your life instantly better. You have to go deeper. You have to make changes today. You have to define your values and prioritize your time (and money) right now.
You can’t put your life on hold today and expect all the good stuff to be waiting on the other side.
What say you, friends? How do you find the balance between money, work, and life? How do you create a great life while still working on big life goals like financial independence?
Mrs. Groovy says
I wish things, money, and reaching goals made us happy. If it were that “easy”, right? The difficult part is looking inward.
Amanda says
“The difficult part is looking inward.” You’re right on the money there, Mrs. Groovy! It’s tough. And it’s so easy to get distracted by all those things – but it’s 100% worth it to try to dig deeper. 🙂 Thanks so much for the great comment.