Earlier this month, I gave a presentation at CampFI – Midwest that I thought might be worth sharing here in a written format. I titled the talk “Create Your Own FI” and the idea was one that I’ve been thinking about for a while – that financial independence (FI) isn’t something that we necessarily have to wait for, rather, FI is something that we can work to create for ourselves right now.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that’s essentially what I’ve been building towards over the past few years. Regular readers of this blog know that even though I worked as a big shot lawyer, I still spent my spare time earning income in ways that, by most measures, was beneath someone of my educational background – things like dogsitting, working as a bike messenger, charging electric scooters, walking dogs, and other similar, seemingly low-level gigs. I obviously could have made more money working as a lawyer, but I found that the money I earned doing these sorts of activities – things that were admittedly simple, but that I actually enjoyed – felt much more valuable to me.
After five years of following the traditional, clear career path, I took a big leap of faith, quitting my job as a lawyer to try my hand at becoming a full-time blogger and gig economy worker. I’m not financially independent. But to some people, it sure seems like I am. I work on my own schedule, do the things I want to do, and instead of my life fitting around my job, it’s now the opposite, where my job seems to fit around my life.
When you think about it, financial independence isn’t about quitting work. It’s about gaining back control of our lives. Jobs have a funny way of taking that away from us, forcing us to change the things we do to fit the contours of our jobs. We end up molding our lives around the often arbitrary requirements of our employer, giving them the best hours of our day and leaving the leftover hours for ourselves. And if we want to change up our day, we have to ask for permission.
It’s this lack of control that I think leads many of us towards the path to FI. It’s not necessarily that we hate working – it’s just that we want to feel like we’re in control of our lives. Sure, you might hear the occasional person say that they want to sit around doing nothing, but the truth is, anyone driven enough to do something way out of the ordinary is probably not the type of person that’s going to sit around doing nothing. And, even if you want to sit around doing nothing…well, it doesn’t take a million dollars to do that.
For a long time, I thought that the only way to financial independence was to slog your way through your working years. Grit your teeth and get through your workweek, save as much as you can, then you can go and do what you really want to do. But the more I learn about the world and how money works, the more I’ve concluded that the slog your way through work path to FI isn’t the way to do it. Instead, we can get there much faster by creating our own FI. That’s what I’m trying to do right now.
Work Isn’t Something To Just Tolerate
One of the big realizations I’ve had over the years is just how much of our life gets spent doing work. No matter how much you want to get rid of the work portion of your life, the fact is, work is going to occupy a huge portion of your life. This is true even if you’re trying to get out of the rat race as fast as possible.
Break down a typical day as an example. Most likely, it looks something like this:
- 8 Hours Sleeping;
- 8 Hours Working; and
- 8 Hours Doing Your Own Thing
When you look at it, most of us spend half of our waking hours working. And that number is likely higher when you factor in commute time and preparing for work. I’d wager that most of us likely spend more of our waking hours working or doing things ancillary to work than we spend doing things for ourselves. Something that takes up so much of our life isn’t something that we should slog through or just tolerate or bear.
And yet, that’s exactly what most of us do. For years, we’ve had a conception of a life that looks like this. Slog your way through 40 years, then you can retire and do what you want.
- School: 0-22 Years Old
- Work: 22-65 Years Old
- Retirement: 65+ Years Old
The financial independence movement brought a major shift in our thinking of work. Rather than work for 30 or 40 years, some people found that if you hustled hard and saved a huge chunk of your income, you could be financially independent and free of required work within a decade or two. Instead of slogging through 40 years of work, you only needed to slog through 10 or 20 years.
- School: 0-22 Years Old
- Work: 22-32 Years Old
- Retirement: 32+ Years Old
But even ten years of just slogging through work seems too long to me when you consider that half of your waking hours during those ten years is spent working. With work being such an important part of our life, I think we should be striving to make life look more like this:
- School: 0-22 Years Old
- Work: Create your own FI doing work that brings you joy and supports your life.
The turning point for me was sometime about a year ago when I took a sick day from work, then spent that day working on this blog at a coffee shop, doing deliveries, and walking dogs. I wanted to do this every, single day. So what was holding me back? Why couldn’t I figure out how to do work that made me happy and made me feel in control?
Work might be something that we all have to slog through in small doses. But if it extends out into years or decades – that’s something that I can’t do.
Remembering Some Important Facts When It Comes To Creating Your Own FI
There are a couple of important facts that I think are worth thinking about when it comes to the idea of creating your own FI, rather than simply slogging your way towards FI.
You are driven. The fact is, if you’re reading a blog like this, you are likely much more driven than the average person. Normal people simply aren’t seeking out information like this. And if you’re the type of person that’s seeking out information like this or is really trying to change your life, chances are, you’re likely the type of person that’s going to be able to figure out some way to earn an income doing something that really lights you up.
Life is long. There’s this strange thing in our society where we push people to figure out what they’re going to do with their life at a really young age. And the things we push people to do are things that we think are safe. Instead of treating life as long, we act as if it’s short. I’ve learned to really appreciate just how long our lives are. We have decades to live, which means we have decades to learn, explore, and discover what really drives us.
Remembering the relative value of money. Objectively, money is money. But in reality, money has very different values to you depending on how you earn it. I never felt particularly satisfied with any paycheck I received as a lawyer. But the money I make on this blog or from my dumb gig economy side hustles have always felt amazing – much more valuable to me than any dollar I ever earned from my prestigious lawyer job. It’s at a point where I’ll even trade less money simply to be able to earn it the way I want to earn it.
It’s faster to build to FI than it is to save for it. If you need $40,000 per year to live, in theory, you’ll need to save $1 million to have it last forever. The question to ask yourself is which is easier – save $1 million by slogging your way there, or simply finding a way to make $40,000 per year doing something that doesn’t feel like work at all? From my own experience, it sure seems easier to build your way to a FI lifestyle than it is to save for it.
Creating Your Own FI
The traditional FIRE path is appealing because, in a lot of ways, it’s similar to the clear, career path – it’s something in front of you that’s easy to see and easy to follow. All you have to do is get a good job, save a high percentage of your income, and then walk away once you hit your number. Anyone can tell you exactly how to do that.
Creating your own FI is harder though. There’s no blueprint you can use, no path you can follow. No one can tell you how to do it. Instead, you have to figure it out on your own.
That means trying things out. Exploring what drives you and what brings you joy. Figuring out who you are and what makes you, you. It’s a scary thing for most people to do.
Financial independence is for everyone. And I think creating your own FI is something that anyone reading this can do. But how you get there – that’s up to you to decide.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:
- GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
- Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($10) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($100) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Upgrade ($100) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on January 31, 2023. As long as you get your account opened before January 31st, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $100 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- OnJuno ($60) – OnJuno is a fintech/neobank that is currently offering a $10 referral bonus if you open an account using a referral link and make a deposit of $50 or more. You will also get 1000 JCOIN. The 1000 of JCOIN is cryptocurrency. At the time I'm writing this, it'll be worth about $50. Check out my OnJuno referral bonus guide here.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
- Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
- Novo Bank. Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. It’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
This is great. I totally resonate with the idea that you should do something you enjoy! Have you seen other folks talk about this part of FI? And, side step the insane hustle?
It’s becoming more popular I think with the Slow FI concept that’s been hitting the blogosphere.
So many great points here. Agree 100% to focus on building over saving — I learned that late in the game but still was able to hit our base level of FIRE within 5 years after making that mindset shift. I also agree that working at what you love is a great FIRE strategy. I do feel like achieving a base level of FI is needed to make bold choices (at least it was for me to have the courage to work on exactly what I wanted instead of projects for money).
I feel like even more than FI, the thing needed to make bold choices is time. Much easier to make bold choices at 20 than at 60. Hear me out here – money for a lot of people often acts as an excuse to not do something because they’re too scared. Instead of admitting that, we just say we can’t because we don’t have enough money.
I agree that when you have more time ahead of you, you have more time to correct any mistakes. That said, internal readiness to act trumps market conditions (even timing). At 48, I have less time to course correct, so I do wish I had invested in real estate earlier and gunned for FI much earlier. That said, I wasn’t in that frame of mind and had other priorities that filled me up. I loved my early career. I happened to marry young b/c I met my now husband in high school (yes, we went to the prom together!). We happened to have kids younger than most of our Northeast friends. So we had different priorities, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Yes, I completely agree with you! I loved reading this post since sometimes, my husband and I are stuck in a loop where work is difficult and takes all of our time. We look forward to financial independence as a way to regain our time back. So we took some steps to change that. We started a blog, he started learning programming to change career paths from ME to web developer. We look forward to weekends where our schedule is our own and no one else’s. So you are absolutely right, it’s not about quitting work, rather it’s about quitting working for someone else.
Reading your post gives me more hope for the future. I only just started working a full-time job myself, straight out of graduate school. 10 years of slogging through work sounds like forever right now. Sometimes, I don’t know if I can make it that long. It feels like quite a sacrifice.
To counteract that, we’re trying to develop other ways of obtaining income. Something that’s within our control. My husband recently took a day off from work, spent it learning to program Java, some gaming, and cleaning up the house. After that, he had a very hard time getting back to work since he loved his day so much. Love this post and the mindset shift that it presents!
Thanks! Keep taking the time to build other things and discovering who you are and what drives you. You never know what’s out there.