Welcome to the latest Strong Money Story!
In these posts, I chat with real members of the community about how they’re putting this stuff into action — building wealth, creating freedom, and living life on their terms.
Because while I enjoy writing, what really matters to me is seeing results. That’s why I created the Freedom Tally and added it to the homepage — to measure the impact in years of human freedom (we’re over 500 years of freedom now, by the way!)
This story is from someone I’ve been in contact with for several years – more on that in a moment.
You might remember I interviewed a young lady named Jess not long ago. Well, today I’ve got another thoughtful, ambitious, and extremely mature teenager who’s on the path to FI.
Let’s get straight into it!
Sometime during 2021 (from memory), I got an email from a fellow named James who said he was living in Perth, was a big fan of my blog and asked to meet me.
We arranged a time and planned a meeting at my local coffee shop.
I arrived and found a man, likely in his 40s, looking around for me. He’d brought his son along. Wow, that’s pretty cool, I thought. He wants to have his son listen in on our conversation and maybe pick up a few things.
I walked over and shook the Dad’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you” he said. Pointing to his right, he said “This is my son, James.”
Wait, what? This kid was like 15! This is who wants to meet me… surely not?!
I was shocked to say the least.
After a few moments, we went and sat inside and James’ Dad said he’d be back in two hours. “Hmm, I wonder how much this young guy has actually read,” I thought to myself.
Well, as it turns out, quite a lot! It quickly became apparent that he had devoured tons of FIRE content, and understood damn near everything.
He peppered me with questions, which I happily answered, and asked if it was okay if he emails me from time to time. I agreed. Since then, we’ve been chatting regularly and he gives me updates on how he’s going.
As you’ll see, he has a passion for this topic that is both genuine and rare, especially among teenagers. But enough from me, let’s hear from him!
I’m James and I currently live in Perth. Originally from Sydney, I moved to Perth back in January 2021 and I can proudly call Perth my home.
I’m currently single living in my parent’s home at the age of 19.
I’m working as a PPC specialist working at a marketing agency in Perth. I’ve been working in digital marketing for the past 2 years, and I enjoy my job to the fullest. I’m always learning something new every day. And fulfilling the dreams of local businesses owners and seeing their business thrive puts the biggest smile on my face.
Although I do love my job, I’ve come to realise just how demanding full-time work can be, and that has lit a fire inside of me to pursue FIRE.
Here are some interesting facts about me:
I discovered fire back in October 2020, so I was 14 years old back then.
I remember watching a video about FIRE, and the idea that I could retire in my mid-20s and never have to work for the rest of my life sounded like a pipe dream. It felt like I discovered the ticket to eternal happiness.
Not only that, but the thought of becoming a millionaire in under 10 years with a normal day job gave me a glimmer of hope that retiring young was 100% doable. I just needed to find a stable, decent-paying job to get started and start stashing away a huge chunk of my paycheck to retire early.
I latched on immediately and was sold the moment I discovered FIRE. I think a part of the reason why I was sold so quickly is because I was young and naive, and didn’t know too much about the workforce or the world in general.
However, it worked in my favour when discovering FIRE as I had ZERO doubts that it was possible and having the fiery energy at a young age certainly helps. It felt like yesterday that I was feeling excited about the idea of retiring in my 20s with $1M in shares.
I do believe 110% FIRE is possible for the average Aussie. I mean Dave himself is a great example that you don’t need a high income to achieve FIRE. What I love about your story Dave is that you didn’t inherit a large inheritance, got help from your parents to buy your first property or earn six figures every single year.
My mantra is that if you truly believe and really want something, you’ll make it happen no matter the circumstances.
My goal is to reach full FI within the next 8-12 years with $500k in ETFs and a fully paid-off home.
I’d say currently, I’m 10% of the way there, and I plan to just consistently invest into ETFs on a monthly basis and slowly pay off my investment property.
After weighing the pros and cons, as well as calculating all the costs involved, I’ve decided that I’m just solely going to focus on investing monthly into shares, and keep my current investment property to hedge against house price increases (just in case the housing crisis gets even worse, I can lock-in the house price and move in whenever I want).
The reason I say the next 8-12 years is because I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, and there are so many factors that affect the overall outcome. But I’m pretty certain that I’ll hit my goal within that timeframe.
I started investing into shares back in late 2020, so it has been nearly 5 years since investing into shares.
I initially invested $10k at first which I got as a gift from my dad, but didn’t start investing consistently until May 2022, which is when I got my first part-time job. So I guess if you count it from May 2022, then it’s been pretty much 3 years since I started investing into shares.
I bought the investment property mostly with my own money, and with a little bit of help from my parents. It was like a 90/10 split my way.
I did use a very small deposit of 3%, and even though it kinda sucked to pay LMI, in hindsight, I’m glad I got into the market when I could and don’t regret buying with a small deposit.
To put things into context, how I got the deposit + additional costs for the property in the first place is that I had to sell my entire share portfolio at that time to fund my property purchase. Without selling my shares, I wouldn’t have been able to get into the property market.
The key to buying an investment property at a young age (I bought it 4 months after I turned 18) is that I started saving and investing at a young age, and doing so gave me the leverage to enter into the property market at a very early age.
Key advice: Get started saving and investing early as possible. The earlier you start, the more years you have to compound your money.
I believe that starting young gives you the best leverage in life to set yourself up financially, as saving is much easier when you’re living at home with your parents with minimal expenses.
Even if you don’t live with your parents, when you’re younger, you have a lot less responsibilities, which gives you a lot of leeway to save and invest as much as possible.
I always remind myself that my “why” for reaching FIRE is having the freedom and flexibility to design my lifestyle. I think a lot of people miss the whole point of reaching FIRE in the first place, which is to literally buy back your time, not to work as long as possible and maximise your net worth.
For me, freedom is about waking up every day on my own terms and spending my time on the things that truly bring me joy. It’s about being able to go out for a walk at 11 am or visiting a family member. And all of that isn’t possible if you’re tied to a 9-5 job, as you’re always going to be tied to the schedule of an employer.
When I commute to work on the train, I see 100s of workers just staring at their phones and seeing how work has sucked their life for years or decades. When I see that, that lights a burning desire inside of me to never be in that type of situation.
Paid-off home + $500k in ETFs.
I’d say the only thing that’s really changed is having a paid-off home. Initially, I didn’t think of owning a paid-off home at first, and things could change in the future. But I like the idea of owning a paid-off home for a few reasons:
a) Your cashflow immediately improves as you don’t ever have to pay rent or monthly mortgage payments
b) You safeguard yourself against rental price increases
c) Overall, more security. You don’t have to worry about being kicked out of your rental or trying to find housing in a competitive market.
Here are a few things that excited me about reaching FIRE:
Truth be told, I’m a very simple guy and you don’t need to spend a fortune to live your life to the fullest. There are so many activities that are cheap or completely free like walking, watching a movie, visiting a friend/family, reading a book, going to the library, etc.
Just even the thought of doing those things instead of being stuck at work sounds like heaven on Earth. Heck, that’s what I do on the weekends, and I love every minute of it. It’s lot better than being stressed about answering emails, phone calls, meeting a client project deadline or don’t get me started on useless meetings.
My current income is roughly $80k-$90k per year, and I save 60-70% of my income. I would say my expenses have remained the same, other than my savings going up as I’ve been able to increase my income over time.
I don’t see any drastic changes in the future. But I will focus on increasing my income to then increase my monthly savings and savings rate, which will fast track my journey to FIRE.
I like to focus on things I can control, and increasing my income whether it’s through hustles, working more hours or moving to a different industry is something that I’m in full control of.
A valuable lesson I learnt is to focus on things you can control, instead of focusing on things you can’t control. So instead of trying to invest into all different types of ETFs and doing hours of research just to maybe get an extra 1-2% returns, I’d rather spend that time on reducing my expenses, along with increasing my income.
My investment strategy is pretty simple; just keep investing monthly into shares, and repeat. Because I own an investment property, I plan on holding that property for the next 8-12 years. Then I’ll have a couple of options down the line such as:
a) Selling a bit off my share portfolio to then pay off that investment property loan, then move into that home to live in
b) Sell that investment property and a bit of my share portfolio to buy a home that I want to live in, fully paid-off
c) Sell the investment property to then invest into shares, receive more dividend income and live in a rental
I’m not 100% certain what I want to do down the line, as my plans can change, but the great thing is that I’ll have the flexibility to choose how I love my lifestyle.
Maybe I move into that investment property as my “forever” home. Or I could have all my money invested into shares, and move to a cheap country like Thailand and live off my dividend income.
Through my savings, I’m dollar cost averaging into VAS & VTS. Keep in mind, the $500k shares goal is after I sell a bit of my ETF portfolio to then pay off my IP loan.
I much prefer dividend income over rental income, as the gross rental yields aren’t even that great in the first place, plus there’s ZERO headaches associated with investing into index funds.
You don’t have to deal with tenant vacancies, strata, emergency repairs, flooding, etc. You get to sit back and just watch the satisfying feeling of dividends landing in your bank account.
My passive income target is $20k from dividends and a paid-off home. But if I’m being honest, I’m more than certain that I’ll be working at least 1-2 days per week, so even when I reach FIRE, I’ll have other part-time income sources that I likely won’t need to draw down or use the dividends to live off of.
Super is completely irrelevant. I don’t care too much about Super as I can’t even access it. I mean I can access it in 41 years, or 2066, which at this point is just paper money.
I think once I achieve full fire, I plan to first work 3 days per week. It’s a risk-free way to wind down from work whilst still having so much free time.
So I guess you can say I’ll be semi-retiring when I reach my full FI number.
The amazing part of this is that I don’t even need to use my dividend income as my expenses will be so low to the point that my 3-day working schedule will more than cover my expenses.
Or I could take 1-year off work, and see how that goes. That sounds like a great option too. Either way, it’s all about the choices baby, and I’ll have loads of options to choose from.
I guess the only difference is that I’m still young and I live with my parents.
This is a message to young teenagers and adults but my advice is to start investing ASAP!
I promise that looking back, you’ll thank yourself that you started investing young and it’ll get you so far ahead in life by the time you’re in your early to mid-30s.
1. Paying myself first. I live by this rule as it has been the biggest game changer in my finances. Whenever you receive your paycheck from your income, set aside a certain amount to invest into shares.
2. Meal prepping. Not only does this reduce your grocery expenses, but it improves your overall health, discipline, and commitment.
3. Buying my first investment property. Since buying my first investment property, I’ve generated a substantial amount of equity in a short period of time. It’s great to use leverage when you’re young so you can reap the benefits in the short and long-term.
Although I’m not a fan of property, I think having 1-2 properties in your investment portfolio does yield quite a benefit, one of them being that you own land, which over time, becomes more scarce. And you do protect yourself against massive property booms, as if you’re completely left out of the market, it might be more difficult to get into the property market 5-10 years down the line.
1. Paying myself first.
2. Increasing your savings > chasing investment returns.
3. Ignore all news in the media – great for your mental health
4. The 5 second rule – “The moment you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will stop you. 5-4-3-2-1 Go!” – Mel Robbins
The 5 second rule is a powerful accountability tool that I discovered from The 5 Second Rule book by Mel Robbins. If you know you should do something, count 5-4-3-2-1 and just take action. Simple as that!
What the 5 second rule taught me is that I’ll never truly feel like acting on my goals. Whether that’s going to the gym, eating a salad instead of a sandwich, getting started with investing or signing up for that course that’s been on your mind for the last 2 years, you must take action immediately.
And the 5 second rule has benefited all areas of my life such as health, fitness, finances, relationship and career.
Keeping up with the Joneses and not having a strong “why” for reaching FIRE. Start with a strong why for achieving FIRE. It all starts with the mindset, and without a strong why, you’ll never achieve financial independence.
Finding an accountability partner and setting up a habit contract to commit to saving a chunk of your pay. If you find saving hard, you gotta make it easy to start saving.
Maybe start with putting a chunk of your pay in super so that it forces you to save and not take out your money. The first step is to develop the habit of saving, and there are so many automation tools (like Pearler) to set your saving & investing on autopilot.
It’s like a commitment device so that it gets you to stay consistent.
Here are a few valuable insights that I’ve learnt:
— Simplicity always wins – Don’t overcomplicate investing and simplify your investment portfolio with 1-2 ETFs.
— If you have no idea where to start off, I would suggest paying yourself 10%.
— Saving, saving, saving:
Focus on increasing your savings and don’t chase investment returns. Instead of spending time researching the best-performing ETFs, learn a new skill that’ll help you land a higher-paying job. And use the extra income to invest.
Let’s say you’re currently earning $70k after tax and invest $35k per year into a low-cost index fund. We’re gonna assume you start at $0, invest monthly, the annual rate of return is 9% and the goal is to reach $1M.
It’ll take roughly 14.5 years to reach $1M (this is taking into account that 9% is the market average in a hypothetical scenario).
If you somehow beat the market and achieve 12% returns, it’ll bring it down to 12.8 years.
But this is where it gets interesting. If you increased your income and upped your monthly investing contributions to $3500 (+$780 monthly increase), you’ll reach your goal in 12.5 years.
Roughly the same but the biggest difference is that it’s much much easier to increase your savings by $780 per month then beating the market by +4%.
I’ve also started a blog a couple months back called thewealthyteenager.com Basically, I share my insights, experience and knowledge on how teenagers can get started investing, as I believe that investing in your teens is not only important, but absolutely necessary to get ahead in life.
Here’s the thoughts that came to mind as I read through James’ story…
— He started investing with his first part-time job at like 16… how awesome is that!? And how many teenagers would blow that generous $10k on garbage? At best, they’d put it towards a car.
— You could say his parents helped him somewhat. But you can tell, without question, that he’s clearly the driving force behind all of this, financially and mentally. He also doesn’t live for free – he’s been buying all his own groceries etc. for years.
— I’ve always been a fan of using tiny property deposits. Yes, you pay LMI, but it gets you in the market 1-3 years sooner which is worth a lot more. Plus, if you’re an investor, it often means you can buy two properties instead of one.
— He’s learned an impressive amount of important lessons at a young age, and he’s even thoughtfully thinking ahead to how he’d spend his time.
— I’m getting the sense that financial security and the sheer flexibility that wealth affords is what drives James the most, more so than not having to work, Reason being, it sounds like he’ll just live off his future part-time income and let the investments compound.
— People might say, “Don’t discount your super.” But clearly, the money is far more useful and life-changing to James in the next ten years outside super. I have little doubt it’ll end up being part of his longer term strategy in another decade or two.
— He’s also doing one important thing not mentioned here: seeking mentors. James and I have been corresponding for the last few years, occasionally meeting in person here in Perth. I can see how much he’s been learning, and I’m fairly sure the student will soon become the master before too long 😁
— From our chats, he’s also told me he’s had limited success getting through to his friends about the idea of long term investing (just like most of us in real life!). I’m hoping he’s able to reach teenagers who are interested through his new blog, although maybe he’ll need to do a podcast to reach them.
Big thanks to James for being willing to share his story – he’s done an amazing job so far! I look forward to seeing how he gets on over the next 5-10 years. But if the last 5 years is anything to go by, the future looks pretty damn bright 🔥
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This article explains why being ‘priced out’ is mostly fear-driven hype – and how good financial habits give you the freedom to buy when it suits you (even if prices keep rising).
I just made one of the biggest changes to my investing strategy in a long time. I expect it to make a seven-figure difference to my retirement balance.
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Hi Dave,
Thank you so much for sharing my story on your blog! It’s a real privilege and honour to be on here, and I hope my story can inspire at least 1 person to start on their financial independence journey.
You’ve been an amazing friend, mentor and influence in my life. In a world full of lies, deception, misinformation and BS hype, your wisdom and advice has always been the foundation for helping me stay on track and focus on what really matters, and developing that mindset to ignore all outside noise.
Hopefully I can be on here in another 5 or 10 years time to share my update on my FIRE journey, and I’m excited as to what’s to come.
Also, a huge shout to my loving parents as they’ve shown nothing but love and support on my journey! I’m so privileged and grateful so being raised in a blessed country like Australia, and I have my parents to thank for that.
I appreciate the kind words mate, very happy to share your story, and look forward to doing a follow-up down the track to see how things are going!
Hi James,
I’m a Perth teenager who has been investing in index ETFs since is was 15, and I have just turned 18.
I’d love to connect with you to chat.
I’ll drop my email below:
ggriffithsau@gmail.com
Kind regards,
George
Very inspiring story, well done James you sound like a very clever and intelligent young man. I hope my 8 year old son is as motivated as you when he starts earning an income.
Thank you for sharing Dave, love reading such positive stories especially about a teenager doing so well and being focused on his future.
Thanks Michelle, glad you enjoyed the read!
Thanks Michelle,
I appreciate you reading my story and thank you for your kind words!
Wow, thanks for sharing your story and wisdom James, very inspiring and kudos to you!
Will definitely share your blog with my teen.
Thanks so much for tuning in and appreciate you sharing my blog with your teens.
Amazing work James, I always say to younger people if you dont know what to do yet that’s fine just do something. You’re doing so much already you’re putting yourself in the position to do anything. Plus you’ll be in that position in your early 30s and once your peers see that maybe a few of them will hop on for the ride 😊
Very well said! I always felt strange for not knowing what I wanted to do, but I think ‘not knowing what to do’ is more common than people let on.
Hi Dave ,
What an amazing and inspirational invierview would have to be the best one yet,
This young man should be going around to schools giving talks to others to educate ,
Well done to his parents in giving him the help ,trust and belief with his first investment property also
Very inspirational
Thanks Mick, that’s great to hear!
Thanks Mick,
It would be a dream to teach FI in schools one day.
What a legend you are James. Well done on getting on this path so early. I have just had both my nephews (21 & 18) complete their first ETF investments and setup regular payments. I will definitely share your blog with them for inspiration to see other young people investing.
Thanks for posting Dave and bringing us such diversity of FI community.
Awesome stuff Paul, great work putting them on such a powerful path so early 🔥
Hi Paul,
So great to hear that you got your nephews to start investing!
Great article and very inspiring.
A quick question. What do you do re taxation for kids under 18. ? Looking at the ATO website, in most circumstances, unless the child is employed, the tax on investment earnings are a shocker !!
Would love to know what people do in this situation. My 16 year old has about $25K which we keep in my wifes name in ING getting about 5%. The intention is to transfer this to my son into an EFT once he turns 18.
Appreciate any thoughts
A few options are invest in something with very very low yield so that they won’t cross the income threshold (say if they have $20k invested or less). Other than that it can be best to hold the assets in the parents name until the child turns 18 (called a minor trust).
If it’s cash/savings acc it’s super easy since there’s no official transfer of ownership like with shares. So I think you’re already doing it in a simple and effective way 🙂
Another option is an investment bond. There are some available that are very cheap and only offer limited index funds (an ETF equivalent but with a daily price) by majors like Vanguard. There’s some conditions, like a decade long term though you can access your cash sooner, that need to be considered but zero goes on a tax return (unless you withdraw within the decade).
If in a child’s name you can also stipulate an age from 18 they can access it- but once they hit 25 it will transfer to them regardless of your wishes. Direct debit makes it simple or even bpay for birthdays/Xmas.
Very useful to invest for a child that’s not your own (like a niece/nephew or grandchild), especially if the child’s parents *hate* shares…
Dave, it is so great to read this story. It would have been easy to brush off a meeting request from a 15 year old kid. So hats off to you for taking the time to meet with James. I personally would love someone at that age to ask me about these topics and having the feeling of helping someone with FIRE. And James, what a legend! It’s clear you’ve put in an incredible amount of work and are going places.
It’s a very unique situation and very few at that age would be so focused like James was, so I was more than happy to be a sounding board/mentor
Hi NatGee,
I appreciate your kind words and yes Dave is such a legend for even taking the time to meet up with me in the first place.
That’s why he’s the GOAT FIRE blogger ever.
James,
Thanks for sharing! And well done with the strong head-start to your life.
I just have one comment regarding your Super – for sure, it’s your perogative to not make any additional contributions, however given you are already investing 12% of your pay into your Super I hope you’ve considered an investment option that has low fees and is high risk/high return, such as an indexed shares option. Let that build until you reach FIRE & then sit until 2066 and you will see a huge difference compared to a standard “balanced” option over this timeframe. Have a look through the various Super providers for their investment options and their fees.
60yo you will thank 19yo you.
Regards,
Dave
Good suggestion Dave, I’m hoping James has been keeping up with my content so he’ll be well aware of my comments which line up with what you’ve stated here. Episode 20 of the Strong Money pod if you haven’t listened yet James 😉
Hi Dave,
I recently changed my investment option to all index funds recently as previously I was on a balanced option. I agree that this small change alone makes a humongous difference over 30-40 years.
I haven’t compared super funds fees, but I definitely should as this also does make a huge difference with minimal effort.
This is what ALL young men, in fact, just men in general should aspire to. Discipline, commitment, consistency and ambition. As James is already aware at his age, the system puts a tremendous amount of resources into ensuring men stay uncommitted, unmotivated, with zero ambition. Because if all young men were like James, then where does the slave force come from? Can’t have ‘em all retired at 30 now can we. Well done James, if I had a son I would ensure he had your mindset at that age. Don’t lose that drive, and pick your future parter wisely!
The world would definitely be a better place if more young men put their abundant energy into this kind of thing, and it would have positive a ripple effect across not only their lives but the lives of those around them too.
Hi Chris,
I’ve had thoughts before about this, and as much as it would be great if everyone had similar goals and ambitions, I don’t ever see this happening unfortunately.
Yes, I agree that picking my future partner is so critical not just for financial reasons but also to develop a long lasting happy relationship. I’ve seen people get into super toxic relationships with the wrong partner, and I definitely don’t want that to be me.
Amazing, James! I can honestly tell you I have peers who are 30 years older than you and struggling to buy their first home. Well done!
Thanks a lot Martin!
Way to go James! You’ve started out on the right foot. I’d recommend getting a book or 2 on Bitcoin for further reading. Since you have a long-term investment horizon, it could be a safe long-term bet for you in beating the overall market. I asked ChatGTP if it had to choose one investment to hold for the next 5 years what would it pick, and it said Bitcoin so it’s worth looking into as part of your strategy.
Hi Jodie,
I’ve had thoughts about bitcoin before, but haven’t dabbled into it simply because I think it’s a speculative and I just don’t know much about it.
But that could change in the future, and if I was to put my money, I would contribute very little amounts.
Very inspiring indeed, you are a legend James you will achieve your goals and even more. Good on you for wanting to inspire others with your blog. I don’t know if you have heard of the Rebel Donegans they offer a FREE 10 -12 week course called Rebel Finance school content is up on YouTube but I think doing the course as you can Zoom in and be inspired more. They have some FIRE legends come in like Mr Money Mustache, William Bengen (4% rule founder), Jordan
Grummet on Purpose etc.
Hi TimeRichFi,
I’ve never heard of them before but I’ll check em out.
Well done young man! Three pieces of advice from a nearly 50 year old fart – one of which you already touched on;
1.) Don’t sacrifice your youth to become FIRE. Best to take a little longer. Believe me you’ll be my age before you know it.
2.) Don’t discount Super – you don’t necessarily need to add any more than what you’re doing, but I assure you it will make a big impact later on and like I’ve already said, you’ll be old before you know it – believe me.
3.) Don’t forget and execute on your dreams – you are right, FIRE has been corrupted by the “normies” who just want to maximise wealth and pass down huge inheritances. Don’t become them.
Not advice, but you’re lucky you have Dave as a mentor and a mate…
Wise words Christopher!
Hi Christopher,
I’m so very fortunate to have Dave as my mentor.
I couldn’t agree more with everything you said, especially with enjoying my youth since time does fly by so fast.
Hi James,
Good to see that you started early and has achieved some success.
Best of luck for the rest of your FI journey.
It’s an awesome start, very disciplined and well ahead of most people his age. I can’t see him still being with his parents in 8 to 12 years though, so his savings rate will likely drop once he’s independent. That said, his income should also increase over that period.
He should have a contingency plan for if interest rates move north again, tenancy or property issues, or markets underperform for years.
$500k in Vanguard’s ASX VAS/VTS split 50/50 would presumably yield around $20,000 – $22,000 a year gross (4 – 4.4% pre tax, assuming current yield levels), which is a solid base but still needs careful budgeting or supplementary income to comfortably cover living costs.
Good points Baz.
I’d say the contingency plan is simply his current high savings rate – all of those issues are absorbed by monthly cashflow and a stagnant property market isn’t really a solvable problem as such. I’m sure he’ll easily navigate any changes that come up over that time.
James, congratulations on what you’ve achieved so far – starting all of this at 19 with this level of discipline and clarity is impressive. Your savings rate and the mathematical approach you’ve taken are spot on, and you’re absolutely right that starting young gives you massive leverage.
I’m curious about one aspect of your plan though. You mention the freedom to “wake up at 11 am” and avoid the stress of meetings and deadlines, which I totally get – nobody likes pointless meetings. But I wonder if you’ve thought about what would give you a sense of purpose and fulfilment in your life once you reach FI?
I ask because some of the most satisfied people I know aren’t those who’ve escaped work entirely, but rather those who’ve found work that genuinely matters to them and used their financial security to pursue it on their own terms. Have you considered what expertise you might want to develop over the next decade, or what kind of meaningful contribution you’d want to make – whether paid or unpaid?
The great thing about your position is that financial independence could give you the freedom to take on challenging, impactful work without worrying about the paycheque. That strikes me as potentially more fulfilling than just maximising your leisure time.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you see yourself developing expertise in a particular area, or are there causes or problems you’d want to tackle once you have financial freedom? Again, well done on your progress so far!
I’ll let James answer this, but just to clarify he said “go for a walk at 11am not wake up at 11am” 😂
Sounds like he genuinely enjoys his work and helping clients so I think he’s already on the right track (digital marketing/advertising is already a fairly useful and potentially massively impactful skill to have in the modern era). In any case he’s clearly thoughtful enough to figure it out.
I haven’t exactly planned what I’m doing to do after FIRE, but I can bet certain that I’ll pursue meaningful work.
I agree that financial independence is a safeguard to pursue impactful work without relying on a job.
I’m sure that I won’t spend all my free time on “leisure” activities, but I do want to make more time for that when I reach FIRE as I tend to feel a balanced approach helps me to live a very enjoyable lifestyle.
This is something I’ll experiment with down the line.
Like Dave mentioned as well, I do like my job overall and if I’m still doing the same thing, I’ll still do a bit of freelancing at least but with clients that I like.