The Routine That Isn’t Routine

weekendscheduleLife is just wonderful.

It’s not often I start an article with a proclamation in bold, but that’s exactly what life is for me right now.

I’ve been writing full-time for more than six months now after quitting my job as a service advisor at a luxury car dealership back in May 2014 just after my 32nd birthday. Eight years in the brutal and stressful car industry was enough. I had come to the end of the road and it was time to seek a new path.

The path I’m now on is really the one I’ve been looking for since late 2009. I’m now living the life that I’d largely be living if my dividend income completely covered my expenses. I’m writing a bit more than I probably would, but it’s otherwise everything I had expected and wanted it to be.

At some point, I wanted to write an article about what everyday life is like as a full-time blogger, which, for me, is somewhat similar to that of a life of a financially independent Jason. With more than six months under my belt, I have a pretty good idea of how I spend my time and I’m going to share that with you guys today.

I’ve been completely open throughout this process. At times, too open. But I want to show what the journey to financial independence looks like, for better or worse.

I hope this post serves as some inspiration to those of you out there still in the grind and looking for a more relaxed pace of life.

The Inner Night Owl Released

Waking up at 6:15 a.m. to quickly get ready, eat, and march down to the dealership to deal with screaming customers was not my ideal way to start a day. First off, I feel like if the sun isn’t up, I shouldn’t be. The sun’s job is to give life, light, and heat to the entire world. It’s job is way more important than mine ever was. If it’s not ready to get rolling, then I’m staying in bed.

I generally go to bed around 2 a.m. these days. That’s probably late for most people, but I’m often most creative around that time of the morning. I would say that I end up doing about 20% to 30% of my writing between midnight and 2. Where some people find sunrise and birds chirping as beautiful and inspirational, I find a quiet and interesting solitude in late nights/early mornings that allows me to just think. It’s obviously a different 1 a.m. being at the bar than it is being engrossed in a book or an article at home.

Usually, I’m up by 10:30 in the morning. I don’t have an exact time. Sometimes it’s earlier, sometimes a bit later. Depends on when I went to bed. I’ll sometimes end up reading something until 2:30 before having to drag myself to bed. I will say that I wish I could tell you that I threw away the alarm clock, but it’s not so. If I don’t set my alarm for 10, I’ll sleep right through the entire morning. It’s my opinion that I drain myself through all my constant thinking, planning, wondering, and number crunching. But it could just be that my body likes 10 hours of sleep.

I’ve always been a night owl, so it’s interesting that I ended up in a job that required a rather early start. But such is life. I knew I had to make as much money as possible to execute my plan, and that’s exactly what I did. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to work incredibly hard and put myself in this position, but I’m also glad to be out of it.

That’s just my schedule. But what you can see here is the juxtaposition between these two lifestyles. And once you’re financially independent or otherwise able to create your own lifestyle, your schedule can be whatever you want it to be. And that, in my mind, is probably the greatest reward of this entire journey. I truly own my own time right now. I get up when I want. Work on the things I want. Go to sleep when I want. And this is waiting for you as well.

Weekdays = Weekends

As a general rule of thumb, weekdays and weekends are fairly blurred for me now. Monday is just like Saturday and Tuesday is just like Sunday. Another way of saying that is like the bumper sticker: Every day is Saturday!

Other than deadlines I have to meet for freelance writing during the week, I don’t really differentiate between weekdays and weekends anymore. It’s odd in that I don’t really look forward to weekends much any more, but the fact that Claudia still has a more traditional work schedule means I do appreciate our extra time together during the weekends. So in that regard, I have a lot more free time during the weekends than I do during the weeks. It’s rare that I write or read at all on a Saturday, and Sundays can be pretty light as well.

The Routine Isn’t Routine

So what do I do every day?

It’s interesting in that it’s tough for me to answer that in a straightforward manner. It depends on the day, how productive I feel, how creative I feel, the weather, my energy level, and whether or not I plan on exercising.

Generally, I take some time over breakfast to think about what I want to accomplish for the day. Sometimes I’ll throw on the local news. Often, I eat in silence, left to my own thoughts.

From there, I usually fire up the laptop. I start with emails, which tend to number somewhere around 100 or so. So I’ll go through these, first eliminating the ones that are mostly updates on my portfolio. Then I’ll read and respond to submissions made through the contact form. Depending on how many I go through, this takes up around 30 minutes or so.

Then it’s on to responding to comments here on the blog. That can take anywhere from 30 minutes to more than two hours of my time, as I respond to every comment here on the blog in the most thoughtful, informational, and in-depth manner I reasonably can. But it’s something I probably enjoy the most of all.

This is where the routine can change, depending on the day. I personally like a lot of unstructured free time. Some people love schedules to keep order in their life. I’m not one of those people. I probably have anywhere from four to six hours of unstructured free time built into every single day. Sometimes I’ll take some of that time around lunch, sometimes not.

I exercise three times per week, and I generally do that after lunch. So I take 30-45 minutes after lunch a few times every week to stay in shape and keep myself under 180 pounds.

On days I don’t work out, I usually write after lunch. I can’t stay on it for more than 2-3 hours at a time, as my brain starts to turn to mush. But I can get a lot done in that time frame if I’m feeling extremely creative and motivated. However, I do want to note that I don’t think human beings are meant to operate at peak productivity/creativity for eight hours straight, like employers would like to have it. Like most other people, I go through ebbs and flows throughout the day. But the advantage to being your own employer is that you can take a break whenever you feel the need.

I usually read a lot during the late afternoon hours and into the early evening. Claudia gets home at 5:30 or so, which is when I start to shut operations down so that I have time to talk about her day and prepare/eat dinner together. I try to get back to things around 8 p.m., where my creative juices start to get flowing again. Sometimes I’ll do a good chunk of writing at night (like right now). Other times I just read countless articles, reports, and/or books. If I’m ahead of schedule in terms of production for some of my freelance writing, I’ll just veg out in front of a movie around midnight. Grabbing some chips and watching a movie on a Tuesday night is just awesome!

Stay Hungry

I think the key to succeeding at self-employment or being happy in financial independence is being hungry.

If you want to become financially independent just to sit around all day, I think you’ll be sadly disappointed after the first month or so. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy unstructured free time, sleeping in, and reading. But I’m also incredibly driven to to create. Inspiring others through the discussion of time, money, dividends, frugality, and financial independence is something I enjoy immensely. And I’m motivated to do as much of it as possible. The moment I get out of bed, I’m extremely energized to get the day going and start working on things. And that’s necessary to succeed at this. You have to want it and go after it with everything you’ve got.

If you’re not motivated to do something, it’ll be difficult to even get out of bed. And that’s when depression sometimes sets in. So discover what you enjoy in life and put yourself in a position to do as much of it as possible. Even better if you can figure a way to monetize your interest(s).

I’ve been lucky in that my passion for writing can be monetized, which has made it possible to cross over into self-employment whereby I write for a living. If you have interests that can be turned into some sort of substantial income, all the better. However, it’s not necessary. Work hard, become financially independent as soon as possible, and that will allow you all the time in the world to do what interests you without worry as to how you’ll pay the bills. But do have that “something” or many “somethings”. Figure out who you are and be that version of you as much as possible. Align your passions and lifestyle as early and often as possible.

If you’re able to monetize your interests in a similar manner to the way I’ve done, then it’s even more imperative to stay hungry. It’s easy to run a very relaxed schedule, get a little behind, and lose track of your projects, time, and your life. Some people need that constant direction that traditional employment and the hierarchy of management offers. An early retirement isn’t for everyone. But if you’re driven and enterprising enough to shoot for and/or achieve financial independence, it’s highly likely that you’ll be driven enough to work on your own projects with enough gusto and time management to be exceedingly efficient and successful.

Having Fun

But what’s the point of all this if we can’t have fun?!

I’m also lucky in that I’m an introvert. So it doesn’t take a big group of people or a constant barrage of in-person conversation to stimulate me. In fact, that kind of activity can drain me. So lots of writing, reading, exercise, and unstructured free time isn’t only cheap entertainment, it’s the kind of entertainment that works for me regardless of how much money I may or may not have.

However, even I require more than interesting articles to keep a full life. The great thing about setting your own schedule is that you can pretty much do whatever you want whenever you want, as long as you also get done what you need to get done. A couple of weeks ago I took an entire Friday off and walked around downtown Sarasota. I grabbed an iced coffee, enjoyed beautiful weather, people watched, and listened to some music. I’m also building time into my schedule so as to be able to visit the beach in the middle of the week in the middle of the day, precisely when almost nobody else is there. Imagine having the entire Gulf of Mexico and a sandy white beach almost all to yourself? I also occasionally pop in a video game during the middle of the day as a guilty pleasure, most often when I feel like I have nothing creative to offer. Hey, why not?

Of course, Claudia has her weekends off. And we have our together time then, which is always fun. We’ll go to the beach, or hit the farmer’s market, maybe grab something to eat, take a walk, or hit whatever event is going on/in season. My weekends in terms of activities are pretty similar to when I was working, except for one big difference: I have energy! No longer do I feel like a zombie on Saturdays because I’m completely tapped out from the brutal schedule of working for 50 hours straight at the dealership, blogging full-time, and fitting in exercise. I actually have energy to make the most of our time. And it’s fantastic.

But that’s me. What I’m really trying to show here is that life can be whatever you want it to be once you’re financially independent or if you’re able to work for yourself. You can spend time on your passions, create your schedule to your specifications, wake up when you want, work on projects that mean something to you, and be the person you want to be. I honestly don’t know how anyone couldn’t find the value in that proposition.

Conclusion

So this gives you all a great idea as to what I do from day to day. I have created the life that I’ve always wanted. It almost makes me tear up when I write this, but I sometimes can’t believe I’ve overcome growing up in a house in Detroit filled with drugs and drama, my father leaving me at eight years old, the suicide of my mother at 21, a wasted inheritance, and a large amount of student loan debt to now not only being well on the road to financial independence by 40 years old, but also basically enjoying the destination as if the journey were already over. It’s almost unbelievable.

But it is believable because I’ve worked incredibly hard. I’ve been consistent and persistent all the way through. I envisioned financial independence in my mind as if it had already happened. I created a plan and set out to do whatever necessary to turn an idea into reality…my reality.

And you can too. You can create your own schedule. Be the you you want to be. Own your time. Work on hobbies and passions that bring joy and value to your life. Change the world. Leave a legacy. But it all starts with today. And tomorrow. And the day after. Live below your means, invest the excess capital into high-quality assets that provide growing income, and stay with it.

But whatever you do, don’t succumb to OMYS and realize when enough is enough.

What would your perfect schedule look like? Are you doing everything possible to make it happen? 

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: iosphere/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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113 Comments

  1. Just by reading this, you seem like you would be smiling the whole time you are writing this article. You actually enjoy your job and that’s awesome. It shows every time you post something.

    Congrats Dividend Mantra!

  2. I was taught to sleep after lunch, like a 30 minutes nap. Since I work the week day, I usually work in my 30 min nap on the weekend. There is a study sayings children would go for more fruits and vegetables if they get their exercise (play time ) prior to lunch. 🙂 you are not a baby, but hehehe I think it could apply to the adult. After we eat, the blood will go to the gut to digest the food, by doing heavy activities, blood will go into the peripherals, so your food would get break down slower, as a result your body is in the stage if absorbing longer, instead do the regular, 1-2 hour stomache emptying, carbs and fat storing. The rest if the time the body will be in the state of breaking down storage. By exercising immediately after eating can be counterproductive.

  3. EPerk31,

    I’m glad the enthusiasm came through! 🙂

    Sometimes I get caught up in the details and my own pragmatism, which may filter out the enthusiasm through a medium like this. But I’m about as optimistic, energetic, and happy as it gets in person.

    Thanks for the comment.

    Best regards!

  4. I’m like you, I find the midnight hours more productive. Kids are asleep, house is quiet. Turn on some light music and get some work done.

    The removal of the stress of the daily grind has to be the biggest benefit of the new lifesttle. I’m the type who can easily overdo it if I’m not careful. I even burnedout a couple of times.

    Thanks for sharing your routine. You’re right, it is inspirational.

  5. Vivianne,

    I’ve never been a napper. I used to sometimes take a nap at work around lunchtime only because I was so exhausted. But now that I get a really good night of sleep and I’m not exhausted anymore, there’s no need to nap. But some people love to nap. The good thing about financial independence and/or working for yourself is that you can schedule that kind of stuff in with no concerns. Want a nap? Take a nap. 🙂

    Cheers.

  6. Dividend Mantra,

    Nice written article. I am not a night owl. No matter what time I go to bed, when 7am comes I wake up. My brother is total opposite of me and that he is a night owl.

    I find working at nights is easier than working days though, which I find odd. I typically wake up at 5 to 5:15 am everyday to be at work for 7. I get home around 415pm. I have to cook supper and then usually check blogs, the markets and financial related videos on youtube. Other things I do at night sometimes include grocery shopping, hitting coffee shops, or for a walk or watch a movie.

    For starter’s, my perfect schedule would be owning my own time. Everything else with what I do with my time then would be icing on the cake. That is my WHY right now!! That is why I love it when a dividend is deposit into my account as I am one step closer towards my goal of being out of the rat race.

  7. aztrader,

    I’m with you all the way. I forgot to mention the music. I’m usually jamming to some alternative music during the day while I write. Couldn’t do that back at the ol’ dealership. 🙂

    The removal of stress is huge. I don’t get stressed out easily, but my stress was more a result of exhaustion. With my job taking up so much of my free time, my plate would get full before I even started with something. So taking on something as big as blogging was tough. But I’m certainly glad I decided to work hard and put the pieces in place. Now that my plate is a lot freer, the exhaustion is gone and so is the stress.

    So glad you found some inspiration in this. That’s why I share personal details like this. I try to show through my own experiences the benefits of making certain choices. I go one way with it, but you can go a very different way. The key is that it’s your way.

    Cheers!

  8. IP,

    I hear you, man. Every dividend received is one dividend closer to freedom. And once you have that freedom, your time will be your own. Get up early, plan your whole day, and do whatever you want.

    Running errands in the middle of the day when things are less crowded is a big benefit of this. I have some ideas about that earmarked for a different post, but it’s definitely cool being able to go to a cheap matinee on a Wednesday or do grocery shopping at 11 at night. 🙂

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Take care.

  9. DM,

    Wow… this is incredible. I think I may need to re read this again a few more times to really see and feel more of the impact this has had on you. Each day is blurred, no such thing anymore and you live YOUR life, everyday what you decide to do is YOUR choice, and if that means you woke up at 530 am and got stuff going then so be it or if you stayed up reading until 2:30 am, oh well or if you slept through the morning just to stretch and lay back down again, etc..

    Ultimately it’s the power of choice and time, this is a great post, a favorite one of yours of mine now as it gives more a glimmer into what days could be like.

    Thanks again Mantra, I dig it.

    -Lanny

  10. I really enjoyed this post, Jason. You’ve worked so hard to overcome several major obstacles and really deserve this lifestyle you’re living. It’s so good to see you happy. Long gone are the days of your work bringing in a new guy 🙂 My favorite part is that things are really just beginning for you now that you’re writing full time. I see a very bright future ahead and I’m rooting for you every step!

    Best,
    Ryan

  11. Nice post Jason. I work on contracts so between them i’m essentially unemployed of my own choosing. But i really hate doing errands during the day. I feel…unemployed when i go out into the city etc during the day, separate from all these people rushing around doing something very important (but i’m not really sure what). It’s hard to explain.

  12. Lanny,

    Glad you enjoyed it! You never know what people are going to think of things like this or if the post is going to come across in the right way. I’m just doing my best to inspire in new and refreshing ways all the time. My new position of basically living as if I were financially independent has allowed me a whole new perspective on life. It’s amazing.

    But you’re right. It’s all about choice. FI isn’t about hating your job. I wrote about that earlier in the year. It’s about choice. Even if you love your job, having a choice as to whether or not you go in is a completely different position to be in. Being free and not being free are very different, even if you love your captor.

    Cheers!

  13. dee,

    That’s interesting. I actually feel kind of the opposite. I don’t know how to explain it. I almost feel like everyone else is playing a game that I’ve already won. Or it’s akin to still being in the rat cage, but walking around the wheels while other rats are still running on the wheels. It’s like operating within but also without.

    I don’t mean that to sound condescending. Rather, it’s just that I feel so great that I can take my time with stuff, even while others are still rushing around in a manic panic. It helps me keep perspective. Anytime I think it’s not great, I just step back into that world and remember that it is.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  14. Jason, this is one of my favourite articles by you. Loved the part about the sun 🙂 Funny how just a couple of days ago I was thinking (even being kind of worried about) how you’re coping with answering to all these comments. I knew it must take a lot of your time. So nice to hear that you’re enjoying it that much 🙂

    Reading something like this really pushes me even harder to find new work and continue towards FI. Excellent job,once again!

  15. Jason,

    Great article! Really love the “a day in the life of”-vibe.

    What I believe is key in your post, however, is the fact that you have to stay hungry like you call it. Many people when they retire at 60 never ever leave their house anymore because they don’t have things they wish to accomplish. When I compare them with my grandparents who still feel like they have the entire world to see, I’d much rather be one of my grandparents – or you, for that matter.

    Of course, it helps that you enjoy yourself all on your own, but I don’t think large groups of friends are necessary to have a drive or motivator in your life. For you it’s obviously writing and your passion for DGI, but it can be so many other things. I’d definitely be interested in pursuing some (probably local) politics, for example.

    It’s amazing how much you’ve turned your life around simply by applying yourself to a few basic principles! No one will ever be able to tell you that you didn’t deserve all of this. Great job!

    Best wishes,
    NMW

  16. Jason,

    If the sun never comes up in Michigan does that mean I don’t have to get up and work?

    I suppose if I were financially independent that would be the case! I would love to sleep from 1am to 9am. Enjoy the limited Michigan daylight from 9am to sundown. Then work a few hours before bed.

    That’s the goal. Now let’s see if I can make it happen.

  17. Jason,

    Thanks for sharing this! I really like seeing how other self-employed people use their time. I’m more of a listen to the birds sing and squirrels play morning kind of guy myself. I can’t remember the last time I’ve used an alarm clock, but I’m usually up between 5-6 in the morning. I’ll work on a few bids and then do my workout and have breakfast. I wait for the morning traffic to clear out before I make my way to a jobsite. This week the weather has been beautiful and I’ve taken full advantage of it. I’ve worked 3-4 hours each day and when finished spend the day hiking at a park and working on a couple of furniture projects I’m making. This would never be possible when working for someone else! I love it and know very well how much you love having the flexibility of your own time. We may have different things we enjoy doing with our time, but I think we both cherish the freedom of controlling our time as we see fit and encouraging others to do so as well.

    Have a great “work” day! 🙂

  18. Wonderful to hear these insights into how you spend your time each day Jason, and more importantly how you feel about what you do day to day. It’s absolutely inspiring to see how you’re creating a life that’s really aligned with your values and what you want out of life, and you keep working so hard to make it a reality.

    I’m the complete opposite though when it comes to my schedule – I just love early mornings when the world is quiet, and I get to decide how I spend those first couple of hours, completely uninterrupted by anyone else. I guess it’s like a little glimpse of what financial independence might be like all day 🙂

  19. Great snapshot of the life you currently live Jason. I think there are couple of key takeaways here, but most important is the need to stay hungry. Developed over years of your life, you’ve maintained that desire to create, learn, and ultimately teach/share with others. The cliche, “You can do anything you set your mind to,” is lived out by your life, and I believe is something that each of us can strive for and achieve. I know I’m looking forward to continuing to accomplish my dreams, and seeing others do the same is just one more motivating factor.

  20. Hey Jason,

    That’s interesting that you break off your writing into smaller segments. I’ve been sitting down and not letting myself get up until I’ve finished the article/post/whatever. Sometimes its 5 hours straight. I think I’ve been going about this all wrong. Did you go to any specialized courses (outside of college) to help you increase your writing skill?

    Thanks for giving us some insights into your work routine. Sleeping until 10am? Never would have guessed.

  21. Very inspiring Jason!

    You helped inspire me to start my own dividend portfolio last year. I’m Canadian and my stocks are fairly evenly split between Canadian and US stocks. I’ve set together a plan for my own financial independence – I currently hit annual dividends of $3K with my goal to hit $4K by the end of the year.

    I do have a question for you – how do you account for foreign currency? With the Canadian dollar sinking it’s looking pretty good that I’ll be able to hit my goal with a chunk of that based on the US dividends paid out in US dollars, however I know that’s not necessarily something I can count on every year as it will likely again fluctuate. I know you have some Canadian bank stock in your portfolio – how do you estimate their dividend year on year? I’m guessing this year it’ll be a bit of a hit to your annual div income for you (although not much given your full portfolio!).

  22. Jason,
    Being so close to retirement, I enjoyed your article immensely. I had 17 days off at the end of the year, and found myself getting into a routine where I slept from about midnight to 8AM every day. Going back to work and getting up at 6AM actually seems harder since I’m so close. Somewhat like being a kid and how long it seemed to get from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Seemed like each day was longer than the one before.

    I am also an introvert who has worked hard to be sociable enough to enjoy like, but like you, I am content to read, listen to music, bake cookies with Mrs. X (Karen), exercise, etc. I have plans to redo the flooring in the house when I retire. Of course once that’s done, then the walls will need painting. Then the 41 year old bathrooms will look dated. Eh, you get the picture.

    I can also see myself doing a little bit of day trading in retirement. Not a lot, but I follow the business news and have made a couple of short term trades in the last few months that have worked fine. Like buying GILD when it fell to $88 and selling it a week later at $97. Mr. Market sure does like to over react to both good and bad news. Knowing this is actually an opportunity if you do it right.

    “Then it’s on to responding to comments here on the blog… But it’s something I probably enjoy the most of all.” Very glad to hear that! I have always been curious as to whether bloggers enjoyed responding or did so out of a sense of obligation. Glad you are in the first category.

    Be blessed,
    KeithX

  23. When I was waiting in the lobby of a place where I was going on one of my first interviews, I was totally dressed up way more than usual in my interview suit and heels. When a maintenance man passed by, I thought that he might think that I thought I was better than him because I had on all these fancy clothes, but really I thought he was better than me because he already had a job and he got to wear comfy clothes! So, you never know what people are really thinking about you (except the answer is usually that they aren’t thinking about you at all).

    Well, the great thing is that if you don’t feel comfortable going out during a work day, you don’t have to! I love to because of the smaller crowds. And I’m used to feeling like a weirdo anyway, so it’s not problem. Why yes, I am one of those people who can go to a movie theatre or restaurant by myself. I despise having to rely on other people to be able to have fun, even though they do make it a lot easier sometimes.

  24. Highly inspirational article for those looking for the financial independent or planning to retire early. Thank you for sharing. It is awesome life many of us are just dreaming about.
    Congratulation Jason!

  25. I like getting up early in the quiet hours, staying up late in the other quiet hours, and getting enough sleep. Since I don’t nap well, I always just get two out of three. I don’t always pick the same two things.

    To me weekdays don’t equal weekends because of things like how there are fewer crowds during the day on weekdays, but it’s pleasant to drive in the early morning only on weekends. But these are minor things.

    My ideal day: I wake up without an alarm (or with my boyfriend’s alarm). I have a small breakfast. Then I go for a walk in the woods. Then I do various projects and activities all day–I love going back and forth between things that involve sitting and things that involve moving around. I do like to do the brain-heavy tasks in the morning, which I learned when I discovered that I preferred math class to be first period in junior high or high school.

    I am enough caught up on things that I can drop everything with little notice in order to join friends for anything or to take advantage of good vacation deals, etc. I know some things I want to do require a commitment (such as volunteer tutoring at the local junior high) and other things require not having a commitment (such as traveling during the off season), so I’ll still have to make choices.

    In reality, I don’t live near any woods! But I also like walking through neighborhoods and seeing what people are doing with their yards and looking into empty houses that are for sale to see if there are any good ideas I can steal from there, too. Otherwise, I think things are going just right.

    I definitely won’t have the problem of not knowing when enough is enough. I’m super lucky and have a pension. It will be grossing about $2250/month + health insurance, and that is enough all by itself. And even if inflation rises faster than my pension or they drop the health insurance benefit, that’s okay because I have loads of investments that are only getting bigger. After I qualify for that pension I’m never working for money again except as a short-term favor to someone in fun jobs.

  26. DM,
    I wish I could do your routine, but with 2 kids in school with different timings and a high demanding job to be taken care of and being a single parent……..its a little dream for me. But I am working towards that dream and it would surely come true one day.
    Dividend Mom.

  27. Hi Jason

    A brilliant article, and so much I can relate to since becoming a full time investor, particularly the ‘not really looking forward to the weekends anymore’ bit.. I get quite a buzz out of the management of my portfolio/researching companies and the gyrations of the markets, so by comparison the weekends can sometimes feel quite dull (especially if there’s no sport for me to go to either! :-)).

    One area we do differ on, is I no longer need an alarm clock since leaving my job (when previously I needed 2!). The rescue dog I’ve taken on may have something to do with it, but I honestly think its just down to looking forward to my days again….work was literally sucking the life out of me!

    This paragraph sums it up for me:

    “What I’m really trying to show here is that life can be whatever you want it to be once you’re financially independent or if you’re able to work for yourself. You can spend time on your passions, create your schedule to your specifications, wake up when you want, work on projects that mean something to you, and be the person you want to be. I honestly don’t know how anyone couldn’t find the value in that proposition.’

    As someone who’s initial catalyst for change was a health scare 3 years ago, you simply can’t put a value on ‘owning’ your own time and making the most of your days – its priceless!

    All the best
    Phil

  28. Always enjoy people watching whether it be sitting on the malecon here in Puerto Vallarta or reading a daily blog. Must be human nature I guess, just inquisitive about what makes others tick, and in a strange way, it tells us something about ourselves, and what makes us tick. You and I are total opposites in so many ways, as I am a total extrovert, prefer people than books, burn myself out physically rather than mentally, but that is the beauty of life, we are all different. We do have a couple things in common, which is a love for all things investing, focus to a fault on something we enjoy doing, being a night hawk, and agree with you that I get my second wind, so to speak when the sun goes down. My deepest respect however, is for the manner in which you handle adversity, which is really the cornerstone of why you are doing what you love to do, at a relatively young age. The fact you talk about it, then use it as a motivator is my people watching moment in regards to you..lol. I think that the way you handled a horrible family situation growing up, and again this past year when once again certain family members tried to bring you down, yet stayed focused is your greatest strength, and doesn’t go unnoticed by me, and I find it inspirational. We may all have different ways to live our lives, and thankfully don’t agree on everything, but if you can honestly say to yourself at the end of the day, that you love what you do, and love the people in your life, well it doesn’t get much better than that now does it.

  29. A really thoughtful piece, and it sounds like you’re living the dream right now!

    I’m very much like you – Would rather stay up working till 2am and then have a lie in until late morning. Why did the world of corporate work decide everyone must be productive between 9 and 5?

    Still; I don’t think I could ever quit a ‘normal’ job to take up freelancing full time. I’m too much of a risk avoider and prefer plan-able certainty. Sounds like it’s really working out for you though!

  30. It’s awesome that life is working out so well for you now. When I left my 9-5 job my sleeping definitely found its own natural schedule and weekdays had a little less meaning. Except that on weekdays no one was available to hang out.

  31. I think your new schedule/life says it really well, that you have choices. Before you were up at work at 6:15 am and now you are making the choice to stay up late or take a day off to relax. Keep, keeping on good sir.

  32. Sounds like you have an ideal arrangement going on! Structuring my own time is one of the things I’m most excited about for our post-FI days. I love that you’re able to work when you’re most productive/creative and just enjoy life when you’re not in the mood to work/write. Blissful!

  33. Ryan,

    Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed this one!

    Yeah, something tells me my employer probably isn’t going to bring on a new guy. 🙂

    It’s funny, because even though it’s only been six or seven months now, I feel like I’ve been writing for a lot longer. The dealership almost feels like it was another life. Maybe those are just mental gymnastics we go through. Either way, it’s a good vibe now.

    Appreciate all the support. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to seeing how 2015 plays out for us, with everything that’s going on. Good stuff!

    Best wishes.

  34. Investing Finn,

    Ha! Right. If the sun isn’t up, I’m not up. 🙂

    Thanks for the kind words. I’m happy that you enjoyed the article and found it inspirational to push harder. That was exactly my goal.

    The comments do indeed take up an incredible amount of my time, probably as much as or more than writing articles. But that’s okay, because I enjoy it. Writing is kind of me just getting thoughts out, whereas comments are conversing with (mostly) like-minded people and exchanging ideas, inspiration, aspirations, and progress.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  35. NMW,

    I imagine a more traditional retirement at 60 or 65 years old makes it perhaps more difficult to stay hungry. I can imagine that I’m going to be more worn out at that age. So you just don’t have the same hunger to conquer the world and do everything you want. It’s time to relax after 40 years of getting beat up at the office. So maybe you lose your passion and thirst for life. My belief in that is part of what led me down this path. Although a year at 65 years old and a year at 35 years old is the same amount of time (52 weeks), they certainly DO NOT have the same amount of value.

    Local politics would be interesting. The great thing about being financially independent is that it wouldn’t matter much whether or not you make it, or get paid, or turn it into a career. You can get involved as much or as little as you want because you have the time and money to do so – both of which are resources that most people lack in a big way.

    Thanks for the support. My life today is completely different than what it was even just one year ago. It’s because of my firsthand experiences that I believe in this so much and I’m doing my best to spread the word to those interested.

    Cheers!

  36. Hey man, loved this article! Does Claudia mind that you don’t go to bed around the same time as her (assuming she goes to bed earlier than 2)? I have arguments with my girlfriend over this but I might just be overly controlling… or jealous that I have to get up for work and she can sleep in.

  37. Stoic,

    That’s awesome, bud. I admire people who can get up at 5 or 6 in the morning with no alarm clock and just blast out of bed. I’ve just never had that ability.

    But what’s great is that we’re controlling that. We control when we get up, when we go to bed, when we eat, when we work, etcetera. Our productivity is tied to our own motivations, our own hunger. And I know for a fact that I’m more productive now than I ever was when I was working at the dealership. I feel like I can get twice as much done in half the time because I’m on it with 100% intensity. I’m sure you feel the same. 🙂

    You have a great “work” day as well!

    Take care.

  38. This post very much speaks to me right now. I don’t think i can ever to back to the perils of the 9 to 5. In the last couple of nights I had nightmares where I’m forced back into employment for silly reasons. I hated the sense of being under someone’s thumb and having a restricted schedule. I don’t think I’ll ever go back!

  39. Jason,

    Thanks. I’m doing my best to inspire others into action through my own actions. So what you see here is the result of putting everything I have into this. I’m incredibly proud of it, but I’m lucky that I have a platform to share the experience across. Changing my own life is awesome. But changing other lives is truly otherworldly. 🙂

    I hear you there on the early mornings. I also enjoy that “quiet” aspect, though just on the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s sometimes like you’re the only one alive, like you have the whole world to yourself. It’s an interesting feeling.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best wishes.

  40. Steve,

    I say no! But I’m not sure if your employer would agree. 🙂

    That sounds like a great schedule to me. Not too far off from my own. That schedule is waiting for you, bud. Stick with it!

    Best regards.

  41. W2R,

    Thanks for sharing that.

    I think staying hungry through all phases of life is important. It’s especially important if you’re self-employed, however, because if you’re not staying on it, you’re not going to make any money and you’ll be back to being just plain employed. But having that zest for life and that desire to do more, see more, and be more is, in my opinion, one of the main reasons to be alive. Being alive as in not being dead and being truly “alive” are very different. One is existing. One is living. And if you plan to just do the former once you’re financially independent or retired early, I think you’ll be disappointed. Which is why it’s important to cultivate your interests well before then.

    I hear you on the mutual motivation. I think that’s what’s so great about our community and why it’s thrived. Let’s keep at it! 🙂

    Best wishes.

  42. Janelle,

    Glad to hear that! Congrats on the success thus far. $4k in dividend income would be fantastic. You’re not far at all behind me! 🙂

    As far as foreign currency, I don’t really account for it at all. If you look at long-term charts, that stuff fluctuates like the stock market. The only thing I really do to account for it is to own mostly US stocks. That way my income stays fairly steady and rises as it should. Though currencies fluctuate a lot, they can stay in a pattern for years that might not be advantageous for you and vice versa. Not a real big deal if it’s 10% or so of the portfolio that’s fluctuating like that, but I don’t think I’d want my entire portfolio to operate like that if I were living off of the income.

    Keep up the great work over there.

    Take care!

  43. KeithX,

    Being able to sleep in is one of the great gifts in life. Getting up when it feels natural and going to sleep when it feels natural, rather than setting your body’s clock to a job’s schedule is just heaven. 🙂

    I hear you on enjoying the small things in life. Sounds like you’ve cultivated the lifestyle you’re most looking forward to. That’s what it’s all about. It’s about aligning your interests and your lifestyle. I certainly never raised my hand in third grade and told my teacher that “I want to grow up to be a service advisor.”

    The comments are great. Without the communication and exchanging of ideas, I feel like it’s all for not…like my writing is just going into some void. I certainly don’t always agree with what some people say here, but that’s part of what broadens our perspectives. And I’ve also had plenty of great investment ideas passed along to me here. 🙂

    Best of luck with the final countdown over there!

    Cheers.

  44. DivSaver,

    Well, I think one has to do what works best for them. I write when I’m feeling most creative. So I don’t set aside a block of time from, say, noon to five to write. To me, that doesn’t make sense. I write a lot, but I do it when my body and mind tells me to. And I can’t write for more than a couple of hours straight without feeling lost in the words and numbers. Sometimes I’ll rip off three articles in a row. Other times, I’ll go almost the whole day without doing anything. Just depends. But I wouldn’t put pressure on myself like that.

    I’ve never taken any specialized courses on writing. I took a course in college for creative writing, which I remember not doing all that well in. But I’ve improved as time has passed and my passion for all of this has actually increased. I don’t think you necessarily need to take courses on anything in life. Just like with investing, everything I’ve done here with the blog has come about by teaching myself. If you have a passion for something and you do it enough, you’ll likely find yourself excelling at it. Just my take! Hope that helps. 🙂

    Cheers.

  45. Debbie M,

    That’s funny. I had a similar thought process not long ago myself. I was hanging out with my buddy Kraig from Minnesota a couple of weeks back and I took him to this local placed called Blue Rooster. They have live music every night, often without any cover charge. Anyway, I was watching this band and I was thinking about how great they have it. They’re doing what they love for a living, creating music, making people happy, and making a little money at it (not much). They probably get up when they want, do what they want, and get to travel all over the country. Much better than an office gig. 🙂

    Cheers!

  46. Mantra,

    Man do I agree with you staying switched on all day is hard; as I sit here eating lunch at my 830 ish until 530 ish job (though when you do construction / consulting / environmental style work you can get some truly whack hours). I want to be a night owl too one day, but not yet.

    In my free time I’ve thought about working a second job as a bartender at a friend’s bar. Its the right hours for us. However, customers can be a pain (though I am sure its nicer than car dealership hassle).

    Enjoy it and hit your snooze button for me,
    – Gremlin

  47. Thank you so much! This post is perfectly timed for me. I have been struggling all week with how to stay motivated. I also made the mistake of reading several articles against dividend investing, and for other ways of investing, for a traditional retirement. They really messed with me. I feel like I’ve spent the whole week second guessing my plan.

    After reading this I am back on track and will come back to this post whenever I need a reminder of what I can do if I stick to my plan.

    Also, I am not a morning person. Never have been. My internal clock has always been set to stay up till 1 or 2 am and then sleep till 9 or 10. I have always worked in an office environment which is a struggle because it’s definitely geared towards morning people. I can’t wait till I can follow the schedule that works best for me!

  48. Debbie M,

    That sounds like a great day there. And you’ll be able to make it happen…every day, if you want to. 🙂

    I wish I had access to a pension like that. I’d probably stop saving and investing if I did, since that would more than cover all of my expenses anyhow. The investments would then just be a backup in case something happened or if I needed to tap a large amount of funds all at once.

    Glad you know when enough is enough. I tell people that I liken this journey and money to breathing. I could breathe deeper and heavier for more oxygen, but I already have all I need.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Best regards.

  49. DM,

    I hear you 100%. Even though I don’t have any children of my own, this life was nothing more than a dream for me as well just a few years ago. But things change fast when you’re working hard toward whatever it is that you want with complete devotion and intensity. You’ll get there. 🙂

    Best wishes!

  50. Jason,

    I’ve been FI since 5OCT2012, quite a lot longer than you. I think you hit most of the high points square on the head with Thor’s mighty hammer! Unlike you, I have continued to get up most every morning with the sunrise, I always get dressed and have never understood the ‘work from home’ scam ads touting ‘working in your pajamas’ – doesn’t appeal to me. I usually have breakfast before the markets open. I jot down a few notes by the end of the first 30 minutes trading to keep my thinking clear on my written options positions (which are much shorter term than the bulk of the portfolio) and just chill with Pandora radio until lunch time which I now almost every day with my father. Having time for family such as being able to go pick up the niece/nephew from day care early some days to go visit a park or get ice cream is treasured. I only wish my mother were still with us so I could enjoy time with her as well. See, one of the things that sets in after you have a couple years of digesting what “enough” means to you; you zero in on the fact that people beat ‘stuff’ hands down.

    I had a goal that was very important to me that was a huge driver for becoming FI which was to volunteer with the Living Universe Foundation, teach foundation members how to duplicate my success, and move forward with a large group of people with both the time and resources to solve environmental issues, colonize the oceans and space, and make a better future for everyone. The foundation is now sadly essentially defunct. I have since discovered blogging and am happy to have a purpose again: to teach others a way that worked for me to become FI. I truly believe if more people took the plunge, we’d see a better world with people who are less materialistic and more giving of their time to charitable causes. It just feels good to give back a tiny bit when you have so much joy in life.

    The next project after the blog and an upcoming ebook on how to use options to both reduce risk and produce income, is a garden. I have failed mightily in that department for two consecutive growing seasons and think I have learned enough the hard way to get something edible to grow to maturity.

    Congratulations and thanks for sharing with others.

    -keith-

  51. Phil,

    That’s funny. I didn’t think of the weekday/weekend split like that, but I suppose that maybe I like the weekdays a bit more myself. Not so much in that I follow the day-to-day gyrations of the stock market, but just because the bulk of my “work” is done during the week, so maybe the weekends aren’t quite as “action packed” as the week. But I still enjoy the relaxation and slower pace during the weekends, even if my weeks aren’t exactly fast paced anymore.

    I know how you feel there about having the life sucked out of you. I felt like a zombie my last year or so at work. And I remember walking around in the shop looking at my co-workers who were also walking to and fro like zombies. It seemed like something out of a movie where everyone is eating brains. There was no life there.

    You definitely cannot put a value on owning your own time. It’s something I write about over and over again to try and hammer home the point, but it’s a point that cannot truly be made through words alone. You have to experience it for yourself. I just hope to provide the motivation for others to get over that hump.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  52. Brian,

    “but if you can honestly say to yourself at the end of the day, that you love what you do, and love the people in your life, well it doesn’t get much better than that now does it.”

    Absolutely! That’s really what it’s all about. It’s not about the size of your house or your bank account. It’s about the love in your life for everything and everyone you have, as well as what you do with your time. 🙂

    Appreciate the support there. Adversity is something that I’ve unfortunately had a lot more of than I ever thought I would. You are born into this world, watch TV, talk to friends, and you have all these ideas and aspirations. You never think that all these bad things are going to happen to you. But it’s really in how you respond to those external events that determines your life. If you let those events control you and bring you down, then you’ve lost. I use adversity as a motivator, as a challenge to overcome. It’s like exercising. The heavier the weight, the harder I have to push and the stronger I get.

    I actually had a major, major unfortunate event happen in my life in regards to my family last fall…much worse than the resentment I received while I was up in Michigan. But it’s not something that I’ll probably be able to share here on the blog as it involves a few other members of the family. But it’s just another challenge to overcome. And that’s how I look at life. You can’t touch the clouds if you don’t climb the mountain.

    Thanks for dropping by and sharing. Keep enjoying the good life down there in PV. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  53. ERG,

    Indeed! Who ever thought we must be most productive during those hours? For me, it was actually 7:30 to 6, plus Saturdays. Plus occasional late nights. Yikes!

    Freelancing isn’t for everyone. I think the key is to have a long runway. If you have 10-15 years of expenses saved up, then it gives you plenty of time to work out the kinks and figure out how to make it. I realized last spring that I really couldn’t fail. The worst that could happen is that I’d have to go back to working at a car dealership. So my worst-case scenario was everyone else’s best-case scenario. When you think about it like that, it’s not so scary any more.

    Cheers!

  54. Emily,

    A natural schedule for sleep is just a gift. I can’t even begin to explain what a monumental shift in happiness that was for me. Maybe that’s why I dedicated such a large part of the article to that. 🙂

    Not having a similar schedule to everyone else does have its drawbacks, especially if you’re an extrovert. Fortunately, the benefits seem to largely outweigh the drawbacks.

    Cheers!

  55. Steven,

    Exactly. It’s all about choices and flexibility. YOU get to choose how you spend YOUR time. Ownership over your own time is, in my opinion, a right. And I fought long and hard to reclaim that right. Once you have it, you’ll not be able to tell how you ever got by without it. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping in.

    Take care!

  56. Mrs. FW,

    I’m excited for you guys to be able to do that. I know that this lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but I’m so happy for those that want it and are doing everything in their power to get it. Some people might be bummed out when they get to the other side. But perhaps they had unrealistic expectations or don’t have enough of an identity outside of what they were doing for a living. I can tell you that, for me, it’s been everything I thought it’d be and more. And I’m sure you guys will experience the same thing. 🙂

    Best regards!

  57. Tommy,

    Great question! That’s something I should have addressed. I’m bummed out I missed that.

    At first, she wasn’t real happy about it. So what we did was arrange it so that I “went to bed” with her. I would go to the bedroom with her and put on a light so I could read and throw on the television because, although I don’t watch much TV, I do like Jimmy Fallon at night. Anyway, she’d be asleep within 30 seconds unless we were chatting. That’s just how she is, she falls asleep extremely quickly. And laying upright in the bed for four hours or so (she goes to bed at 10) was hard on my body. So we slowly got away from it and it doesn’t bother her. Sometimes I’ll lay with her and chat for a bit, where I tuck her in and stay until she’s sleeping. Then I’ll go back to the living room where I can relax, read, write, and do everything that I like to do late at night.

    We plan on staying here for at least four more years until her son is out of school. But we’ve talked about moving somewhere with a bigger bedroom (our bedroom is tiny) where we’d have room for a nice chair and ottoman so that I could go into the bedroom with her and keep her company while I have a nice area in the same room to do my stuff.

    Anyway, that’s our experience. Not sure if it’ll help you. 🙂

    Cheers!

  58. Spoonman,

    Oh, man. I know exactly how you feel. I’ve also had a few nightmares since then where I’m back at the dealership. Every single time I have one of these nightmares there’s a situation that’s out of my control and causing panic. I remember in one of them I was at my desk and I couldn’t find a repair order. So this customer is asking me all these questions I can’t answer because I don’t have any of their paperwork. Then I wake up and realize that life is great! 🙂

    Let’s never go back to that.

    Best regards.

  59. Gremlin,

    Yeah, I don’t think we are meant to stay at peak productivity for hours and hours at a time. Just doesn’t seem natural to me. Unfortunately, a typical job doesn’t have the kind of flex necessary to maximize intensity when you’re up to it and minimize it when your body is telling you so. And I think that’s what burns people out. They’re forced to operate through the lulls, even when the body doesn’t want to.

    Stick with it over there and you’ll be hitting your own snooze button one day. 🙂

    Take care.

  60. SR,

    It’s a long, arduous journey. If it were easy, everyone would be financially independent. But the worst thing you can do is second guess yourself and backtrack. That will almost guarantee you failure. Trust me.

    There’s always someone out there that thinks what they’re doing is the “right” way and that anything else is “wrong”. Too many gray areas in life for that kind of dogma, especially in investing/saving/FI. I’ve never tried to sell anything that I’m doing as right or wrong. Rather, I just think this strategy is an extremely robust method to achieve financial independence. And I’m out to prove it. Everything else is just noise. This is real life.

    I feel your pain there about getting up early when you’re not built that way. It’s tough because most jobs that are easy to swallow and pay well are geared toward the typical workday structure. But fear not. Freedom is out there. I know so because I now have some of it myself. You just have to work hard and grab it. 🙂

    Best wishes!

  61. keith,

    That’s great. You’ve created your own life and lifestyle, customized to your specifications and desires. You just simply cannot do that working for someone else, no matter how much you may think you like the job.

    I actually do often work from my pajamas. In fact, I’m in my pajamas right now. 🙂

    Love the volunteer work. That’s something I hope to incorporate into my own life at some point down the road when I can concentrate less on the journey. I’m not financially independent quite yet, so I still spend a great deal of time and energy on getting there. But once that’s all done, I hope to work some kind of philanthropy or volunteer work into the schedule. That’s down the road, but I’m looking forward to it.

    You’re living the good life…the life you want to live. Can’t really ask for much more than that.

    Cheers!

  62. I like my job and enjoy what I do. Having said that, it would be great to have more flexibility. I’m a night owl myself as well so being able to call my own “work” schedule would be awesome. Although I have flexible work hour and can work from home here and there, generally it’s expected for me to be in the office between say 10 – 3.

    Financial independence means having more flexibility. Flexibility means I’d be able to go to the airport and see if there’s last minute deal.

    I took 2 weeks of parental leave last summer to spend more time with my son. During this time I got a taste of what financial independence would be like. This experience drives me to want to become FI even earlier. 🙂

  63. Thanks for sharing a day in the life of Dividend Mantra! My day is not the same as yours but I am very similar in regards to being a night owl. I am the most energized right around 9PM til 1-2AM even if I was sluggish /tired all day. I can’t explain how or why that happens.

  64. I like your oxygen analogy!

    Pensions are pretty safe. States can make taxpayers cover it. But they can be frozen (mine hasn’t had a cost-of-living increase for ten years even though supposedly the recession is over now!), and I’ll have a rough time living on that amount of money 30 or 40 years from now, especially if my property taxes keep skyrocketing like they are. Homeowners are capped at “only” a 10% increase in property taxes each year. 🙂

    Plus, when I’m old, I might want to buy more things, like a wheelchair and a lawn service, that I don’t need while I’m still in good shape.

    So, yes, I’m still saving.

  65. Tawcan,

    Absolutely. Even if you love your job now, there’s no saying you’ll love it twenty or thirty years from now. It’s all about having flexibility. Going into the office even though you don’t have to takes all the weight off your shoulders. You’re no longer beholden to anyone. You’re doing it on your terms.

    Glad you were able to get that preview. I got a preview of my own when I took two weeks off of work last winter. It was then that I decided the time was right to make that break permanent. I was never the same after coming back from that vacation.

    You’re getting there one dividend at a time. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  66. YOLO,

    I’m the same. I get a burst of energy starting around 10 or so. I’m also not sure of the physiology behind it, but it’s definitely there. It’s how I’ve been since I was a kid. Sometimes my best ideas come to me around midnight when I’m just sitting by myself and thinking. Being able to release the inner night owl is one of the greatest things about all of this, in my opinion.

    Thanks for dropping in!

    Take care.

  67. Weekdays = Weekends is something I can very much relate to. When starting my first dot com back in 1998 it was all about hanging out in our corporate office (friends garage) and just doing what needed to get done no matter what day it was. There was no clear defined line between a weekday or weekend. We had tasks to complete and just did them whenever they needed to get done. One thing about working for yourself is that it never feels like work in the traditional sense. While many, including myself, loath the idea of working overtime as an employee, the concept of working 10, 12 or 14 hour days for yourself seems that much more rewarding and is something I’ll gladly do for little or no pay even as I am building something for myself rather than someone else. Thanks for sharing your “schedule” with us.

  68. DM,

    Great Success Story. Especially when the odds seemed so stacked against. Beaches sound nice…#CanadianDreaming 😉

    Thanks for the article

    Granett

  69. DM,

    It sounds like you have found a great balance between “working” for yourself and leisure. I am not a night owl, but I understand why you enjoy having some solitude. My work day is filled with everything but peace and quiet. The best part of my day usually comes when I exercise in the morning. I typically arrive at the track at 5 a.m. and it is usually empty. That is my time to enjoy a nice run, unwind, and just take in the peaceful environment. It certainly helps make the rest of the day more bearable.

    Thanks for an inspiring post.

    MDP

  70. DivHut,

    That sounds like a lot of fun. I agree that working on things your passionate about doesn’t seem like work at all. It’s not like someone who enjoys, say, collecting stamps would find managing their stamp books for six or seven hours straight as “work”. I was blogging for a long time making basically nothing for it. Never did it for the money, which is why it’s such a dream now to be monetizing my efforts and spreading the word on such a large platform. I’m blessed.

    Thanks for dropping by! Have a great weekend.

    Cheers.

  71. W2R,

    Ha! No footies. Though, I wouldn’t mind a Hugh Hefner-style smoking jacket over the silk pajamas. If it’s good enough for him to work all day in, it’s good enough for me. Though, I doubt he’d consider anything he does as “work” either. 🙂

    Cheers!

  72. MDP,

    I hear you. My old workdays were incredibly noisy (I worked next to a car repair garage), stressful, and busy. The complete antithesis of what I experience nowadays. I hope to never go back. 🙂

    I’m glad you get that solicitude early in the morning. I think we all need that “us” time, especially before we get busy.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  73. Jason,

    Thanks for sharing, I’ve said it once and i’ll say it again but you truly are an inspiration. Taking a step back and disregarding the norm to pursue your own passions and living life by your rules. I one day hope to get to that level.
    For me the more i think about early retirement, I truly do think if i stay hungry like i am now for the next 10 years early retirement may be a reality for me, or even earlier.
    You see I may even quit my job before my dividend income outweighs my expenses, because I may choose to work as a casual picking and choosing when and where i want to work. I’m fortunate that i am in a position where i truly do love my job taking care of sick people and helping them recover.And if i were to retire tomorrow i would see myself get bored and potentially depressed. Oddly enough i hold some sense of identity of myself in what i do for a living. And for me to let that completely out of my life may be to difficult. Well for now those are some ideas running through my mind, and in fact i think you may have given me some ideas for my next post!

    Thanks for sharing Jason, keep it up!

    Ace

  74. Ace,

    Thanks so much. I do my best to inspire others because I know how much this stuff has truly changed my life. 🙂

    You’ll definitely get there if you stay hungry. Financial independence is simple, but it’s not easy. It’s simple because it just requires one to save a high rate of their net income and invest that excess capital in high-quality assets that produce income. But it’s hard because it requires the kind of discipline, consistency, persistence, and patience that most people lack. But you’ll get there if you have the drive.

    As far as what you’re talking about, that’s basically what I did. I wrote an article a while back about semi-financial independence, whereby you get to the point to where your dividend income covers a healthy enough chunk of your expenses and then cut the cord. It’s unlikely that you’ll never make another dime for the rest of your life if you get to FI by, say, 40, so there’s not an absolute necessity to cover 100% of your expenses before that point. If your work becomes a drain, you can check out other opportunities. And that’s really the flexibility and freedom I talk about all the time. Having that requires capital and income, which requires the disciple that I was just referencing above. If you stick with, you’ll make your dreams come true.

    Thanks for dropping by. Look forward to the next post!

    Best regards.

  75. I love this post – Jason, you have a fantastic level of self awareness that will serve you well regardless of what you’re doing. Thank you for pointing out that financial independence isn’t just about owning your own time, it’s also about being able to indulge in your passions and work on the causes that have earned your respect. Without this self-knowledge, depression indeed looms nearby and financial independence would be an empty victory.

  76. Love the bold statement in the beginning. I can’t wait to create my own schedule and have the flexibility to do what I want when I want. I’m more of a morning person so when I become “retired” I’ll probably wake up early and go to bed early but either way, 10 hours of sleep is my ideal amount of time to feel refreshed when i wake up.

    Great post, and can’t wait to be in a similar position that you are in!

  77. DM,

    Thanks for allowing us a look into your day to day life. It is funny, there are so many of us in this community, that it is fun to read about how we do things differently than each other. I love the theme of the article. It isn’t just about financial independence, it is about achieving FI to allow yourself the freedom to live your life the way you want. If you want to sleep in one day…you can! If you and Claudia want to take a day trip somewhere….you can. It is funny, I always beat myself up when I wake up late on a weekend to begin reading articles, writing, etc. But that’s a product of my current situation and I know one day I will achieve the freedom that allows me to have a day that resembles yours!

    Thanks for sharing, you have given me something to look forward to in the future!

    Bert

  78. Nicenurse,

    Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and found some value in it. 🙂

    And financial independence is definitely a lot more than just owning your time. It all starts with that, but it certainly doesn’t end there. Once you own it, you can work on things that mean something to you and bring value to you/the world.

    Appreciate the support. Stay in touch!

    Best wishes.

  79. Bert,

    I’m happy to share. And there’s definitely a lot to look forward to. 🙂

    You’ll have that freedom one day as well. You’re closer today than you were yesterday, and you’ll be closer tomorrow than you were today. One saved dollar and reinvested dividend at a time. It’ll happen quicker than you think!

    Have a great weekend.

    Cheers.

  80. Reading about those beautiful beaches make me smile, might just immigrate to Sarasota just for the beaches haha. I love beaches and the view of seeing some girls in bikini. Im not a snow lover and hate having 3 degrees below 0. Prefer your temperatures much more and the fact that I could be FI within 15 years makes me smile as working for a boss till the retirement age of 70 is not so funny.

  81. Tyler,

    Hey, that’s really cool!

    You may have started late and made some mistakes along the way, but you have a hell of a portfolio over there. I’d already be financially independent on that kind of dividend income. 🙂

    Wish you the best with both the blog and the journey. Keep it up.

    Cheers.

  82. William,

    I’m with you. I’ve never enjoyed cold weather, gray skies, or the snow. I only lived in Michigan for so long (and tried to go back) for family. Other than that, I find nothing nice about living in that type of climate. I view living in Florida as a real gift. I’m incredibly lucky. 🙂

    But if you ever make it over here, I’d love to meet up.

    Have a great weekend.

    Best regards.

  83. Hey Jason, nice article on the routine. Well, i just got another routine going, just shaved all my hair off yesterday lol. Feels really bizarre right now, tried just going to stubble and tried going sly. Still deciding on what is best but now i have to do this every day or every other day – fun times 🙂 I can see why people invested in gilette 😉 Hope you are keeping well. cheers T

  84. Love it! Reading this was an inspiration and now that I’m on leave from work myself, I’m starting to get a feel for what early FI will look like… I have no complaints and am loving the time off! 🙂

    We are both still working to achieve full financial independence, but thanks to all the hard work from earlier on, it looks like we are both able to transition to something resembling a lot more early FI than the rat race. And it’s way more satisfying to be on that side of the spectrum.

    I’m glad everything has been working out so well for you!

  85. Glad to hear your daily routine, Jason. I was a night owl during college days but, due to 9-5 grind, had to take a nap early now 🙂 Would love to be FI soon and go back to that care-free college lifestyle where I believe folks can be highly creative, original and flexible.

    Best,
    PIM.

  86. Tales,

    Nice move there. I’ve been shaving my head since my very early 20s. I personally love the look, but it can be a hassle at times. Tried laser hair removal to cut down on the shave time, but it didn’t work all that well.

    I’ve used other razors and always come back to the Gillette Fusion. Anything else gives me a rash.

    It might take a while to get used to the look/feel. I know it did for me. Now, I couldn’t imagine having hair. 🙂

    Cheers!

  87. FI Fighter,

    Sounds like you’re feeling better already. Getting off that rat wheel does amazing things for the mind and body. I know I felt like a million bucks my first week off. And that feeling remains the same even today. 🙂

    Indeed, a little hard work goes a long way. Once you get to the point to where a substantial portion of your expenses are covered, it just doesn’t take that much to make the jump over to the other end of the spectrum. And once you’re over on that side, you’ll likely never look back. Besides, it’s unlikely you’ll never make another active dollar again for the rest of your life. So I’ve just never felt like 300% expense coverage or some kind of huge margin of safety is necessary for all of this. Some people have laughed at my long-term goal of $18,000 in dividend income. But they act like I’ll never make another dime any other way for the rest of my life. It’s comical to me.

    Hope everything works out for you now that you’re on the other side. You’ll find the right groove.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  88. PIM,

    Absolutely. It’s really about finding the schedule that works for you. But being able to work on your terms certainly helps the creativity, in my view. If I’m under the gun, I get stressed out and my productivity/creativity suffers. But working on my terms means I can operate at peak efficiency. That makes a big difference in all aspects of your life.

    Good luck in getting back to that care-free lifestyle. You’re making the right moves! 🙂

    Take care.

  89. Jason, it looks like you’ve taken the FI road early, and good for you. Honestly, I would make the case that you’ve already achieved it, as you are no longer financially dependent on a job or an employer. You could turn around and take a week off right now if you wanted, and as for active income (your freelance writing), you’re doing the work you enjoy on your own terms. If I took a week off right now, I’d be fired and wouldn’t receive anymore income from my job ever again.

    One thing that I’m trying to do is earn my own online blogging income (not about dividend investing) and boy is it tough. I fancy myself pretty good at earning investment income, but trying to nail down blogging and website income is incredibly difficult to me.

    Enjoy the FI lifestyle, whether or not you’ve “technically” achieved FI yet!

  90. Your day sounds great!

    I’m a night owl too, which doesn’t really fit in with my day job, so I guess I probably don’t get enough sleep during the week, average around 6 hours. I get a little more at weekends but like you, even if I don’t have any plans, I still need to set the alarm clock, otherwise I end up sleeping too much!

  91. Awesome post!

    You’ve put in a lot of hard graft over the last 5-6 years by the sounds of it, working, blogging full time, and keeping up with all the other stuff sounds like hard work! I can sympathize somewhat, I think I am quite a driven person to try to work hard and achieve things as well (probably not as much as you are though!). But now you are reaping the rewards, and it’s great and you definitely deserve it.

    I didn’t realise you were pro-blogging/self employed now, I’ll have to pay a bit more attention and/or go through some of the back posts because I just put in a plan at work to be gone by the end of 2015 and turning my hand to self employment also (Plan A is website developing rather than writing, although I guess I could try my hand at that as well if anyone decided they wanted to pay me for it!), so I could do with all the pointers I can get.

    Cheers and congrats again for building the lifestyle you desired.

    Andy/TFS

    p.s. Oh yea, another night owl signing in. I can smash out so much code after 11pm it’s crazy!!!!

  92. Joey,

    Thanks! This is definitely about as close to FI as it gets without having passive income cover 100% of your expenses. I still have deadlines and what not, but the “work” really isn’t work to me.

    I hear you there on making a go of it online. It’s not easy. As you can see, I’ve been at this for many years now. It didn’t happen quickly. But I think if you stick with it and really want it, it’ll happen. 🙂

    Appreciate all the support. Keep at it. Anything worth having in life is worth working hard for and sticking with.

    Best regards.

  93. weenie,

    I totally know how you feel. I never used to get enough sleep. There just wasn’t enough time to get a good eight or nine hours of sleep and do everything else I had to/wanted to do. I’m certainly glad I made those sacrifices, but I also knew I couldn’t keep it up forever. I was getting burned out, and it was either the blog or the job there at the end. I chose the blog. 🙂

    But you’ll get to that point to where you can kind of set your own schedule and sleep as much/little as you want.

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Cheers!

  94. Andy,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    I decided to give this a good go when I realized my worst-case scenario was going back to work…which is what I was already doing. When you realize there is no downside/failure, it makes it a lot easier to make that leap. I think you’ll find that’s true in your own situation as well. Once your worst-case scenario is most everyone else’s best-case scenario, there isn’t much risk anymore. 🙂

    Best of luck with getting to that point yourself as well. If you’re hungry for it, you’ll make it happen. There’s no other way.

    Appreciate the support!

    Best wishes.

  95. Wow! Awesome post Jason. Thanks for sharing your present and past history. You have become such a great model for someone to overcome their history and past baggage, and make a new and exciting life. I enjoy reading your blog very much.

    Even at age 78 I am not too old to learn. I left my wonderful community college teaching job around age 45 to pursue my dreams of establishing an educational-adventure travel company. It was a wonderful and also challenging experience for 20 years. And now, after 20 years of different forms of retirement, I wish…o how I wish I had started investing in dividend paying stocks 40-50 years ago. Of course, I fully expected to have a teacher pension to ease into retirement. But…life steps in and throws some curve balls here and there just to make it interesting. I lost the pension as part of a divorce settlement, and my second wife’s retirement annuity company (worth more than half a million), went bankrupt.

    I am not complaining for we have had an incredible 20 years of travelling about the world, teaching when necessary to raise additional funds. The point is as you so aptly put forth…being financially independent give one choices. Life keeps going on with all of its ups and downs, but it is so much more fun when you can decide whether to work again or not. These days I am working part-time as a wine ambassador for a wonderful winery in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. It’s a very cool job that gives me lots of independence yet opportunities to work at my own pace. All of our extra income goes into Dividend Paying stocks. In two more years we’ll have enough passive income for another 15 years or so. One is never too old to learn and relearn things we could or should have mastered years ago. Never say never!

  96. So many people would struggle to keep motivated when they don’t have the routine of 9-5 and Monday to Friday.
    Great work on being successful at making the “bluriness” work for you.

    I’m on a similar path towards having dividends pay for my living expenses, but I’m a LONG way off from achieving my goals.

  97. David,

    Appreciate the kind words. I’m glad you enjoy the blog. That means a lot to me. 🙂

    Sorry to hear about some of the challenges you’ve gone through, but it sounds like you’ve come out better for them. We learn a lot about ourselves when we face adversity. And it’s in how we react to that that really determines our fates. Good for you for taking those challenges on, growing, learning, and becoming a better version of yourself. You now have a fantastic opportunity there with the wine ambassadorship, which allows you to have fun while also saving for more adventure down the road.

    We’re never too old to learn or change or grow. Every day is a gift and an opportunity. We must seize it!

    Stay in touch.

    Best regards.

  98. projectikonz,

    I think it’s sometimes tough to stay motivated to write when, say, it’s 80 degrees outside and you want to go to the beach. But working for yourself means you can plow ahead and stay on top of things so you can enjoy that mid-week break at the beach. It’s all up to you at that point, which is a much better situation than working the hours your employer sets for you. 🙂

    I’m still a long way off from achieving some of my long-term goals, but we’ll get there. All in due time!

    Cheers.

  99. Great post and really enjoy this quote Jason,

    “First off, I feel like if the sun isn’t up, I shouldn’t be. The sun’s job is to give life, light, and heat to the entire world. It’s job is way more important than mine ever was. If it’s not ready to get rolling, then I’m staying in bed”

    I am anticipating seeing the value of your freedom fund possibly breaking the $200,000 benchmark next update. If it had similar results to my investment portfolio it should be close.

    Thanks for sharing,

    Mr. Captain Cash

  100. MCC,

    Ha. Thanks. Glad you enjoyed that.

    I’ve joked about that for years now. It’s just an excuse to sleep in. 🙂

    My portfolio probably won’t be breaking $200k anytime soon. I was only at $183k last update and the S&P 500 index (which my portfolio roughly tracks) is down over 4% so far this month. My heavy energy exposure hasn’t helped. I think I’m somewhere close to that value still, after factoring my recent purchases. It may cross $200k by the end of the year, assuming a relatively static market. But I’d gladly welcome a 10% drop across the board and take the hit on the value if it meant my current capital could buy cheaper stocks.

    We’ll see what we get!

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Best regards.

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