1500 Days to Freedom

Think different and escape the rat race.

Turn Off On Country Route FI

by

Ask the Readers will return next week. I have to get this one off my keyboard…

When you read the words Open Road, your mind’s eye probably shows you a picture of an epic road-trip. Perhaps a vacation to a National Park like Yellowstone or Yosemite (my personal favorite). I love road-trips, but that’s not the open road that I’m referring to today.

I’m referring to the open road that is life. And my own drastically changed 5 years ago when my pursuit of financial independence began. Back then, I had no idea where I was going. Foolishly, I hadn’t even considered it. I was running away from a bad situation.

And now, 5 years later, I have thought about where I want to go. Often. And it changes almost daily, but perhaps that’s OK? Maybe one of the joys of financial independence is having the freedom to not have all your future chapters clearly defined?

While I’m still early in my journey, the stops along the way have been incredible. The past 5 years have been the best of my life. I’ve seen new parts of the world and have met some wonderful people who have become great friends. I get a big goofy smile on my face when I consider what the future holds.

To help better understand, step with me into the Wayback Machine. We have to visit three dates. First we’ll go back to 10/2/2012. After that, we’ll jump forward to 11/6/2012. Finally, we’ll go to 11/9/2017, just last week when something amazing happened.

 

10/2/2012 (Tuesday)

I don’t remember exactly what I did on this day, but I was living a normal life. This is how my routine played out :

  • Woke up and helped older daughter get ready for kindergarten. Walked her to school and saw her off.
  • Worked for 8 hours, taking a break in the afternoon to pick older daughter up from school.
  • On this day, I took the girls to a park to play. I know this because I take a lot of pictures and meticulously keep track of them. Here are a couple from our excursion:

And:

  • I was living in a ridiculous, almost 5000 square foot home. It had 4 toilets and after our planned basement remodel, we’d have 5. That comes out to 1.25 toilets for every person in the home.
  • I had no early retirement plans. I hadn’t even considered it. I didn’t even know that it was a thing. I was only 37 and would work for another two and a half decades and then move to a warm state to die. I hadn’t considered that there was another path.

Not much to see here. Boring. Let’s get back in the Wayback Machine and go forward about a month.

 

11/6/2012 (Tuesday)

I remember 11/6 because it was election day in America. I had a coupon for a local fast food place that prized itself on Chicago style hot-dogs. As a native of the Windy City, I was eager to try this place, so I took the family there for dinner.

Despite my love for hot dogs, I could barely get my food down. I remember staring at the meal for a while before forcing myself to eat it. I was depressed and it was because of my job.

The previous couple of weeks had been some of the worst of my life. There was a bug in the code and I felt responsible. I was sure that I would be fired. I had never lost a job before and the thought of it made me sick. I spent a lot of time in the bathroom, strategically crouched over the toilet in case I lost my last meal.

In the preceding weeks, I had figured out the following:

  • There was no way I could continue at this job for another couple of decades. And if I stayed at the job, the overwhelming stress would have killed me anyway. Luckily, I found Mr. Money Mustache and JD Roth. They showed me a sign for an exit ramp off the normal highway of life.
  • I calculated that it would take about 4 years to accumulate enough money to retire.
  • I would start a blog to write about my journey. 1500days.com wasn’t a great name, but the other 10,000 site names I came up with were already taken.

It turned out that the code problem wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I didn’t know that as I stared at my hot dog that night. I wasn’t fired, but I was now on a new path.

Let’s get back in the Wayback Machine and go back to last week.

 

Thursday 11/9/2017 (8:44am)

Note: I have to obfuscate details a little here because I don’t want to announce anything prematurely…

I checked my email and an amazing message was waiting. It was from a friend in the FI community who I had known for a while. He was asking me if I’d like to participate in a special event with him.

And while I had met this guy in 2013 at a conference, I had known of him for a lot longer. He’s been a big figure in the FI community for a long time and his writing changed the way I invested. For the better.

Way back in St. Louis at that conference, I was terrified to meet him. I still remember the moment we were introduced in a random hallway outside the conference rooms. It turned out he’s a fine, friendly person and I had no reason to worry.

Back then, my blog wasn’t much and no matter how many pageviews I get, it will always be nothing more than a little passion project to me. Staying humble and modest is more fun than standing from the top of a mountain signing my own praises.

But now, 5 years later, this guy who was first a stranger from the internet and now a good friend is inviting me to participate in something incredible. And it’s alongside other amazing people who despite the distances between us, are lifelong friends.

I’m not sure how to reconcile it all. After I received that email, I took a walk to let is absorb. But it was too much. Too overwhelming, My mind was all over the place. Nothing sank in.

I gave up on the walk and went home to visit my therapist, the ugly old keyboard:

This post is the result. I spit it out in 20 minutes.

 

Country Route FI

I could never have anticipated that my life would go in these amazing directions 5 years ago when I was staring hopelessly at that hot dog (it was good by the way). The end of 2012 was one of the lowest points in my life, but it sent me in a new direction. (Isn’t it interesting how bad events can become inflection points in our lives?) I wasn’t ready to leave the highway yet, but I could see the exit up ahead. In April, I reached it and went down Country Road FI with no specific destination in mind.

And that country road is a lot more fun than the highway. I move at my own pace. I stop to look around frequently. Life is slower here. More thoughtful too. Country Road FI has allowed me to figure out who I am and I’m a better person for it.

I hope that you have a chance to exit the highway too. It’s incredible and I’d be happy to show you around.

And while your road won’t be the same as mine, that doesn’t mean it will be any less great. Life begins when you stop living for someone else and start living for you. It’s better this way.

 

Watery Eyes

Like most of my writing, this post was for an audience of one; me. Thank you for another good session Therapist Keyboard.

But if you’ve made it this far, I hope that it made sense. (My mind was in a strange place.) And if it did, I hope that our paths cross someday, maybe even at this event if I accept the invitation.

And I still can’t wrap my head around exactly what I’m feeling right now. Extreme emotions. Validation. Definitely happiness; I know that.

Country Road FI is looking spectacular lately. The leaves are changing. The heat has given way to a fall chill. It is really beautiful here.

I’m so thankful for it all.

 

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Comments

  1. It must be some solace to look back and consider how well your plans unfolded since 2012. As for me, I seem to be unknowingly following in your footsteps. My “reckoning” was in late 2014, when I said “enough” after feeling deprived of time and energy with my twin toddlers. Gave myself a six year plan. And thankfully have less than two years to go now. I can’t wait to write a little retrospective like this one day.

  2. Thanks for the post.

    Among a number of other sites I’ve read, it’s always interesting to see the respective blogger’s “F this” or “Ah-ha!” moment when the light-bulb goes off.

    Related to Cubert’s comment above, it often takes an extremely low point to ignite a course correction followed by consistent passion and progress.

    This can be difficult and/or painful but significant change often comes from significant realization or experience.

  4. Nice post Mr. 1500 days. I can relate to how you feel and felt. I really like your Country Road analogy to FI. It’s a great way to think about. With one life to live we should all stop and smell the flowers a little more often. On a side note, there is a secret announcement tucked in here. I’m dying find out what it is when it does come out.

    • Announcement! Yeah, I first have to figure out if I’m going to commit to it. Life in FI can get pretty busy. No matter what I do, I’ll always be thankful that someone thought highly enough of me to include me in their plans.

  8. I always enjoy your honesty and openness about how you feel or what you’re thinking. It’s interesting to still learn the challenges you face while completely retired and figuring out the directions you want to go. If only I could be so lucky in the next ten years to have the same experience or something similar. I look forward to finding out where you’ll be presenting…
    Kate recently posted…Cheesequake State Park HASHaTHON 6 Mile Race RecapMy Profile

    • Don’t underestimate yourself. I did everything wrong and still manage to have a good life. I’ll bet that you’ll be pleasantly surprised at where your road takes you…

  9. Amazing article.

    It reminds me of the time I got my first rent check from my first tenant. I was on the path toward being “normal” and having a great job as a professor. That day changed my life and I never finished the program.

    It’s amazing how just one event that comes and goes so quickly can drastically alter our lives. It’s also amazing how similar events happen to so many other people and it comes and go without a thought (probably because they aren’t even aware of what FI is).

    A lot to think about. Thanks!
    Eric Bowlin recently posted…Weekly Roundup 3My Profile

    • “It’s amazing how just one event that comes and goes so quickly can drastically alter our lives.”

      I remember yours. At least I think I do. You were watching TV when a tenant went out of his way to pay the rent.

      Life is good.

  10. The whole time I was reading this I kept thinking of the quote, “Life is a buffet…and most poor bastards are starving to death” – Auntie Mame. My parents drilled that one into my head growing up. They usually followed it up saying to live a life of fulfillment and happiness, and to step up to the ‘buffet table’ taking as much as you can fit on your plate. I’d say you’re doing an awesome job of it, and am curious to hear of this opportunity. Thanks for reminding me of that quote, and well written post 🙂

    • Wow, that great advice from your parents! Did it sink in?

      My father is a half-empty kind of person and my mom is a worrier, so I have to fight to be happy and optimistic. I’m slowly turning that ship around. On some days, it feels like I’m navigating an aircraft carrier though!

      • I’d say its sinked in given that I remember it from 20+ years ago haha! But it is nice to be reminded of it from time to time.

        “I’m slowly turning that ship around. On some days, it feels like I’m navigating an aircraft carrier though!”

        When it comes to you, I disagree with this given the things you’ve written about from four years ago to now. I think you’re turning the ship around in record time. Even though I miss things like the Thursday Rants, it’s posts like this that show your personal growth and how you continue to move forward daily.

  11. Careful, Carl….or you just might hit the top of the pyramid ( not scheme ) known as self-actualization. 🙂 Yours has been a fun journey to follow…very much looking forward to the next phase.

  12. Great motivational post. I’m starting down my country route ‘semi-retired’ as I’ve gone part time very recently. So far the weather on the road has been temperamental. Some sun, some clouds. But I know I have to keep going down the road, better weather is ahead.

    Can’t wait to hear what the announcement is, you sure sound stoked!
    Accidental Fire recently posted…The Accidental FIRE JourneyMy Profile

  14. Man, thanks for the great read. It hit home today as I read this post in a hotel room in a city that is not my hometown away from my wife. While I’m not at the rock bottom point, I know that it could be any day given how I feel about my current employment situation. The important thing is realizing what path you want to travel on and taking the bold step to get there. WAs it easy? no. I’m sure you had some bumps on this country road. But you hung in there and focused on the end goal of FI. Kudos to you for inspiring people like myself that want FI but are stuck in the grind right now. Keep on motivating and I love that you ended on a cliff-hanger.

    Bert
    Dividend Diplomats recently posted…The Diplomats’ October Side Hustle ReportMy Profile

  15. The journey to FI can feel long sometimes, especially between paychecks. Blogs like yours help calm that down knowing the happy ending is near.
    Thank you. I have joined the 10s who have signed up already!

  16. A slower life….I’m all in. I just had a conversation today with a guy about how fast time goes by as you get older. A great inspirational read! I am not currently as low as you were that day but I can relate to the CHICAGO style hot dog. The plan is another 7 years until our exit from the highway onto the country road. Can’t wait!

  17. Congrats! I’m so happy to be reading about your happiness – it’s truly motivating and awe-inspiring. I’m basically you in 2012, so excited to be on the journey to FIRE. Thanks for leaving navigation tips!

  18. Man, I almost needed a tissue 😉 It is strangely recognizable, albeit we have not arrived at the country road just yet.
    Great post Carl, probably one of the best ones you have written since you have become FI.

  19. This is fantastic. It’s really great to take a step back and a deep breath to take a look at how far you’ve come. It’s important to see your progress.

    Something that we’ve done since we’ve been married: We keep a journal that gets updated every year. We each write in it, around the holidays. We can write what ever we want, what we’re thinking, feeling, what we think the next year has in store, etc. Then we package it up with the Holiday Decorations, to open it the next year and read. It’s pretty great to see how much things have changed, or how much your expectations have differed from reality. But, it keeps that simple looks at how everything is going and how much progress you’ve really made.
    MrWow recently posted…Make Your Own Free Mobile Expense Tracking App in 30 MinutesMy Profile

    • Thanks Mr. WoW!

      And yeah, it’s easy to not see progress because it tends to be gradual. Keeping a journal is an awesome way to reflect on the past and contemplate the future.

  21. There is nothing better than having choices and the freedom to take them. That’s what FIRE is all about.

    And whatever this event is that you’re stoked about, remember that you deserve it. I know you may not acknowledge it but your blog is awesome and it has helped many people. Your self deprecating humor, fart, thermostat and dinosaur jokes make a complex journey approachable and authentic to a lot of people.

    Enjoy your freedom to choose your path 🙂

  22. Sometimes it requires going to the bottom, to get the motivation to look for a different path. Summer 2014 I had been assigned Tech Lead for two huge projects with ridiculous timelines…and they were both going badly (as expected), with long hours and high stress. Then inside 30 days: my (very good) boss took a promo to a completely different org, my go-to co-worker quit the company, another close co-worker committed suicide, and a team I spent about 50% of my time interfacing with (and had deep, productive relationships with) was completely outsourced. I’ve never been lower…ever. It took a couple of months to find Darrow Kirkpatrick, MMM, and others….but those 30 days were definitely the beginning of the end of “all that”.

    The good news was that I had been saving for years out of fear that there would be no SS when I retired…and it turned out that I already had a serious pile of FU money that could be used for other purposes than waiting until I was 59.5. But it took the FI community (and FI calculators) to figure that out. About a year later I quit and started my own business, now working about half-time, with very little stress. It definitely feels like a Country Road these days, compared to 3 years ago…