Don’t Wait For FI To Be Yourself

I’m sorry to tell you this, personal finance bloggers, but I’ve spent more money in June than I’ve invested. 😱

This all started a few months ago when I purchased a camera. Although I bought it used from my brother and got an amazing deal, it broke the seal, if you will. I also purchased the really awesome looking Geekoto camera Tripod shown below. It was a big deal because I really haven’t allowed myself to buy much over the past few years. I’ve just been saving, investing and hustling on this blog.

But buying that camera got me interested in going out more again. At the very least, I try to go for a walk per weekend to snap photos now. This led me to realize that blogging is a vehicle to improve my life. 

For example, the photography aspect of blogging got me interested in travelling more. It’s motivation to get out of the house.

Similarly, the monthly dividend income updates are motivation to continue saving and investing. It helps me build wealth.

Most importantly, to me, though, blogging is a creative outlet. It enables me to maintain a creative approach to everything I do. This is a safe place to practice writing, photography, marketing, design, and to do things the way I want.

Then it hit me—nothing has changed. I’m still the same person I was when I was younger but I tried to repress a lot of my interests to focus on the escape. The truth is that I’m mainly interested in money and investing because financial independence allows me to maintain my own identity.

Waiting To Be Yourself Will Kill You Slowly

I’ve seen a lot of adults become nothing more than an extension of the companies they work for. The way they speak, their online persona, their style—it’s just a representation of the company they work for. 

I secretly have a goal to snap a photo of what this looks like. The image would tell a story of a man that’s given in. The setting would be during the commute. Of course, it would be a black and white image, and it would feature someone in slightly oversized dress clothes. The subject would be a tad out of shape and would have that tired, dead-looking expression on their face. 

Anyways, the only reason I’m cognizant of this is because it happened to me. The expectation to dress in business casual attire killed my interest in clothing. The pressure to appear like a mature adult got to me. 

During my year off, though, without those expectations, I naturally shifted back to who I was. It was like an explosion. I was suddenly interested in clothing, writing, and all the things I can’t help but be attracted to.

When I initially went back to work, there was an immediate conflict of interest. I began to see myself fading away again. I stopped being interested in clothes because it was a detractor to reaching financial independence. It made me want to hide away from everyone. I even lost my confidence for a while. But worst of all, I became bitter and angry towards other’s lifestyles. I wrote articles like The Appalling Disrespect for Money out of anger and while hiding away from society. 

Fortunately, I’ve been able to realize that the problem was me. Everyone has their own idea of what the perfect lifestyle looks like.

Financial Independence and its timeframe is different for everyone

Ideally, financial independence seekers should aim to reach early retirement as soon as possible, right?

We’re supposed to sacrifice everything, wear clothes with holes, pack all our lunches and save like crazy.

But here’s the thing—the timeframe is different for everyone because it’s about values.

I’m totally fine with avoiding a car payment while living in a big city like Toronto, because there’s more affordable transportation. I really don’t give a damn about buying watches to prove I can afford them. I couldn’t care less about status because my status is in my fucking bank account.

However, I’m not happy with an outdated smartphone, and I couldn’t feel good about myself wearing a fucking pair of Sketchers lol. It may sound like vanity, but my self worth is tied into the clothes I wear. I once wrote that fashion is the truest expression of how you feel each day and I still believe that. 

So with this value orientated approach to financial independence in mind, I’m ok with a longer time frame because I’ll be happier on the way there.

Don’t Wait for FI To Be Yourself — Eliminate The Unimportant But Keep What Matters

Many FI Bloggers are on a supercharged journey to reach early retirement. Their savings rates and portfolios are extremely impressive.

But frankly, a lot of normal people I know would scoff at that level of frugality. For instance, I come from a family that loves cars. The idea that they would have to take a bus to work does not appeal to them and I respect that. Although the FI community views jobbing as their personal hell, they view sacrificing what they enjoy now as a miserable lifestyle. They definitely have an argument. 

Based on that observation, I’ve started to view this blog as the FI blog for people that want to enjoy life now.

I am more interested in getting average folks to begin paying themselves first than I am interested in motivating them to retire in the shortest possible timeframe.

I want people that visit this blog to know that financial independence is about your perfect lifestyle more than anything else. Hopefully it’s obvious that I love blogging, photography, writing, and that I appreciate creativity. Hopefully it’s apparent that my passion for those interests is the reason I save and invest. I’m not tryna pile money for the sake of piling money.

In my opinion, the key is eliminating the things in your life that don’t provide value. I believe anyone can reach Financial independence through investing if they cut out unimportant expenses.

Concluding Thoughts

Perhaps you never struggled with the escape like I have, and maybe this article does not resonate with you. That’s cool.

Maybe reaching financial independence as fast as possible is the key to your happiness. If so, it’s awesome to have that level of self-awareness. It’s extremely rare.

The point is—you don’t have to let financial independence stop you from being yourself now. 

In this blogger’s view, it’s better to build around the lifestyle you want now. Then you can find a way to earn enough through various income streams to support that lifestyle.

At the end of the day, life is too short to spend even one day not living the lifestyle you want. Moreover, it’s possible to achieve financial independence by focussing on values and by eliminating what is not meaningful .

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I am not a licensed investment or tax adviser. All opinions are my own. This post contains advertisements by Google Adsense and Amazon affiliate links. This post also contains internal links and links to RTC social media accounts.

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