Hi, I’m new to the MMM forum and relatively new to the world of “FIRE”. Actually I’ve been working towards FI for 15+ years, but somehow only recently discovered all these FIRE blogs and fantastic resources, just as I am just reaching the finish line myself. It would’ve been extremely useful to know earlier, but oh well, better late than never!
I guess a brief intro is in order for the first post : I’m late 30’s with wife and two young kids. I guess based on typical FIRE criteria we’ve been FI for some years already, but only now about to RE. Perhaps this is partly conservatism, partly an enjoyable expat lifestyle, and final part due to OMY syndrome (there’s another acronym I recently learned to describe myself!). I’m currently serving notice period and we will relocate home (Australia) in the coming month to open the exciting next life chapter. Our initial plan is two SAH parents vs two toddlers, so at least the game will now be numerically balanced and we have a hope to succeed…. Just kidding. I may continue some home based freelance/consultancy, but the clear objective is to wind down career, prioritise family time and pursue new interests, hobbies, meaningful pursuits etc.
This last point is the question I want to ask here, regarding meaningful pursuits and specifically the strong urge to “give back”. This seems to be one of the focal points in my mind lately about what I should be doing post FIRE. I keep having floods of ideas like volunteering, learning new skills in “giving” professions, starting a NFP, etc. I catch myself in these thoughts and try to tame the enthusiasm, usually by reminding myself of the first objective (ie. to cherish a few valuable years at home with our kids before they reach school years). Maybe this is a guilt thing due to never needing to work again?!
I’d be interested to hear feedback, if this is common for those about to FIRE / post FIRE, and any tips how people handle it ?
Thanks, FFA