Valuable Lessons from My Eighth Year of Freedom

Mad Fientist: Hey, what’s up, everybody. Welcome to the FInancial Independence Podcast.

So three years ago in 2021, I decided to stop doing my annual updates. And if you’ve followed the podcast for a while, you know every year since I left my job in 2016, I’ve done an annual update talking about what I learned over that last year.

And when it got to 2021, I felt like I was really just living normal life, and I was getting bored making the annual updates because I didn’t really think much had changed. And I didn’t know if I was actually giving any sort of meaningful advice to anybody by just talking about what I had been doing for the past year.

So I decided to stop doing them and it’s amazing how much has changed since then.

So one, I don’t have it all figured out and I’ve learned a lot over the last three years, so I figured I could share what I’ve learned over those last three years and maybe start doing these annual updates again if I continue to learn things, but I’ve also realized that things are going to get really weird with AI over the next decade, and content is going to be able to be created instantaneously by computers.

And really the only thing I have is my human story. And that’s the most important thing. And my unique experiences that I can share and the lessons I learn through actually living this sort of lifestyle.

So both of those things combined made me realize that, Hey, I should maybe do another one of these at least. And then maybe continuing to do these in future years if I have some interesting things to share.

So anyway, so this is my eighth year of freedom post, and I can’t believe it’s been eight years. That’s absolutely insane, and it was actually August 1st that I left my job, but I’m not really on a good schedule these days, and so this is over a month late.

But hey, better late than never.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and this is valuable lessons from my eighth year of freedom.

So the biggest thing since 2021 is really that I feel like I’m actually using money for the first time. My entire life has been saving money, investing money, hoarding money pretty much.

And I don’t think I’ve ever even tried to use it because using it was always the last resort. And if I was using it, that was a mistake because now that money can’t grow anymore. And it’s been a huge mental shift to now try to use it when I’ve just spent my whole life accumulating it. It’s been a lot of fun and I have a article coming out soon, if I can get around to writing it, talking about learning how to spend and actually enjoying it while I’m learning how to do it. And I think that’s been the biggest change. And particularly we bought a house last year. Our last house, I think we sold in 2014 and we’ve just been renting ever since and renting has been great.

But now that we have a son and we want to settle down and we don’t want to have to move every year if we don’t want to. I know my wife never wanted to move every year, but I was always keen to try something new. But now that we have a son in the picture just having a stable place that we can put all our stuff, and as parents out there know you have a ton of stuff when you get a kid, because grandparents just keep buying them stuff.

So we decided to buy a house and that’s been a great purchase. And this is actually the third house we’ve owned. We owned a house in Scotland back in 2005, and then we bought a house in Vermont in 2011. But this is actually the first house that I’ve enjoyed owning.

For anybody on the path to FI out there who is like me and was just like very motivated to get there as quickly as possible, I don’t think I should have owned houses back then, because any unexpected expenses that came up, I would stress about them and yeah, owning a house is nothing but unexpected expenses. So I think yeah, if I was doing it again, I’d probably rent most of the time that I was on the path to FI and then buy after because now I can actually enjoy it and I am enjoying it. It is a luxury. It is a splurge and it’s a great splurge because I’m talking to you from my perfect home studio that I’ve spent months and months designing and building. And I love it so much. And yeah, if I was as tight with money as I was back in my FI days, I wouldn’t have this studio. And I would have been stressing about all the unexpected expenses that have already popped up over the last year and a half.

So homeownership has been amazing. And again, if you would have told me this eight years ago that I’d want to be a homeowner again after the horrors of my previous two homeownership stints, I would have said you’re crazy, but that just shows how much changes as you get older and as your priorities change.

And the other big thing that I would be surprised about back then that I am loving now is stuff. So even though I just was talking about being overwhelmed by too much kid stuff, buying stuff for the house has been a lot of fun. And it adds to my daily joy. So yeah, I didn’t think stuff actually increased my happiness, but it really does.

And I think it’s mainly because I’ve gone so long without any good stuff. So as we were renting, we would always have furnished rentals. And since we moved so often, I hated packing up boxes and moving. So I just limited the amount of stuff I had. So that was, that just meant that we used, all the rental house’s kitchen stuff, and whatever TV was on the wall and sound system was there, we just used that.

But, now that we have our own home, and we know we’re staying here for a while, I bought nice things that I really do enjoy. So anything from, the coffee grinder that I’ve talked about many times on this show and other shows, to just like really nice mugs, to a great sound system for the TV and speakers in every room that make music sound so good and I can just turn it on instantly and just have music following me around the house.

And then obviously the studio is just kitted out with everything that I’ve ever wanted. Speaking of the studio, I’ve set it up so that I can do a video from here now. So if you want these podcasts to be in video form in the future, go to madfientist.com/youtube and follow me there. And if I get enough YouTube followers, I’ll start to make the efforts to do video, which would require me to actually shower before recording these, which today, that did not happen so I’m glad this one’s audio, but. If I get enough followers on YouTube, then I’ll start doing these in video and I’ll give you a little tour of my home studio, which is incredible. So go to madfientist.com/youtube to follow me on there.

So those are two big changes, my love of home ownership and love of stuff.

But going back to the initial point where I’m actually using my money for the first time, I realized that’s a big mistake I made on my journey to FI was just disregarding the fact that actually one day you are going to spend your money and if you’re not really practicing how to spend it you’re not going to be that good at it.

So this has been like a three year journey of trying to get better at spending money and trying to reframe it as something that does get used and you use it to increase the happiness in your life. And the one thing I keep saying to myself is something that I heard in the Die With Zero podcast that I published a few months ago with Chris Hutchins.

And that’s when Bill Perkins said, when’s the party? And I keep saying that to myself in my head, because that’s true. When’s the party? Because even if you don’t spend your money, you’re going to give it away at the end of your life. So there’s a party at some point and somebody who’s going to benefit from it.

So you can either use it during your life and give it away during your life or at the end of your life, it’s all going to be given away and somebody is going to have a party and it may be a charity, it may be your heirs, if you want to be a part of that party, then you need to figure out how to spend it or give it away during your life.

And that’s something I’m really focused on.

So in that same sort of vein as, using money for the first time, I feel like this is the first time I’m appreciating all my past investments. It feels like all my investments are really paying off. So for example, like to buy this house I used my portfolio to do it and that was just eye opening because you’re saving for FI and it’s all just this theoretical thing.

It’s not like you all of a sudden take out all your money, give it to the FI person and they give you all the freedom. It’s not like you’re actually using it to buy freedom. You are obviously, but you’re not clicking a button to do it. It’s just a theoretical thing like, okay, yeah, my bank account says I have this much in it, so now I don’t have to work anymore.

But it doesn’t really feel like you’re utilizing that money. Whereas when I bought the house, I did just do that, which I clicked a button and pretty much bought a house, which is a crazy transaction that I’m going to write an article about in the future as well. Hopefully next year. Cause it was just the most insane amazing financial transaction I’ve ever completed in my life.

So anyway, so that was like the first time I was like, Whoa, okay. So yeah, I did save up a good amount of money and it can be used to buy amazing things like this big stone house in the countryside. But I also feel like, other investments are also paying off. So my focus on health over the last decade and now I’m in my early forties and I still feel like I’m 20 and I’m very thankful for that, especially having a little toddler to chase after and pick up and throw around.

So I feel like, yeah, those past decisions are starting to bear fruit and, like my friendships I get to go home to the States and see some great friends that I’ve had for decades. And we pick up exactly where we left off. And it’s we’ve just never stopped hanging out, which is fantastic.

My 22 year investment in my relationship with Jill has made it possible. greatest human to ever exist in the entire history of humanity. So that investment is paying off in ways I wouldn’t have even imagined. And so it’s making me think of my future investments. And now the money investment is all on autopilot and locked down, and I’m not worried about that, it’s focusing on those future investments.

So again, maintaining health. So that’s a huge focus because I am an older dad, but I don’t want to act like one. So I want to be playing ice hockey and skiing with my son and hopefully doing it for the next 40 years rather than just the next 10 or 20.

So health is a huge focus. And I know that investment pays off, but it’s one of the most important ones, so that’s the one I’m focusing on most.

I’m trying to think about ways to increase the investment in my friendships that I’ve built over the last few decades and figuring out ways that maybe money can help that by maybe, renting an Airbnb where my friends live for a month and just being there rather than just coming into town for a week and seeing everybody quickly, just like actually living there for a little chunk of time every year so that we can just pick up where we left off and continue to build those relationships that I value so much.

And then the biggest investment, investing in my son, which has already paid off in so many ways and has been the biggest gift of FI, being able to be there and spend all this time with him and all this quality time as he’s been growing up and to be there for all the big milestones. So to continue investing in him and enjoying every minute of it along the way.

So again, it’s thinking about ways that money can contribute to that and help that. So rather than focusing solely on the money investment, I’m again, trying to reframe it and think about how I can use money to increase these other investments that are far more important at the end of the day and are the ones that really bring a lot of happiness.

And the other big thing that I’ve been thinking a lot about over the past few years is something I think the pandemic taught me, and that’s, there’s a risk to putting things off. And I think back pre pandemic, I always just thought yeah, I can save all this money and then in a few years I’ll do this.

But the pandemic showed us that, this period of health and peace and free travel, we’ve taken it for granted because it’s all we’ve known and that’s not guaranteed to continue.

So when I think about whether we should take a trip to the States this spring, or if we should just put it off to the summer or fall. I’m less inclined to put things off these days.

And I think, yeah, the pandemic was the thing that really brought that to the forefront of my mind. We were trapped in Scotland for a couple of years and I couldn’t see my family and friends and I couldn’t do the things that I wanted to do and we couldn’t travel freely. So that’s been another motivation to use my money more now, rather than letting it sit there and accumulate more so that I could use more later.

So those are the real big things that have been at the forefront of my mind over the last few years, since my last annual update, and it is a huge mindset shift. But it’s one I needed to have, and I’m glad that I’m having it, and I’m glad I’m in the position that I’m in to enjoy it while it’s happening.

So a lot of the future content I have is going to be based around that. So again, I’m going to have a big article about learning how to spend, because I’ve learned, I think my list is up to 14 things that have really been helpful in that regard. So I’m going to publish that soon, hopefully. I’m also going to do a Perfect Life version 2.0. I have a post called The Perfect Life that I wrote even before I reached FI and I haven’t read it because I want to read it right before I write this new post, but it’s going to be funny to go back to that and see how different I’m living life now than I imagined I would have lived it back when I wrote that article and it’s going to be fun to write a new version of it to see what the future perfect life is going to be looking like now that we can build exactly the life we want. And I feel like we’re doing that and we’re getting very close to our ideal lifestyle, but here we are eight years in and still experimenting a lot and still trying to figure it out. So it’s, yeah, it’s definitely not as easy as you assume it would be.

So the only other minor thing I wanted to chat about is stock picking because, it’s obvious what the downsides to stock picking are when you’re wrong, you lose money or you make less money than you would have if you weren’t trying to pick individual stocks, but I just wanted to touch on two success stories that are still not ideal. So even if you pick the right stock, there’s two examples I have for you. And the first is I bought Nvidia back in 2012. So for anyone out there who knows what Nvidia stock has done since then, that was very early and that money would have grown to an insane amount of money had I held on to it.

But, that’s the problem with picking individual stocks.

Back then I was a software developer and I could see that graphics were going to be more important in future years. And I thought, okay, investing in the best graphic processing unit producer would make a lot of sense.

So I invested and sure enough, I think it went up maybe 20, 25 percent and I sold it and I thought I was a genius and yeah, looking back on it, yeah, it was a good investment, whatever. But had I not sold it, it would be up thousands of percent. So even though it was a success. There’s still a lot of regret there cause I sold way too early.

So that’s one example of stock picking going right, but still feeling like a failure and something that you should have done better.

And the second example is probably around the same time, I think. Apple was trading at around its cash value. So ignoring all the intellectual property it had and all the products and everything, it just was pretty much trading for what the cash it had on hand was.

So I had some money lying around at that time and I was like okay, I don’t see anything else good to invest in, so I’ll just put it into Apple. And so I’ve just left it there and the dividends have just been reinvested up until recently. I turned that off because I was like, this is just getting too big of a chunk of my portfolio.

This was in a taxable account too, which is silly back whenever I did that. So I have this huge unrealized capital gains, so I’d ideally not sell it, because I would pay a lot of tax on it. And yet it’s just becoming an increasingly bigger and bigger part of my portfolio. So even though I want my little fun portfolio size to be 5%, Apple alone is already bigger than that, not even including, Apple’s. Portion of all the index funds I own.

So anyway, so that’s another example of stock picking going right, but then ending up in a sort of difficult situation where a single stock is now a bigger percentage of my portfolio than I want it to be, but if I was to pare it down, then I would be hit with a lot of capital gains taxes.

So there’s just two examples.

Because like I said at the beginning of this, it’s easy to see how stock picking is bad when it goes wrong cause you lose money or you make less money than you could have. But when it goes right, there’s still complications. And that’s why I’m so glad that the majority of my portfolio is index funds that I plan to never sell.

And that just makes life so much easier. You just let it keep compounding. It keeps doing its thing. You’re not switching in and out. You’re not watching it. It’s just growing. And it’s just a much easier way to invest. And it’s no doubt it’s going to be more beneficial than me trying to pick stocks, even if I pick winners, which again, I don’t always, those are two examples of winners, but even then it comes with complications.

So anyway, that’s what’s been happening with me for the past few years.

Expect some more detailed and actionable posts about some of the topics I’ve discussed today coming up. Maybe not this year, maybe early next year. But if you’d prefer these updates to be in video form in the next few years, then just head to madfientist.com/youtube to follow me there. And if I get enough subscribers there, I’ll just start doing them there.

But yeah, I hope you’ve been doing well, and one other thing that I’ve been thinking about over the last few years is just how grateful I am for the Mad Fientist and for you. It’s amazing that I can just go months without publishing anything, and then I send out one email and I get all these lovely replies and suggestions and intelligent people to communicate with. And it’s incredible. It’s just another investment that seems to now be paying off.

So all those past decisions of putting the reader and listener first and not trying to sell some garbage thing that you don’t need or trying to put ads all over the place, i’m happy I made those decisions because now I feel like I’ve built up this relationship with you guys and I’m so thankful for it.

So thank you for listening, thank you for all your feedback and for being kind internet people, because I’m not sure who else out there can send out an email to a hundred thousand plus listeners or readers and then just get all these nice replies and none of the normal internet garbage that I think a lot of people have to deal with.

So thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed it, and I’ll catch you in the next one.