Over the past several years, my portfolio has grown considerably through a combination of good returns plus regular savings and contributions. These days, I’m comfortably in the Coast FI stage of my financial independence journey, where my portfolio is large enough that it should grow enough to cover my expenses at traditional retirement age, even […]
Financial Independence
The Beauty Of Coast FIRE
The financial independence movement changed my life, but funny enough, I don’t really consider financial independence an important part of my life these days. Maybe my life has changed too much now that I have two kids and a lot of expenses to deal with (mortgage, daycare, etc). In any event, the idea of financial […]
An Ebike Could Be The Best Investment You Ever Make
If you’re involved in the financial independence community, you’re probably someone that’s willing to think outside the box. You have to be willing to do this when you think about it. After all, we’re trying to do something that most people don’t even think is possible – reach financial independence and make work optional decades […]
Lean FIRE: The Option If You Just Can’t Wait To Escape The Grind
The FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early) works on a simple premise. Save and invest enough money and eventually, you’ll have enough that your investments can support your lifestyle. As the FIRE movement has grown and evolved over the years, different sub-categories of FIRE have been defined. I’ve written about two of my favorite types […]
How I Gave Myself Permission To Try
It’s been over two years since I quit my job and started following a different path, making a living using my own wits, rather than relying on an employer for my livelihood. These days, I earn my living by writing and doing gig economy work. It’s not a glamourous life, but it’s an enjoyable one for me.
Making this big leap wasn’t something I did overnight. It took years of work – work that came with no guarantees.
You have to give yourself permission to try, even when you’re trying something with an uncertain outcome. Here’s how I gave myself that permission.
Do The Weird Things Now Because One Day You Won’t Be Able To
This past year has been one of the craziest of my life – not just because of the pandemic, but also because of how much my life has changed. Of course, I’ve had big life changes before. Graduating from law school, starting my first job, getting married, quitting my job to pursue self-employment – all […]
The Myth Of Diversification – And Why It Means It’s Okay To Take Chances
A common piece of wisdom is to never put all of your eggs in one basket. This makes a lot of sense. None of us knows what the future holds, so the only way to deal with the unknown is to give ourselves a lot of outs. If one thing doesn’t work out, maybe something […]
Lifestyle Inflation Is Okay – Just Let It Happen On Your Terms
Lifestyle inflation is what happens when you earn more money, and in turn, spend more money. It’s a natural part of life, but one that is often viewed as a negative to wealth building. And it’s true. If your income grows, but you spend all of it, you’ll never be able to build wealth. In […]
The Parallels Between College Life And Financial Independence
I’m not financially independent, so I can’t say what financial independence really feels like. But what I do know is that the things that made me happy in school are pretty similar to the things that I want out of financial independence. Here are a few things that come to mind.
The Fluctuating And Gameable Net Worth Number
In the financial independence community, net worth means everything – or if not everything, it means a lot. When I started this blog five years ago, I actually went into it intending to regularly track and share my net worth each quarter. I ended up writing two quarterly net worth posts before I ultimately shelved […]
