Bogged down

[Norman Johnson]

We are in the middle of the FI journey. We got rid of the debt just before I went on maternity leave, and I haven't had any income in a few months now. We are treading water right now and our net worth hasn't moved other than with the market fluctuations.

Anyone else in no man's land? The start line is way behind us, and the finish line is way ahead. What do you do to to keep on plugging along on days like this?

[AJ]

That's a pretty high-level question. I'm only maybe 30-35% of the way on my journey, but I hear what you're saying. When I'm feeling highly motivated, but there are no "big things" to accomplish at the moment, or any major milestone s in the near future, I try to do one of two things: either knock out some prep work that might help me down the road, or try to do whatever it is I will do in FI.

So, as an example, when our life gets busy, housework slides. And when housework slides, we eat out more, which delays our journey. So, I keep a list of "sometimes" chores to tackle when I'm feeling motivated (like, prepping freezer meals, organizing cupboards, deep cleaning, etc.) that I can fall back on if life starts to get too crazy. Or, I plan on writing more in FI than I do now. So, I might sit down and outline chapters or brainstorm character ideas. Even though it is a little frustrating to only have a few minutes to work on it, I feel like I'm kind of "practicing" FI by doing those things now as much as time will allow now.

I don't know if that's the direction you were thinking, but I hope that helps.

[Norman Johnson]

It does help. I'm really motivated by seeing my net worth/savings go up and debt go down. We have no debt, so that motivation is gone, and the savings is stagnant until I go back to work. I feel like I'm just sitting here, not going forward and I don't like it.

[arebelspy]

It does help. I'm really motivated by seeing my net worth/savings go up and debt go down. We have no debt, so that motivation is gone, and the savings is stagnant until I go back to work. I feel like I'm just sitting here, not going forward and I don't like it.

I hear ya on Net Worth progress as motivation.  When my net worth grows, I see it as shedding time off my working years.

Is there any way you can work to either make a little income or reduce expenses to grow that net worth while on maternity leave?

[gooki]

I'd recommend changing your mindset. Consider your maternity leave a few years of retirement taken in advance.

[Norman Johnson]

An attitude adjustment is probably somewhat in order, but in the end, I'm a numbers girl. I have been using a spreadsheet to budget for over ten years now, and I've been tracking my net worth monthly for at least three years.

Arebelspy, you are right, I should see if I can cut expenses. Food for us is a big one. We have also had a few rennovations come up and I've been working on them during the day when the little one is napping. I suppose I should count my skill building for something, it just sucks that I can't put it on my balance sheet!

Gooki, I am looking at it like that, but it's hard to enjoy when I'm still worried about money. One thing I have learned is when I finally do reach FI, I am going to have some sort of part time work just to get out of the house and see people.

[gooki]

If worrying about money is your thing (i.e. not likely to change any time soon), then keep looking for places to cut expenses. We dropped to one income 18 months ago, and it's taken a good year to get into the position where we are saving money again.

[arebelspy]

Plus there's a future bonus to cutting expenses now.  If you can cut your expenses a little to see your net worth continue to grow while on one income, imagine how much faster it will grow when you have that second income and stay at your new, reduced expenses!

[Dicey]

I'd recommend changing your mindset. Consider your maternity leave a few years of retirement taken in advance.

This answer rocks! Yay for you and deciding to stay home with your little one. Look for any and all tiny leaks in your budget. As you plug them up, you will find your net worth growing again, even if it's only "Baby Steps". You may never go back to a "regular" job again.