Over the course of the last few weeks I have been getting stuck into reading blogs about financial independence and retiring early: two things I never dreamed possible until now. Over the Christmas holidays I couldn’t stop reading different blogs about FIRE and was immediately hooked into the dream of retiring early (retiring for me would be producing and editing videos of some sort); I was transfixed on the idea that I could be doing exactly what I want within 7 – 10 years if I was able to listen to the advice and take it seriously.
The thought of working for another 33 years is more than slightly depressing, it sounds more like a jail sentence. Don’t get me wrong, I like my job and enjoy what I do, but I don’t have the same passion for it compared to film making. This actually makes sense since I completed a film and television degree AFTER I completed my engineering one. Maybe I’m scared to make film making into a job as it will destroy my love for it.
The hard truth: Reading these FIRE blogs made me suddenly aware that I was a slave to the system that ensures people who can’t afford nice things are tricked into buying them anyway using credit cards or money that should be spent on paying off the mortgage. Every article I read was a revelation and stuck with me throughout each day like a bee sting. Every time I thought about buying something or my SO mentioned a purchase coming up, I stopped, and thought about the necessity of that purchase and looked at it from a completely new perspective. That’s not to say I have completely changed my spending habits, but I have made some great choices recently and will continue this trend.
On one of the blogs I read from “Mr. Money Mustache” there was a focus on riding a bike and getting rid of your car, and since I had just done that anyway it seemed like the perfect kick start to the goals of financial independence that I hope to achieve. I have been lucky with my career in the way that I have progressed quickly and have been given the opportunity to work in some great companies. But despite getting paid a lot more than when I started engineering, I am still spending more than I’m making. I feel like the perfect candidate for a financial restructuring, and can only hope that I stick with it for the next 10 years to achieve my aims.
Upon starting this blog I was focused on my cycling habit I just picked up and realised I actually love to write about more that just that; therefore, this blog has now become more of a life blog, which is perfect at this point in time since I have very few readers, if any. I suppose this will be a great record of my achievements in years to come when I look back at what I aimed to achieve compared to what I actually achieved.
Next Blog: New Year’s Resolution
Pete's Cycling Blog 