As I continue to live well below my means so that I can save and invest gratuitously, I often picture what I'll be doing when I no longer have to go to a job that I generally find a lack of satisfaction from. Let's take a look at 5 amazing things you can do when you're financially independent (but are hard to do when you're employed full-time).
1. Just Say No To The Alarm Clock
Want to go to sleep and wake up whenever you want? Me too. I don't know about you, but I absolutely despise waking up at 6 a.m. Nobody likes going to work when it's dark outside and coming home when it's still dark outside. It's nice to know that one day I can choose to wake up at 10 a.m. or later if I want. I also enjoy the thought of staying up late on a work night browsing the internet or watching a good movie.
2. Be Your Own Boss
I think a lot of people have a fantasy of being their own boss. Catering to someone in some high-up office with every interest other than your own at heart is frustrating and can be emotionally disparaging. When you're financially independent, however, you can do whatever you want. Once you no longer have to earn a paycheck to pay basic expenses, you can cater to yourself instead. Take opportunities that seem interesting, or don't do anything at all. The only one giving you any orders will be you.
3. Long-term Travel
When you have to show up to a fixed location 5 days a week it makes it difficult to just up and travel the world. But, when you're financially independent you could literally go on a long-term travel spree. You could stay in different cities throughout your own country, getting to know different geographical areas and filling your brain with wonderful memories of experiences that most people can only dream of. Or, you can travel to different countries. There are many ways to travel cheaply, and many countries out there that are likely cheaper than the one you currently live in. I know that compared to the U.S., there are countries like the Philippines, Thailand or Ecuador that can be 50% cheaper across the board.
4. Spend More Time With Family and/or Friends
With 40-hour+ workweeks filling your time, and filling the time of your loved ones, it's hard for everyone to get together and catch up on what everyone has been doing in their individual lives. It can be difficult to maintain relationships with the people you care most about, or form new relationships with interesting people, when the large majority of your free time is filled earning a paycheck to keep the lights on or keep a roof over your head. When you no longer have to fill your time working paycheck to paycheck, you are much more free to explore some of the relationships that may have been slightly stressed as life gets in the way.
5. Cultivate Yourself Through Hobbies.
What do you like to do in your free time? Maybe you enjoy painting or photography. Or, perhaps, you love nothing more than playing video games. Maybe writing is your true passion in life. It's difficult to fully explore, and enjoy, the hobbies that fill your heart with joy when you don't have enough time. Unless you just happen to be the lucky 1% and work at a job where your paycheck and hobby are one and the same, you're likely exchanging vast amounts of your time for money...and not for the love it, but for the ability to have shelter, food and life's necessities.
Limited Only By Your Imagination
These are just five awesome things I thought of off the top of my head. The list can be as long as you want it, and limited only by your imagination. The main necessity for many of the things I listed above, and likely the things you'd like to do when financially independent, is not money. Rather, they require lots of time. Time is the most expensive commodity, as there is a limited amount of it and you have less of it every second that goes by. Would you rather keep exchanging it away for a fancy car, house and furniture? Or, would you rather save the money and invest it for the future so that you can let your imagination run wild and explore the relationships you always wanted to have, visit the places you have always wanted to see and do the things you have always wanted to do?
What is an awesome thing you'd like to do when financially independent?
Thanks for reading.
1. Just Say No To The Alarm Clock
Want to go to sleep and wake up whenever you want? Me too. I don't know about you, but I absolutely despise waking up at 6 a.m. Nobody likes going to work when it's dark outside and coming home when it's still dark outside. It's nice to know that one day I can choose to wake up at 10 a.m. or later if I want. I also enjoy the thought of staying up late on a work night browsing the internet or watching a good movie.
2. Be Your Own Boss
I think a lot of people have a fantasy of being their own boss. Catering to someone in some high-up office with every interest other than your own at heart is frustrating and can be emotionally disparaging. When you're financially independent, however, you can do whatever you want. Once you no longer have to earn a paycheck to pay basic expenses, you can cater to yourself instead. Take opportunities that seem interesting, or don't do anything at all. The only one giving you any orders will be you.
3. Long-term Travel
When you have to show up to a fixed location 5 days a week it makes it difficult to just up and travel the world. But, when you're financially independent you could literally go on a long-term travel spree. You could stay in different cities throughout your own country, getting to know different geographical areas and filling your brain with wonderful memories of experiences that most people can only dream of. Or, you can travel to different countries. There are many ways to travel cheaply, and many countries out there that are likely cheaper than the one you currently live in. I know that compared to the U.S., there are countries like the Philippines, Thailand or Ecuador that can be 50% cheaper across the board.
4. Spend More Time With Family and/or Friends
With 40-hour+ workweeks filling your time, and filling the time of your loved ones, it's hard for everyone to get together and catch up on what everyone has been doing in their individual lives. It can be difficult to maintain relationships with the people you care most about, or form new relationships with interesting people, when the large majority of your free time is filled earning a paycheck to keep the lights on or keep a roof over your head. When you no longer have to fill your time working paycheck to paycheck, you are much more free to explore some of the relationships that may have been slightly stressed as life gets in the way.
5. Cultivate Yourself Through Hobbies.
What do you like to do in your free time? Maybe you enjoy painting or photography. Or, perhaps, you love nothing more than playing video games. Maybe writing is your true passion in life. It's difficult to fully explore, and enjoy, the hobbies that fill your heart with joy when you don't have enough time. Unless you just happen to be the lucky 1% and work at a job where your paycheck and hobby are one and the same, you're likely exchanging vast amounts of your time for money...and not for the love it, but for the ability to have shelter, food and life's necessities.
Limited Only By Your Imagination
These are just five awesome things I thought of off the top of my head. The list can be as long as you want it, and limited only by your imagination. The main necessity for many of the things I listed above, and likely the things you'd like to do when financially independent, is not money. Rather, they require lots of time. Time is the most expensive commodity, as there is a limited amount of it and you have less of it every second that goes by. Would you rather keep exchanging it away for a fancy car, house and furniture? Or, would you rather save the money and invest it for the future so that you can let your imagination run wild and explore the relationships you always wanted to have, visit the places you have always wanted to see and do the things you have always wanted to do?
What is an awesome thing you'd like to do when financially independent?
Thanks for reading.
