Happy July 4th!
Even though I retired in my early 30s and moved to Thailand, I haven’t become completely oblivious to what day it is or when certain holidays come around.
In light of it being Independence Day in the United States, which represents freedom, I thought it’d be worthwhile to give you five fast reasons why you should seek out the ultimate form of freedom: financial freedom.
These five reasons are critical to my own financial freedom and early retirement.
And I think they can form the pillars of an amazing and free life for everyone.
Do What You Want…
This is the biggie.
It’s my favorite thing about financial freedom.
Imagine doing precisely, authentically, and unapologetically what you want. Every. Single. Day.
No boss. Nobody to give you a yay or nay. It’s all up to you.
That, my friends, is true freedom.
…When You Want
It’s not just about doing what you want.
It’s about doing it when you want to do it.
Wake up early. Wake up late. Don’t wake up at all.
Whatever.
Personally, I’m a night owl. Waking up early is no bueno.
Regardless, operating on your own schedule is amazing.
…Where You Want
If financial freedom isn’t amazing enough, financial freedom also confers location freedom.
That means you could live anywhere in the world.
I love living in Thailand.
Where you go is totally up to you.
No matter where it is, though, it’ll be a place you love to live. Because you won’t just be there for a job.
…With Whom You Want
I disliked many things about my old job.
One of the many things I didn’t like was, I had to work with people I didn’t like very much.
Co-workers. Bosses. Clients. And so on.
Some people were fine enough. But many really grated on me.
Spending your time almost solely with people you enjoy being around is a massive boost in quality of life.
If I don’t like someone, you can guess how quickly I stop being around that person.
…Why You Want
This is underestimated by a lot of people. Some don’t even consider it.
But it’s extremely important to have a “why” in your life.
What you do should speak to you on some level.
I have specific and meaningful reasons for doing everything I do with my time: blogging, writing, investing, coaching, philanthropy, exercising, etc.
When you can align your true passions with how you spend your time, you’re well on your way to a purposeful, well-lived life.
Conclusion
Financial freedom has led to profound change and radical improvement across all areas of my life.
I’ve truly never been happier. And I couldn’t imagine ever going back to a life that didn’t have financial freedom in it.
Today is a holiday, so I wanted to keep this piece short for you guys.
But short doesn’t mean unimportant.
These five reasons might have come at you fast. But they’re some of the biggest reasons of all to go after financial freedom and gain control of your life.
For more how to achieve and enjoy financial freedom, The Dividend Mantra Way and 5 Steps To Retire In 5 Years both provide a ton of depth.
What do you think? Do any of these five reasons motivate you to become financially free?
Thanks for reading.
P.S. If you’d like to achieve financial freedom, check out some amazing resources that I personally used on my way to becoming financially free at 33.
Your story is just truly amazing!
Keep it up and I hope you stay active with the blog 🙂
– Nordic Fire
NF,
Thanks so much. Very kind of you to say. Appreciate that!
I plan to continue writing for a long time to come. I still have the fire to continue spreading the word about FIRE. 🙂
Best regards.
4th of July is my favorite holiday. The weather is great and I can BBQ at home. It’s perfect.
Financial freedom is the best. It’s too bad most people will never get a taste of it.
Happy Independence Day!
Joe,
I hear you there. Hard to complain about any of that! 🙂
Hard to complain about financial freedom, too. Yeah, it’s a real shame that so few people will/can experience it. But I do what I can to inspire a few more out there.
Enjoy the 4th!!
Best wishes.
Hi Jason Happy “Independence” day 😀 great points on fire. The thing I like about my Independent life is choices to be with people I enjoy being with. I would say that was the numbet 1 driver for me.
I spend most of my time as a semi modern day hermit ( LOL ) however my wife and I enjoy adventures when we want and interact with people we enjoy.
Truly enjoy reading your insights. Happy Independence day every day 😀
Bob
Bob,
We’re definitely on the same page. I love spending time with people I enjoy being around. All the same, I like the fact that I don’t have to be around people I don’t like. 🙂
Oh and I live a pretty quiet life, too. But it’s the little things, like enjoying coffee and a pastry on a Tuesday afternoon while the world turns.
Cheers!
Out of curiosity when you started investing did you do DRIP dividend reinvestment? And if so, at what point did you switch to actual cash dividends?
cool,
I never used any DRIPs. I covered that in a post back in 2014:
https://www.dividendmantra.com/2014/03/selective-dividend-reinvestment-vs-drip/
Best regards.
Hi Jason,
yes, these are the reasons to be financial independend, I agree. Most people don´t understand everything behind this. I will join a good Greek restaurant today and spare time with some nice people I like. Nothing to complain.
Have a good time in Thailand
Oliver
Oliver,
Sounds like a good time ahead of you. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Thanks for stopping in.
Best wishes.
You forgot How.
And anyone who’s worked in corporate America knows that being able to do things HOW you want it is a priceless commodity.
Sincerely,
ARB–Angry Retail Banker
ARB,
Yeah, that’s a great point. Although, I’d say it’s pretty much wrapped inside of the WHAT. It’s kind of intuitive. When you’re FIRE and working on exactly what you want to work on, you’re naturally going to be doing it in a way that makes the most sense to you. I can certainly say, for example, that I go about producing content in a way that comes very natural to me. 🙂
The other aspects, particularly the WHY and WHERE, require much more thoughtfulness.
Cheers!