I used to be terrible at setting boundaries at work. In my last job, I was constantly chasing the next promotion and the next pay raise, so I would say “yes” to every request. Within the last year, things have completely shifted for me. I decided to accept a part-time job and have focused on setting appropriate boundaries at work so that I have time and brain space to focus on things in my life that are important to me.
Living in a high cost of living area or urban environment can be very expensive. But it does not have to be. If you are intentional, you can enjoy all of the perks of the great location without sacrificing your long-term aspirations. We’re on our way to achieving financial independence and our location has actually played a big part in that. We believe that living in a high cost of living area has actually allowed us to fast track our journey to FI.
Before pursuing financial independence, there were many things I wanted to do in my life that I didn’t believe were actually possible. After being introduced to financial independence, I’ve realized that the options available in life are so much broader than I ever thought possible. Through the pursuit of financial freedom, I can envision my ideal life, and I can make it happen. Creating a financial independence bucket list is a tangible way to make that happen.
Since discovering financial independence, I have begun to redefine my life’s priorities, including expectations around the size of our home. Adjusting your perspective is never easy, and my expectation around our home size is no exception. A big part of this transformation has been applying the financial independence concept of “enough” to these deep-rooted expectations around our home. As part of this change, I have gone from always wanting more to now understanding our home as a mansion. We have more than enough.
In high school, I had a choice to make. Go to an expensive university and be forced to work throughout the year (including summers), OR go to a less expensive university and have more freedom. This decision and the determination to avoid student loans helped us tremendously. In this post, I detail how we both avoided taking out student loans, and how it has fast-tracked our path to financial independence.
The last six months have been the most challenging in my life as I have dealt with severe anxiety. While this situation was extremely challenging for me, I can now look back and realize that this was also a tremendous period of personal growth. I learned a lot and made significant life changes that I will carry forward with me for the rest of my life. I hope my story can serve as an inspiration and provide advice or hope for anyone experiencing something similar.
