July 24, 2018July 25, 2018 FOGA

I Am Working To Be Financially Independent

Financial Independence

For years now, I have been working towards retiring at 55. I know this is earlier than most people retire and have gotten feedback from everyone that this is way too soon. My problem with this has always been that I don’t think it’s soon enough.

First, let me be clear on this: When I say retire, I mean I no longer want to HAVE to work. If I do work, it’s because I want to. I’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of being in multiple job situations where I had to stick it out because I needed the paycheck. In one case, it caused me medical issues and took almost six months after I left the job before I could eat food like a normal person.

At this point, I feel like life is a bizarre video game. You go to school, you do well, you join the clubs that look appealing to colleges, and you do enough extracurricular activities to show that you are a well-rounded individual. All this in order to get into college (aka: level up). Once you’re there, you sign up for the appropriate major (business management over linguistic studies; one has a chance for a job) for four years and work to get a degree (level up again). You get your degree and then you work to get the job; except there are not many jobs available. It’s all about who you know and most college grads don’t know enough people to make this transition seamless (level up not allowed; experience required). In my case, I go went to the same job you had in high school for a few months until I got a job in retail. I worked that job until one day I got an opportunity to go into real estate where I finally leveled off and could do the things most people like to do (vacations, new car, saving for a house etc…).

At 26, I reached a point where most people would dream to be: I was successfully making six figures at my job, I was married, and my husband and I had just bought a home (our only other debt, at the time, was a car payment). Even our cat is gorgeous. Seriously, look at her:

 She’s so fluffy. 😊

Yet in spite of everything, I find myself asking, “Is this it? Are we just supposed to keep doing this for the next 30 years? How can I do that if I am already getting burned out on it?” Unlike in a video game, there is no “Congratulations!!!” screen where it shows you everything you won then the fade to black. You just keep playing the same game after you won with no real motivation or direction.

The only answers I have gotten are, “Well, that’s life. You work hard and then one day you retire and you can do what you want.” That’s all well and good, but what happens if you don’t make it there? I’ve seen friends and family die without ever making it there. I work for 30-40 years to then finally get to live (assuming that I make it there)? Why is that the only option?

So, I changed a little. I started planning out more vacations to make it through the stressful times in my job, literally living vacation to vacation. My company got bought out and, due to severe changes to the management and the culture, I ended up switching companies a year later. My job, which is a good job that I do well, is simply a means to pay for my life. It’s nice and it’s a good distraction, but it doesn’t change my overall problem: It is mandatory. I still spend a majority of my time doing something I would rather not HAVE to do.

Then the other day, I am browsing the internet (like you do when you are bored) and I stumble across the weirdest article where someone was able to retire at the age of 28.

I was completely floored. I had never even heard of such a thing, so I read through the article. That article took me to another article where someone else retired at 35. Then that took me to another article and another and another. Suddenly, I found a whole community of people who felt the same way I did and had been able to do something about it.

For me, it’s not so much about retiring, it’s about not having to work. I don’t want to HAVE to work. I want to do things I enjoy and live my life, not just endure it. And please, this is not to say that I do not enjoy what I have or that I am not grateful. I see it as all it takes is one bad year where my husband and I both lose our jobs and we can lose nearly everything we have. That is the constant fear I have deep down, and I don’t want to live like that.

Now that I know it’s possible, and thanks to some very thorough people who post really good articles like Michelle, I think I might be able to move the 55 a lot closer to home. The main thing is me deciding exactly where I want my life to go and being free, truly free, to do what I want to do. That is my ultimate goal.

So, what’s this blog about then? I guess it’s about my journey through this. My financial journey as I make it to the FI part of FIRE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) as well as exploring things I’ve always wanted to do (like reviews of tv shows I like). It may also expand into travel, but I’m not sure yet. This is relatively new to me at this point. I think this journey is going to be a whirlwind, but a good one.

Welcome to my journey. I’m looking forward to keeping you updated. 😊