All in Alternative Lifestyle
Frugality isn’t the only way to make FIRE possible.
Today’s guest post comes from Caroline of Costa Rica FIRE. She shares her story of how she and her husband are achieving FI even though they came to it “late” by thinking and doing differently. You can achieve FIRE even in a high cost-of-living city, even when you have kids, even when you like to spend money. Frugality isn’t the only way to make FIRE possible.
And it all began with one small win.
This is a celebratory post. Back in 2014, my husband and I decided to purchase and finance a brand new vehicle, a Subaru Outback. Today, we just sent in our final payment and are now reeling in that monthly payment free feeling. No more monthly outlay. ::dance::dance::
I have to admit that 18, all I wanted to do was get out of my parents house. Not that I had any issues at home, I just felt I needed some independence. I was pretty lucky because my parents are awesome people. A few years ago, my husband and I came back to live with my parents. It's a strange feeling after being out of the house for over 10 years. So we ended up co-habitating with my parents in our 30s and I have to stay it was not as bad as they say it is. Here are some tips to make the most of this time.
In Behavioral Economics, there is a term called the Pain of Paying in which we feel pain when we have to pay for something. Today, the Pain of Paying is harder to achieve because of new payment options that don’t allow us to experience a loss. How can we use this concept to curtail spending?
A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.
The holidays are a upon us and with it the struggle to find that perfect present. Maybe by now, you’ve told your parents that you don’t need anything. “Please don’t get me anything.” Well, perhaps, it’s time to re-think your holiday wish list and instead ask for a few items that will get you to financial independence sooner. These may be some items you’ve never thought about because when we think of presents, we normally always think tangible items. If you are tired of getting another sweater, time to ask for something better this year. It’s never too early to start planning for your financial future. Whether you are in high school, college or just starting out, a little financial help can go along way.
”Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning.”
I thought I would sit down and see how we can gamify the journey to FI based on existing principles of how to engineer an addictive gaming experience. A game takes effort, takes time and takes a bit of strategy. In a similar vein, managing and optimizing your finances requires as much effort especially if you want to do the unconventional and reach the level of financial independence.
I wanted to share with you this episode of Journey to Launch where I chat with Jamila Souffrant about the relationship between financial independence and sustainable living. I’m very excited to share this. Listen to it on your favorite podcasting platform or click here.
“If you’ve got a billion dollars and you’re not grateful, you’re poor as hell.” - Tony Robbins
So it’s been a few days now since I left the Unleash the Power Within (UPW) seminar with Tony Robbins and I am still reeling. I’m a fan of Tony Robbins and found a lot of amazing insight from his book Money: Master the Game and from watching the Netflix documentary, I Am Not Your Guru, but nothing really prepared me to experience Tony Robbins live.
“It’s been freeing to focus on what works for me rather than what’s wrong with me.”
I just recently finished reading Gretchen Rubin’s The Four Tendencies. In the Four Tendencies, Gretchen Rubin, outlines four different personality types based on how each one deals with inner and outer expectations: Upholder, Obliger, Questioner and Rebel. By understanding our Tendency, we can harness that to find our own internal and external motivations.
“After you leave home, you may find yourself feeling homesick, even if you have a new home that has nicer wallpaper and a more efficient dishwasher than the home in which you grew up.”
Next week, my parents will complete the sale of their home and journey back to the Philippines. Whether they end up staying in the Philippines for the remainder of their retirement or come back is yet to be decided. For the past few months, our entire family has gone through the exercise of cleaning out the house that we’ve called home for the past 23 years.
I don't want to protect the environment. I want to create a world where the environment doesn't need protecting.
Back in June I launched a financial independence blog, not because I wanted to, but because I needed a way to crowdsource the information I haven't been able to find anywhere else on the internet. What is it that I couldn't find on the vast internet, where all the answers to so many of our questions are just a Google search away? Well, no search engine was able to lead me to any websites discussing how people can achieve FI while pursuing a triple bottom line, which equally values people, planet, and profit (3p). I think it can be done, but it's not as straight forward as setting up monthly automatic deposits into low-cost broad based index funds or investing in rental properties and later living off the 4% withdrawal rule, which seems to be the mainstream approach to FI currently.
“Right now, your prosperity is provided by a plentiful supply of clean air, water, food, and energy. Although some of you like to take all the credit for this, it’s really my ecosystem that does all the hard work: the plants, animals, oceans, air currents, and especially the atmosphere. Without these services, you would lose your ability to create the food and products that form your current prosperity.” - Earth, Mr. Money Mustache
My two passions of sustainable living and sustainable investing are merging as I dive deeper into making my money work for me in a way that aligns with my personal values.
“A goal should scare you a little and excite you a lot.”
This past weekend, my husband competed in his first ever half triathlon, let alone his first ever Half Ironman. To say that I am awed and inspired my him and all of the other athletes is an understatement. As I was watching the entire race play out before me, I couldn’t helping think about some of the similarities to the Journey to Financial Independence. So here are my thoughts.
We recently created these postcards as a friendly reminder of the many things we can do today to set ourselves up for financial independence. The 3 Guidelines of Personal Finance is Spend Less, Earn More and Invest the Rest. These are what I also call the 3 Wealth Building Strategies. Do all 3 and you are sure to have a sizeable nest egg to help you fulfill your dreams, but I am going to change the order a bit and actually make it Invest First, Spend Less, Earn More.
The point of FI is social enterprise. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Perhaps, I am being idealistic with thinking that the point of financial independence is social enterprise, but what is the point of putting yourself in a position of financial security, of having time to do what you want? Is the freedom that we all crave all for the sake of building our own islands, separate from everyone else? I would think such a life to be boring and unfulfilled.
“Most people are living in an illusion based on someone else’s beliefs.”
I was a great student in high school and mostly in college. I did what I was supposed to do. I memorized facts. I handed in work on time. Today though, I wish I wasn't a good student. What I am realizing today in my 30s is that being a good student was actually a detriment. I was so caught up in having the right answer that I barely made mistakes. I didn't fail enough to want to keep trying again. I didn't fail enough to be more resilient. I took things just as they were without questioning why. Today, I am unlearning everything.
"A big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what-ifs of life."
I recently came across an article written by Whitney Cummings on the last page of Money Magazine. She talks about her personal money management, but more importantly how she started substituting the word money for the word freedom. So I thought I would compile a list of phrases with this substitution. It's important to note that sometimes changing our language changes our mindset in a whole new way even if we haven't fully internalized it yet. Try these on for size. Speak them out loud. How does saying one versus the other make you feel?
"Our luxury baseline has changed."
This is one of those small quotes that stood out to me from The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money. The quote was in context to the fact that today's and tomorrow's kids have a different baseline for luxury. Their expectations of the world are completely different from ours. Most kids growing up today have everything at their fingertips. While we should be grateful for the new luxuries available today, we should continue to instill good values that allow ourselves and our kids to appreciate the simpler ways of doing things. This is the same for us adults too.
It has always been my parents intention to retire in the Philippines. I have never known them to say otherwise. This year, they will return to our home country and setup a new life there. It’s been an eye-opening experience to watch my parents plan and finally make this goal a reality. I am happy and sad at the same time. Happy that all of their hard work will allow them to do this. Sad that we will be many time zones apart.
Doing so will allow them to take advantage of a concept called geoarbitrage.
Hindsight is always 20/20.
My sister and I (who are in our 30s) recently sat down with our 22 year old sister to talk about finances and lessons learned. This got me thinking about some of the things I would change if I could to get me to financial independence faster. Of course, these are nice to think about and perhaps if I really did come across a time machine, I may change one or two decisions, but I do have to also say that the decisions we make get us to a certain point in our lives and we just need to learn and let live.
