Why I Started A Financial Independence/Retire Early Publication
Because some stories need to be told, shared and amplified
The Financial Independence/Retire Early movement has something for everyone.
My parents were following Mr. Money Mustache years before I understood the true meaning of his blog and the ideas he was sharing. While my father loved his concept of ‘stash the cash’ and tells me at least once a month to save more, he seemed to have missed the index investing part of MMM’s blog. My mother instead focused in the fact that he was living his best life and wasn’t working some crappy job, and these were the parts she highlighted to me.
It wasn’t until I was 2 years into a ‘real’ corporate career, already feeling the desire to quit and do something else but also scared of losing my income and damaging my future earning potential, that I started to read MMM’s blog myself, and to apply his early retirement lessons to my own life.
His blog should be read by everyone, and for me it was the entrance to a community of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of people who are on the journey to financial independence and retiring early. Some people in the FIRE community are in their early 20s, earning crazy amounts as developers and software engineers, living frugally and planning to ‘retire’ by 30. Others are paying off debt in their 50s and finally learning taking control of their finances. But everyone is bravely learning about how to manage money and really take control of their lives.
Why did I Start this Financial Independence/Retire Early Publication?
There are so many unique and inspirational FIRE stories out there, but not everyone on the path to Financial Independence has their own blog or way to express their journey. Medium is a great medium for this.
I am so thankful for the likes of MMM, Jacob from Early Retirement Extreme (the precursor to Mr. Money Mustache), Paula from Afford Anything, Tanja from Our Next Life, and MadFIentist, to name just a few, for sharing their stories with us - it’s brave of them to put themselves out there and tell the world that 1) they have enough money to no longer work, and 2) that there is more to life than work and accumulation.
I thought about starting my own blog too, but I feel like I would be repeating a lot of what’s already written — buy low cost index funds and hold, save more than you spend, increase your income, invest wisely, be patient — and instead I want to hear from others, especially people with non-linear paths such as my own (you can read about my journey here).
I want people to know that you don’t need to own a house, have $1 million in index funds, or buy bitcoin in order to become financially independent and live your best life. Money can fund your freedom, but the pursuit of money should be balanced with living your life today, and your health and wellbeing should never be ignored for the promise of more money tomorrow.
My goal with this publication is to help amplify more stories and inspire more people to reach their own version of freedom!
If you are interested in sharing your story, please leave me a comment — I would love to add you as a writer. If you are new to medium consider becoming a member (so you can monetise your stories). I look forward to growing this publication more in the next year, and look forward to reading more great articles about the journey to financial freedom.
