FIRE. That’s an acronym for financial independence/retire early. It’s something that yours truly takes very seriously. I made it my life’s mission to achieve FIRE. I felt compelled by this, obsessed with it, right down to my core.
I started my mission at the age of 27. And I made it to the finish line at age 33.
By the way, I explain exactly how I achieved financial freedom in just six years in my Early Retirement Blueprint. If you’re interested, you can download a free copy here.
Even after growing up on welfare, not having a college degree, and never having a high-paying job, I still made it to the promised land.
I’ve been living off of dividends since early 2016.
And after more than five years of living off of dividends and essentially being retired early in my 30s, I’ve found that there are a few things that are particularly fantastic about FIRE.
Today, I want to tell you the five best things about being retired early. Ready? Let’s dig in.
One of the best things about being retired early is actually quite straightforward. And it’s not what you get but what you lose.
One of my favorite things about being retired early is not having a boss.
Yep. This is addition through subtraction. Losing the boss was one of the biggest gains in my happiness and overall quality of life. Naturally, if you no longer have a job, you no longer have a boss. Or do you? Maybe I should rephrase that.
Instead of having a boss, you become your own boss.
Who’s the boss? You are. This is huge. Instead of being delegated to, you delegate. Instead of taking tasks, you become the taskmaster. It’s all about personal empowerment, living life on your terms, and doing what you want.
Getting to do exactly what you want to do every single day is a total game changer.
You get to customize your entire life to your specifications. Isn’t that awesome? Look, we’re all different. We all like different things. And what FIRE allows for, is the room for that individualism to come out and express itself. Jobs make you conform to a mission and community that may or may not jibe with what you’re all about. But FIRE is all about being who you are. I love this.
The second thing I really love about being retired early is being able to make your own schedule.
Yes. It’s not just about being your own boss and doing what you want. It’s also about doing it when you want to.
I used to have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning for my car dealership day job. I can’t even begin to explain how miserable it made me to wake up so early. Nowadays? I have no alarm clock. I wake up when I want. Then I get to do what I want, when I want to do it.
Being retired early gives you the freedom to build a schedule that best suits you.
Maybe you’re super productive with hobbies. Maybe you have a more slow-paced life. Like waking up early? You can do that. Like sleeping in late? Up to you. Once you own your time, you get to spend it as you wish.
After all, what could be more worth owning than your time?
I can’t think of a single thing in this world that I’d rather own than my time. And now that I do own it, I’ve been able to build a fantastic, totally customized schedule for myself that balances productivity and leisure perfectly for my own personality. I do exactly what I want, when I want. Being able to build and manage that schedule for yourself is one of the most rewarding things about this entire lifestyle.
Another great thing about early retirement is being able to spend the time with the people you enjoy spending time with.
Maybe you love all of your co-workers. But you probably don’t.
Wouldn’t it be nice to fill your life with the relationships that add to your quality of life? Don’t you love to spend time with certain people more than others? Wouldn’t it be great to cut out certain people who only bring you down with their negativity and drama? This is what early retirement allows for.
I’m talking about doing what you want, when you want, with whom you want.
Relationships can make life so much better. But that cuts both ways. Certain relationships can also ruin your life. Having the ability to pick and choose the best relationships is incredibly powerful and helpful. It’s been said that you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time around.
Why not pick better people and average up?
I’ve been around people that bring me down. And I’ve been around people that lift me up. I’ll tell you, after quitting my job years ago and now being free to pick who I spend time with, I’ve found it profoundly life changing to spend time almost exclusively with people that lift me up and make me a better version of myself.
The next amazing thing about being retired early is being able to live anywhere.
See, being financially independent also means you’re geographically independent.
FIRE is all about freedom. Location independence takes that concept literally, meaning you’re free to actually physically locate yourself anywhere you’d like. I mean, why do most people live in certain places, or move to certain places? When you ask people about why they moved somewhere, they often talk about a job opportunity bringing them there. Other than, perhaps, family reasons, people usually live where they have the best economic opportunities. Well, no job tying you down to a place means you can live anywhere.
This is another level up. This is about doing what you want, when you want, with whom you want, where you want.
Do you like seasons? Prefer a year-round summer? Mountains inspire you? Or maybe the ocean is where you belong? What about infrastructure, taxes, politics, etc.? Whatever it is about a physical place that draws you in, you get to pick and choose. Vote with your feet. Don’t just survive. Go to the place where you’ll thrive.
I currently live in Thailand. But I’m only able to live here because I’m financially independent and retired early.
If I needed a job, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be back in the States. But since financial independence has given me location independence, I was able to move here. A variety of aspects about Thailand appealed to me, including the climate, cost of living, culture, nature, etc. Living in the best environment for who you are sets you up for living your best life.
Another one of my favorite things about being retired early? Finding purpose in your life.
When you’re no longer being told what to do, you’re free to look inside yourself and find out what your purpose is.
It’s all about the “why”. I mean, why did I work at a car dealership for eight years? For the paycheck, of course. Was I put on this planet to spend most of my waking hours at a car dealership? I certainly hope not. That would bum me out if that were my sole purpose. There was no other why for me other than the money. But I now do the things I do because I feel a sense of purpose from all of it, which is only possible once you divorce yourself from the need for a consistent job paycheck via financial independence.
Doing what you want, when you want, where you want, why you want, and with whom you want. That’s the finished product.
Why do you wake up when you do, do the things you do, and spend time with the people you do? If there’s no thoughtfulness or purpose behind any of it, what’s it all for? Achieving FIRE isn’t only about the time and location freedom. It’s also about the freedom to find and fulfill your “why”. And if you think retiring – early or not – is still this antiquated idea where you sit in a rocking chair and await death, you need to get with the 21st century. Quitting your job doesn’t negate the importance of engaging in enjoyable and meaningful pursuits that allow you to remain a productive member of society. If anything, quitting your job only makes that more important.
I once imagined my “perfect” day. Now I live it every day.
You ever see the movie, Groundhog Day? The one where Bill Murray’s character is stuck living the same day, over and over again? Well, I kind of have a life like that. Except my situation is on purpose… and not as funny. I once imagined a perfect day for myself and set out to make it happen. I liked it so much, I now live it every day. My days are very structured and repetitive, filling all of my time with the pursuits that matter most to me and make me happy, like creating content, managing investments, exercising, etc. Warren Buffett has said that he “tap dances” to Berkshire Hathaway headquarters every day. That’s because he experiences a keen sense of purpose in what he does. Make sure you discover your purpose and start tap dancing to whatever and wherever that is for you.
— Jason Fieber
P.S. If you’d like access to my entire six-figure dividend growth stock portfolio, as well as stock trades I make with my own money, I’ve made all of that available exclusively through Patreon.
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