From Fear To Financial Freedom

I wish I could say that my journey to Financial Independence/Retire Early (FI/RE) was inspired by a deep sense of being free spirited. I wish I was running from the chains of corporate society. Unfortunately that was not the case.

My journey to FI/RE was fueled by fear. Deep, unsettling fears of what the future might hold for me. I was 29, recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and newly single.

I was looking at my 30’s, and realizing that I was about to work through what could be the healthiest years of my life. It’s crazy to say it, but that wasn’t even the most painful part of the story.

I was the only single person I knew. My friends were having babies and buying houses, and I was still going on terrible tinder dates to sticky bars with creepy men.

They were moving forward in life and I was stuck, feeling left behind because I didn’t have a husband. I felt that I couldn’t control my health, and I couldn’t magically find a beautiful life partner, and I hated my job.

Even though I could have changed jobs, I knew that it wouldn’t be different elsewhere, I had worked for several different companies in the fashion world and I knew that it didn’t matter where you were, it was terrible shit show at every company.

While I couldn’t get rid of my health issues, and I couldn’t magic a boyfriend into my life, I learned I could actually change the future of my work situation. The more I researched FI/RE, the more I realized it was a solution to two out of my three problems.

If I could save and invest enough money, I could enjoy my body while it was still healthy, and, as hard as it was to admit it to myself, it would allow me to pursue parenthood on my own. While I couldn’t buy myself a husband (well, I maybe technically I could have…) I could afford to have a baby on my own.

In my career, there are a lot of women who choose to have children or adopt on their own. Mostly women in their late 30’s or early 40’s who have worked 60 hours a week for the last 15-20 years.

I was looking at these women and seeing my future: a life where I was trapped in a soul-less job, churning out cheap clothes that would quickly be in landfills. I’d be doing this to support a child who was spending 10 hours a day at daycare anyway…It just didn’t make sense.

As I started to read more and more about FI/RE, I realized it essentially solved my problems.

Financial security buys one thing, and one thing only: flexibility.

FI/RE would allow me to move somewhere inexpensive (read: somewhere with nice beaches & tropical fruit) and spend time with a kid. It would allow me to travel the world. It would allow me to enjoy my life before I was in pain.

To me, the FI/RE lifestyle was an obvious choice.

You don’t have to work towards FI/RE in order to gain the benefits of building wealth. Building wealth and eliminating debt make your life an order of magnitude easier. When you’re not worried about money, you’d be amazed at how much better every other part of your life becomes.

Wealth just gives you options - to take time off to be with an ailing family member. Maybe to move to a city where your child can flourish in a different type of school, or to go somewhere warm in the winter if that’s what your body needs.

Wealth isn’t about buying fancy things. For me, it’s the opposite. It’s about owning my time, above everything else.

I’m elated to report that I have found the love of my life and am happier than I have ever been. I am not fabulously wealthy, I don’t live a life full of luxuries, but I have the greatest luxury of all time: flexibility.

This is why I save money.