Net Worth And The Alarm Clock

A side effect of being open with my net worth and posting income reports is that many readers wonder why I keep working. Doc G, you have enough money to retire and then some, what gives? Although I can talk till my face is blue about one more year syndrome, I think this type of reasoning falls flat with your average FIRE blog reader. If the end game is retirement, why keep going? I have pondered this question often and I can’t help but coming back to the story of net worth and the alarm clock.

Now, I say alarm clock, but does anyone still use those clock radios anymore? I actually did when I started my career in 1999. There is nothing like the joy of waking up to the blare of an annoying morning talk show personality. We all have experienced it in the past. Fortunately, we no longer have to count on such antiquated machines.

I wake up every morning to the incessant ringing of my iPhone instead. I’m sure most of us do. But that doesn’t change the point of the story.

Another Silly Metaphor?

Sometimes I think that my net worth and the alarm clock are one and the same. Bare with me for a moment here. Every morning the alarm clock goes off and pushes me to get out of bed and go to work. It’s tone reminds me that there is money to be made, things to do, a career to build. It wakes me up every morning. If the alarm fails or I forget to set it, I may get to work late. I may see less patients and my billings will go down. It is that important!

The alarm becomes more than an monotonous tone. It eventually holds emotional value. Some days I look forward to it. Others I dread.

When you walk the path of financial independence and early retirement, the great symbol of freedom is the act of throwing it out the window. You know you have made it when you can role out of bed at any old time without being harried by this relentless taskmaster.

Net Worth Is Similar

The similarities between net worth and the alarm clock are striking.

For most of my career, net worth has woken me up every morning ringing in my ear. It has pushed me to get out of bed and jump in the shower.

I religiously check it every evening before going to bed. Making sure that all the figures are in the right place. If I become lazy and stop paying attention, my bottom line decreases and my path to freedom lengthens.

Net worth is the financial alarm. It motivates me to relentlessly pursue the right path.

One More Year

A funny thing happened a few years ago. My net worth exceeded my needs. I became financially free. My joy turned quickly to thoughts of my alarm clock. I ran to the bedroom, yanked it from the wall, and threw it out the window. Free. I could sleep in every morning and watch cartoons in my pajamas.

I went to bed that night with joy in my heart and a newfound feeling of lightness. My mind a blur, I fell asleep instantly.

AT 4:45am the next morning, I woke up promptly, took a shower, and went back to work. The fact that there was no longer an alarm had absolutely no effect. My body, trained over all these years, awoke and subconsciously carried itself through the motions.

No matter how hard I try, the alarm has ceased to be a separate thing. It has become internalized. It is now a part of who I am.

I no longer have my net worth buzzing in my ear either. It stopped being a driver years ago. We talk about the one year phenomena as if it is a thing. As if it is a switch that can be turned on and off.

For some of us, making money is in our bones. This idea of net worth, this alarm, was nothing more than a false prophet.

A remnant of once important, long forgotten need.