First thing(s) you'd do when you achieve financial independence?

[H-Town]

Delayed gratification means that you'll get that gratification some days down the road. You work hard for a purpose. Some might work harder to accelerate their savings so they can get there faster.

The moment you cross the finish line, what are the first things you would do?

My wife and I hopefully will get there in our early 40's. We won't quit our jobs right away because our careers are rewarding. We've been traveling a lot (abeit frugrally) since our 20's. So the first things I'd do are:

1) Apply for AMEX platinum and get all "loyal" status with hotels/airlines. We'll fly business class and stay at upscale hotels. Maybe we'll travel outside the states more often.

2) Sit down with my wife and plan cushion for our portfolio to accommodate our new lifestyle creep. Let's say if we want to buy a beach house, a lake house, or a cabin, we'll adjust our numbers accordingly. We're not big about McMansion, although it'll be nice to get a newly built house with new technologies and ergonomic.

3) Hire lawn mowers, maids, and personal trainers. Maybe I'll get my car washed and detailed inside out.

What are yours?

[TomatoTomahto]

We did #3. We also stay at upscale hotels, but I just can’t seem to purchase business or first class flights.

[bengal22]

Never really thought of having a "finish line." Will continue to travel, hang out with grandkids, dine out when we want to, and work on increased generosity.

[TheTimeLord]

I guess I never associated Financial Independence with having tens or hundreds of thousands of extra discretionary spending.

[flyingaway]

Delayed gratification means that you'll get that gratification some days down the road. You work hard for a purpose. Some might work harder to accelerate their savings so they can get there faster.

The moment you cross the finish line, what are the first things you would do?

My wife and I hopefully will get there in our early 40's. We won't quit our jobs right away because our careers are rewarding. We've been traveling a lot (abeit frugrally) since our 20's. So the first things I'd do are:

1) Apply for AMEX platinum and get all "loyal" status with hotels/airlines. We'll fly business class and stay at upscale hotels. Maybe we'll travel outside the states more often.

2) Sit down with my wife and plan cushion for our portfolio to accommodate our new lifestyle creep. Let's say if we want to buy a beach house, a lake house, or a cabin, we'll adjust our numbers accordingly. We're not big about McMansion, although it'll be nice to get a newly built house with new technologies and ergonomic.

3) Hire lawn mowers, maids, and personal trainers. Maybe I'll get my car washed and detailed inside out.

What are yours?

With (1), (2), and (3), you immediately become financially un-independent, and start working on the next level of (true) financial independence.

[Sandtrap]

I guess I never associated Financial Independence with having tens or hundreds of thousands of extra discretionary spending.

+1
Things evolve and mature. It doesn't happen all at once, usually.
And, the lifestyle that has balance and peace remains the same regardless of wealth, for many.
If one were frugal, then that will be the trend through retirement.
If one were a spendthrift, then that will be the trend until either one leaves or runs out of money.

[badger42]

FI isn't a single number, it's a continuum.

We're solidly past a MMM-style FI

We aren't at the level of FI that would support the lifestyle we actually want to continue to enjoy (e.g. we enjoy travel, good food, and paying somebody else to clean), while enabling both kids to graduate without student debt.

[sailaway]

Maintaining financial Independence depends on the spend rate, as much as the interest rate. We have achieved FI at our current spend rate and are still working and living the same lifestyle because we may want something more in the next 40 years, but we are quite content with our choices for now. When we stop working, we actually expect to spend less the first few years, rather than more, but that is still a specific lifestyle choice.

[fortfun]

We will mostly have more time but not a ton of extra money to spend. I suspect we will do as much budget travel as we can possibly afford. No beach houses or mountain cabins for us.... I'd rather stay in different VRBOs around the World than own one.

[BoggledHead2]

I get my car washed (not often, once before winter with wax, once after to get the snow/salt/crud off), i go out to eat/cocktails pretty much every weekend, I splurge on craft beer ... and I still save/invest about 50% of my gross income.

I guess upon F.I., I would treat myself to a luxury car (nothing absurd, something around 40-60K) as i do appreciate a nice automobile. I would also probably change how a travel (nicer hotels, first class, etc.) . If I was way ahead of my target, maybe I would splurge on a fun sport car as a hobby (Porsche, Skyline, muscle car, decisions decisions)

Other than that, I don’t think I would change much ... I don’t make a ton of money, but I learned to leave below my means from day 1 so now that I make “decent money” - it’s pretty much all going to saving/investing with a splurge of fun on the wkends. I never buy coffee, breakfast, or lunch during the week. I literally aim to spend $0 Monday - Thursday, which I typically do unless I need gas or special occasion. Make coffee in the morning, bring a lunch, meal prep for the week on sundays ... healthy, cheap/free, saves a ton of money. You would be shocked how much money this ends up saving people ... it blows my mind how much money people waste on this stuff at my office.

[LadyGeek]

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (how you spend your money and your time).

[Mike Scott]

Take a nap and then ponder all of the different meanings of financial independence.

[Yooper]

Breath a sigh of relief. Check, double-check, triple-check my calculations to make sure I'd actually achieved it. And then jealously guard that independence so it was never in jeopardy of being "lost". Which meant no changes to my lifestyle. Albeit somewhat better sleep at night. That's what I did. That's what I do.

[rob]

If it's just FI and not RE, then I would stop working for nut jobs and find an interesting job without regard to salary while I worked towards RE.

[investingdad]

I doubt our lifestyle will change at all. It just means I won't be working to support it.

It's not like winning the lottery.

[runner3081]

Brush my teeth, go to bed and wake up the next day.

[livesoft]

I moved next door to you.

[TheDoorMan19]

Immediately quit my job. Unless it was December in which case I’d stay until January to get my profit sharing contribution, bonus and max 401(k) for next year.

[whodidntante]

Financial independence to me means that working is optional. Financial independence to the OP means living like a rapper. That's a much larger number than I am going to hit.

[abuss368]

Watch a movie, read a paper! Maybe go out to dinner!

[bligh]

Delayed gratification means that you'll get that gratification some days down the road. You work hard for a purpose. Some might work harder to accelerate their savings so they can get there faster.

The moment you cross the finish line, what are the first things you would do?

My wife and I hopefully will get there in our early 40's. We won't quit our jobs right away because our careers are rewarding. We've been traveling a lot (abeit frugrally) since our 20's. So the first things I'd do are:

1) Apply for AMEX platinum and get all "loyal" status with hotels/airlines. We'll fly business class and stay at upscale hotels. Maybe we'll travel outside the states more often.

2) Sit down with my wife and plan cushion for our portfolio to accommodate our new lifestyle creep. Let's say if we want to buy a beach house, a lake house, or a cabin, we'll adjust our numbers accordingly. We're not big about McMansion, although it'll be nice to get a newly built house with new technologies and ergonomic.

3) Hire lawn mowers, maids, and personal trainers. Maybe I'll get my car washed and detailed inside out.

What are yours?

With (1), (2), and (3), you immediately become financially un-independent, and start working on the next level of (true) financial independence.

+1 this is exactly what I was thinking. You increase your expenses and so now you need a bigger portfolio to support these increased expenses so you are once again financially dependent

[H-Town]

With (1), (2), and (3), you immediately become financially un-independent, and start working on the next level of (true) financial independence.

Hence, the cushion and continuing of employment.

We plan to leave our nest-egg alone and fund our "controlled" life-style creep by yearly cash in-flows. We might not save as much but since we get to the goal line (50x of our spending needs, i.e. $2M), I thought we can use our salary for our pleasure. If we end up buying a cabin, I think we should be able to cash flow it in 2-3 years.

[Teague]

I stopped showing up at work, and so far that's been quite sufficient.

[Colorado13]

Worry a little bit less, sleep a little bit better, spend a bit more on comforts when traveling, and keep saving for the rainy days.

[TheTimeLord]

Delayed gratification means that you'll get that gratification some days down the road. You work hard for a purpose. Some might work harder to accelerate their savings so they can get there faster.

The moment you cross the finish line, what are the first things you would do?

My wife and I hopefully will get there in our early 40's. We won't quit our jobs right away because our careers are rewarding. We've been traveling a lot (abeit frugrally) since our 20's. So the first things I'd do are:

1) Apply for AMEX platinum and get all "loyal" status with hotels/airlines. We'll fly business class and stay at upscale hotels. Maybe we'll travel outside the states more often.

2) Sit down with my wife and plan cushion for our portfolio to accommodate our new lifestyle creep. Let's say if we want to buy a beach house, a lake house, or a cabin, we'll adjust our numbers accordingly. We're not big about McMansion, although it'll be nice to get a newly built house with new technologies and ergonomic.

3) Hire lawn mowers, maids, and personal trainers. Maybe I'll get my car washed and detailed inside out.

What are yours?

You might want to look at this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=228670

[ohai]

In reality, you end up just continuing normally, as if nothing ever happened. There's no point at which you are suddenly "financial independent". You just get incrementally richer than you were earlier, so you keep going, to increase your margin of safety or because people just continue by habit. Lifestyle creep is usually the only thing that is different.

[The Wizard]

FI isn't a single number, it's a continuum...

Correct.
FI is just a nebulous starting point.
When you get there, increase your target by 10%.
Then do it a few more times.
Ask TimeLord for advice on this.
You'll be fine...

[averagedude]

Reaching FI for me would mean that i wouldn't have to trade my time for money if i didn't want to. I could win the powerball, and i probably wouldn't have any desire to spend more money than i do now. My wife however....... thats a different story.

[DrGoogle2017]

Get an ice cream. In fact, when I travel, I have an ice cream or gelato a day. Talk about having the right priority. But honestly, I never heard of the term FI, only until I was very close to retirement or after retirement where I have more time to read many forums about retirement where I encounter the term FI. Shocking yes.

[FoolMeOnce]

With (1), (2), and (3), you immediately become financially un-independent, and start working on the next level of (true) financial independence.

This was my initial thought as well, but the more I thought about it. The more it made sense. Once you reach your FI "number," you no longer need to save to reach your goals. Suddenly you could have tens of thousands of dollars of new discretionary spending available, assuming you continue to earn income. In a way it is a corollary to the common advice to quit a high stress job and take something lower paying that you enjoy once you reach FI - spend that money to downshift your career, it spend it on Amex Platinum travel.

The difference is if it resets your spending to a higher amount that you will maintain once you retire. But by continuing to earn income and not withdraw from your Investments, your accounts should grow well past that initial FI amount anyway.

[Grt2bOutdoors]

Hiring the lawn mower may come before, even if I don’t reach FI. As the years go by, mowing the lawn in hot weather has lost its appeal. I’ve been saying this for years now, but one of these years I’m actually going to hire it out.

It’s not difficult to clean, so no maids for me.

[Grt2bOutdoors]

Financial independence to me means that working is optional. Financial independence to the OP means living like a rapper. That's a much larger number than I am going to hit.

Lol.

[Strayshot]

In reality, you end up just continuing normally, as if nothing ever happened. There's no point at which you are suddenly "financial independent". You just get incrementally richer than you were earlier, so you keep going, to increase your margin of safety or because people just continue by habit. Lifestyle creep is usually the only thing that is different.

This x 1000

When I hit FI, I said “well that is nice” and then had a dram and thought about what I needed to get at Costco on the way home from work the next day. That was about a year ago.

We could use a bigger house, but not really, and every time I think about the hassle of moving my skin starts to crawl.

[Beensabu]

Take a nap and then ponder all of the different meanings of financial independence.

Yes. Infinite naps and pondering. Preferably in a hammock under a shady tree, with a drink within reach. Goals.

[TheTimeLord]

Knowing you are Financially Independent is one thing, accepting it is another and finally internalizing it can take it a while at least it did for me. Once I did I just tried to easy up on myself for spending on what I considered the smaller things, accepting I have enough and lowering my priority on saving. We still are able to save a significant amount of our income most months but don't really sweat optional expenses like I did previously. If I find myself doing it I try to mediate on the words of Bill Murray in Meatballs, "it just doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter". Being able to say and believe that has been what I enjoy the most about being financially independent.

[ColoradoNewBiker]

Not there yet but I guess no change to me. I may be less worried about being laid off or having to accept lower compensation. However, flying business class or staying in higher scale hotels may need you to take into account that expense when you calculate your FI number, not your current expense.

[HomerJ]

The moment you cross the finish line, what are the first things you would do?

The "finish line" is when I can support my current lifestyle without going to work.

Increasing my lifestyle in retirement means I have a new finish line. Which means I have to go back to work, and I'm no longer retired.

But it's certainly fine that you want to increase your lifestyle... But I'd do it in small stages BEFORE you retire...

I wouldn't live a $60k lifestyle for 30 years, and then upgrade to a $140k lifestyle in retirement. Better, in my mind, to gradually move up to a $100k lifestyle during your working life, and enjoy that lifestyle for 10-15 years while working and then continue with it into retirement.

Now, I can see myself loosening up the purse strings a bit if my retirement portfolio continues to grow... I mean if I retire with $2 million, and 10 years into retirement, I have $2.7 million (and 10 less years to worry about), I can definitely see myself splurging on stuff like business class travel.

But I wouldn't change too much more than that. My life already has a lot of extras in it.

[HomerJ]

I try to mediate on the words of Bill Murray in Meatballs, "it just doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter". Being able to say and believe that has been what I enjoy the most about being financially independent.

Talk about an obscure reference (which I totally got)

[scrabbler1]

The first thing I did when reaching FI was to RE (Retire Early). That was 10 years ago, when I was 45. Being FI and RE (or FIREd) meant that I could live without working while not changing my day-to-day lifestyle (which was hardly extravagant).

[midareff]

Methinks my attitude toward work changed ..... once they can't hurt you it all looks different. You can do the right thing whether others like it or not.

[darrvao777]

Delayed gratification means that you'll get that gratification some days down the road. You work hard for a purpose. Some might work harder to accelerate their savings so they can get there faster.

The moment you cross the finish line, what are the first things you would do?

My wife and I hopefully will get there in our early 40's. We won't quit our jobs right away because our careers are rewarding. We've been traveling a lot (abeit frugrally) since our 20's. So the first things I'd do are:

1) Apply for AMEX platinum and get all "loyal" status with hotels/airlines. We'll fly business class and stay at upscale hotels. Maybe we'll travel outside the states more often.

2) Sit down with my wife and plan cushion for our portfolio to accommodate our new lifestyle creep. Let's say if we want to buy a beach house, a lake house, or a cabin, we'll adjust our numbers accordingly. We're not big about McMansion, although it'll be nice to get a newly built house with new technologies and ergonomic.

3) Hire lawn mowers, maids, and personal trainers. Maybe I'll get my car washed and detailed inside out.

What are yours?

1) one of the nice things about financial independence is no longer having to play the points game. I use a 2% cash back card and purchase the ticket I want or the hotel room I want. No need to use points to upgrade or wait and see if I get off the upgrade list

2) we are currently in the process of building a home. I will say that is one item that can very quickly knock someone out of FI. My wife and I usually see eye to eye on expenses but I’ve really had to shut down some of her home building plans due to cost

3) probably just the introvert in me, I don’t mind someone mowing my lawn but I don’t want someone in my house cleaning or someone watching me flail at the gym. I have found washing my own car to be a very fun (and depending on what tools you purchase) a very pricy hobby

[redrocker]

You work hard for a purpose.

The moment you cross the finish line, what are the first things you would do?

1) increase spending by doing presumably the same things just in a fancier manner.

2) increase spending (and possibly mental/emotional strain) with increased exposure in personal real estate

3) increase spending by paying someone else to take care of current and planned increase in personal real estate.

Just my own personal paraphrase. To each his own but there's a reason they say 'money can't buy happiness.'

My FI goals are to spend time, not necessarily money.
Spend more time enriching myself through reading, learning a new language, experimenting with more exotic ingredients in the kitchen, sharing those outcomes with friends and family, and on general maximizing my time with those I love.

[camden]

Methinks my attitude toward work changed ..... once they can't hurt you it all looks different. You can do the right thing whether others like it or not.

YES! The grip that those in control at your place of work have over you evaporates when you reach the point at which you can simply walk away if they get too annoying. FI is liberating in that regard. You don’t have to retire to enjoy the benefits of it.

[lostdog]

We'll semi-retire for awhile. More time for us to bike, kayak, exercise, see family, hang with friends, stay cations and a nice vacation per year.

[Cycle]

What did I do?

Stopped caring about stuff that doesn't matter, I don't stay at work late. I just try to be efficient with the 8hrs at the office and get out. I never work after hours / weekends.

Started doing things that do matter for mankind and my children's world. Stopped eating beef/pork. No car. Limited travel, trying to do more local vacations. Avoid business travel except if absolutely necessary. Basically just stuff that gives me a low carbon footprint.

[OT comment removed by admin LadyGeek]

[Will do good]

What did I do?

Stopped caring about stuff that doesn't matter, I don't stay at work late. I just try to be efficient with the 8hrs at the office and get out. I never work after hours / weekends.

Started doing things that do matter for mankind and my children's world. Stopped eating beef/pork. No car. Limited travel, trying to do more local vacations. Avoid business travel except if absolutely necessary. Basically just stuff that gives me a low carbon footprint.

[OT comment removed by admin LadyGeek]

+1, I rather pass on my money and standard for future generations.

[goingup]

You're proposing lifestyle leap instead of lifestyle creep. We aren't thinking about living more extravagantly--just having more time to travel.

[DrGoogle2017]

What did I do?

Stopped caring about stuff that doesn't matter, I don't stay at work late. I just try to be efficient with the 8hrs at the office and get out. I never work after hours / weekends.

Started doing things that do matter for mankind and my children's world. Stopped eating beef/pork. No car. Limited travel, trying to do more local vacations. Avoid business travel except if absolutely necessary. Basically just stuff that gives me a low carbon footprint.

[OT comment removed by admin LadyGeek]

+1, I rather pass on my money and standard for future generations.

And they will fly first class. Lol

[EddyB]

With (1), (2), and (3), you immediately become financially un-independent, and start working on the next level of (true) financial independence.

Hence, the cushion and continuing of employment.

We plan to leave our nest-egg alone and fund our "controlled" life-style creep by yearly cash in-flows. We might not save as much but since we get to the goal line (50x of our spending needs, i.e. $2M), I thought we can use our salary for our pleasure. If we end up buying a cabin, I think we should be able to cash flow it in 2-3 years.

Does a plan that requires you to continue to work really seem like financial independence?

[2015]

Read less and less and less of anything related to do with investing, personal finance, and microeconomics. The freedom is priceless.