This blog is about money, but more than that it is about time. With an unlimited supply of money, anyone could do what ever they wished to do with their time. With no money, most people are limited by their circumstance, and that affects their usage of time.
Teaching you about being financially free isn't a focus of this blog, as I will be learning on the fly, with each step I take. Instead of teaching, I will be sharing my experiences and goals with you.
The idea of being financially independent, ie where your passive income meets or exceeds your monthly expenses, is not a new idea. With technology, it has become more widely talked about topic. Some people are tired of spending everything they make in a month, just because everyone else is doing it and marketing encourages it. If you make $20,000 a month and you spend everything you make in that month, how are your retirement plans any better off than someone who makes $2,000 a month but saves $500.00? You aren't.
My introduction to this idea came from within my family. My grandfather was very frugal. He saved enough to be able to retire at 50. At the time, that seemed strange. People are supposed to work until their bodies or minds can't perform anymore, right? Wrong. For over 20 years he has been able to do what he wants, when he wants, because he saved enough to live the life he wants. Or, for years he did what others wouldn't, so he could later do what other can't.
Later, Matt Theriault of Epic Real Estate introduced me to the idea that to retire, all you really need to do is cover your expenses, and then your time is yours to do with as you please. He worked himself into a place where his passive income generated more than enough income to cover his monthly expenses. He was just always so busy with his business in Real Estate, that I decided it wasn't for me. I like my time.
I then came across Mr. Money Mustache who teaches it is easier to save more than earn more. Or, you directly have control over how much you spend, you do not directly have control over how much you earn. He has lived a life of extreme frugality. I learned many valuable lessons reading his blog. One of which is that there are certain comforts in life I do not choose to live without, as Mr. Money Mustache has decided to.
Lastly, I came into contact with Dividend Mantra who writes about frugal (not extreme) living and wise investing in a niche field, dividend bearing stocks. If these three writers were my three bears, Dividend Mantra is my comfortable baby bear. He is working on earning income, saving 50% of that income, and investing it into dividend paying stocks. His goal is to accumulate enough monthly dividend payout to cover all of his expenses by the time he reaches 40. He appears well on his way.
For me, I want to be able to call myself financially free by the time I hit 45 years old. I don't plan on retiring, but I want the wiggle room if the itch grows strong enough that it needs a scratch. I choose 45 because I am starting off in a different place than the above mentioned writers. It will realistically take me more time. This is still an aggressive goal. But it is a SMART goal, it is definitely achievable.
