Financial Independence, Sacrifice, and Misery

One of the great joys of blogging is realizing that after you have written hundreds of posts, occasionally you contradict yourself. Or at least, two posts seem to have conflicting messages. I had this feeling recently after perusing some of my recent writings. In my post about front-loading the sacrifice, I strongly suggest my readers work hard at the beginning of their careers and accept the misery. This will add rocket fuel to their financial independence pathway and jettison them into the stratosphere. Yet, in my post about the three roads for three brothers, my message is much more subdued. In fact, one could argue that I advise to stop being in such a hurry. I even hint that maybe financial independence shouldn’t be the ultimate goal. . Relax. Enjoy the ride. So what gives? What is the relationship between financial independence, sacrifice, and misery.

Although this topic seems to be academic, I think there are real-time conversations in our community about such issues. Many out there are slogging along in their day-to-day jobs miserably sweating it out for some mythical number they define as financial freedom.

Is this healthy?

Is it realistic?

You’re Doing It All Wrong

I was following a conversation in Facebook the other day. The poster was divulging that he no longer felt any motivation at work because he knew that financial independence was just a few years away. Why work hard? Why innovate?

And here, I think, is the crux regarding financial independence, sacrifice and misery. We work so hard to reach financial freedom because we hope to regain control of our lives. Control of our time. Yet, we sacrifice that same time today for this promise of happiness tomorrow. What if tomorrow never comes? What if financial catastrophe foils our plans. God forbid financial independence is boring, or anxiety provoking, or uncomfortable,

Why do we give up the bird in the hand for the possibility of two in the bush?

I thought we, as a group, aren’t speculators?

FI Or No FI, Stop Wasting Your Time

Sacrifice. Work hard. Miss an occasional family get together. All of this is the cost of lunging towards financial independence. But, at least, work at something you like. I didn’t say love (most of us don’t love work).

If your job is miserable, get another.

If you sit at your desk every day and produce nothing, touch no one, and find little joy in your activity… you are wasting all that precious time you say you are striving to gain with financial independence.

It’s ok to slow your path in order to enjoy the process more.

Practical Advice

Financial independence, sacrifice,and misery do not have to be unalterably glued together. You do not have to forego today to live tomorrow.

Leave a high paying miserable job for a low paying enjoyable job. Go from stockbroker to forest ranger. So it might take you five extra years to reach FIRE! You’ll enjoy those five years much more.
Remove the unpleasantness of your current job. Can you jettison the parts that cause the most misery. So what if you have to work longer?
Go part time. Leave early on Fridays and start late on Mondays. You might get paid less, but you will enjoy both your week and weekend more.

In Conclusion

Financial independence, sacrifice, and misery don’t have to travel together. While we all want to get to FI as fast as possible, it sometimes makes more sense to slow progress in order to decrease unhappiness. No one knows what the future holds. There are no guarantees about our ability to enjoy tomorrow, next week, or even next month.

So keep planning for financial freedom, but don’t forget to enjoy the here and now.