My Rich Life– Happiness Is the Only Logical Pursuit - Hint It’s Not All About The Money
Is your rich life a collection of things or an ideal?
Table of Contents: (Jump Links)
Since I retired two years ago, my perspective has changed quite a bit. As outlined in How I Retired at Age 32, I largely did so out of necessity. While I planned ahead and saved aggressively, I was going blind, and the clock was ticking. I was acting mostly out of self-preservation.
Because I was so focused on the finish line and securing my future, I largely forgot to think about what that future would look like! What would I do with all my newfound time? What would I do to live a whole and fulfilling life? Whoops!
I recently read the book I Will Teach You To Be Rich and found it to be a good read. While I didn’t agree with everything (I rarely do), I took a few things away.
The biggest takeaway was to stop treating yourself like a robot. We are humans with emotions, needs, hopes, and dreams. Yet we often approach finances like a math equation or a set of tables to be balanced. In reality, mastering our finances is really just understanding how to use money to live a fulfilling life.
As Mr. Money Mustache said in one of his speeches, “Happiness is the only logical pursuit.”
On that note, I’m going to explore what my “Rich Life” looks like. Ultimately, this is a question of what’s most important to you and what your life would look like if you had the freedom to fully engage in those things.
Is this really what you want in life?
As we walk through what my ideal “Rich Life” would be, I want you to think about what your rich life would look like. It might be very different than mine.
(I would love to hear about your ideal rich life! Drop a comment below!)
So, what is my rich life? This is a deceptively simple question. On the surface, you’d think private jets, parties in Vegas, and a life of hedonism and excess like Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street. But looking past the surface, that actually doesn’t sound like a very fulfilling life to me. In fact, when you really think about it, many of the things society tells us we should have (a big house, fancy cars, luxury travel) don’t even make us marginally happier. In many ways, they further isolate us from our fellow humans and shrink the communities we interact with.
Sure, you need a safe place to live, food to eat, and a way to get from point A to point B. But those needs can be met relatively easily. Even the rich and famous who have the nicest cars, homes, and fine wines still aren’t any happier than you or me. In fact, many of them are miserable!
So what would my “rich Life” look like?
For me, being rich has more to do with the ability to do what I want, when I want, where I want.
I don’t really need the fanciest car or biggest house. Honestly, I’d probably feel less rich because I’d have to worry about these big, expensive objects. What if the house floods? What if my car gets scratched? Ugh! NO THANKS!! I’d rather have less stuff and the flexibility to live life on my terms. Being rich means you have control of your time and the activities you choose to engage in.
Gotta start with the basics
My primary goal here is to be worry-free about monthly expenses: mortgage, groceries, utilities, etc. The basics of living shouldn’t stress me out. This doesn’t mean my monthly credit card statement is magically paid off after a $10K trip to Vegas. But, it does mean that when the house and utility payments are due, there is money in my account, and I don’t have to stress about it.
How am I doing?
I’ve mastered this goal. I have a $2,500 passive income stream that goes into its own checking account. (I keep two months of expenses in it.) My house payment and my basic utilities are paid with this. Plus, there is a little extra which gets skimmed off into my emergency fund. The beauty of this is my emergency fund is self-healing. If I have to replace my water heater for $1K, I know after a couple months that money will be automatically replenished!
If I need a new laptop, I want to be able to buy it. Need a new refrigerator? No problem! Phone broke? Just replace it- no questions asked. I want to be in a place where the tools I use to live life work every time and aren’t a source of friction between me and how I want to spend my time. I came to this realization when I had a six year old printer that “sort of worked.” I was trying to print tickets to go to a ZZ-Top concert and it just wouldn’t function. Reboot computer? No good... More paper? Nope… New toner? Nothing…. I ended up being late and realized the few dollars I’d saved by postponing a new printer purchase was actually costing me more in time than it was saving me in money.
How am I doing?
I’m doing well with this goal. I have reasonably new computers and internet gear. All my appliances work, and I’m not worried about my hot water heater blowing its bottom and flooding my house. Additionally, if a major item in my life became a problem, I could replace it immediately without a problem.
What’s the point of retiring early if you’re so unhealthy you can’t enjoy your life? This should be an extremely high priority! Warren Buffett even has a great speech about this. He asks if he got you any car you wanted, what would it be? He then follows up and says there is a catch. (There’s always a catch!) This is the only car you’ll ever own. He goes on to ask how you would treat that car knowing it’s the only one you will ever get. Pretty well, right? Well, he argues we should do the same with our body because it is the only one we’ll ever get.
Here is a link to this talk. Powerful stuff!
How am I doing here?
Like most Americans, I’m not perfect. I eat too much and move too little. But I’m certainly doing better than the average American! I have an extra 20lbs I’d like to lose. And I could probably cut back on my beer intake. But my activity level makes up for many of my shortcomings. I go for a 5-6 mile hike every week. I also swim and ride my bike trainer a couple times a week. Plus, I have enough weights to keep an Olympic lifting team occupied. I’m working on dropping that extra 20 pounds, but I feel like I’m on the right track here.
Now let’s talk about the finer things in life.
If you haven’t mastered your time, it will be hard for you to make time for those who are important to you. But I’m a strong believer that family and close friends should be a priority in your life. Of all the places I’ve traveled in the world and things I have done, I’ve come to realize my enjoyment has mainly been derived from who I was doing it with, not how fancy the activity was. I’d rather help my brother shovel mulch than go island hopping by myself.
How am I doing here?
I feel like I’m doing pretty well in this department. When I retired, I moved from Washington State to Arizona to be closer to my parents. They live about 15 minutes away now. I see them an average of 1-2 times a week, which has been great. Also, since they retired early too (age 55), we’ve been able to do many enjoyable things like hiking, projects around the house, or just enjoying the afternoon with a cigar and drink of our choice. Another benefit of being in Arizona is the weather. It is beautiful in the winter, so I have a steady stream of friends who like to come and visit while their hometowns are buried in snow!
Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive.
I like to see new places and do new things. I don’t want money to be an obstacle to this.
How am I doing?
This year, I’m planning to go to Utah, DC, North Carolina, Texas, and Ecuador. Most of these trips are to see friends or family. But the NC trip will be to the beaches of the Outer Banks. The Ecuador trip is to see a beautiful country and meet like-minded people. While this fits into my “rich life” definition, the interesting thing is I’m doing all of this for under $5K!
Something I quickly realized in retirement is having a bunch of free time is a blessing and a curse! On one hand, it gives you so much freedom. On the other hand, a lot of your peers are still working. Also, since I don’t have any kids, I don’t have a lot of scheduled activities around their school events or extracurricular activities. It’s important to find hobbies you’re passionate about and start exploring those things! They can change over time, but you need to keep engaging with challenging activities for your own personal growth. They can change over time, but for your own personal growth and development you need to keep engaging with challenging activities. Otherwise, you’ll end up sitting in front of the TV and let 20 years pass you by. That’s not really a life worth living, so don’t be that person!
How am I doing?
In Arizona, the winters are bountiful! I so enjoy hiking outdoors, lifting weights, and completing projects around the house. In the summer, things get a little rough outside. (122 degrees is a real thing!) That’s when I travel more, work on this website, and get some reading in. (I’m currently reading The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday. I highly recommend it!) I also grow peppers to make into my “poison dust” (dehydrated ground-up peppers – very hot).
I enjoy going out to eat, especially with friends. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it’s nice to hit the local pub or Mexican joint for a drink and a bite to eat. Since I’m retired, I spend plenty of time at home. It’s nice to get out for a bit.
How am I doing?
Well, I’ve actually had to cut back in this category… Remember that extra 20lbs I was talking about under category #3? Yeah… It’s primarily due to the amount of eating out or Uber Eats I do. I think a good balance would be to eat out more with friends and cut back on the Uber Eats at home because I’m feeling too lazy to cook. I can easily throw a pizza in the oven!
Giving back can be part of your rich life.
Many books I’ve read have emphasized the importance of volunteering and giving back as ways to bring purpose and fulfillment into your life, especially after you have reached financial independence and attained many of your personal goals. That being said, I’m a big believer in “putting your own oxygen mask on before helping others.” Your ability to help will be limited if you don’t have the time, energy, or resources to contribute in a meaningful way.
How am I doing?
This is an area I could improve! That being said, I have been engaging with the community in positive ways with various levels of success.
I’m a regular blood donor. I’m young and healthy and have plenty of time. And it’s free! If you’re healthy, I encourage you to donate. It’s easy to do, and it saves lives.
I am the Arizona Ambassador for the Usher Syndrome Coalition. As someone with Usher Syndrome (the leading cause of combined deafness and blindness), I recognize the odds were stacked against me to become financially independent and retire early. I am an exception to the rule. I volunteer my time to try and help connect local families with kids recently diagnosed with Usher Syndrome. We find resources to give them every opportunity to be successful.
I’m looking into volunteering as a committee member of the Arizona Council for the Deaf and Blind. I’m still exploring this opportunity, but maybe I can bring my background in working on government proposals to the legislative branch to advocate for a disadvantaged population. Time will tell.
My frustrations with volunteering (unpopular opinion)
I don’t feel that everyone who preaches volunteering is truly being honest with their intentions. Many organizations “donate money” to get something they want in return, either in recognition or prestige. I also feel that some people may preach about how much they “give back” to justify their aggressive actions elsewhere in life.
It hasn’t been very fulfilling for me. My superpower is “getting shit done,” and I’ve found the slow pace of the non-profit world to be very frustrating. I understand that I’m working with other volunteers, but simple initiatives should not take months or years to implement!
I’ll keep exploring this category as I have seen a personal gain from donating blood. I truly feel that I’m helping people in need when I do this. I have several friends who have benefited from blood transfusions, so I feel like I’m helping a friend out when I donate. Time will tell what other activities I engage with. Still, I wanted to offer an honest perspective to the PC narrative of “You have to volunteer to have purpose in life.” Give it a try, but if it’s not right for you, that’s okay too.
You’ll notice a few things about my rich life listed above.
It says nothing about how much money I want to make. I don’t really care about owning a large portfolio of rental properties or having a huge amount of passive income. As long as I can do the things I’ve listed above, what does it matter? That being said, I do continue to put around $20K into investments every year. This further reinforces my future finances, so I don’t have to compromise on my rich life.
I didn’t talk about getting married or having kids. While I listed family as very important, I’ve had mixed feelings about having my own. I’ve been married before, and it ended in a messy divorce. Dating in my 30s has been ummm… well, interesting, to say the least. For now, I’m taking a break and investing in my emotional and mental health. Maybe I’ll find the right person someday, but that will only happen if I’m confident in who I am and know what I want. In the past couple years, I’ve made huge improvements in these areas.
I didn’t mention making new friends. I’ve found It somewhat difficult to make new friends after retiring. Part of it was the pandemic, and part of it has been that all my peers are still working. Part of it has been my eyesight. Rather than fixating on this directly, I’m doing my best to live a fulfilling life. I’m confident I’ll meet “my people” if I’m doing worthwhile things. In the meantime, I’m focusing on taking care of the great relationships I already have with my existing family and friends.
Quality > Quantity
And that’s a wrap! This turned into a rather lengthy article! If you’ve made it this far, you should definitely Join The Community by signing up for our monthly newsletter! I send it out once a month to recap what’s been happening along with upcoming events.
I’m planning to hit some of the F.I.R.E. conferences this year. If you want to meet me, you’ll learn how we can connect by signing up for the newsletter or following me on Twitter for more musings on all things finance and kicking ass at life.
-Cheers!