4 Important Things You Need on the Journey to Financial Freedom
Rules for entering a life of abundance. Let's run it up.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Chinese proverb
Growing up I experienced vacations, I had toys and food. I had Pokemon cards aplenty.
It’s been a stable financial existence. I can never complain, but I haven’t felt financial abundance—money’s always a concern. A constant reminder that there can be no peace of mind, truly, in this society while you are not on the upper rungs of the ladder.
And I’m tired of it.
The fetters that bind one to worry are durable, but not unbreakable. The true sign of intelligence is being able to get the things you want, and I feel fucking stupid.
I have been interested in investing for a long time, starting to invest when I was 19. Any time I make money, I mainly think of spending it in one way: investing. I’ve had some success, but my approach has been poor.
I’ve been passive. I’ve taken my salary and tried to run it up. That alone will never get me to where I want to go. I want freedom. I’m apathetic towards my work.
A change is coming.
The fight for freedom
Every single dollar you earn is a freedom fighter. Money has one, ultimate goal: buying back time. Fueled by greed and depression, I disrespected my freedom fighters. I blew a large part of my savings up.
I disrespected my time.
I learned that the pursuit of financial freedom is to be taken seriously, approached with rigor, discipline and determination. I went looking for a shortcut, found the big bad wolf, and no hunter came to cut me out of its belly.
And I also learned that I have a higher risk tolerance than many, and that risks shouldn’t be avoided, but calculated.
But I’m fortunate. I have all the knowledge I need, and I have become delusional. Now, leaving behind the days of passivity—I reach out and take what I want through building something of value.
Financial Curiosity
The first of each month I will post a report on my progress.
The report will be transparent in my spending and earnings from the journey of growing Pragmatic Curiosity.
It will detail my thoughts and the choices I make to run it up as just another average Joe living in the country of Denmark.
I will also post more on my learnings related to finance. You can find these posts under Financial Curiosity at Pragmatic Curiosity.
What I am not looking for
Massive riches. To burden myself with ever-moving goal posts. To feel constrained. To live, never feeling I have enough.
I am not optimizing every decision to end with the biggest number. Peace of mind is the heuristic for which I optimize. I want the option to take a slow day, if I need to.
James Clear puts it succinctly:
Being rich is nice, but what you really want to optimize for is (1) an income that exceeds your spending by a healthy margin and (2) a lifestyle that is free from rushing.
I want to live on my own terms. I want to see the sky, free from clouds. I want to feel passion in what I do. In order to create this reality, I need:
Goals
Milestones
An overarching plan
Guiding tenets
This post contains an outline of these, and follow-up posts will expand on the relevant ones, and give more context as to my thoughts and choices.
1. The goals
I will move forward with 5 goals, with one overall target: a simple life of financial freedom.
Own a decent, newer house in a good area—paid off (unless the interest rate is incredible)
Own an apartment in one of the larger cities in Denmark with a view of water
Have enough liquidity to not stress about money
To be able to exercise when I want to (preferably also a home gym)
Pay someone to clean my house so I don’t have to do it
2. The milestones
To accomplish these goals I’ll have to hit certain milestones, each representing a significant point in the journey of compounding money. Note that the timelines are a guide, this is simply a matter of having something to work towards:
Whenever(wherever): Make my first $1 online
Short-term(2 years): Rid of high interest debt
Medium-term(2-4 years): Acquire house or apartment, set up an appropriate corporate structure and start utilizing the financial advantages available to me
Long-term(5-10 years): Pay off house/apartment
Even-longer term(10+ years): A net worth exceeding $2.3M. This random number is based on the current conversion from $ to DKK, the currency of Denmark. The real target is 15M DKK.
3. The plan
Any lofty goal needs a plan. Here are the steps I am pursuing as of now.
Let’s see how much of this does not survive first contact with the enemy.
To action on my curiosity
To build Pragmatic Curiosity
To provide value to readers
To build with integrity
To play long-term games with long-term people
To continue working a software engineering job
To build Pragmatic Curiosity correctly without forcing revenue
But say no to the corporate ladder
To prefer increasing income to investing
To invest
4. The guiding tenets
To guide me along the path, I will:
Play long-term games with long-term people
Be time-agnostic
Avoid the shackles of high interest debt
Prefer increasing income to investments
Invest in assets
Take risks
Have a mindset of abundance
Take a sustainable approach
Enjoy the journey
Be disciplined and sincere
I’d love to hear the goals you have, the milestones you will smash through, the plan you will follow and the tenets that will guide your journey.