If you’re familiar with the financial independence concept you probably have heard of the acronym FIRE. It stands for financial independence retire early (FIRE). Essentially, you accumulate enough wealth that you can confidently say that you are financially independent from needing to work anymore and you now have the option to retire early. And retiring early has different definitions depending who you talk to. I can confidently say that I’ve F.I.R.E.d and I couldn’t have done it without my family being onboard.  

I’m excited that my last day of 9-5 work is coming very soon. I’m also nervous because this is unexplored territory for me. What is next for me? What will I do? How do I handle finances? Do I change my spending habits? How will I spend my time? So many questions very little answers.  

What I can tell you is that I’ve been working towards this moment for 30 years. Although it was wasn’t called FIRE, my life habits supported the concept. When I started my first job I did not know I wanted to retire early but I did know that I wanted to make good financial decisions.  

I had an opportunity to preview what early retirement could look like because of the government shutdown. I already experienced many of the positive benefits of early retirement. The flip side of that is I now have to adjust to a different lifestyle and adapt to it. Here are the early benefits I’ve experienced thus far 

• No more commuting 
• No more meetings, conference calls, virtual calls 
• No more fighting traffic 
• More time with family 
• Not saying no to kids activities because of work conflicts 
• Flexible to schedule any appointment 
• Getting more sleep 
• Feeling less stress 
• Eating healthier 
• Catching up on shows 

Here are some adjustments that I will have to adapt to 

• Less interaction with people (no coworkers) 
• Living without a paycheck 
• Being more aware of spending. Will have to reduce spending 
• Pay for health insurance out of pocket 
• Staying motivated 
• Filling the day up with activities 

Reaching FIRE is a huge milestone! I’m excited and nervous at the same time. The biggest benefit of being F.I.R.E.d is getting back your time and be able to fill your day with things I want. I hope to write more articles on a regular basis and who knows dab into video content creation? In FIRE I know I will still encounter challenges, risks, opportunities,  hardships, and successes but at least I am still young enough to enjoy the journey. If you are interested in following my journey, email subscribe here to get alerts of latest posts or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.