In my Financial Independence journey, I started by wanting to get to a position, so that I didn’t have to work again. As time went on this changed so that Financial Independence, to me is the state where I only work on the things I want to. A subtle difference but the distinction is that now I say don’t stop working.
FIRE – my story
I reached my FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) number in Summer 2022. I was not ready to quit just yet, as I wondered, did I have enough money? More importantly I didn’t have anything to replace the work with. So, I gave myself the task of setting up other projects and business ideas so that I would be able to easily transition.
Little did I know that fate would intervene. My last post of employment became redundant and I received a generous payoff. This was the kick up the backside I needed to really go it alone. To continue working but for myself.
It is just keeping score
Money. There are many definitions of it but ultimately it is a measure of keeping score. How much you earn is a score of how much value your customer or employer perceives you have given. Your net worth, will isn’t that a score of how well you’ve manged the money you have received, plus what luck you’ve had?
So, once you get past the point of financial independence, then continuing to count your increasing net worth can be thought of as a score of how you are improving in providing value.
Personal mental health
Another reason to continue working is to maintain mental health. Isn’t it often said that the best cure for melancholy is to get busy? Keeping busy with some project or other helps you stave off sadness and depression. Conversely people who suddenly stop working suffer from a lack of purpose, or a reason for getting up in the morning.
I was determined this wasn’t going to happen to me.
The economy
Imagine some future utopia were no one worked. How would the economy function? We need workers to provide services and goods, to pay taxes so that society can function.
In our futuristic scenario where no one works, how will society function? Therefore, we have some duty to perform some work or provide some value so that societal cohesion is maintained.
Purpose vs. Work
I mentioned purpose before. I do agree that it is different from work. Yes, you can have purpose in your work, but purpose can be outside of paid employment. Many people volunteer or have some unpaid project on the go, which can give them a sense of purpose outside of paid employment.
Conversely many people in paid employment don’t have a purpose other than to earn a wage. The drudgery of a dead-end job can drag you down. These employees will often suffer in silence or jump from job to job. The trick then is to find some purpose or create it.
Nothing to do
I used to dream of financial independence; a time of leisure where I could do want ever I wanted. What usually happens is you do nothing. Sure, the annual two-week holiday is blissful but aren’t we usually ready to get back to work at the end of the two weeks? Imagine the boredom of perpetual holiday. To quote Shakespeare:
If all the year were playing holidays,
To sport would be as tedious as to work;
But when they seldom come, they wished-for come’
And nothing pleaseth more than rare accidents.
So, even though I no longer need to work, I wish to work. Yes, I might have more breaks and I have more freedom, but I will not stop working.