I’ve previously talked about the importance of savings rates – the difference between what you earn and what you spend. It is the most important metric in determining how quickly you can achieve financial independence.
Last year, New Zealand’s household savings rate was an abysmal minus 0.2%. We are bad savers.
No one is achieving financial independence at that rate. In fact, no savings is the definition of the exact opposite. Financial dependence […..]
The best thing about financial independence that I can see is the fact that it provides you with options. You can work where you want and do what you want to do, within reason. You can live your life the way you want to live it. You aren’t forced to work in a job you don’t like. You aren’t forced to put up with a bad boss. Financial independence allows you to make much bolder decisions to move […..]
When you have a lofty goal such as early retirement or early financial independence, it becomes easy for your mind to drift into the future to this magical place.
Focusing on how good things will be later, and how bad things are now. This is an extremely dangerous way of thinking that will lead to not living in the moment and not enjoying life.
Not a good place to be in.
I should know. I was there a few years ago […..]
This is something people that can’t afford to retire like to tell themselves to make them feel better about their situation.
There are some people that will never retire early even if they wanted. I truly believe that there are some people who are born into extremely bad situations. They will make good decisions with all the best intentions but may be dragged down by […..]
The further along I get on our savings journey, the more I realise the importance of designing your life to suit your passions as soon as you can.
At the beginning of the journey I was more than willing to stay at an unfulfilling job for 10 to 15 years. It’s not a bad job, but it also doesn’t spark joy at the risk of sounding like a 4 ft 7 in Japanese woman.
It seemed doable. At the financial independence discovery stage, I was […..]
The first couple of years of discovery of the concept of financial independence is exciting. There are constant changes being made to speed up the journey. Reduction in expenses here, an increase in income there.
You can reduce your potential age of retirement from age 70 to age 50 or even younger, depending on when you start. The huge cut in time required to work is exciting and motivational in itself.
There comes a time though, that once you make all the changes you can possibly make that you start running on auto pilot. The excitement of financial independence, although still there, starts to wane significantly […..]
How often have you heard that or even said it yourself? I know I used to say it ALL THE TIME.
I have always worked in the Operations field. Operations is often a fast paced environment with a lot of preventing, or putting out of fires. It can be stressful at times, and one thing for sure is, it is always busy.
At the end of each working day I would feel like I had worked extremely hard. There was rarely any down time, and I would think to myself “I deserve a treat.” We can’t let all that hard work go to waste can we? […..]
