What Draws Me To Financial Independence

The ability to support myself without relying on a paycheck has become a goal of mine for more than 5 years now… But why?

Do I just want to get rich quick?
Or get out of my 8 to 5 as quickly as possible?
Am I striving to find a deeper meaning in life?
Do I just want more stuff?

It’s not just one reason that’s got me pursuing Financial Independence. My journey is always changing, and different factors are always at play. Currently none of the above is inspiring me to become Financially Independent.

I try to keep a pretty optimistic outlook on the world, but I do spend time in my head thinking through “what if” scenarios, considering parts of my life that I don’t have control over. That may be where some of my current motivations come from.

Here are some of my current reasons to become financially independent: 

• Peace of mind. Knowing that I’m reliant on others to obtain enough money to live on has always bugged me. It means that others control part of my life. I would prefer to control that part of my life. If I had to or wanted to leave my job for whatever reason, then there would be some added stress in my life until I could find an income source. Once I have enough investments to live on, I’ll know that money is one factor that I likely won’t have to stress over… at least to the same degree.

• Spend more quality time with others. Yes, I’m an introvert, but I really enjoy spending time with people I care about from time to time, especially family and close friends. I’m fortunate enough to spend quality time with others right now, and am currently building up vacation at a rate consistent with what works for us at this moment. With busy kids activities and somewhat frequent family get-togethers, this part of my life feels pretty good for the most part. But if work creeps into my personal life too much, or if I want to take extended vacations or take leave without pay, or leave work entirely at some point, it would be nice to not have any financial consequences.

• Time to pursue other passions. My plate feels kind of full currently, but I think that works well for me right now. However, my interests may change in the future. I might want to spend more time on other projects, whether by myself or with others. I may want to spend time on passions that make little or no money. If I’m financially independent, then that will be okay. I would be able to spend time on things that bring more purpose and happiness to my life.

• Time to learn. I did okay in school. But I also didn’t take all the classes I wanted to take. I didn’t get to dig deep into that many subjects. I’m not going to be alive forever, and there is so much from the past and present I would like to learn about. There are new discoveries and research I am curious about. I just don’t spend very much time these days learning about topics not related to my job. Who knows, I may discover a new passion of mine.

• Take better care of my body. Along with remaining mentally strong, I’d like to make sure I’m physically fit too. I do exercise, but my job involves a lot of stationary work. If my physical well-being starts to go downhill, it would be nice to be Financially Independent and be able to make any changes in my life that may be needed.

• Give more. We donate money and time throughout the year toward causes we care about. But we also want to make sure we’re securing our finances. When we have our future funded, we will hopefully be able to donate more money and time toward things that we feel are worthwhile.

• Take time to relax. Yes, I do take vacations. We have a blast traveling, and stay pretty busy. But it always seems that there is so much to do, and we’re never caught up. When I finally do reduce my hours or stop working entirely, I plan to spend more time getting caught up, but I’m going to spend some time relaxing too. I have a number of books I haven’t read yet, board games I haven’t played, and plenty of other things I’ve been putting off because I just don’t have time.

As I mentioned earlier, my motivations will probably change over time, and it will be interesting to monitor them over time.

Reader Question:

• What are some of your motivations to become Financially Independent?

Leave your answers or comments below – or email us directly at info@epicfinancialjourney.com