Is the Financial Independence Community Close Minded?
Is The Financial Independence Community Close Minded?
I have found a huge amount of support and enjoyment by interacting with like minded personal finance people on social media and within the blogosphere. Unlike the lonely stealth existence of the real world, I can express certain financial opinions without the fear of being shamed or misunderstood. I can’t tell you how many times a commenter on my blog has alluded to the idea that they have finally found their people by engaging in this fantastic community. Yet, as open as we are as a group, I can’t help but feeling that we too have our biases. From time to time, I feel down right ashamed discussing my choices involving money. Is the financial independence community close minded?
This is not a simple question to answer. Especially since I feel such a strong connection to many out there who read and write about personal finance.
But, I wonder, if sometimes we simplify the conversation by pretending that there is only one road that leads to success.
The Frugality Conundrum
A stalwart pillar of financial independence is frugality. If you spend less, you need less. It makes perfect sense, and a whole cottage industry of blogs, how-to manuals, and life hacks abound. Why frugality and financial independence? When you follow the iterations backwards, you eventually come to the idea of living a free, happy, engaged life.
So what if you have plenty of money? Is there really any reason to be frugal anymore? Should you skimp and scrimp if you don’t need to? Is there any virtue in travel hacking if you can easily afford the extra, and don’t want to spend the time and energy juggling credit cards?
Is it ok to work at a job you love, make a million dollars a year, and spend frivolously from time to time because you enjoy it?
I certainly have felt some disparagement for my post about buying a Tesla. There was lots of chatter about lost opportunity costs. But, if we already save greater than fifty percent of our income, does it really matter?
Is the financial independence community close minded outside the halo of frugal living?
Higher Education/Opportunity Cost
By far, the greatest boost to my road to financial independence was my high W2 income. Being a doctor has provided me many opportunities to beef up my salary, engage in lazy side hustles, and stock away savings. My first post residency job, I was getting paid in the six figures. This paved the way for a rapid accumulation of assets.
The only reason I was able to vault ahead so quickly is that my family believed in investing in higher education. I went to top ranked, expensive schools, that provided me with the skills and know how to compete for the very best jobs.
There is quite a bit of backlash against higher education and the tuition bill that follows. Many wonder if the traditional path to wealth paved with university learning now leads to a dead-end.
Is the financial independence community close-minded to the idea that sometimes you have to spend money to make money?
Work Optional
My name is Doc G. I am financial independent. And (turns head down with a tear rolling down his cheek) I still go to work everyday.
Listen. Retirement is not for everyone. Many of us enjoy the challenges inherent to professional life. We enjoy problem solving and competing. We even enjoy generating revenue.
There is no shame in making money either post financial independence or after being so-called “retired”. The many discussions of disclosure and what constitutes retirement suggests that we like to draw lines in the sand.
Is the financial independence community close minded about the meaning of retirement? You better bet we are!
In Summary
I call this blog DiverseFI because I want to write and highlight the diversity of our paths to financial independence. My view-point as a high income earner and high spender is going to be completely different from more frugally based writers like Mr. Money Mustache.
There is room for all of us. Frugal and spendthrift, professional and side hustler, PhD and high school graduate.
The richness of this financial independence community is in our variance.