How do you reach the finish line…

Since it is the start of the new year, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the journey so far and what lies ahead. So bear with me as this one will be a bit of a ramble. It’s also the first time I am trying to write a blog post from my phone only - let’s see how it goes.

Saving for Financial Independence (FI) is a long old slog. Even after a year where our net worth has increased significantly, it still feels so far away.

Watching your portfolio grow but at a rate which will still leave you short for a good few years is not the only challenge. There are also other things to contend with such as competing priorities, changes in life direction, peer pressure from family and friends to name a few.

The goalposts of life continue to change. It is important we continue to be adaptable to change and steer things in the direction that works best for us.

One key aspect to always remember is that you are doing this to ensure your future life is better than your current life. FI or some variation of it will take a lot of pressure off your shoulders. However, something I keep reminding myself is that you need to make sure you don’t lose yourself or your relationship with your loved ones along the way. You still need to be present now and enjoy the current moment. Otherwise, you will have sacrificed a significant amount of your prime years with no guarantee that you will enjoy those years when you eventually get to FI.

Our life is at a bit of a crossroads, we are thinking to start a family which is really exciting. However, on the other hand, we need to think seriously about what this means for our FI plans. We feel our life just wouldn’t be complete if we do not have children in our life so we see that as a priority over and above FI.

Even with the likely dent in our FI planning, not all is lost. We have made significant progress over the years to get to the position we are in. So all the wealth grown to date will still be compounded over the coming years.

Speaking with the Mrs, it may be that instead of aggressively pursuing FI, we could consider slowing down in a few more years into less demanding jobs that will allow us to spend more quality family time together. This all being possible due to the significant progress we have made to date.

None of this is written in stone and I also need to consider the impact it would have if I eventually did want to come back to my professional career but it is an option. I also haven’t really worked out what I would do in lieu of the job I am currently doing and whether I would still have the same satisfaction. A lot to consider.

If anyone has considered the same dilemma, I would be interested to hear about it.