This is for people who love their jobs and could not imagine a life without working.

The FIRE movement (financial independent, retired early) is all about retiring early. People of the FIRE movement are trying to get financially ahead so much that they don’t have the need to work for money ever again. You can do this either by saving up a large amount of money to live of the returns or by lowering your expenses by a lot. Quickest is to do both.

You really don’t want to stop working? Do you love your job and really don’t feel the need to be financially free? I still think you should consider getting financially free. The feeling of going to work because you want to versus because you need to is a world of a difference. Besides that, who knows how great your work is in 20 or 30 or 40 years from now. How will you feel physically, mentally and emotionally in many years from now? What will the company you work for look like in that amount of years, or will it even exist? Will your job be taken by robots and machines? Will a normal workweek be 4 days a week or 7?  Saving for a rainy day, even if you love your job is never a bad idea.

I want you to think today about the feeling of wanting to work instead of needing to work. Really feel it, how do you feel? Is your job still as awesome? Do you want to go there and spend your precious time at work while you could be doing everything you want instead? Is it worth it to wake up by your alarm before you are actually done sleeping? How about commuting in a traffic jam?

If you still love your job: Congratulations! I salute you and I envy you. I have never loved a job that much that it felt like the most enjoyable thing I could imagine doing 40 hours a week. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think there is something wrong with working and having a job. It is just that the freedom of getting to work instead of having to work makes all the difference. And besides. The freedom you get from working for example 3 days a week instead of 5 already makes a lot of difference. And you can pursue your dreams in the time freed. Or not, and live a leisurely and content life just at a slower pace than the rushed busy people around you.

I don’t think anybody on their deathbed has ever said: ‘Well, I wish I had spent more time working and less time with my kids, that would have been great’. Or: ‘I was thinking about buying that 73th pair of jeans that looked exactly like the 72 perfectly fine pairs already in my stuffed closet and I didn’t buy it. That is the biggest regret I have’.

Having money/investments/passive income will give you the freedom to be flexible. If you have debt you are basically a slave to the lender, and you will feel like you are never really ‘done’ working or feel flexible to work a little less when other things become more important.

The more money stays in your pocket (works for you in passive income!) the more freedom you will experience. And the feeling of working because you can and want to gives so much peace of mind.

Are you planning on retiring early? And have you ever heard of the FIRE movement before?

Let me know in the comments!

Till next time,

Elske

I am not a Financial advisor nor am I YOUR financial advisor. I am not a trained financial professional. This blog is for entertainment purposes only.