[Many people reach financial independence, quit their job, and then wake up the next morning and think, “Well, now WTF should I do with the rest of my life!?!?”… This is the position my friend Jen recently found herself in, and today she’s sharing all about her journey in this guest post.
Fair warning: It’s a lengthy read! But well worth it if you’re about to hit FI and make a transition in your life. My fav part is the “42 changes we made once discovering FIRE”!! Check it out ???]
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No Earnings For The 12 months
What would you do if you weren’t allowed to make any cash over the subsequent yr?
This was the query that was posed to me on my flight to a 3-week journey in Oaxaca, Mexico, and it was a query that has modified the course of my post-FI life.
Our pals, Alan and Katie Donegan (of the famed Rebel Business School and Rebel Entrepreneur Podcast) have been going to spend a month within the colonial metropolis of Oaxaca, Mexico – house of the scrumptious chocolate flavored Mole and Mezcal (so clean that you simply hardly bear in mind consuming it!).
The Donegans have been inviting the group to go to them throughout their nomadic travels. My husband, Scott, and I have been prepared for an journey! We needed to spend time with fellow FI pals, eat some wonderful meals (I imply actually loopy good meals), and have conversations that stuffed our souls.
I give up!
I used to be 6 weeks into having give up my company job after we set out on this journey with the prospect of assembly a tremendous group of entrepreneurs within the picturesque valley of Oaxaca. I’d spent the final 29 years in Company America working lengthy hours and placing in my time. That is what I used to be educated to do and by no means actually questioned it. All of us should do one thing to earn a living, proper?!?
I had unquestionably signed up for that life of labor that by no means actually fulfilled me. I used to be considerably all in favour of what I had been doing, however I by no means related my job with a goal or the values of the corporations that I used to be employed at. I’m tremendous conscientious, so I might at all times do a wonderful job, my employers liked me, and the years rolled on.
I see the sunshine!
When my husband and I discovered the FIRE group in 2018, it was as if a fog had lifted and we have been seeing clearly for the primary time. At this level we have been in our late 40’s and the precise hope of retirement, or at the least strolling away from jobs that have been not offering pleasure in our lives, appeared like a risk.
I went fairly laborious core and checked out all the pieces that we have been spending, saving, doing and never doing and determined to make little modifications to quite a lot of issues in our life. I got here up with an inventory of 42 issues that we modified in 2019 and was amazed on the impression that small, incremental, compounding modifications may make in our monetary and private life. (I attempted for 50 issues, however underachieved on that, sorry!)
42 modifications we made after we found FIRE
- Modified cellphone plans – saved 75%. Modified from AT&T to Mint Cell.
- Minimize grocery invoice by 32% from prior yr, which was down 56% from 2016
- Lowered automotive fuel prices
- Maxed out each of our job 401K plans
- Our aspect hustles coated our bills
- Canceled cable – 100% financial savings
- Removed our land phone line – 100% financial savings
- Didn’t get a brand new telephone after I cracked my display screen & had it changed as an alternative – 91% financial savings
- Canceled my fastened annuity and transferred the cash to Vanguard – priceless!
- Opened Vanguard retirement accounts and moved all different brokerage accounts to VTSAX
- Began journey rewards with the Chase Gauntlet
- Signed up for Couchsurfing. We hosted & did our first Couchsurf
- Pet sitting on the Trusted Housesitters platform. We did 7 sits in 2019
- Began an Etsy retailer as a mini-experiment to check if I may promote one thing on-line.
- Began a weblog Meet Up Group in Los Angeles
- Signed up for time period life insurance coverage for me and my husband
- Paid off my automotive mortgage = 100% financial savings
- Modified web suppliers and bought 2X the velocity for a similar value. Went from AT&T to Spectrum.
- Canceled my third occasion incapacity coverage
- Canceled Netflix
- Paid off all our bank cards
- Changed greeting playing cards & birthday playing cards with a free different
- Lowered my present spending by making home made items vs shopping for items
- City foraging in our neighborhooda. Picked & cured olives
a. Picked & cured olives
b. Picked tons of fruit and made home made jam that we used for items - Lowered our automotive insurance coverage by 22%. Went from Allstate to Mercury Insurance coverage. Used Policy Genius
- Shopped householders insurance coverage and decreased it by 29%. Went from Allstate to Mercury Insurance coverage. Used Coverage Genius right here as properly.
- Shopped a brand new umbrella coverage
- Modified how we hosted events and went to potluck fashion gatherings
- Labored on getting our meals prices right down to $2 per individual per meal
- Began decluttering our home
- Date evening at Complete Wine & Extra the place they’ve wine & beer tastings for $0.05!
- As a substitute of going out to eat at a restaurant, we’d do a picnic in a park as an alternative
- We like rice & beans!
- We did a Hyatt Place factors redemption at New 12 months’s for some pals that was 12,000 factors for a $650/evening lodge room!
- Used journey factors for our Christmas journey
- Hit $1M in internet value, together with our aspect hustle
- Lowered our electrical invoice by hold drying our garments, hand washing dishes, and pet sitting (so we weren’t round as a lot)
- Made our personal heirloom grass-fed yogurt. Method cheaper than retailer purchased. I really like this brand, it’s tremendous simple and no heating up of the milk, countertop methodology.
- Continued to make our personal bread and granola.
a. Bread: I really like the no-knead bread recipes on the market. Really easy & good!
b. Granola: I simply combine oats, honey, peanut butter, and salt for my granola. - Achieved a 50%+ financial savings price
- Signed up on Private Capital & Mint to trace our internet value
- 1 Bucket Budgeting. We pay ourselves $4,000 monthly and stay off of that. We’ve a cushion in that account for uncommon bills or 1x per yr bills which may hit in a month, however it all shakes out by the tip of the yr.
Freedom is close to
I felt empowered for the primary time in my life and had a reasonably clear path for when my husband and I may step away from our company jobs. We had learn weblog posts and spoken with individuals within the FIRE group in regards to the false impression that it was going to be all unicorns & rainbows as soon as we reached FI. We heard that it was higher to be transferring towards one thing, not away from work that you simply don’t like.
Listed here are some influential posts/podcasts that actually helped us with post-FI expectations:
2020
Effectively, 2020 hit and everyone knows about that. I used to be “lucky” to have work that saved me busier than ever in the course of the pandemic and the busier I grew to become, the increasingly depressing I used to be. I might simply burst out crying in the midst of the day for no obvious purpose. Okay, hormones is likely to be a part of it too, however I used to be executed, spent, bored with doing the identical issues day out and in.
I’m a quitter
I might be a lunatic to give up my job now with a lot uncertainty on the planet, proper? In the beginning of 2020 we had determined to check dwelling off the revenue from our aspect hustle and we have been doing that efficiently. We had sufficient revenue from our enterprise to exchange our present dwelling bills. We have been FI proper? Effectively, it didn’t really feel that approach, so I saved working and dealing.
In some unspecified time in the future in late 2020, I suppose I simply hit a wall. I’m not actually positive what modified or how I modified or why I modified and it didn’t matter.
I used to be executed with doing work that not fulfilled me.
I used to be executed with simply working to earn a dwelling.
I used to be executed with spending my valuable time on this planet doing issues that not had which means or goal in my life.
I used to be executed, that was it.
It was easy as soon as I internally got here to that call and the trail grew to become clear. Simply give up!
So I did.
I gave discover the primary week of January 2021. Being the tremendous conscientious person who I’m, I even gave 2 months discover! I had thought of giving 3 months discover, however that appeared extreme. Unicorns & Rainbows, right here I come!
Facet Be aware: 10 days after my final day of labor, I bought a name from my former employer asking me if I might take a not too long ago opened place (which I might have NEVER been provided if I hadn’t give up) for 50% extra pay and as much as 100% extra pay with bonuses!
Really! REally! REAlly! REALly! REALLy! REALLY!
You could have bought to be kidding me! A yr earlier than, I most likely would have taken it. However it was not in regards to the cash. My husband and I made a decision we have been going to prioritize happiness and high quality of life, and any such work not match into both of these classes. So, the reply was truly simple, it was NO! (I can’t lie, did have a pang in my abdomen although and a fast flash of all of the $$ did cross my thoughts. It was fast, however it was nonetheless there).
Submit-FI = Sitting round consuming Bon Bons
I feel I felt like we have been considerably ready for a post-FI life and that every one of our unhappiness of doing work that was not fulfilling wouldn’t be solved in a single day. I used to be constructing some house and freedom to discover new issues that will mild me up. Actually, I simply needed to sit down round and eat Bon Bons all day! That seemed like a scrumptious plan!
Oh, by the best way, that was my first mission as soon as I give up my job. Since I’m a “doer” and wish to get issues executed and verify stuff off a To Do Listing, I made a decision that my first week of retirement was to learn to make Bon Bons. I examine easy methods to mood chocolate, I borrowed some molds, purchased all of the elements and set out on changing into the subsequent chocolatier! Effectively… to make an extended and messy story quick, I had chocolate everywhere in the kitchen, in my hair, on the sunshine change, and so on. Let’s simply say that my new life as a grasp chocolatier resulted in one quick week. The results of this little mini-experiment was some good treats and I had enjoyable within the course of, however I used to be not going to construct an empire making or promoting chocolate. I would depart that to the professionals! I found that I actually similar to consuming chocolate, not making chocolate!
The chocolate theme continues…
So, our Oaxaca journey was deliberate for six weeks after I used to be executed working. I did the chocolate factor, frolicked and relaxed, practiced some yoga, slept in, visited some family and friends, did a pet sit in Portland, Oregon, and was having fun with my post-FI life. I used to be prepared for my subsequent “factor”! Yep, I had rested and was prepared to start to make some cash, as a result of that’s what I’ve been educated to do for virtually the final three many years.
Oaxaca would have all of the solutions – the appropriate group of individuals to assist craft and mould the subsequent three many years of my life.
NIFTY (No Earnings For The 12 months)
Have you ever ever been posed a query that leaves you speechless? You’ll be able to’t make up a solution on the fly and you discover out that you’ve got by no means even provided that query any thought?
Simply days after my 51st Birthday, that is what occurred to me on my flight right down to Mexico. As destiny would have it, I sat subsequent to a fellow participant of the group of entrepreneurs and other people from the FIRE group that have been gathering to spend time collectively, deepen our friendships, and proceed to construct a group of like-minded individuals. The query that stumped me (after I had expressed how I had just about reached monetary independence, had retired from my W-2 revenue and was prepared to start out one thing new after 6 weeks of relaxation from 3 many years of labor was):
What would you do if you weren’t allowed to make any cash over the subsequent yr?
This straightforward however deep query was what set the tone for the remainder of my journey.
I didn’t have a solution.
I noticed deep down this was a greater query to be asking myself fairly than simply leaping into the subsequent factor that caught my fancy. In some unspecified time in the future within the journey, whereas I used to be engaged on this query, I noticed that if I had simply jumped into no matter gave the impression to be enterprise concept that in 3 years or possibly 5 years (if I used to be fortunate) that I might find yourself in the identical spot as I used to be proper now. I might be burnt out, working to work, and simply checking issues off my To Do record since that’s what I knew easy methods to do. I had not given myself the time and house to determine what I needed my subsequent 3 many years to appear to be.
Stress valve launched
By permitting myself to take a break, I imply an actual break, like don’t pursue something for the subsequent yr sort of break, it truly took the strain off. Throughout this journey, I didn’t have to fret about pursuing a enterprise enterprise and I may simply calm down, have some enjoyable, and luxuriate in life. What!?! Actually, I used to be allowed to do that?
Now the laborious work was to start!
WTF do I do with the remainder of my life?
Now that I had a brand new query to reply, I had created the time and house for myself to work on this – in between consuming tacos, mole and sipping some mezcal – I used to be stumped AGAIN! How on earth do I determine what I ought to do over the subsequent yr that doesn’t contain making an attempt to start out a enterprise and never making an attempt to earn a living…once more?
I don’t declare to have all of the solutions, however that is what I got here up with primarily based on conversations with Scott, listening to podcasts, studying and talks with the wonderful group of people in Oaxaca that every one helped information and present me a path.
I began by itemizing out all of the questions that I had give you and sorta prioritized them so I may deal with just some to start out with. Listed here are the Prime 3 Questions that I labored on to start with:
- If I’m NOT allowed to earn cash for the subsequent yr, what’s going to I do?
- What’s my goal in a single phrase? How can I stay my goal 24/7?
- Write my eulogy. Okay, this isn’t a query, however you get the place I used to be going.
I’m simply going to deal with #1 on this submit, however I discovered that engaged on #2 & #3 actually helped throughout this course of and located the next podcasts actually useful in engaged on my goal and eulogy:
Values / Precedence
I began with an inventory of my values: Well being, Serving to others, Follow of Gratitude, Time for myself, Journey, and Issues that mild me up.
I feel I made some loopy phrase affiliation charts and tried to attach them, bought myself all confused and was much more clueless on what to do with all that data! I feel, I used to be making an attempt to suppose it an excessive amount of and didn’t actually let it move.
So then, my buddy had me select of my loopy move chart my high 5-6 values and record them in two columns:
- Values for myself
- Values for others
Then, I needed to decide 1 worth for myself … simply 1. This train went from “priorities” to “precedence.”
Well being
My precedence was now my well being and time for myself (see how I snuck 1 additional in there, they’re related, proper? ;))
Now, what would that appear to be? It took me a little bit bit to work this out, however this precedence assertion is what I ended up with:
Prioritize time for my entire well being: bodily, psychological & emotional
That is now my precedence for the subsequent yr whereas I’m not “allowed” to earn a living. This has truly confirmed to be more durable than I believed, however that could be a weblog submit for one more day.
Driving within the sluggish lane
So, that is the place I’m at present. I’m not precisely positive the place I’m headed with my new precedence assertion or how it will all shake out, however this provides me some areas to focus on whereas I proceed to decompress and take time for myself. What’s the frenzy? I’ve discovered it laborious to decelerate and it’s been laborious making an attempt to not “fill my day” with issues in order that the day feels full, like in my working life. I’ve determined that it’s okay to have an empty calendar in order that I can create house and time for my Complete Well being. I’m making an attempt to solely have a most of two scheduled actions per day and the remainder of the day is open and fluid. This has confirmed to be laborious, however I’m slowly engaged on this and making an attempt to not overbook myself.
I’ve realized that I do properly when I’ve accountability to others, so that is what I’m planning on doing as my subsequent steps on this means of my #1 Precedence: Me.
- Bodily Well being:
a. Pilates: I joined a yoga studio and have scheduled a killer Pilates class 3 days every week to work on my core.
b. 1 Pull Up Problem: My objective is to have the ability to do 1 Pull Up this yr. I discovered this blog that has development plan for a pull up since I’m weak like a kitten…properly shut sufficient. - Psychological Well being:
a. Mastermind Teams: I’m collaborating in two Mastermind teams. I began one with the ladies from our Oaxaca journey and have arrange calls to help one another as we’re every going via numerous levels in our lives. By participating with those who need to assist and help one another, we will all be taught and develop.
b. Worth Assertion: I’m making an attempt to determine what’s necessary to me. I’ve not spent any time actually digging into what I worth and the way I need to prioritize my time and vitality. Any sources you understand of to assist with this? Hey, in case you have learn this far on this long-ass weblog submit, possibly you may have some strategies? - Emotional Well being:
a. Construct Group: Submit COVID, and after a yr of partial isolation, it has turn out to be clear to me that reaching out to pals and spending time with household is a technique to fill my emotional bucket. I’ve made 9 journeys within the seven months since I give up my job! Yep, Loopy! It was a mixture of visiting household for a number of weeks at a time and visiting pals I hadn’t seen in a very long time.
We had a few pet sits as properly, which have been an effective way to reconnect with pet vitality and a chance to remain at some wonderful properties on the identical time. Humorous factor is, each our pet sits this yr have been for Mexican avenue canines…the Mexico theme continues! If you wish to help an incredible trigger take a look at the Alamos Dog Foundation, they rescue canines off the streets in Alamos, Mexico.
We plan on persevering with to pick pet sits throughout the US over the subsequent yr as we journey to go to family and friends. We’re exploring driving Previous Route 66 in Spring 2022. Who is aware of, my father has a 1955 Pontiac and possibly we’ll drive that beast throughout America?!?! Is perhaps extra of an journey than we’re prepared for! I simply need to discover the perfect apple pie on Route 66! May not be good for my waistline, however it might be a scrumptious technique to expertise the open highway! Any strategies?
A protracted winded wrap up
Now that cash is not the driving pressure in my post-FI life, I hope that by the tip of 2022 my NIFTY Venture can have provided me another path. I would like my subsequent 3 many years to be a life stuffed with intention, which means and pleasure. Making small intentional and incremental modifications actually does transfer the needle.
So…what would you do if you weren’t allowed to make any cash over the subsequent yr? How would you spend your time and who would you spend it with?
Be properly & Cheers!
Jen
Joel is a 35 y/o Aussie dwelling in Los Angeles and the man behind 5amjoel.com. He loves waking up early, discovering methods to be extra environment friendly with time and cash, and sharing what he learns with others. Rise Early | Retire Early!