“How does it feel after reaching financial independence?” is a common question for readers. Recently, a reader asked if I had thought of any outreach activities like social service after achieving financial independence.
I enjoyed the journey towards financial independence a lot more. The planning. The discipline to invest. The tracking of monthly investments and how much these investments increase over the years. The struggle to make up for lower investments for a few months or years*.
* 2013 was pretty tough as I encountered several unexpected recurring expenses due to my mother’s hospitalization. It took about 18 months to adjust and get back to normal investing. I permanently lost several months of investment. Perhaps I made up for it later, but it is not the same since time is money.
I had mentioned in several interviews that later 2013, when the market moved up after a few years of no specific direction, was a game changer for me. That catapulted my portfolio to the threshold of financial independence. That taught me if you have the time to wait, then be patient and wait for the bumper year, which will change your life.
After that, it has been quite tepid and ‘normal’. As a tenured academic with a slated retirement age of 65, financial independence only means I have some more options (which, God willing, I do not have to exercise because I love my job). So those who ask me the titular questions are almost always disappointed.
Perhaps if I had been a corporate employee who hated their job, I would have dreamt about what I would be doing next and planned vigorously. I can only imagine.
The only thing to always keep in mind is that no matter how rich we become, we cannot eat more, and we cannot sleep more. The rules of a healthy existence do not change. The rules of common sense, decency, kindness and empathy do not change.
What changes is the impact we can have on other people’s lives? We can afford to bear the college fees of our employee’s children. We can afford to pay the hospital bill if an employee or their family members get sick.
However, there is no need to wait for financial freedom to do any social service. We can pledge 1% of our net worth and/or time each year for that. As our wealth and income grow, so will that 1% (not the same for time; we can do what works best for us).
For many reading this, financial independence is a dream, which is why some wonder how it would feel to achieve that dream. Fair enough. But, IMO, the joy is in the journey. So enjoy the present.
Don’t fret too much about financial independence. Strike a balance between investing for the future and investing in experiences you can enjoy only when you are young. As the song, Enjoy Yourself, goes:
Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you thinkEnjoy yourself, while you’re still in the pinkThe years go by, as quickly as you winkEnjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think – written by Carl Sigman and lyrics by Herb Magidson
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Dr M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over ten years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter(X), Linkedin, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free investment advice.
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