1500 Days to Freedom

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Six Months of Financial Independence: The Good, The Rad and The Ugly

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Ask the Readers takes a break this week. Instead, I’ll review my first six months of financial independence.

2017.4.7: Second to last week of work. I took this picture of the Chicago skyline from the top of the parking garage on a visit to my office.

The other night, I had a bizarre nightmare. I was with my co-workers at my old work site, begging to get my job back. I felt terrible for quitting.

The nightmare disturbed me so much that I woke up. I eventually went back to sleep, but couldn’t stop thinking about the bad dream the next morning.

Did I really miss my job?

2017.4.13: Hours after I logged off for the final time.
Left: Shipping my work laptop back. Right: I included some dinosaur stickers for the tech who had to deal with this awful PC.

So Far…

I worked with an incredible group of people. My co-workers were a smart and fun bunch. I admit that I miss the camaraderie.

However, I don’t miss my job. I have no regrets about leaving. So far, my life is better without it.

Did you catch the loaded words in that last sentence? Here they are in case you missed them:

so far

I used these words with intention because early retirement is really just an ongoing experiment:

  • Hypothesis: Having more time to spend on my own projects will make for a better life.
  • Experiment: Quit my job and do whatever I want between 8am and 3pm when the girls are in school.
  • Anticipated results: Life will be better. But what is better? Is it happiness? Is happiness success? How do I measure success in early retirement? More on that in a moment.

I’m only 6 months into the experiment, so it’s much too early to discuss final results. However, this is a good time to stop and take a first assessment.

2017.5.7: Drinks on the beach in Florida

 

Six Months into Financial Independence: The Good, The Rad and The Ugly

The Good

Exercise: Every morning, the girls and I walk to school. It’s a mile away, so by the time I get back, I’ve already walked two miles which is a perfect warm-up for what comes next. After my walk, I either bike into the mountains, run around the neighborhood or do a P90x workout.

I’m in great shape, maybe the best of my life

  • When I left work, I weighed 173 pounds and was at 23% body fat. I’m at 155 now and my body fat is about 18%. I still have some more weight to lose (148 is my goal), but I’m almost there.
  • A couple of weeks ago, for the first time in my life, I did 10 pull-ups. See the proof on video here.
  • I can run a 5k in under 30 minutes.
  • I walk about 20,000 steps per day. Today, I’m near the beach in San Diego and did 40,000 (~18 miles).

The library is my second home: I love to read and the library has become my second office. Also, I like a change of scenery and working at home all day is boring. I usually bike or walk to the library in the afternoon.

I don’t miss the dollars: I was a computer programmer and earned a healthy income. Those big paydays were pretty great. Even though I didn’t need the money the last year of my job, I still enjoyed the earnings. However, I don’t miss the money now. Maybe this is because Mrs. 1500 makes enough so that we don’t have to use our savings?

As our investment portfolio nears $1,500,000 and our net worth nears $2,000,000, worries about money are fading away. Only 5 years, ago, I’d wake up a cold sweat, terrified of going broke. The best way to conquer money insecurity is to save a big pile of it.

 

The Ugly

If you’re paying attention, you see that I’m going out of order. The Ugly was supposed to come after The Rad. Don’t worry; I did this on purpose. It will all make sense in a moment.

Health over hops. On most days.

Unhealthy habits! I confine poor diet choices to social situations. And by poor diet choices, I mean beer. This would have worked well in the past because my social interactions were restricted to weekends.

One of the pleasant benefits of FI is that my social life has improved exponentially. I hang out with random friends every day of the week now. And we frequently have out-of-town folks stay with us for extended periods of time.

With my healthy social life came unhealthy food and beer consumption. This is just a matter of self-control that I continue to work on.

One thing that helped greatly is a fitness tracker. It helps me hold myself accountable and I love challenging myself to get out and walk.

Happiness: This is a big one. The most important one. And I totally failed. I thought that I’d be instantly happier after I left my job. This is what actually happened:

I wasn’t any happier. I felt the exact same.

I just assumed that stepping away from my job would increase my baseline mood. While my life is better, automatic happiness didn’t happen.

Before I elaborate, I must say that I don’t like the word happy, at least not when describing long-term state of mind. When I think of happy, I think about laughing at a joke or the feeling after a great conversation with the wife. Or, other activities with the wife…

Happy is short term and silly. What I’m seeking is a long-term, change of baseline state.

Contentment is a better word. Bright, joyful and optimistic are good too. And none of these words describe me. I’ve since realized that I can be content/ bright/ joyful/ optimistic, but it won’t come without introspection and work.

Note: Since I originally started writing this post in August, something else changed and I figured something out about myself. This is a post in itself. More later…

2017.6.8: Dinosaurs hanging out at PoF’s little piece of Michigan paradise

 

FI: The Rad

Start them young

Kids: I already mentioned that I get to walk the kids to school. When I had a job, I never had time for this. It’s an incredible way to start the morning, even though my daughters complain fiercely before the walk:

Why can’t we just drive dad?! What’s the point of having a car?

However, halfway into it, we’re having a great time. We talk about our plans for the day and look for frogs in the stream next to the road. There is also evidence to show that physical activity in the morning helps with school.

I’m so thankful that I have the time to walk to school and enjoy other activities with the family.This makes financial independence worthwhile alone.

Travel: Over the summer, we spent 41 days on the road. We went to Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maine, Vermont, New York City and Scotland.

6.1.2017: Beering around the wilds of Minnesota with the PoF

Limitless, spontaneous possibilities: My friend Alan came to town to run his excellent PopUp Business School for two weeks. As great as PopUp is, I wouldn’t have attended if I had to burn vacation time at a job.

One morning, I decided to go for a hike at Rocky Mountain National Park, just because that’s what I felt like doing that day.

Sunrise in the Rockies

I love that my hours are now a blank slate. It’s awesome being able to wake up and do whatever I feel like doing. No two days are the same.

Writing (and other work): I’ve saved the best for last. Writing is my passion. This is what I was meant to do. I wake up early to write. I stay up late to write. When I go for long walks alone, I’m thinking about writing. While I’m still very much an amateur, I improve every day that I write. I’m so thankful that I get to do this.

The Internet Retirement Police may call my writing a job or work. And they’d be right. This task that I perform makes money. However, the first 3 years that I worked on the blog, I made under $100. It was a passion project and still is. Call it work if you want to, but I’d much rather be doing this than watching TV, shopping, reading celebrity gossip or whatever some others consider fun activity.

 

FI Life is a Worthy Goal

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. -Lao Tzu

Becoming financially independent wasn’t easy. I worked many 80 hour weeks.

However, it was worth it. I can’t think of anything more worthwhile than living life according to your own rules. Even though this is an experiment in progress, I know that my life is better.

And if the experiment proves otherwise, I can always go back to a full-time job. At this point, I don’t see it happening. The thought of going back to work now is about as appealing as a tetanus booster shot or a kick in the nuts. No thanks.

It took me six months, but I’ve found my groove. Life is now a satisfying balance of family time, exercise, writing, social activity, coding, reading and travel.

Now that I’ve freed myself from the obligation of full-time work, I’ve gravitated to who I really am. I can be who I’m meant to be and do what I’m meant to do. I’m a writer and entrepreneur. At the core, I derive the most satisfaction when I’m building.

I’m thankful that financial independence has allowed me to figure this out.

Onward and upward!

-Carl

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Comments

  2. Great write up Carl. Guess reaching FI is different for everyone depending on the road you had to take to get there. That being said, also the things you plan (and not plan) to do during FI will affect your happiness and further actions.
    Happy to read that you do enjoy FI and think it was a great thing to strive to (and achieve), gives me some extra motivation 🙂
    Enjoy!
    Team CF recently posted…September 2017 Savings RateMy Profile

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  3. I’m impressed by the 20K steps and the P90x. Nowadays, with the blogging, I only get to do 7K steps instead of the 10-15K steps I was doing pre-blogging ??.

    And I tried P90x a couple of years ago and quit after a month ???.

    Sounds like you are having lots of fun in your retirement, getting healthier, following your passions, spending more time with the family,…You inspire the rest of us are still working/slaving ?.

    99to1percent recently posted…15 Frugal Ways To Prepare For An Emergency
    https://99to1percent.com/15-frugal-ways-prepare-emergency/

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  4. Another great dose of what’s soon to come. Love this. Thank you!

    Especially love the “other activities with the wife” comment. Haha! Subtle sonuvagun. What really resonates though is your point about happiness. I have to be careful not to fall into the trap you are warning about here. You can easily be “happy” while still working or pursuing FIRE. Comes down to mindset, right? Contentment is a perfect word to describe “early retirement”. What will I do between 8AM and 3PM? Anything but being stuck in a cube, and fighting godawful traffic, that’s for damn sure.

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    • Cubert, I thought of you when I wrote that line. I was inspired by your mention of 5am opportunities!

      And yeah, mindset. Having gratitude and living in the moment are important here.

      Reply

  6. what a great post! I appreciate your honesty in your writing, you are definitely finding your grove with this writing stuff.
    I’m seeing this a lot lately, that once one reach’s FI they assumes they will be happy and life will suddenly be perfect. Best to find something you enjoy while working, hobby/ volunteer work/ side hustle that can carry on into” post mandatory work”….( catch that, I almost said” into retirement” Haha)

    Cheers

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  7. Very nicely put! I’m a bit older than you, but I went through many of the same things when I FIREd back in 2012. Although my youngest son was in college, so no walking to school. 🙂

    I found the exact same thing with a baseline level of contentment. I was initially ecstatic, but then returned to my normal state.

    I also walk to the library everyday the weather permits. I can never get enough free books!
    Mr. Freaky Frugal recently posted…Retirement Savings Emergency!My Profile

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  8. I had some work dreams early on. They were kinda like the dreams I used to have after college where I totally forgot about exams and then showed up in my underwear, or something along those lines…

    Maybe it’s the time that’s past, or these incredible markets, but I don’t stress about having to go back to work anymore. I don’t know if I could bring myself to go back to the same job anyway.

    Life certainly still has it’s ups and downs, but I’m finding it leaps and bounds better than work. Just the anxiety levels alone are enough. And like you mentioned, the random opportunities are awesome!

    While building my green house, I met an older Italian neighbor who also has one. He’s been teaching me gardening tricks, wine making, and how to cook Italian (hint it involves lots of olive oil!) All opportunities right in my neighborhood that would have passed me by if I was still in my cube 🙂

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  10. Man thanks for this article ! I really appreciate and value your insight on early retirement. You provided both inspiration and great advice. Congratulations on your conquered goal of Financial freedom. Me as well hope to expirance it in the near future. Thanks Carl !

    Reply

  12. Great post. Really good point about happiness. While FI is in the distant future I often assume that I’ll be “happy” once I reach there. Sure, I’ll be happy that I won’t have to wake up early and have a long commute to work…I’ll have time to walk my kids to school, but that in itself won’t make you happy, at least sustainably happy. Contentment is definitely the better word. Also, I got to find something I’m passionate about to do to fill my time.

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  14. Your thoughts about being ‘happy’ (why didn’t it just happen right after you quit?!?!), finding longer term contentment, and doing some introspection and self-work really stuck with me. While still working (getting out of debt yet), I’ve already begun that hard self work, and there are some [most] days I just wish that I could stay home and work on this thing or that thing that is bothering me. Let me sit in meditation with it, day after day, and let me go out in to the world, and try to really get inside the issue at hand, come to terms with it, work through it… and move on feeling better with myself. But with 40-50 hours a week spent for work, and having errands/duties/etc on top of that, plus getting 8-9 hours of sleep per night..I’m lucky if I get maybe a few hours a week for me. People tend to misunderstand that it’s not a time management issue – it’s a too-much-time-spent-at-work problem. You wouldn’t have been able to walk your children to school by managing your time better.. There’s only so much that can be done. I’m glad to hear that you have been doing this learning about the self and I sincerely look forward to that other post you had come up with about what you discovered.. 🙂

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  15. Love this: “…it’s a too-much-time-spent-at-work problem.”

    Sooo true! There are only so many hours. If you don’t have a rich life, it may be easy to fit it in. On the other hand…. This brings me to some bad news for you: I don’t have a job and I still can’t fit it in! 🙂

    Life is better, but if I didn’t have to sleep for 8 hours, maybe then I’d have enough time. Probably not.
    Mr. 1500 Days recently posted…Six Months of Financial Independence: The Good, The Rad and The UglyMy Profile

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  16. i just this summer went from completely overworked to about the proper level of work. even though we just about have what we need to leave the workforce and some contingency plans i don’t want to stop something that is fairly low impact on our lives that pays pretty well until i know how i can spend the days that will come with not reporting to work. it was easy to consider when work life was awful, but this contrasting situation changes the thought process. i’ll have to try a trial run with a week or two stay-cation before pulling the trigger. good post, amigo.

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  17. Great retrospective of the first 6 months of FI. I have no doubt this will be an evolving process for you. I think the key is to remember that FI gives you the freedom and opportunity to be open to new endeavors if you so desire.

    I agree with you, as a society we’ve become too fixated on the “happy”. We’re bombarded with the idea that if you’re not happy all the time you must do something to fix that right away, and all too often the “prescribed” method of fixing it is through some pill, mindless entertainment or some similarly artificial means. In the end that leads to even further discontentment and unhappiness as people become numb in the face of constant exposure. This is why MMM’s recent post “Seek Not to be Entertained” struck a chord with me. I think contentment, satisfaction, gratitude and fulfillment are better things to strive for and think about.

    Reply

    • Yep, it’s all relative. If we were happy all of the time, it would wear off and become meh. So yeah, the key is bring up your baseline state a little bit. Complain less, always seek the good in people, be optimistic, have gratitude and live mindfully. I think that if one can do all of these things, they can bring up their baseline state. However, it’s a lot of work, at least for someone like me who isn’t naturally this way.

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  19. So after thoroughly enjoying this post, I’m trying to figure out why I find your writing style so damn endearing. A lot of it is the candor – the admission that FI is not all unicorns and rainbows. There’s also the very human vulnerability – the persistent stress dreams and drinking more / working out less than you idealized, without ever abandoning those goals. There’s the affable eccentricity of a DIY blog – occasional f-bombs, photos that were taken with care but not professionally.

    I think it boils down to: You’re the person we all think we are capable of becoming (but remain too lazy or full of excuses to actually pull off). But you aren’t a fake and impossible version of that person, you remain authentically yourself. It’s enough to give the rest of us poor schlubs hope that we might someday be able to do it, too.

    As long as your writing continues to ring true to your readers, we’ll gather in droves, rooting for your continued success and celebrating your small victories as if they were our own.

    You are a gifted writer. Thanks for using that power for good instead of evil.

    -CD

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  21. One thing I’m curious about that you didn’t touch on – how would you compare your experience working part time your last few months vs fully retired ? If you had it to do over or recommend to others within a few years of FI would you work longer total but part time or full time to the end ?

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  22. Congratulations and thanks for posting this. The updates post-FI are good for motivating me, and letting me know some of the pitfalls once you have reached it.

    The first year, post-FI is one of my big worries, and these articles help me sort out my priorities and plans. Thanks!

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  23. I can relate to a lot of what you’re saying. I’m finding it annoying that I don’t get everything done that I thought I’d get done in retirement. Seems that I’m just as overcommitted as I ever was working. i guess one must always be careful about what one takes on and make sure to maintain focus.

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  24. Hey Carl! Great to see this adventure progressing! I’m fascinated by the lessons we all learn in this situation. I’m reminded of my mini-retirement which was very insightful, with the only bummer being that it fell exactly during winter while my wife started a new job. One thing I learned is that having only one person with a flexible schedule was suboptimal — needs to be both of us! Thankfully our new bike-heavy California life is going quite well and we both keep learning while working. Looking forward to future updates on your experience!
    Mike recently posted…Make an Old-school two-way pager with ArduinoMy Profile

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  27. Hi Carl, Vicki Robin here. Grant told me about your time together at FINCON so I came over to read your blog. I’m fascinated by how people make the transition from work to FI. the rad, the bad and the ugly. Don’t let the FIRE POLICE razz you about loving to work. Work and community and creativity and love are what we are made for. To have creative work you love, serving your online community as well as having time to walk your daughter to school and other simple pleasures – that’s worth all the sitting on the beach doing nothing in the world. I’m working my buns off writing, being an activist, creating new innovations, organizing events with my friends, studying and on and on and on. As well as hanging out with friends, journaling, gardening, purring for hours with my cat… and on and on and on. As GB shaw says… This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one… because the more i give the more I live…

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  28. I admire you a lot. I like people who dare catch their own chances ^^ Financial independence is one of goals of my life. Because I have no family, financial independence is really important to me

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