Hi! My name is Bill and this blog is my starting point for the journey towards Financial Independence. I’ve always had a sense or feeling that this is something that I want to do, but putting a plan together and taking real steps has never eventuated – life just kind of happened and I’ve been pulled along in the flow.
Luckily I’ve always been a frugal person or as my family would say “a penny-pinching, tight-fisted, miserly, scrooge mcduck looking bastard”, so I’m not starting from zero. It’s time to get down and dirty with Excel and figure out that plan I mentioned above.
Most Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) practitioners recommend that you’ll need 25 – 29 times your yearly expenditure to achieve FIRE. Once you have those fat stacks, 4% of that amount can be withdrawn in the first year, then inflation-adjusted withdrawals in subsequent years, for a 30 year retirement. See the study that sparked this 4% number across the internet here.
With a family on the way and a mortgage to pay off, I know that I’ll need a wee bit to achieve FI so the numbers I calculate (in the next post!) will be on the higher / safer side.
My Philosophy
I hate buying stuff. When I had to buy a pair of nice shoes (wedding obligations), I spent months debating what kind of shoes to buy before settling on boots. Boots are versatile, hard wearing and can be dressed up or down depending on the situation – saving me from buying more pairs of shoes.
That was step 1 of the process, the next step was deciding what boots to buy. I wanted something manufactured in-house, had a good reputation and most importantly looked good. Red Wing Iron Rangers won out in the end.
The third and final step was actually buying the boots, eventually I managed to snag a second hand pair off eBay saving me a couple hundred dollars off a brand new purchase. The boots are still going strong 4 years later and I love them. This process took me months (if not a year or so) and may make me look slightly demented, but this is what a FI Fiend is all about.
Expand this boot buying scenario out to my entire being and you’ll have a fairly good idea of who I am. Buying stuff for the sake of having things is pointless – you’ll be content, for a while, maybe. Or at least until the next thing comes along to splurge out on.
To sum up:
- Think about the value of what you’re purchasing
- Make sure you research your options
- When it’s time to commit, commit.
Not sponsored by Red Wing Shoes*