I realized over the course of the past few weeks (mostly when writing about how having kids will affect my Fire goals) that I never actually wrote a post about my Fire goals.
Sure, I’ve written about financial independence. We’ve had posts on what FIRE is and my path to Fire. But I never wrote about the why. I never explained what my Fire goals are, or why obtaining financial independence is so important to me. Maybe I should explain it!
My Fire Goals
The main reason why I am pursuing financial independence is because I want to live my life on my own terms. I don’t want to be tied to a job in order to survive. I don’t want to waste forty hours every week at a job that I hate. It’s not that I even hate my job though, I just don’t want to have to be there. I don’t want to be required to go. Since I am required to go, it’s like they own me. And I don’t want to be owned by anyone. Does that make sense? I’m trying to buy my own time back.
What will I do?
I’m really focused on the Retired Early part of FIRE. Working at my job for twenty more years sounds miserable! So, what will I do if I don’t have to work forty hours a week? I’ll live!! There are so many things that I want to do and see, but unfortunately working full time prevents me from doing most of them.
Travel
First and foremost, I want to see the world. I’ve already traveled quite extensively, but as I’m tied to my job all my traveling has been in short one to two-week vacations. That’s not really enough time to get to know a place. I want to slow travel through Asia, Europe, and South America and experience the different cultures. I also want to travel through the United States, and see all of the national parks that this country has to offer.
Who says I can’t work while having these adventures! I would love to teach English in Cambodia or Vietnam while slow traveling the continent. Work Camping sounds like an awesome way to visit the national parks! I could work remotely, monetize the blog, or do consulting work. The possibilities for hustling while I’m living on my own terms are endless.
Back to School
Another major thing I’d love to do when I reach financial independence is go back to school to study Anthropology. I’m fascinated by other cultures (hence my desire to travel and experience them!) and I’m extremely captivated by ancient cultures. I want to learn everything I can about early cultures, and maybe even study the similarities between them. The entire concept mesmerizes me. There is a program in Estonia (taught in English!) where students study legends and folklore from various cultures, learning about the similarities between them and relating those similarities to the human condition. What a fascinating subject! I think it would be amazing to get a master’s degree in folklore-ology!
Side Projects!
It’s no secret that I have numerous side projects, and not nearly enough time to pursue them all. Did you know that I’m trying to write a book? Or that I’m an artist, have a travel blog, and want try streaming video games with Twitch? This is just a small sampling of the many side projects that I want to work on, but unfortunately, I don’t have time for most of them. The majority of my time is dedicated to my full-time job, my boyfriend, and this blog. After that I really don’t have a lot of time for anything else. I would love to have time to play my video games and get affiliated with Twitch! Streaming is my boyfriend’s number one side project, so I do get to play with him on occasion and it’s loads of fun. I’d love to have my own account, but it takes so much time, which is something that I don’t have at the moment.
Extended Adventures
Some adventures take longer than the two weeks of vacation time I get each year. I want to spend three months studying Tai Chi in China, three months studying yoga in India, and a summer reading tarot cards with a Renaissance Faire (I know, I have weird dreams). These things are just not possible to do with a full-time job.
Anything Else
Life is so full of possibilities. There are so many things to see and do on this planet and only a limited amount of time in which to do them. Tomorrow I might think of another crazy random adventure to add to my bucket list. Who knows? But that’s the entire point of pursuing financial freedom. I want to have the ability.
It all boils down to time. I want to have the time to have adventures, go back to school, travel, and do whatever else interests me. I think most of the people pursuing financial independence would agree; time is the most valuable asset that we have. We can’t earn more. I don’t want to waste the precious time that I do have being miserable, or even being complacent. I want to spend my time living.
What about you? Why are you pursuing financial independence? What are your fire goals? Tell me about them in the comments!
Melanie launched Partners in Fire in 2017 to document her quest for financial independence with a mix of finance, fun, and solving the world’s problems. She’s self educated in personal finance and passionate about fighting systematic problems that prevent others from achieving their own financial goals. She also loves travel, anthropology, gaming and her cats.
When I retired (early) I told colleagues that I was going to travel, see the world and write my book, so I know where you are coming from. Great goals! Doing lots of travelling and have written the first draft, so getting there.
Thanks! The great thing about being retired is that you have time to pursue those things. I’m excited to check out your book when you finish it!
I love the idea of seeing all the National Parks in the US! We did a 2 months roadtrip through the US a few years ago, we managed to see the highlights of about 19 I think but there are still so many more to see and it would be great to explore some of them again with more time!
Right? There are so many national parks and monuments in the US. There are the big ones, like Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and Glacier; but also a lot of little ones and State Parks, like Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Starved Rock, and Mesa Verde. It would be awesome to see them all!