Author Topic: What are your dreams for FI?  (Read 8647 times)

mindaugas

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What are your dreams for FI?
« on: November 01, 2012, 10:52:11 AM »
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/05/26/guest-posting-financial-independence-23-years-later/

This post really resonated with me because it sums up exactly why I want FI. Plain and simple I want FU money and that stems from a bad job I just got away from. I felt enslaved to it because we needed the salary. Which brought me to thinking about all the stuff I want to do when FI that also provide me with encouragement since these work as goals as well. Most of which is also not mustachian.

  • Learn to sail, buy a sail boat, sail to places.
    Live in HI.
    Own a PC repair-Used bikes-used books-dog-gluten-free-cafe store. Basically a retail spot for everything I like. Someone will come :)
    ride my bike a lot, all over the state.
    Uber awesome summer vacations with my son, probably in an RV traveling to different places in the US then over to Europe.
    Follow each stage of the TdF in France with plenty of pre-stage riding of the major climbs.
    Live in the mountains of CO.

Does this defeat the purpose of living frugal? Am I just saving now to spend later? Sure, maybe, but I don't plan on doing any of these crazy things unless I have the stash to do so and still remain FI. If that means I gotta deliver pizzas part time for a year so I have enough saved up to take an extended vacation in Europe without draining the stash, so be it. I think most of us would agree that FI doesn't mean no working. At least for me it means freedom to work on what I want pretty much when I want as well. (and I liked delivering pizzas) Like the linked blog post.

So, anyone else having crazy FI dreams?

Jarvis

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2012, 11:48:34 AM »
Sure, I have crazy FI dreams.  I grew up in a farm family, but I'm living city life at the moment.  Once FI, I want to get back closer to rural life. 

I'd like enough space to have a massive garden, providing my family with much of our fruit & vegetables.  Renting in the city limits really cramps the size of my current garden.

I own my own weights and workout quite consistently.  Once FI, I'd enjoy training others for a bit of side income.

And for the craziest FI dream, I'd like to build my own house.  Not just any house, but a dome house.  My wife is on board with a lot of things, but she's not quite on board with this one yet.  Maybe I'll have to save that one for a bit farther down the FI track.

Most importantly, I'd like to have more days that feel like one of those great Saturdays or Sundays where I spend a lot of time with people I love, doing things I enjoy.  My dream for FI is to create more opportunities for days like those.



arebelspy

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2012, 12:18:58 PM »
I have dreams like you, no really.  Just much less touchy-feely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bate_tvVUpk
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bananabread

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2012, 12:34:43 PM »
I want to slow travel the world (as in, months in a place instead of days) while making indie games :)

mindaugas

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2012, 12:48:51 PM »
Glad to know I'm not the only one. I'll prob end up sleeping 14 hours each night and lounging around in my underwear for the first year of FI tho.

jimmygibbon

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2012, 03:29:47 PM »
My husband and I want to relocate to the north coast of the Dominican Republic and rent a nice condo directly on the ocean.  Rentals are available for 500-1000 per month.  We hope to do this in 2013.  I would love to teach English for free, read books, and walk on the beach.

mindaugas

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #6 on: November 01, 2012, 03:39:24 PM »
My husband and I want to relocate to the north coast of the Dominican Republic and rent a nice condo directly on the ocean.  Rentals are available for 500-1000 per month.  We hope to do this in 2013.  I would love to teach English for free, read books, and walk on the beach.

That sounds awesome.

JohnGalt

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #7 on: November 01, 2012, 04:11:25 PM »
I want to float from this to that knowing that I can quit any job I take at any time or just pick up and spend a few months doing whatever comes to mind... 

Some ideas... Spend a summer as the caretaker for a national forest, winter as a ski instructor, spend a couple years trying to get a start up company or two going, hike the Appalachian, spend a year as a bum (somewhere temperate) blogging/writing about the experience, join the peace corps, bike across the country, live in a commune, continuously jump in and out of my current industry as an independent consultant, go to grad school, grow a ridiculous beard, get into politics (behind the scenes, not run for office)

cadamsgis

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #8 on: November 01, 2012, 05:19:09 PM »
buy land and build a small house in mexico (small village where my husband is from)

travel the world

kkbmustang

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #9 on: November 01, 2012, 07:36:29 PM »
I have dreams like you, no really.  Just much less touchy-feely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bate_tvVUpk

Arebelspy- We love that movie in this house!

My dream for FI is this (it's kind of specific): Every day I take the kids to school, go work out (yoga/dance class), spend all day writing fiction (young adult novels), pick the kids up from school, hang out with them/help with homework, cook dinner, eat dinner with the Hubs and kids, then I go to rehearsal for the latest musical I'm performing in. When I'm not performing in a show and/or it is summer vacation for the kids, we're traveling and visiting friends and family. I'm also growing our own fruits and vegetables in a very tiny and manageable garden. I read a lot and have a completely decorated home that is much smaller than the one we have now and is what I call comfortable minimalist. It is decorated with furniture that I have found in yard sales or at thrift stores and have refinished. Everything in my home has a purpose and/or is something we find to be beautiful. Everything has a place and there is no clutter. The Hubs and I collect a check every month from our rental properties that are managed by a property management company because I don't want the hassle. There is a beach involved somewhere in there.

totoro

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #10 on: November 01, 2012, 09:28:15 PM »
Wow, fairly similar ideas to mine.  I want to write YA fiction as well.  We already have a few rental properties - one next to a beach :)  Ditto on the refinished furniture home with no clutter - working on that right now - we just moved - and we are also working on the garden. Everything except for that singing thing... remove and replace with fishing.

sideways8

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2012, 09:50:36 PM »
Aside from the obvious (MUSIC!! friends/family/reading), I would like to do some volunteer work, perhaps even foster a pet or two. If I end up in a really good financial position, I would even like to have a doggy retirement home for canine seniors.This particular dream was inspired by my old lady dog, who is the sweetest dog on the planet. She's hogging the couch next to me right now.

Russ

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #12 on: November 01, 2012, 10:16:52 PM »
Oh goodness, so many things:
  • travel around the US, getting to know my country
  • play music. hopefully well enough that other people would pay to hear me play
  • spend my wandering years living in a van, calling everywhere home. this goes along with #1, and possibly #2 if I'm ever well-known enough to tour
  • work summers (maybe winters too, depends on the climate) in bike shops. Become certified as a race mechanic. Wrench at some big-name events or maybe travel with a pro team
  • work as a part-time machinist. I love the trade as a hobby, but I think it would be too stressful of a job to do full-time
  • continue my education, on scholarship, probably at a trade school. watchmakers are in high enough demand that tuition is usually paid for by a watch company upfront, so maybe that. or possibly an apprenticeship of some sort
  • volunteer with Americorps, Peace Corps, etc.
  • work in a bakery to learn the ropes, and later partner with an old friend to open our own
  • live in a foreign country long enough to call it home
  • eventually settle down and build my own home. I really like the idea of a shipping container house right now, but that might change.
The plan right now is to work in engineering until I'm at bare minimum FI passive income of $10,000/year, then quit and continue working at something I enjoy more, but that pays less. Then I'll live off the new income and watch the 'stache grow courtesy of compound interest. By the time I'm ready to settle down, I should have more than enough to live on, through the ups and the downs. I'm fortunate to have a whole bunch of profitable hobbies, so making ends meet in the compounding phase should be pretty easy.

liquidbanana

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #13 on: November 02, 2012, 04:47:38 AM »
RVing would be fun and fairly affordable if you converted a diesel RV to use straight veggie oil. I think, at least. I'm kinda getting the impression that corporations are getting the hang of this and making free veggie oil a rarity, though.

When I reach FI, I just want to live simply in an urban homestead. I'd like to grow as much food as possible and do lame domestic stuff like knit and take care of grandchildren. I know, I dream big.

I'd also like to volunteer in community development. Or maybe community organizing. It would be cool to run my own community development corporation, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

When I was younger, I wanted to reach FI so I could build an ecovillage, but I've already given that up. lol

maryofdoom

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #14 on: November 02, 2012, 07:03:02 AM »
I'm getting a taste of it this weekend (going on stitch retreat with my lady friends) but when I do achieve my goals, I want to spend my days working on stitching projects and learning more new techniques. If I haven't achieved Master Craftsman certification by then, I'll work on that. Maybe I'll even get involved in running parts of the guild - they do have national officers for many different positions.

Also I want to volunteer for causes in which I believe (like Planned Parenthood) and take the dog for a walk whenever I feel like it (which is not as often as he would like, because he is a dog).

mindaugas

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #15 on: November 02, 2012, 07:05:27 AM »
Is the term still early retirement? Because to me it seems like everyone is planning on quitting the jobs they have now when FI is achieved and working the jobs they want to. Which technically isn't retirement, technically.

lauren_knows

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #16 on: November 02, 2012, 07:43:37 AM »
Is the term still early retirement? Because to me it seems like everyone is planning on quitting the jobs they have now when FI is achieved and working the jobs they want to. Which technically isn't retirement, technically.

Right. FI is different from RE.

For FI: My wife and I intend on hitting FI sometime when our kids are still in the 6-10yr old range, and would love to move to very-part time positions (enough to barely cover expenses) and watch our stash grow.  During that time, I think we're both looking forward to spending a lot of time with our kids, doing a lot more physical activity (biking, lifting, yoga), and "slowing down" with life.  Then, the moment the kids are out of the house... bam, fully retired.  That part of our life isn't fully mapped out.  I'd love to say that we have concrete plans, but I really believe that wherever our kids end up in the country will have an influence on where we end up retiring to.  We'll see.


tooqk4u22

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #17 on: November 02, 2012, 07:50:37 AM »
I don't know, I have no dreams.  Work and taking care of family is all that I know.

So my dream for FI is to figure out what my dream for FI is.

Russ

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #18 on: November 02, 2012, 07:51:41 AM »
Well if you want to be technical, I will be retired from my engineering career. Whether doing other things after that retirement makes me un-retired is up for debate, but I will definitely be retired for at least a short amount of time. I'd argue that I will continue to be retired after taking up a new job, because just like many retired people all I'll be doing is filling my time with a hobby. That I happen to get paid to do this hobby is just a side benefit since I'd gladly do them without pay.

I plan to be both FI and retired at the same time, so my FI and ER goals are pretty much the same things.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2012, 07:54:55 AM by Russ »

arebelspy

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Re: What are your dreams for FI?
« Reply #19 on: November 02, 2012, 07:56:20 AM »
Let's not turn this thread into a debate about what is/isn't early retirement.

Let's just say it's dreams for when one is FI or FIRE or semi-ER or whatever the hell they want to call it.  Just life dreams in general about how one wants to spend their time.

Feel free to start (yet another) thread discussing the nuances of the phrase "early retirement."  ;)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

 

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