Reaching financial independence and/or location independence is not going to happen overnight. There are many things that we need to do between now and then to design our ideal life. We need to first reach either financial or location independence and we need to determine what our ideal lifestyle is through trial and error. Here’s our plan for figuring it out.
We are just beginning our journey to financial independence, but I can’t help but reflect on the years leading up to us getting serious about financial independence. The small lifestyle decisions that we have made over the past 9-10 years have allowed us to start with a goal that is within reach.
I learned about FIRE (Financially Independence Retire Early) in the latter part of 2017, but didn’t commit to FI until I learned what would motivate me for a sustained period of time. Motivating yourself on the path of financial independence starts with understanding change management and leveraging both your rational mind and emotions.
Our plan to reach FI is not to deprive ourselves to build up a nest egg so that we can relax later. And to be clear, our journey to financial independence is not about early retirement. We are not looking to not work or sit on a beach for 50-60 years. Instead, this journey is about lifestyle design, freedom, flexibility and security. We plan to take very intentional actions so that we can adjust our lifestyle along the way. Here’s a detailed look at what our plan currently looks like.
Increasing your savings rate is the most crucial step to help you achieve Financial Independence. If you can negotiate a salary increase, you could dramatically increase your savings rate. In this post, I’ll share with you what I did to increase my salary and 7 tips to help you increase your salary that can be generalized across roles and industries.
I have seen poverty with my own eyes, and it has been hard to reconcile with my cushy lifestyle. I’ve made progress in changing my thought process, but I still struggle to reconcile my privileged life with those living in extreme poverty. These experiences will always be like a stone in my shoe – slightly uncomfortable, always keeping me on my toes, and reminding me how fortunate I am. But it doesn’t mean I need to avoid money or ascribe to the scarcity mindset anymore.
