Today’s guest post comes from “Freedom Chaser”. Thanks for sharing your FIRE story!
Reaching for FIRE (financial independence, retire early)
Have you heard the saying, “we are not made to just pay bills and die”? Have you ever stood in line at the bank to cash a check and thought to yourself, “why am I doing this, it’s only going to pay for a temporary distraction.” Perhaps you are sitting at home looking around wondering what is the use of all the stuff you own! It wasn’t long ago I sat questioning the same exact things.
A few years prior, at the age of 30 while on the clock at my j.o.b. (just over broke), I was watching the public walk in and wondering how on earth could I have Wednesdays off too? I questioned why I was exchanging precious hours of my life for a teeny tiny check, supporting a boss and their dreams, not mine! I had no desire to climb a corporate ladder or aim to make six figures on a W2 which allowed someone to build my life or dictate how long I could eat lunch for. It was at this time I felt baffled and felt that I HAD to change or I was going to be miserable the rest of my life. In short, this is how I am transitioning to a life of more freedom and breaking free from the “norm”.
Crawling
To be honest, I was hesitant at first to re-learn what society taught me about the norm, I took my time in the beginning to change. I started reading books that opened my mind to learn about ultimate freedom, financial independence, Investments, downsizing, real-estate, saving money, how to’s, what not’s, and everything in-between. Every book that I saw that I thought would help me, I read it! So unhappy the path I was on, I was hungry to learn. Realizing that I could read every book on the shelf but that it wouldn’t do me any good until I acted.
I starting making small changes here and there towards freedom. I would set up a budget plan in my spare time writing out what my expenses were and what my pay checks would be. Cutting costs at almost every angle I could and knowing exactly where every penny went! I realized that one tip to getting achieving FIRE is that you have to know exactly where all of your money goes. Thanks to The Millionair Next Door by T.J. Stanley and W.D. Danko, I felt like I was a pro with all the tips and tricks that I needed to be on my way to freedom! Sadly, at the time, my salary was considered just above poverty level. Realizing that the small changes I was making were not helping me get ahead as fast I wanted, I decided to make a major change…
Downsizing
Home ownership is not for everyone. Saving for a house at the rate of my income would have taken me many years. After watching countless videos of how to save on living costs, I came across tiny living and knew immediately it was for me. After being in apartments for most of my adult life, I decided to downsize to an RV. Donating and giving away personal items was much easier with a new goal fresh on my mind.
The goal of tiny living was to pay off the RV at a rapid pace so I would not have to worry about a mortgage for 30 years. However, at the same time I could own a place that has everything a basic home has. There are some spectacular RV resorts where you can park the RV for an estimate monthly average cost of around $400-$700. Any financially savvy person can see those monthly payments are a huge savings over traditional means. This will allow the savings to be invested. The savings will be Invested in land which in turn could become a small RV park. After the land is paid off, the property could generate some nice passive income.
Next FIRE steps
After cutting costs at every corner my next focus was to be debt free. Utilizing the Dave Ramsy’s snowball method has been a great tool for me to tackle that debt efficiently. Since starting, I have already knocked out around $10k. Listening to his podcasts and reading his books such as Financial Peace University has kept my momentum rolling. In addition, I also decided to add two more streams of income to reduce my debt even faster.
Relying solely on my W2 income as my only means to reduce debt was not smart! I created a YouTube channel for people to watch and follow my journey. Lastly, I also got my foot in with a great MLM. Both of these platforms are great future income streams. Setting up systems like these right now will allow me to reach financial freedom quicker! Check out Gary Vanyerchuck’s book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook if you are lacking drive or motivation on generating passive income streams going through a social media outlet!
Freedom In Sight
Now that I have my budget plan in action to get out of debt, I have been researching investment opportunities. I’m looking at stocks, money markets, mutual funds, etc. I’m still researching and educating myself on investments. Roughly another 2 years of debt reduction before I can start investing. My goal is to stop receiving a W2 income in roughly 7 years. With the two passive income streams I mentioned earlier, these could potentially allow me to meet my goal sooner. I have not yet estimated a retirement nest egg or net worth I will need to feel comfortable. The plan is to put my RV on some acreage and rent out extra spaces to generate passive income.
One of the best gifts to myself was reading, watching videos, and speaking to others on similar paths. Breaking free from traditional American ways of living can be so liberating. That said, it has been frustrating at times to say the least. Trying to reach financial freedom is tough at times as there are many road blocks along the way. One such road block is the feeling that you can’t get there fast enough! I encourage everyone looking to leave the “norm” to educate themselves and take the first leap towards FIRE. I promise you, you will feel much more free!
—Freedom Chaser
HF
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