Financial independence for many families is nothing but a dream at best, they believe it’s unattainable or for certain people, but I’m here to tell you that It’s possible and achievable irrespective of where you are today in your finances am not saying it’s easy but it’s possible.
I only dare you to believe. The reward of financial independence is worth the sacrifice
It’s 2021 and the world has gone through a trying time since 2020, I say gone because I believe we have turned the curve and it will only get better. As a result of the pandemic, there has been an increased spotlight on personal finance.
The whole point of this post is to nudge and encourage you to save more, invest more, earn more, and ultimately be intentional with your finances.
I am currently on the path towards financial independence and these are my reasons in no particular order for getting on this journey.
The 8th wonder of the world according to Albert Einstein.
This is massive because your interest is earning interest and the cycle continues. The higher the rate and the longer it compounds magic happens.
A 20-year-old who starts investing 200 pounds monthly in index funds with an average rate of 7% will have a pot of 362,000 by age 55 while a 30-year-old will have a pot of 326,000 at age 55 with a monthly deposit of 400 pounds.
So with double the monthly contributions, the 20-year -old that started 10 years earlier has a bigger pot if they both want to retire at age 55.
This is the power of compounding when given more time in a good platform.
Imagine your passive income (income from investments and assets) equals or surpasses your expenses, you get to decide how you work, who you work with and how long you work for; you’re not at the mercy of employers and employment contracts.
You are not leveraging your time for money which is where many people are and start from. This gives you greater negotiating power and ultimately options in life.
The popular question “If money is not a factor what will you do?” becomes real, immediately you realise what actually matters to you. This is the hallmark of the FIRE movement Financial Independence Retire Early.
You are no longer trapped in a 9-5, you get to make choices and not have them made for you, choices like choosing your work hours, taking some years off work to pursue a passion project or focusing on your family.
You get to ask what’s really important to me and you are empowered to go for it.
This is a big one for me, my wife and son mean the world to me, it is said that with kids more is caught than taught, so being or pursuing financial independence will provide the opportunity to teach some very important lessons on money, positive money lessons and habits can be easily transferred
You also get to be more involved in their life, it’s hard to juggle work and parenting at the same time. My son is just 4 months old at the time of writing and in a unique situation so I know first hand how challenging it can be to do both.
If you choose to and if the situation allows you also get to pass some money down.
A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children
Now you can give more to causes and projects that matter to you, you can be as generous as you want.
Growing up without much money back home in Nigeria I just wanted to have enough to take care of my family but over time I see that this is selfish and now I want to be financially independent so I can tackle bigger and more complex problems and also give more.
With generosity, start where you are. If you can’t give now, it is very unlikely you will when you have more. Check out other things you can do to make today great.
I believe we all have something to give and generosity is a worthwhile habit
Most people that leverage their time for money get to live with worry, worry that you will come to work one day and be called up to HR and get fired or maybe sales will diminish or there will be another pandemic and therefore lockdown
Many jobs are a constant source of stress and cause of poor health habits. Stress kills and our health is priceless.
We tend to take our health for granted especially when we are young but we need to remind ourselves how important our health is
Interacting daily with people who are either on the FI journey or who have achieved FI, I see similarities when I ask for their why, even people who are not on the journey desire and wish for the same things.
We all want this or a variations of this, so pursuing financial independence is a great goal for anyone and at the end of the road, you will realize that it was worth it.
