I think I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m an Audible listener.
My library is full of business, history, biography, chess, and (a few) fiction audiobooks.
I also buy some money books now and then, especially on retirement. FYI, if it’s a good book, I’ll buy both the audio and a printed copy, taking notes in the book as I listen (I listen at the gym, walking, or in the car and record my notes when I get back home).
That said, there aren’t a lot of great money books I haven’t already read — at least that I know about. But there is a new one I plan to check out.
J.D. Roth from Get Rich Slowly has created an Introduction to FIRE audiobook for Audible that I’m going to have to listen to. Here’s why:
- It’s a topic I’m interested in. Duh.
- J.D. is a friend and it’s super cool when you read/listen to something from a friend.
- J.D. reads the book himself making it very personal (I assume).
- J.D. almost always has a unique and deep-thinking perspective on money matters which makes his content very compelling.
And so his book is now in my wish list waiting to be selected when my next credit comes along.
I had lunch with J.D. last summer (he was in Colorado Springs), we talked about the audiobook, and he said he’d be willing to share a chapter of it with ESI Money readers.
The one I selected was the last chapter because it’s a topic I don’t think we’ve covered here before — building a rich life.
I won’t spoil it by giving you a preview. Let’s just get to it.
FYI to note: This is a script that’s meant to be read, which is different than an article written for text. So if it helps, just imagine J.D. reading this to you as you review it. đ
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You donât want to be rich. You want to be happy. Youâre not after wealth for the sake of wealth. Youâre after what that money represents: freedom, fulfillment, and a Rich Life. Money itself is a means to an end.
Many people believe that if only they were wealthy, if only they had a million dollars, all of their problems would be solved. Unfortunately, thatâs not how things work. Money doesnât buy happiness â at least not directly. Money is a tool. Like all tools, it can be used to build or destroy. Itâs up to you to put this particular tool to constructive use.
Now, itâs important to recognize that there is a strong correlation between money and happiness. Studies show that rich nations tend to be happier than poor nations. And rich people tend to be happier than poor people. But the relationship between money and happiness isnât linear, and money is only one component of a Rich Life.
In this final lesson, weâll explore what it takes to build a Rich Life â both before and after financial independence.
The Fog of Work
In the first lesson of this course, we spent some time exploring the history of retirement and how the definition of that word has evolved (and continues to evolve) over time.
Many people associate retirement with a lack of productivity. To them, formal work is an active, productive phase of life. Retirement is passive. They view retirement as tropical cruises, daily golf, and cocktails at two. Perhaps these are the folks who sink into depression after they leave their careers (which is a very real problem). Their identities were so wrapped up in their jobs for so long that they struggle to find meaning once that season of life has passed.
From my experience, however, a fulfilling retirement is anything but passive. The happiest early retirees I know do more with their time, not less.
You see, when you obtain financial freedom, your frame of reference changes. You move from a world in which work is the center, the driving force in your decisions, to a world in which your life and your goals become your core concern. Youâre no longer giving the fruits of your labor to your employer; youâre enjoying those fruits yourself. Your primary focus now becomes building and maintaining a Rich Life.
What do I mean by a Rich Life? This is a concept Iâve borrowed from Ramit Sethiâs book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich.
A Rich Life is built with your values and purpose in mind. A Rich Life makes room for responsible pleasure but itâs not solely about self-indulgence. Instead, it balances self-gratification with personal growth, extraordinary experiences, strong relationships â and perhaps even some form of lasting legacy.
Now, I should mention that you can â and, by all means, should! â prioritize some elements of a Rich Life while youâre still on the road to early retirement. But itâs only once we reach true financial independence that most of us have total freedom to build the Rich Life weâve always dreamed of.
While youâre working, your time and attention are focused on your career. Most of your day revolves around your job: commuting, taking the kids to daycare, and (of course) the job itself. Then, when you get home at night, all you want to do is decompress, so you kill an hour or two re-watching episodes of âThe Officeâ before crawling into bed. Youâre so wrapped up in your work that you never find time to prioritize more important things.
Doug Nordman, author of The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement, calls this condition âthe fog of workâ. When your mind is so clouded by the daily busy-ness that comes with a job, itâs difficult to look toward the future. Itâs tough to make and execute long-term plans.
Nordman says that on those rare occasions you get extended time away from your job, the fog of work is lifted. You leave âwork modeâ behind and are better able to identify what interests and excites you. âAfter a week of naps, leisurely walks, and family chats,â Nordman writes, your head clears.
When you enter retirement â early retirement or traditional retirement â the fog of work is lifted forever.
Financial freedom gives you the ability to live your life as you want to live it. Youâre able to make decisions with eyes unclouded by the fog of work. One of the rewards of financial independence is that you now have all the time needed to build a Rich Life. Your time no longer belongs to anyone else. It belongs solely to you.
Whatâs the Best Use of Your Time?
And thatâs the thing: A Rich Life is abundant in both time and money. Itâs easy to get lost in the financial implications of early retirement. I mean, the whole focus of this course, after all, is financial independence and financial freedom. Itâs all about the money! But what sometimes gets missed is that early retirement is just as much about time independence and time freedom.
In fact, some would argue â and Iâm one of them â that this time freedom is a much more valuable component of a Rich Life than financial freedom. Time is more valuable than money.
Grant Sabatier, author of the book Financial Freedom, likes to use the following thought exercise. Imagine you meet a ninety-year-old billionaire. This billionaire confides that heâs developed a machine that will allow any two people to swap bodies. And, this billionaire wonders, would you be interested in swapping your body with his in exchange for $100 million. Would you do it?
My guess is that you would not. In fact, unless youâre over eighty yourself, your answer would probably be âhell noâ. Thereâs no way youâd take the $100 million if it meant your body was now ninety years old. Why not? Because time is more valuable than money. You can always make more money, but you cannot make more time.
Because your time is so valuable, itâs crucial that you use it wisely.
When weâre working, we feel like our time is at the mercy of others. And we often feel like theyâre wasting it for us. But all too often, when people reach F.I., they continue to waste time. But now instead of others being responsible for that waste, we are responsible. If we reach early retirement and fail to build a Rich Life, we can no longer blame others. We can only blame ourselves.
Look, itâs a genuine privilege to retire early. For this to happen, so many things have to go right.
You have to be lucky. You have to be born at the right time and in the right place. You have to be born healthy into a supportive family, a family with access to opportunity. But luck alone isnât enough. You also have to work hard. Millions trapped in the Matrix were just as lucky as you â luckier, maybe â but theyâll have jobs until the day they die. Why? Because they donât do the required work and donât make the required choices.
To become F.I., you have to be fortunate, but you also have to seize opportunities and make the most of your good fortune. You have to exercise force of will, deferring the pleasures of today in favor of a richer tomorrow.
Iâm not one of those who believes that you should feel guilty for being rich. Far from it! But I do believe that you should be grateful. And the best way to express this gratitude is by respecting what youâve accomplished, by making the most of it and not wasting it.
Now, thereâs absolutely nothing wrong with some degree of indulgence. After all, you earned it. You worked hard and made sacrifices so that you could enjoy this abundance of money and time. But unbridled hedonism is no path to contentment. In fact, this sort of behavior frequently leads to clinical depression in retirees. When you fritter away all of your time, youâre not building a Rich Life. Youâre not building any sort of life at all.
Because your time is finite, itâs important to use it wisely. So, how can you be sure to not squander it?
Typically, when youâre presented with an opportunity, you have one of two responses available: yes or no. In his book, Anything You Want, entrepreneur Derek Sivers suggests looking at things a little bit differently.
âWhen youâre deciding whether to do something,â he writes, âif you feel anything less than âWow! That would be amazing! HELL YEAH! â then say ânoâ. When you say no to most things, you leave room in your life to really throw yourself completely at that rare thing that makes you say, âHELL YEAH!ââ
Now, I love this idea, but itâs impractical for most people. When youâre in the Matrix, youâre often unable to make choices using this technique. Because youâre tied to your work and your mortgage, you donât have the luxury of declining the things that donât excite you. Sometimes, you have to compromise. How many people do you think would say âHELL YEAH!â about their current jobs?
One of the benefits of financial independence is that you can make âHELL YEAHâ a guiding principle when deciding how to allocate your time.
Here are three examples from my own life.
- When my cousin asked if I wanted to join him on a month-long tour of Christmas markets in Europe, my response was âHELL YEAHâ, so we booked our flights and had an amazing time.
- When a friend suggested I might like learn to speak Spanish, my response was âHELL YEAHâ. I hired a tutor and threw myself into it three days a week.
- When I was asked if I wanted to create this course for Audible, my response was âHELL YEAHâ, so I dedicated several months of my life to this project.
This âHELL YEAHâ method is a terrific way to gauge which activities are actually important in your life. Which things do you really want to do, and which are you doing out of duty and obligation?
In lesson eight, I mentioned Paul Terhorst and his book Cashing in on the American Dream. Terhorst was one of the first to show that early retirement is possible. In his book, he shares some of the rules he developed after leaving work at age 35. His prime directive for those who reach financial independence is this: âDo what you want â but you must do something.â
âThe idea is to live,â Terhorst writes, ânot to dissipate time.â
To that end, he urges readers â before they reach financial freedom â to brainstorm a wish list of all the things theyâd like to do in early retirement. âUse your imagination,â he writes. âSuppose your boss walks in tomorrow and gives you a three-year sabbaticalâŚYouâre going to spend the three years enjoying yourself, doing anything you want. What would you do?â
You know what? Itâs been a while since we paused for an exercise. Letâs do one now. Letâs take a moment to create a retirement wish list as Terhorst recommends.
Imagine that you are approaching early retirement. Even if youâre just beginning your F.I. journey, I want you to take a few minutes to imagine what your Rich Life in retirement might contain. What would you do in a typical day? What would you do each morning? Each afternoon? What big projects would you tackle? What hobbies would you take up? Where would you travel?
I want you to make a list of the activities, interests, and places to visit that evoke a visceral âHELL YEAHâ response from you. Put me on pause now and make your wish list. Iâll be here when youâve finished.
Building a Rich Life
When people retire, the first thing they want to do is âa whole lotta nothingâ. After decades of work, they simply want to stop. To pause. To rest for a while without any schedule and without any plans.
Paul Terhorst says that now is the time to prioritize what he calls âresponsible pleasureâ.
âIf something makes me happy and itâs not irresponsible, itâs important in my life,â he writes. âI try not to hurt anyone. I treat my body and spirit with respect. I donât do drugs or booze to excess. I donât let myself get fat or lazy. I work hard at whatever I do. I try to treat myself seriously â but not take myself too seriously.â
This is a fine philosophy. I like it.
Allocating some of your time during early retirement for responsible pleasure allows you to indulge yourself without guilt. But the idea is to make sure your indulgences are part of a genuinely Rich Life, not merely a means to kill time. If all youâre doing in early retirement is killing time, whatâs the point? Did you really waste years of work and sacrifice for this?
For me, responsible pleasure includes leisurely strolls with my dog. It includes paying for a monthly massage. And it includes soaking in the hot tub at noon while reading a sci-fi novel and blasting the latest Taylor Swift album.
For you, responsible pleasure will be something wholly different. It will include activities and interests from the wish list you just created, activities and interests congruent with whatever a Rich Life means to you.
Now, obviously, thereâs more to a fulfilling retirement than personal pleasure.
In his book You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think, financial planner Wes Moss shares what heâs learned about securing a happy retirement. After surveying 1350 retirees from across the country, Moss found that the number-one predictor of contentment is a sense of purpose. He says that happy retirees have a well-defined understanding of what they want out of life.
If youâve worked through the exercises in lesson two of this course, you should already have a general idea of what gives your life meaning. (If you havenât done those exercises, now would be a good time to revisit them.)
Beyond a sense of purpose, Moss says that happy retirees engage in what he calls âcore pursuitsâ. In fact, he says that âcore pursuits are the key driver of the entire happy retiree journeyâ. So, what is a core pursuit? What does Moss mean by this term?
âThink of a core pursuit as a hobby on steroids,â Moss writes. âIt isnât just something you dabble in; itâs something that drives and fulfills youâŚA core pursuit should help define you, bringing into focus the things that matter most.â
Core pursuits arenât pastimes. Theyâre more than responsible pleasure. Responsible pleasure is about recreation. Core pursuits, on the other hand, often tend to involve the act of creation, tend to be about making and doing and being productive.
Happy retirees, Moss says, have (on average) three or four core pursuits that monopolize their time and energy. These core pursuits generally involve experiences, relationships, or travel.
- For many early retirees, personal growth makes an ideal core pursuit. Maybe youâve used work as an excuse for not getting fit. Once you reach financial independence, that excuse is no longer valid. Now you do have the time and the resources to focus on your mental and physical fitness. But personal growth goes beyond health. Other core pursuits you might enjoy include dance. Or painting. Or taking Spanish lessons or learning to play the guitar. You might even decide to pursue a new college degree.
- Another popular set of core pursuits revolves around relationships. My Rich Life includes trying to meet at least one friend for lunch every week. Maybe yours does too. Or maybe one of your core pursuits will become joining the bridge club at your local community center. Or forming a group that hikes together every Saturday morning.
- For some, the best core pursuit after a lifetime of work is, well, more work. A surprising number of folks who reach F.I. continue to work either because they like the idea of padding their savings or because they feel called to a career out of passion. Or both.
And what do you suppose is the top core pursuit for folks in retirement? Whatâs the one activity that brings them the most fulfillment?
Hereâs what Moss found in his survey. âThe number-one core pursuit for happy retirees is volunteering. Thatâs no coincidence,â he writes. âThese men and women feel like theyâre truly accomplishing something, and it gives them an immense sense of satisfaction â even euphoria.â
According to Moss, the happiest retirees are three times more likely to volunteer than unhappy retirees. Other studies have yielded similar results.
In one article from the academic journal Psychological Science, researchers suggest that “giving time gives you time”. The authors found that spending time on others (instead of yourself) boosts how much time you think you have â in both the present and the future.
Many of us feel pressured by the modern world, right? We feel rushed, as if there’s never enough time to do what we want. We feel a lack â a scarcity â of minutes and hours and days. To cope with this, we tend to turn inward. We watch TV. We play videogames. We get a massage. But studies show that âwasting timeâ like this truly is a waste. When we spend time on ourselves, we often feel like that time is lost.
On the other hand, when we give our time to others â helping friends or volunteering in the community, for instance â we experience feelings of âtime affluenceâ. When you give time to others, it increases your sense of subjective time, making it feel as if you have more than you actually do. Meanwhile, youâre increasing the amount of objective time the recipient really does have. As a bonus, giving time makes our lives feel fuller and richer.
Hereâs what I love about all of this. Volunteering and giving time are two examples of creating social capital.
âSocial capitalâ is the term used to describe the value of our social networks â flesh and blood social networks, not Facebook â and our interpersonal relationships. This value canât be measured by money but itâs real, and perhaps more important than financial capital.
Remember the classic Christmas film Itâs a Wonderful Life? Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a man who repeatedly goes out of his way to help his friends and neighbors, sometimes at the expense of his own best interest. George feels like heâs poor, like heâs just getting by. But when disaster strikes, every person heâs ever helped rushes to his aid.
Sure, itâs a sappy feel-good moment, but itâs a fine example of social capital in action. When his brother declares that George is the ârichest man in townâ, heâs not far off the mark. George Bailey might not have much money, but heâs flush with social capital.
You create social capital when you volunteer at a food pantry, help your neighbor start his car, invite your Sunday School class over for a summer picnic, or join a softball league. Whenever you give your time and energy to your community, youâre generating social capital â for yourself and everyone else involved.
In his book Bowling Alone, political scientist Robert Putnam argues that in recent decades, the United States has experienced an unfortunate collapse in social capital as people have become increasingly focused on themselves and less focused on their communities. He believes this decline in social capital is largely responsible for the deep divisions in our society, for our lack of civil discourse. Heâs probably right.
Boosting social capital is a win-win. It benefits you and it benefits the world around you. And as an early retiree, you are in a prime position to create social capital. The great thing about financial independence is that it gives you a chance to incorporate giving back into your Rich Life.
Each of us is capable, in our own way, of improving the lives of our friends and neighbors. Let me give you just three examples of people I’ve met during the past decade, people who have found purpose by looking beyond themselves.
- First, let me mention Douglas Tsoi, a former educator. For two decades, Tsoi lived on $20,000 per year while investing the rest. At age 42, he “retired” to create the Portland Underground Graduate School, a place for lifelong learners to expand their minds. He now runs the School of Financial Freedom.
- Next, thereâs Harlan Landes. After he became F.I., Landes established The Plutus Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to improve financial literacy and foster financial empowerment.
- And finally, thereâs Shawn Jenkins, whose healthcare business grew beyond his wildest dreams. Since achieving financial freedom, Jenkins and his wife Jocelyn have used their wealth to improve healthcare for women and children in their community, including a $25 million contribution toward the construction of a new hospital in Charleston, South Carolina.
These are examples of people who achieved financial independence, then volunteered their time, money, and energy to make the world a better place. Theyâve created social capital. How can you create social capital? How can you make the world a better place? The answer, of course, will depend on your personal skills, interests, and values.
It may be that you already know how youâd like to give back in retirement. My girlfriend, for instance, feels called to work with animals. Sheâs also drawn to hospice care. But donât fret if you havenât any idea how you could give back. Thereâs no rush to decide. Keep your eyes (and your mind) open and opportunities are bound to appear.
If youâd like inspiration, sites like volunteermatch.org and idealist.org exist to connect organizations that need help with people who want to volunteer. And no matter where you live, your local United Way chapter can make use of your time and talents.
Life doesnât end after financial independence. This isnât a game that you âwinâ, then stop playing. When you reach early retirement, make the most of it. Financial freedom gives you the ability to live your life as you want to live it. So, use the money and time at your disposal to build that Rich Life. After all, thatâs what money is for.
Conclusion
Weâve come a long way since the start of this course. Weâve covered much about money â and much about mindset besides.
You might not agree with everything Iâve said. In fact, you might disagree with most of it. Thatâs fine. My primary goal has been to open your eyes, to get you to think for yourself, to help you see the Matrix of modern life for what it is, and to help you understand that there are alternatives you can use to build a better life for yourself.
The important thing is that you take your money more seriously, that you develop a personal financial philosophy and action plan instead of simply doing what everybody else does. If you keep doing the same things youâve always done, youâll continue to get the same results.
Please donât take what Iâve taught in this course as the only way to achieve financial freedom. These are not the only answers. I absolutely believe that the strategies Iâve shared can help you master your money, but I also have no doubt that other effective options exist. You can find links to supplementary info, including other books and blogs about the FIRE movement, at moneytoolbox.com.
I hope Iâve demonstrated that financial freedom is possible, that you can take charge and live your life as you want to live it. That might have seemed a distant dream when you started this course; I hope it seems much more attainable now. Thank you.
Update: Here’s the book on Amazon if you’re interested in it: How to Achieve Financial Independence and Retire Early
The Millennial Money Woman says
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on freedom. I think you make such a great point when you mention that time is the most valuable currency. Time is our limited resource – money, in theory, is not. And I see so many people squander their time, which they will never get back. I think you’re right: FI is not just about financial freedom but also about freedom of time. When you have the freedom to do what you want with your time, you see life through a different lens.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Cheers,
Fiona
J. Money says
I like that swapping bodies machine from Grant, haha… And even ask myself something similar anytime I catch my self being jealous of someone else’s money! 9 times out of 10 they’re much older than me so I ask myself if i’d trade places and the answer ofcourse is always no. But it’s also a great reminder that building wealth like that *takes time*! And at some point I will be the one people are turning down the option to switch with after years of compounding, lol…
BSue says
Great chapter! I may have to get the whole book now. Pivoting from a goal of financial freedom to something else can be traumatic, and building social capital is a great alternative goal. If I didnât have my volunteer activities, I would feel like such a slacker and a waste of space.
Wapiti19 says
I still remember reading…then rereading Wes Moss’s book on a series of business trips.
I got off the last plane, sat down and said I can do this. I pulled the trigger 30 days later and never looked back at age 54. Am now 63. I have used the “Core Pursuits” phrase in my own self description, will add the ” Responsible Pleasures” to complement ( With credit to you) when I get asked in addition to just saying “Freedom”.
Looking forward to reading the book also .
Thanks
M24 says
Itâs an odd thing – when weâre young we have loads of time and not enough money. And when weâre older we have (hopefully) enough money but a scarcity of time. Three cheers to everyone who follows an ESI life and can own their own time!
Ace says
Iâve heard a similar thing, but with three factors: time, money, and health.
When weâre young, we have time and health but no money.
In middle age, we have money and health, but no time.
In our sunset years, we have time and money but lack the health.
I think weâre all trying to thread the needle between #2 and #3. Best wishes, fellow ESI disciples.
Vladimir Garcia says
Thanks for sharing. I once was running a half-marathon an was feeling really exhausted and miserable. Then I passed by another runner who was struggling and puffing. I started cheering him up and then I noticed others around me who also were in difficulties, and started to encourage them. My pain and fatigue completely disappeared. By focusing on them my mindset switched completely from misery to euphory. It was the best experience I have felt as a runner.
Bryan says
I had a similar experience in the marathon. In my first marathon a ârunning angelâ tan with me for a couple Mikeâs and helped me along. Later in other marathons I returned the favor. Thanks for reminding me.
MI-55 & RI-6 says
I couldn’t agree more with the article but especially the volunteering part. I’ve worked with our local civic association for the last 2 years finding and integrating new membership management software. Not only has it been fulfilling in terms of being productive, but I’ve also had the chance to learn how to develop web pages and utilize HTML code. The thanks and appreciation I’ve received has added even more to the experience.
I intersperse this activity with exercise as well as investing, reading, home improvement and spending time with friends. As a result, my sense of well being and happiness is the best its ever been.
Accidentally Retired says
Incredible chapter from JD. Excellent script and spot on advice for anyone who is Financially Independent or Retired.
Iâm honestly still a little stressed because beginning the drawdown is just very different than earning income.
But the fog of work is gone and thank goodness for that. I have done things I havenât done in years and far more frequently in the last 7 months.
Paper Tiger (aka MI-27 & MIU-8) says
One of the best things I’ve read in quite some time. As someone who had retirement thrust upon him at the age of 57, I was prepared financially but not emotionally for somewhat “early” retirement. With a wife still working, I had to kind of figure things out on my own as far as what I was going to do with myself. The idea of core pursuits and social capital really resonated with me. It forced me to write down what I was doing with my time and when I finished, I realized I was following these principles out of intuition rather than informed planning. I’m 63 now and this was a great validation that the things I am doing in my life really are making a difference for me and for those around me who I try and serve.
I think the real validation that I have accepted my retirement status, is that I continue to have people trying to get me to chase financial opportunity in exchange for my time and it has become very easy to say, “HELL NO.”
bmjohnson says
Another good article. After my initial year of retirement, I am pass the initial decompression phase and freestyle living. It has been nice to focus more on healthy eating, exercise and relatively stress-free living, but I am seeking opportunities for further enrichment at this point. I had previously been unable to find any local volunteer opportunities online. Thanks for posting those two websites for volunteer opportunities! I have already applied to several and I look forward to adding another layer to my retirement experience.
Success Triangles says
In addition to Audible, I check out tons of books for free from my local library. They have a Netflix like system where you add them to your queue. I’ve probably saved hundreds from having to buy (and store) books in my home. You may have to wait a little while for the latest titles, but it is well worth it.
– Mark
Dividend Power says
Long article but worth the read. I am busier now and more fulfilled comported to when I was a W-2 employee.