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| Death Valley National Park, California |
Maya Angelou: “This is a wonderful day I have never seen this one before.”
As the war in Ukraine is going on for over a year (and counting), I can’t imagine what the Ukrainians must be going through, to try to survive day to day. War seems so old school, something out of a history book, yet, here we are, talking about a major war in Europe.
Each time I hear about the war, I think about the bombings (in frontline but also civilian infrastructures), the children rounded up and forcibly settled in Russia, and the devastating hardship each citizen must endure. When you’re living in a wartime Ukraine, life must be hell.
There’s probably the daily struggle to find food/water, grieving for loved ones lost or missing, and hoping to just survive today for a better tomorrow. The uncertainty, the despair, but also the seething anger at Russians, must all be incredibly taxing.
Looking at the war from a distance, and knowing how difficult it must be for Ukrainians, I have a renewed sense of gratitude for the life I lead here in the United States. I’m living here, in the most powerful and financially stable country in the world, retired early thanks to the power of the American financial system, and I’m able to live how I choose to.
One of the most important things in life and in living FIRE (financial independence retire early) is learning to appreciate the things you currently have. Without this seemingly easy, and maybe even an obviously simple thing, your life may not be as fulfilling, happy, and content.
How many times have you seen rich, and famous people commit suicide? They have money, so it’s not the most important thing that determined their eventual fate. Maybe it’s their inability to be happy where they are in life, or maybe it’s that they’re constantly looking for more, better, and bigger things in life.
How much is enough? How many achievements do you need before you’re satisfied? How much more stardom, fame, or celebrity do you need to be happy?
Why do so many rich and famous people take drugs in the first place? Is the fame, the adoration by fans, the celebrity, and money not enough? How much is enough???
My theory is this: you can’t be truly happy unless you’re happy within. In another word, outside factors can help you become somewhat happier, but if you’re not happy being who you are right now, then ultimately, you won’t be happy.
You must try to be thankful of what you have today, because if you constantly are thinking of what’s ahead, or how you think the future ought to be, then you’re missing out on your life, right now. The ability to show gratitude, thanking what you have right now, which can be simple, basic things like food, electricity, water, is a start. Ultimately, you want to be grateful for things that may seem trivial, mundane, and obvious like your loved ones, friends, a roof under your head, a job that pays the bills and which allows you to save towards retirement, enjoying nature, etc.
Nothing in life is permanent. Our lives are fleeting, and our relationships with friends and families are fleeting.
No one lives forever, and nothing lasts forever. Those early days when we’re in school, days seem to last forever with nothing exciting to do all day. We think, incorrectly, that those lazy summer days will last forever, waiting impatiently, and wanting to grow up as quickly as we can. If only we knew what waits when we get older…
With this understanding that nature and life is frail, we must try to do our best to enjoy this life as best we can. Here are things I’m currently grateful for:
They provide love, support, and comfort. They allow us to stay with them for months on end, wanting nothing but our company. They allow me to be myself: sometimes silly, goofy, and sometimes just wanting to be left alone. Only families can do that…
We set a plan in motion, to save as much as we could during our working years, paying down our mortgage principal, and most importantly, learning to spend as less as we can living a minimalist lifestyle, have paid off in spades. We are retired, have been for the past 3 years, not needing to work. Because of our minimalist lifestyle, we’ve been able to balance our budget even though we’ve traveled to quite many new places.
My dream to travel this great country of ours, has become a reality. We’ve been able to explore new places all over the country. Our most recent travels to the American Southwest and West Coast, have been phenomenal, finally seeing famous places I only heard about for the first time.
I am so fond our our Mazda CX-5, which is our dream car. As soon as we got it last October, we took it for a spin during our cross country trip, all the way out to San Diego, California from North Carolina. It was good on gas, quiet, and absolutely a blast to drive. I couldn’t have asked for a better car!
- No longer running in the rat race
We are so grateful that we no longer need to work. Those Sunday night blues, worrying about the upcoming work week, followed by Monday morning blues, are but a distant memory.
Some people love and enjoy their work. We’re not those people. We worked to save up enough money to retire. We couldn’t wait to be done with work.
Since August 2020, our early retirement has truly been a blessing. We get up when we want to, we can binge watch a good show or movie on a weekday, we can go grocery shopping on a weekday when it’s nice and quiet, among others.
It has been such a blessing to not needing to work, and just travel, spend time with family, and/or do nothing at all. All these things are possible with early retirement…
Now that you know what I’m grateful for, here are some important tips on practicing gratitude for your FIRE (financial independence retire early) and for your life:
- Don’t take each day for granted. Try to enjoy the day as you never know what tomorrow may bring…
Remember what I said about the frailty of life. No one knows when their time is up in this world. Enjoy today, be thankful you’re alive to witness it, then try to enjoy the little moments that come up throughout the day, like watching birds, watching rain fall, doing something you like, etc.
- Know that as bad as you think your life is right now, there are people much worse off than you
Think about the refugees from Ukraine who were displaced from their homeland, wondering where they’ll sleep that night, or what they’ll eat. Think about millions of Uyghurs in China forced into oppression, forced labor, and genocide by the regime that doesn’t care about human rights.
I would argue these people have it much worse than anyone living here in the United States. At least here, we don’t have to worry about war, famine, or genocide. Life doesn’t always have to get better. Life can sometimes get worse.
Embrace this fact when you live your lives. Enjoy your life as there are millions who have it worse than you…
- Train yourself to thank something each and every day…
Whether it’s food on your table, a roof over your head, or hot water, thanking something, even things we here in the United States may think mundane, is a step in the right direction. The more you thank something you have, the better you’ll feel.
You’ll no longer mindlessly buy things you don’t really need, you’ll no longer live your life constantly wanting more, and you’ll no longer feel like you’re a failure at not already owning something you think will make you happy.
It’s a fool’s errand to try to buy your way into happiness. Everything you buy, will eventually become blasé and boring, and you’ll want something else.
Get your mindset off of this crazy habit and learn to appreciate the things you already have. It changed my life…
- Appreciate the process of saving for retirement, do it consistently, and always buy more stocks
In the beginning of your FIRE journey, the amount you have saved up to that point may not be much. Remember, you have to learn to walk before you can run. There are no shortcuts to prosperity.
You have to embrace the process of putting away much as you can each paycheck, buy more stocks (stock index funds, mutual funds, bonds, etc.), try to increase the amount you put away until you hit the maximum allowable amount each year, then see it grow! Let the magic of compounding interest work to your advantage!
Time is of the essence. The earlier you start, the more you can use the benefit of compounding interest to work for you. Believe in the ingenuity, innovation, and creativity of American companies to find new markets as they’ve always done. Buy American company stocks!
Buy always as you’re saving for retirement. Buy when market is up and buy when market is down. Don’t try to pick individual stocks, but rather use the power of indexing to reap the rewards.
- Budget, budget, and budget!
Budgeting is important when you’re saving for retirement but it’s just as important after you’ve retired. If you can’t budget, you can’t save enough to retire! Even multimillionaires have gone into bankruptcy (think Nicholas Cage), after spending way too much. *His purchases included exotic cars like Lamborghinis/Ferraris, paintings, huge mansions, useless collectibles, etc.
Buy what you need, practice minimalism, enjoy free things in life, cut out frivolous spending, and find ways to save money on things you buy. Sooner or later, you’ll see there’s actually money left over to save when you budget correctly.
In conclusion:
Learning to show gratitude and appreciating things you have right now, is such an important part of life and for your journey of FIRE. Without being thankful, you’ll always want the next best thing: the flavor of the month exotic travel, the next and the greatest smartphone, the next and latest expensive truck that costs $100,000, etc.
Practice this like anything else to get better. Take the time out of your day to think about what you’re grateful for. Do it with your partner.
Be thankful of what you’ve already accomplished. In this journey of FIRE, learn to appreciate the amount you’ve saved, and let that be the motivating factor that pushes you further towards your ultimate financial goal!
Thank you for reading and good luck on your journey of FIRE and in your journey of life!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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