Someone in these blogs linked to violentacres.com and I've just been reading her. Her manner is not calculated to win friends and influence people, but what really resonated with me was her idea of buying freedom by not buying stuff. Not being tied to having to do what the boss says - how wonderful! I know some people think that beneficiaries get money without having to work for it, but being forced to dance to Income Support's tune is no joy either. I don't know any unemployed people who are happy with their situation.
The classic route to Financial Independence - what violentacres did - is to work like crazy for a number of years, climb that career ladder, mazimize your income, and invest that surplus until you have enough to live on. THEN you retire and do all the things you've been putting off because you didn't have time or money. I'm not happy with that. For one thing, my health just won't let me work all that overtime. I was exhausted doing 30 hours a week and had no energy to do anything else. I'd like to start cutting back on work NOW and having time to do the things I enjoy, spend time with friends and family. That work/life balance everyone keeps talking about.
Still, fewer hours means less income, so I'm going to go all Buddhist and start reducing my wants. The less I need to buy, the fewer hours I have to work to bring in the income. After all, there are people in this country who meet all their needs by casual work a few months of the year. I will still be creating a surplus and saving, but it will take me longer to reach the Classic definition of financial independence.
Today I recived my last week's pay along with some holiday pay; total $429.67. I'm putting $200 of this into Bonus Bonds. My emergency fund will stand at $1920.
Financial Independence
December 27th, 2006 at 07:48 am
December 27th, 2006 at 08:27 am 1167208021
Esp when ppl goin njoy their count down & xmas or NY, all I bein doing was work & OT...
GAMBATEH & gd luck 2 all ppl workin hard outside!!! cheer~
December 27th, 2006 at 02:44 pm 1167230682
Tina, if that's what you really want to do, then so be it. Financial planning isn't a one-size-fits-all proposition, so we all have to find our own way of making it work for us. With that in mind, we have to answer our own question of how much we want to work and how much we want to cut back.
The only "rule" that I recommend to follow is to "live below our means" each and every month (or by the time we get paid). Then, with whatever is left, you can take a small percentage of that to spend on yourself and celebrate. The rest you would put into saving and investing.
I prefer to do it this way because the more positive cashflow you generate at the end of every month or pay period, the more you can spend on yourself! But more importantly, the more you can also save and invest for your financial future.
I wrote a similar commentary in Kristina's blog.
December 27th, 2006 at 06:48 pm 1167245336