What's the wall that separates us from our dreams & goals? Is it fear (of success or failure?)? Responsibility? Lack of support? Lack of a clear vision?
I've been thinking for a while about turning this blog solely into a FI or FIRE blog. For those of you unfamiliar with the terms it means Financial Independence or Financial Independence and Early Retirement. I'm not sure I'm on target to retire early. Many of those that are in the FIRE community are saving 40% or upward of their take home pay, as well as having other avenues of passive income. Last year I saved 27% of my paychecks. While being better than the average American of saving 5% a year, it is still a far cry from the 40% savings rate many would say one needs to become financially independent.
I have set a saving goal of 33% for this year. And hoping to increase to 40% and 50% in the very near future. Two prime objectives are putting most of my savings towards my fully funded ROTH (yearly limit of $5500) and then additional savings towards paying down my mortgage. I have one very large expense of over $11,000 involving a roof on my home coming up next month, I will take from my previous savings from years past.
However, obstacles remain for me in my path to FI and this is the short lists of those obstacles:
1) I don't want to deny myself of every luxury I have. While many of my friends would describe me as frugal, I still feel like I indulge in eating out, donating money to causes I believe in, and purchasing things that aren't really "necessary". Can I "up" my savings rate and still partake in these things that give me joy?
2)I don't feel like I have the support of friends or family. While my immediate family has always been financially conservative they are not big on non-traditional life-styles. Working over 30 plus years for one company and receiving a pension seems "safe" to them. (I"m in year 22 of working in my career.)
3) At this point, I don't really have a defined plan for what I would do if, indeed, this would ever happen and I'd get to retire early and become financially independent. I love to create- in whatever fashion that takes on. I love to give to causes I believe in, though the causes seem diverse and unrelated at the moment. I love the thought of the freedom to do whatever I feel like doing rather than continuing the hamster wheel of the daily grind.
Not sure where my dreams might take me, but keep reading as I figure out how to overcome the obstacle that I face and define the future that lie ahead.
