Financial Independence: The Ultimate Goal
Does money matter or should we just try to be happy with what we have?
It’s a Tuesday afternoon 10 years from now, and your kid has soccer practice at 2:30 PM. You think to yourself, “Who in the hell schedules practice at 2:30 PM on a workday!? Don’t these parents have jobs to be at?” You begrudgingly tell your kid to get in the car and you whip that thing all the way to soccer practice and have him hop out so he can go kick a ball around at his friends. One of the other kid’s dad gives you a wave as you exit the soccer field premises. You think nothing of it. Same thing next week, you have an identical experience. You’re stressed out taking your little munchkin to the fields and as you leave, the same gentleman gives you a wave as you skrrrt out of there. How is this dude so calm and happy?! He must not work, or be a trust fund baby or something. Pause.
What is financial independence?
That man does work, in fact he was worked his face off for years, but he was working smarter than a lot of others. And because of that he is now financially independent. Wikipedia defines financial independence as:
The status of having enough income to pay one's living expenses for the rest of one's life without having to be employed or dependent on others.
An easier definition to wrap your head around though is
You can take your kid to soccer practice at whatever dumbass time it gets scheduled for without having to worry about skipping work
A free life
The financially free guy at the soccer field is not constrained to the 9 - 5 hours of a typical job, he has designed his life in a way that does not require him to be anywhere at anytime. This is my ultimate goal, to have my time back. To be able to be anywhere whenever I want and to be doing whatever I want with whoever I want. Now this may sound too good to be true, but it’s not. A lot of people will try to sell you products or courses that claim to help you achieve this lifestyle with little effort. That stuff is mostly BS. To achieve this type of life takes an incredible amount of hard work, but it is possible. I know it’s possible because I have a few friends who are either at this point or near it and I have been able to see first-hand their process and the work it took. Now that we know this lifestyle is possible, let’s take a look at how money plays a role in it.
Why money matters
Money is fake. A dollar is just a piece of paper that is probably super gross because a bunch of people have been crumpling it up and putting it in their back jean pockets for years. However, the effect money can have on your life is not fake. Money is an incredible tool. A tool that you can use to buy your time back.
A lot of people talk about how you do not need a lot of money and how material things will never buy you happiness. I agree with these statements, but I think they are very drastically underselling the real value of money.
You can use money to unlock a higher quality of life. And I am not talking about going out and buying a nice car or a nice house. That stuff can be fun for a second but provides no lasting impact. I’m talking about paying off debts that having been weighing you down for years. I’m talking about being able to go watch your son’s soccer practice at 2:30 PM because you don’t have to be at a job. I’m talking about being able to provide an experience to someone in your life that you care about deeply that they would never be able to provide for themselves. I’m talking about being able to support your friends financially when they are starting a new venture because you believe in what they are doing. I’m talking about getting guacamole and double meat at Chipotle and not having to check your bank account after. I’m talking about being able to fly home and see your family more than once a year. I’m talking about being able to spend your time working on projects you actually care about. Money is freedom. Don’t use money to buy things, use it to buy your time back, time that you can then spend with people you love doing things you love.
Wrap up
So that was my preach on financial independence. It’s a cool concept, but not easy to achieve. But how can you apply this to your life? I would love if you walked away with a new understanding of what is possible for your life. Before I heard of this concept I had no idea that people lived like this and now that you know it’s possible maybe that will open up your curiosity towards learning how people go about reaching this lifestyle, which is what I’m going to be talking about more in this blog.
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Until next time,
Matt