Flex your financial muscle

I have previously written about financial independence because it is my goal.  

I have always been thrifty; yet, in my early years no one told me that I could be more financially disciplined and more purposeful with my money. These days, however, I look around my house and instead of stuff, I see money I could have invested. I see days of freedom I would never recover.

How am I going to get rid of all the material junk? This is another question that frightens me. One day, I would like all my belongings to fit in two suitcases. And then a reasonable bank account would propel me into my adventure.

Luckily, some young people today are well aware of what they can achieve financially and how they can achieve it. Some of them even preach it online (see below)! Therefore, my child does not have to follow the road of extreme slavery that describes my everyday life.

For the past three or four years, I have listened to various podcasts on early retirement and financial independence; however, with time, these became a bit repetitive and boring.

Eventually, I switched to videos on investing. At this point, I do not need the impetus that is constantly drummed up in podcasts. All I need is to know more about the tools and the detailed implementation of a successful personal financial plan.

Here are some of the useful (and entertaining) video resources I have found in the past months:

Personal finances, taxes, investing: Money and Life TV with Mike the CPA

Investing, dividends, passive income: Joseph Carlson 

Investing, real estate, practical advice: Graham Stephan

Investing, passive income: Andrei Jikh

If you have kids, let them watch Graham Stephan and Adrei Jikh. After all, peer-to-peer advice is ranked higher than parent-to-child! 

I wish you profitable watching!

The first FI genius in America

The vast majority of us are sick and tired of their jobs, bosses and colleagues.

We all want out. We all want freedom. There is a Peter Pan in each one of us. We still want to play. 


This is why blogs about financial freedom and financial independence (FI) are becoming more and more popular.

But how many of us know the way out of drudgery?

Have you realized that the way out has been carefully obfuscated, made confusing and complicated?

I am reading a great book that confirms my notion that there is a scheme. 

... Deliberately or not, the majority of the population is always kept on the edge of financial insecurity, if not poverty. They are not given the power of knowledge. Financial knowledge.

The ONLY reason is to keep the majority of us working.

 
The book I am reading is The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon S. Wood. Here is a quote from this book that triggered today’s blog post:

“…everyone but an idiot knows that the lower classes must be kept poor, or they will never be industrious.” 
  
Arthur Young, 1771

Well, today some people would be more industrious when un-tethered. But how to achieve the financial freedom? Unless you were a financial major in college, you may never get a few important lessons in finances and mostly, in personal finance. 

Schools skip on the most critical lessons:

1. Life is unfair

2. Your health is your first priority

3. How to master your personal finances

I have previously reflected on the issues with the American educational system (here and here).  I have published on the future of America and its children.

We need to learn the critical lessons on our own, if we are smart and curious enough. The life of Benjamin Franklin is one good lesson that we should not skip on.

Let's find out how Franklin achieved his own financial freedom.

He did so at a relatively young age.  In 1784, at age of 42, Franklin retired from work and took "the path of leisure". He acquired a few slaves and moved to a better, bigger house. 

The leisure for this man, however, was education, experimentation, and Enlightenment. He learned foreign languages: Latin,French, Italian, Spanish, and German. He became a diplomat, statesman, civil activist, politician, scientist, and inventor.

And yet, before all these achievements, he made it financially.

How?

He was a hustler.

Franklin was a tradesman, printer, editor, writer, manager, and shop owner selling books and stationery, soap and cheese. 

He took on any new opportunity to earn money: he became a clerk to the Pennsylvania Assembly and secured for himself the printing business of the organization. 

Later, he became the public printer for New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland. 

He started newspapers and magazines. 

He wrote a famous almanac. 

Served as a postmaster of Philadelphia and this helped his newspaper business.

Partnered with many printers outside Philadelphia: by 1743, Franklin owned three printing firms in different colonies and was in partnership with many others. 

Established many paper mills and became one of the largest paper dealer in the English-speaking world. 

He bought rental properties.

Became a creditor for loans small and big.

Participated in land speculation.


As a result, Franklin's income reached around £2,000 pounds a year.  If £100 in 1784 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £14,755.55, then today, in 2019, Franklin’s annual income would be £295,111 or $372,735.52.

The financial independence achieved by Franklin allowed him to dedicate his talent and capabilities to creative and productive projects, with which he secured his recognition for centuries to come.

The urgency of time

Every morning, we wake up, prep and go into metal contraptions on wheels to get to places that we usually dislike. These “places”, however, pay for our food and roof. So that we can eat, sleep, recover overnight and cycle back to the “places”.

At one point or another, even if we like our jobs, all of us start to ask, “Is this it? Is this my life?”

Even the Mustards, who work for themselves, ask these questions; watch How To Focus On The Good Things In Life! (episode 91):

 
Maybe a few are lucky to find their perfect place of bliss. Mr. Free at 33 moved to Thailand and seems to have found his happy place, where he does not seek answers to nagging questions on the meaning of life.  Or maybe not?


The AstreamLife couple also seems to be content with whatever happens next:

Recently, I decided that it is a waste of time to ask such questions. Don’t we have to live in the moment and pay attention to every second of our life? 

Also, it is best to use the time to create something, rather the consume anything. So, here are a few ground rules for me before New Year.  



What not to do 

1. Do not watch any movies

My goal in the next months is to structure my “free” time in a better way. During “down” time, my first reaction is to become a mindless consumer...

Do not worry, not a material consumer!  I consume free entertainment. Usually, I go on YouTube and watch the most predictable Hallmark movies. It is comfortable to know what will happen, but it is a waste of time. In fact, it might be a waste to watch any movie. I recently took a few DVDs from the library and discovered that my habit of watching YouTube videos at minimum of 1.25x speed has made me intolerant to protracted movie plots. Within the first 10-15 minutes of watching any movie, I find myself reading the movie plot on Wikipedia and stopping the DVD. Decision: stop watching movies.



2. Do not explore how to save more

I have been wasting lots of time listening to podcasts and reading blogs on how to save money, live a frugal life and be a minimalist. I found this to be a waste of time, since I am a natural minimalist and frugal person. Current circumstances do not allow me to downscale further my lifestyle. Therefore, my second decision is to not waste time on anyone’s podcast or blog finding out how to become more frugal.



What to do

1. Assume that your life is better than any of the movie plots and play according to your own script. 

As part of my script, I am very interested in “translating” traditional unhealthy recipes into healthy recipes that would make my family happy at the table. My inspiration comes from Pinterest, newsletters, and even mystery novels! Recently, I read Raspberry Danish Murder by Joanne Fluke:

 The book is full of recipes laden with butter and sugar. I loved the recipe for Raspberry Danish and will try a healthy version with substitutes for some ingredients. I will update the readers whether the result is edible.





 
2. I need to find out how to earn more money beyond my salary. My current salary would not grow, unless there is a miracle. Therefore, I need to look for side hustles. Recently I found this video on side hustles and found it informative: 

I have not tried any of these side hustles mainly because I have no time right now. (A sorrowful excuse, I know.)

Well, this is not my complete list of resolutions. I am still compiling it. It is in progress, as we all need to evolve.  

Evolution is great, but we need to remember that out time on Earth is limited.

Can you be financially independent

I find it inspirational that some people achieve financial independence fast and much younger than me. Yes, I frequently feel stupid due to what I had not known and what I had not done in the past.

Can I change this? No, therefore, I will not dwell on the past.

Here is a new source of inspiration, a podcast about millionaires. Can I achieve what these people have achieved? Again - no!

First, I am already too old. Second, I do not have their income. Third, I have obligations to people I love.

But sooner or later, I know that I can secure a minimum level of finances that can carry me on till I die. I have quite minimal expectations and requirements.

My best case scenario is to put another four years of work and then retire, and do something FUN! I hope that in four years I will still have the spark for life. Despite the warnings of many that I need a good plan for my retirement years, my only plan would be to not have a plan.

Within the next four years, however, multiple plans would run concurrently. The major goal would be to save as much as possible of my income and invest only if the market goes down and I have sufficient cushion of cash. At present, my cash is paltry.

The only problem in surviving the next four years is my attitude. I need to work mostly on my sanity and stay focused on the goal rather than on the daily drama at work.

I also need to re-start my kitchen experiments and post a few failures or triumphs.

My only mantra these days is "This too shall pass".

Overcoming the "me" goals

I am happy to report that this past week I was off duties and able to recover from the frantic and meaningless activities at work. At least four hours a day I did work on a job assignment; however, "working-while-on vacation" is a routine for me.

The time away from the job has given me the chance to redefine (again) my smaller- and bigger-scale goals, learn more about some financial tools, and ruminate on how to align the spiritual with the material.

I hope that you also have had some time around the holidays to ponder about what comes next in your life.

I have also been listening to the podcasts of ChooseFI. I have been reading some of the latest posts of JL Collins and the other FI (financial independence) people (look here).

It is refreshing to learn from a bunch of highly organized, intentional and reflective people how they perceive life and how they prepare for intentional existence. The FI folks truly create the impression of being masters of their lives. They know what their goals are, they know how to get there, they track each step in the journey. 

I have only admiration (and a bit of envy) for these guys. In contrast, the only thing I currently know is that I would love to get out of the current job in four years. However, I have no clear idea on what I will do after these four years. And this means that my journey is not inspired. The goals and my next life destination should be the driving force that fuels me through the years. As of now, I am unsure that I can make it through almost 1500 workdays (that's right, I count weekends too, and with a good reason)!  

My next assignment is to think what comes after the 1500 days, so that I could align the material needs with my spiritual aspirations. The default would be to bum around for some time after I have secured the minimum "survival" income, and then my inspiration might come ... All I know is that my dream is not what is described at the beginning of this podcast:

I would rather visit the local library every week, have a modest and cozy home, and maybe have a garden. And maybe if I am not working even during my "vacation time", I would be able to find myself again and rediscover what truly motivates me? 

I just found the blog of the Wealthy Accountant, and interestingly, this post by him discusses the need for a simple goal when one strives for early retirement.  I still have to work on my own goal by externalizing it, i.e., by making it more about others than myself.  Being cozy and having enough time for books and gardening is great, but it is awfully egotistical.What is your goal?