Celebrate Independence Day With Independence

fireworks1What a great country we live in!

Being born in the United States of America any time in the last 50 years or so puts you in a wonderful position – one where you have definitely won the ovarian lottery.

I’ve discussed before why simply being born in a first world country in modern times already puts you in a better position than pretty much any historical figure you can think of that was alive before 1900. Access to modern-day amenities like electricity, running hot water, the internet, indoor plumbing, and refrigeration puts you in a pretty nice spot. Add in transportation that isn’t powered by a horse, restaurants and grocery stores that can serve you food from all over the world, modern heating and cooling systems, and entertainment options that stretch the imagination, and you’re living far better than Alexander the Great or George Washington could have ever dreamed.

But why not take it a step further? 

Those things are all very wonderful, but what about independence? Independence from wage slavery, stress, money concerns, and not having enough time?

Why not create your own Independence Day? A day when you claim freedom, whatever that may mean to you.

It sounds impossible, but it’s not. It simply takes planning, consistency, and hard work.

I haven’t made much money throughout my life. You can go back and view any of my monthly budgets stretching over more than three years and see that. But the great thing is that it doesn’t take much money to be happy, and it certainly doesn’t take much to be free.

This past month I earned almost $700 in dividend income. And that passive income covered almost half the ~$1,500 in personal expenses I had.

Now, not every month is this cheap nor so successful with dividend income. But if after just over four years I’ve reached the point where I can cover half my expenses here and there I’d consider that a resounding success!

In fact, when you get to the point where you’re living far below your means by embracing frugality and you’ve built up a sizable passive income source you’re more free than you might believe – even if you’re not completely financially independent.

I recently decided to quit a stressful full-time job in the automotive field to pursue writing. This was a decision that I took very seriously, and while it likely cut my income dramatically for the time being, my quality of life quotient skyrocketed because I became much freer than ever before. That’s a trade-off I’d be willing to take any day of the week. Time isn’t just money; time is life.

However, even if I didn’t have the blog I really was already pretty free. I’ve pointed out that dividends could indeed be used for expenses (rather than reinvestment) far before the point of full financial independence (when all passive income exceeds all expenses). So if I were to stop investing right now and use that $700 for expenses I could have covered my rent, health insurance, mobile phone bill, all the food I ate, and the fuel I put in my car over the last month.

At that point I just have to go out and earn another $800 or so from other sources. And $800 doesn’t necessarily require climbing the corporate ladder or running on the rat wheel indefinitely. Certainly an enterprising individual could likely earn a couple hundred dollars or so from a hobby-turned-business and before you know it a local, enjoyable part-time gig is all you really need to get by. The days of working for one company for 30-40 years before collecting your pension and gold watch are long gone, and potentially with it went the days where you collect all of your income from one source. We like to diversify investments; why not diversify income sources?

I’m still aiming for full financial independence by 40 years old. I desperately want to get to the point where my passive income exceeds my expenses and my destiny is truly within my complete control. I’ll own my own time, which means nobody else (namely, an employer) owns me. But it’s important to also realize that you don’t need to complete the journey to reap the benefits. The benefits are compounding for you every single day that you’re chiseling away at the chains that beholden you to whatever desk or cubicle you spend most of your time at. Freedom awaits you.

So your own Independence Day might be closer than you think. The difficulty of the grind, your level of tolerance, your savings rate, and how much passive income you’ve already built all factor into that, but freedom isn’t necessarily all or nothing. I’m still chasing 100% freedom, but I’ll take 50% or so in the meanwhile. I’ve found financial independence to be both a journey and a destination, rather than a destination alone. Much like life is a journey and we’re learning and growing as people every single day, more and more freedom is being added to your glorious, growing pile of it every single day you’re chasing financial independence.

So you can actually create your own Independence Day. And it might just be sooner than you expected. Just don’t expect the government to reward you with an official day on the calender and a paid day off. Of course, you won’t need that because the rest of your life will be paved with paid days off.

What about you? Creating your own Independence Day? 

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: noppasinw/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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70 Comments

  1. Thank you for your inspiration! I look forward to reading each new post. Have a great holiday.

  2. It can definitely be easy to lose sight of all the little things we enjoy until they are gone. A power-outage at night can range anywhere from an inconvenience to dangerous depending on your situation. Running water is a big one as well. Something we all have, no matter the century we’re born in is Time though and how we spend it is the most important thing we got! Even though im working in retail at the moment(hopefully not much longer), I know I want to be ‘retired’/FI by 50ish for sure. Just need to keep on saving! I think when comparing your div income in 2010/2011 we’re following similar trajectories, which is very encouraging for me! 🙂
    Cheers! Already enjoyed my Canada fireworks, hope you get to see some of your own!

  3. Oh I’m working towards my personal independence day, but I’m sure I’ll see a few more 4th of July’s happen before that happens.

    You sound like you’re on the right path because technically, you are your own employer at the moment, so I suppose you are the only one that tells you what to do.

    Happy 4th! (but I guess every day feels like a holiday to you now)

  4. DW,

    Absolutely. It’s all about perspective. Once you realize how far ahead of the game you really are, the rest is easy.

    And you should definitely be able to exceed your goals. It looks like you’re living pretty frugally right now. Keep it up, and keep investing that excess capital. 🙂

    Appreciate you stopping by!

    Best regards.

  5. Zee,

    The wonderful thing is knowing that your freedom is coming. That certainly made things a lot easier for me along the way. It’s one thing to go into work thinking you probably have another 20 or 30 years to go, and quite another to know your exit plan is clearly defined and you might only have another five years. You’re getting there one day at at time! 🙂

    I’m in a great spot right now. I kind of had such an intense focus for so long that I had a hard time seeing how free I already was. But the journey to financial independence provides just a tad more freedom every single day. So the benefits are there even before you’re fully free.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  6. This was totally inspirational to me. I have a lot of debt, so that’s what we have to focus on for now. And it can make us a little down as we start to focus on the debt and paying it off. I needed this financial pick-me-up!

  7. Well said! It took you 4 years to be 50% financially free. I’m guessing because of the effects of compounding, it will take less time to get to 100%. Keep it up!

  8. Beautiful, beautiful post! Our personal independence day will be roughly two months after the nation’s independence day. We will for sure celebrate our day of freedom for decades to come. It will be the day when we unplug from the matrix and live our lives on our terms.

  9. Thanks for showing me some light at the end of the tunnel DM! You’ve kick-started me into investing for FI one year ago.

    Being a European with income taxes exceeding 50% and on top of that a lot of other taxes to be paid you probably in the US haven’t even heard of, I didn’t see a way of obtaining FI at first.
    Now 1 year after I started I actually think I can obtain partial FI by 2020 and full FI by 2025 (mortgage paid off) not only for myself but for my family as well. this allows us to leave the workplace 25 years earlier than most of my peers who will have to work till their legal pension age.

    It’s crazy what some frugality and spreadsheet extrapolation can do.

    A sincere thank you!

    p.s I use a dividend growth strategy based on ETFs for tax reasons. If I invest in individual companies I lose more than 60% of the dividend thanks to double withholding taxes. I guess this is a reality for a lot of europeans so praise yourself lucky to live in the US 🙂

  10. Amen! That was a great sermon to inspire and remind us that financial freedom is within reach!

    I don’t have a date picked out yet for my personal independence day. I am saving 50% of my income, investing in dividend stocks and low fee index funds, and am now in the process of creating other incomes. Alas, I am young still and have a few more years before I can set a date for my personal independence day. It is a nice reminder that it is all about the journey though because I can certainly become myopic about that fact.

    Happy fourth of July to you DM!

  11. Hi DM,
    A great and inspiring article, thank you!
    I was thinking the same thing as you about financial independence last night. The firework displays reminded me how I used to spend money; short term rewards with little remaining afterwards!

    Have a great Fourth of July!

  12. Happy 4th of July US-Americans.! Over here we have other Days to celebrate but I chime in to the festivities by enjoying an american craft beer, later tonight. Very expensive due to alcohol tax and imports but hopefully tasty. Always nice to have an occasion to try new beers. This time some heavy stout from Colorado called Yeti – 9.5 % 😮
    Never heard of it before but it made it to a shelf in the iicor shop here in Europe. Will be interesting to see how it tastes.

    Cheers Americans and happy pursuit of economic independence!

  13. Hi Jason,

    Have a great Independance day! It’s funny. This date always makes me think about the movie with Will Smith -Independance day – Will there be an alien invasion this year… Or not!? 😉

    I’m at +/- 40$ per month in dividend income already and I just started a couple of months ago this investing journey. Now that I have a plan, I’m getting very agressive with my savings. I want to retire at or before 45 and I’m not the kind of person to come in late at an appointment! 😉

    At first, people around me were laughing. Now that they are starting to see the income grow, most of them are still laughing (wow… 40$… You can go to the restaurant man…). But, I’m starting to get followers as well. I almost feel like Jesus lol Now my girlfriend wants to be financially free at a young age too. My brother (he’s an engineer) wants us to planify our retirement togheter.

    This means that he wants us to buy a farmland and automate our energy consumption and part of our food consumption lol (he sounds like Robinson Crusoe when he’s talking about that). He’s also investing to replace his income. But, my brother has always been a lot more frugal than me. He lives in a 450$ per month appartment and share the rent with his wife. He can save a lot on every paycheck and I wouldn’t be surprised if he would retire before me!

    I still have difficulty with extra frugallity. I like my house and don’t feel like selling it to live in an appartment. It’s a huge expense but I can afford it and still reach my goals. Plus, last week I had to tell my employees that the husband of one of our colleague will die within 3 months of a cancer and that’s why she’s not been at work for a while. And then, I had to tell them that she won’t come back ever… She wasn’t feeling well either so they made tests.. She’s in the last stage of a blood cancer… Crazy… She was retiring this year in her young ’50s…

    Life is short man… We have to take advantage of every moments.

    Thanks

  14. Hi Dividend Mantra,
    Have you ever looked into the power of options to grow your nest egg. Especially safe options like selling puts. You set a target price to buy the underlying security and get paid a premium for it!

  15. Jason

    What an inspirational post.

    I am at the point where my income is now becoming reasonably significant (over £4.5k this year) and growing each year as I am still paying money in to my accounts and re-investing 100% of my dividends. I have just posted on my blog my June dividend income and it is 8 times more than June last year (it is a bit of a freak month), so if I can achieve year on year growth every month my dividend snowball will really grow.

    Hope you are enjoying your freedom from wage slavery and all the things that go with it (pain in the ass bosses, colleagues who you have nothing in common with, mornings you just don’t want to get out of bed etc).

    Best Wishes on Independence Day

    FIUK

  16. Great post Jason. You and others like Mr. Money Mustache have planted a seed in me…I’m kicking around the idea of blogging my own journey to FI. At this stage I’m 38, have about $82K invested, and my wife and I will be earning about $110K per year with nice raises expected in upcoming years. Frugality is already in place as we spend only about $30K per year. We are on the launch pad ready to blast off into FI in pretty short order if we stay focused and fortunate. Thanks for all the inspiration!

  17. DM,

    Great post! Even though I have to work twelve hours today…*Sigh* I constantly remind myself of how Andy Dufresne in the Shawshank Redemption chiseled his way out of his prison cell two pocketfuls of dirt a day. It takes that sort of dedication and discipline day after day. When it seems like little or no progress is being made, that is when you have to increase your resolve knowing a much better, brighter, and of course a more INDEPENDENT future is awaiting us all.

    Happy 4th of July!

    MDP

  18. Dear DM,
    Well……….here’s my take, true independence would include a personal water and food source, like living off of the grid, growing and maintaining one’s own food sources animal and vegetable. Financial independence is nice, but it is dependent on a house of cards…..a fragile political and economical system …..:P

  19. I couldn’t agree more. There’s so many opportunities to improve your lot in life but the key is that you have to sacrifice something to get it. I’m really loving you having this extra time on your hands because it’s letting you write some really inspiring/motivational posts.

  20. Living At Home,

    Glad you found it to be inspirational. That was definitely the aim. 🙂

    Appreciate the support and readership. Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  21. Kirsten,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Just stopped by your blog. Looks like you recently started documenting your journey to paying off debt. And you’re doing great there. If you’re starting from -0 you should always pay debt off first and strive to get to 0 before trying to invest and move to +0. I personally carry some student loan debt, but it’s rather small, the interest rate is low (3%), and the interest is tax-deductible. Best of luck with paying off the six-figure debt! 🙂

    You’ll get there. Just the same as I built up six figures in investments in just a few years, you’ll be paying that debt off in no time.

    Cheers!

  22. AAFS Insurance,

    Man, I hope so! I think I’ve still got at least eight years before I’m fully financially independent. At least, that’s how it looked based on the income I was making earlier this year. This whole transition to writing is clouding my view, so I’ll know more after a year. Either way, I know I’m still on the yellow brick road marching toward Oz! 🙂

    Appreciate the support. Have a great holiday weekend!

    Take care.

  23. Spoonman,

    Morpheus would be proud. 🙂

    That’ll be awesome. You’ll be able to create your own little holiday there and celebrate it every year however you see fit. I know I’ll always remember the day I crossed over to FI. When I become free years down the road I’ll reference this post and create my own holiday.

    Excited for you guys!

    Cheers.

  24. WW,

    I can’t blame you for using ETFs over there. If the tax situation prohibits individual stocks, then you have to do what you have to do. I’ve often said that every system has advantages and disadvantages. If the US made it too expensive (via taxes) to own individual stocks then I’d go the index fund route.

    Glad you started your own journey. And I’m so glad you didn’t let the system hold you down. You simply have to take a look at your situation and figure out how to maximize the advantages you have. I’m so happy for you. The light is indeed at the end of the tunnel…for all of us. Some people simply see it, whereas others are blind to it. You opened your eyes up! 🙂

    Keep up the great work.

    Best wishes.

  25. John,

    By the sounds of it, you’ll be there sooner than you likely anticipate. The compounding effect takes hold, and the growth becomes exponential. Saving 50% of your income is fantastic, and that’s essentially what I am for as well. You simply can’t avoid success if you save that kind of income. Keep it up!

    And happy 4th to you as well!

    Take care.

  26. Dividend Life,

    That’s a great analogy there. Fireworks are beautiful, but they’re expensive and have no lasting benefits. Nothing wrong with blasting some fireworks once or twice per year, but if you’re blasting fireworks every day after dinner you’ll be broke and the fireworks will lose their effectiveness. That’s essentially the same for anything else in life, which is what I was recently talking about with marginal utility.

    Thanks for stopping by. Have a great holiday weekend.

    Best regards.

  27. Felix F,

    Enjoy your brew over there. I hope the craft beer you have later is as good as you hope it to be. That’s some strong stuff! 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend!

    Cheers.

  28. Allan,

    Life is short, indeed. That’s a sad story about one of your employees. You simply never know, which is why I’m pursuing early retirement/FI so aggressively. I often write about the morbid idea that I’m planning for a short life. If I live a long time, then that’s just icing on the cake. But if I die at 60 (way before I should), but retire at 40, that’s still 20 years of retirement. And that’s more than most people get.

    Congrats to you on your success so far. $40 turns into $100, which turns into $200. So on and so forth. My friends and family thought I was a little crazy when I first started as well, until I started earning hundreds of dollars per month. They don’t think I’m crazy anymore. 🙂

    You have to set your own path and blaze through it. March to the beat of your own drum. That’s the only way you end up with something different than the status quo.

    Keep it up!

    Best wishes.

  29. Linh,

    I’ve looked into options, but I don’t use them. I don’t like the extra commission fees they entail, and I don’t find them necessary. I also don’t like capping my upside. My strategy is rather simple, and it can be replicated by anyone. Simple is beautiful.

    Cheers!

  30. This is such an important reminder, Jason. As I mentioned, $700 in passive income from dividends is fantastic and covering 50% of your expenses is even better. The journey to financial freedom truly is part of the reward. Thanks for continuing to inspire us!

  31. FI UK,

    Congrats on such a strong month. 8x is amazing. If we can only keep up that kind of growth, right? 🙂

    I’m definitely enjoying my own version of freedom. It’s everything I thought it could be. I just hope I can maintain this position.

    Keep up the great work over there. You’re enjoying an increasing amount of freedom every single day. Your income is already putting you in a position where you could be fairly free, and that’s wonderful to know. Motivates you to keep going.

    Cheers!

  32. Josh,

    You’re definitely on the launch pad there, with the rocket fuel being the high income you two earn between the both of you. If you can keep that spread between income and expenses you should be independent in no time – probably less than a decade. And claiming financial independence in your late 40s is something to be pretty proud of. That’s two decades sooner than most people retire, while some people are never able to retire. Good stuff!

    I wish you guys the best of luck. It’s an incredibly rewarding journey.

    Take care.

  33. MDP,

    Get busy living, or get busy dying!

    I’m with you. The path to freedom isn’t completed in 20-mile chunks. It starts out as one step at a time. One foot in front of the other. Eventually, compound growth allows you to move a little faster. But it takes discipline and persistence to set yourself up for this. And it requires you to maintain this discipline all the way through.

    You’re doing great over there. Your $100-per-week increase in dividend income is just awesome.

    Have a great holiday weekend!

    Best wishes.

  34. late bloomer,

    That could be nice. It’s taking things to the extreme, but there’s nothing wrong with being self-sufficient like that. I don’t think it’s really necessary to be free, because I don’t believe our system is going to collapse. I think technology will only improve our lives in the future. But I don’t think anyone would ever regret being completely sufficient, and it would certainly require less passive income. Your investment would instead be in the land, home, animals, etc.

    Could be a great way to live, but I like my city amenities too much. And I don’t even enjoy cooking, let alone raising my own food sources. But knowing this just means I need more invested capital and passive income to live off of.

    Cheers!

  35. JC,

    Appreciate it! I’m really enjoying the opportunity to write more. I actually wrote three posts yesterday, and it was so nice to have the time to do that. I wrote from about 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It was crazy! 🙂

    You’re doing great over there. Super jealous of your income, but I know you work your ass off for it. Keep up the great work!

    Best regards.

  36. You are definitely an inspiration to say the least! Nothing but the best to you DM!

  37. Addison,

    The journey is definitely part of the reward. You learn, grow, change, sweat, bleed, improve, and make mistakes. The journey puts you in a great spot to enjoy the actual destination as much as possible. And then you continue to grow and learn, except you do it completely on your terms.

    Thanks for stopping by. You’re making steady progress over there. Your savings rate is solid, and the regular investments you’re making set you up very well for the future. Keep it up!

    Best wishes.

  38. maurice,

    Thanks so much for the kind words. I really appreciate the support.

    I’m happy to inspire others to improve their lives. It’s a position I’m so grateful to be in. 🙂

    Have a great holiday weekend!

    Take care.

  39. Hi DM,

    Some more independence happening here, all the livestock except the chickens are in the process of being sold off, the Mrs. and I will get our “Time” back once this is complete. There will be a minor financial gain out of this which we are going to spend on technology, having been away from the modern World for 12 years now we were amazed when we drove into the big city a couple of weeks ago and saw how cheap modern shiny things are now, flat screen TV’s that work via the internet or something, computers are so fast and small now and no longer steam powered, telephones that you touch with your fingers that look like a miniature TV…Its all magic, motorbike next year, we’re going to have ourselves a flat TV internet thing!!

    Best wishes for your independence,

    Cheers,

    Dave…

  40. Happy Independence Day, Jason! I’m caught up on your blog now. Way to rock the dividend income last month! How’s your sis doing? Anxious to know when the bambino will appear.

  41. Happy Independence day Jason!

    Having the financial freedom is the individual independence. I guess you can easily reach your financial target (assume $1500 per month) from your current investment without adding new money.
    For instance, your dividend income can grow 11% to 12% yearly with 8% dividend growth and 3% dividend reinvestment. If you do the math, you will be getting more than $1600 dividend in 8 years. It is the power of compounding and the magic of dividend growth.

    Best Regards,

  42. Every dividend payment or paycheck helps me to get closer to financial independence. It will be the happiest day of my life and HUGE WEIGHT off my shoulders when I don’t need to work for someone else.

    Well written post…

  43. DM,

    I have a long way to go but your blog is inspiring me. Keep up the great progress and I hope to be there someday soon. Patience and discipline.

    Regards,
    Dear Dividend

  44. Jason,

    Looks like you’re inspiring a lot of people! Keep up the great work!!

    You seem to have a lot of followers who are just starting off. While folks may poke fun at their minuscule monthly dividend cheques (Allan on July 4th @ 7:28 AM….tell these people to go pound salt. If they have a better plan than what you have recently implemented ask them to explain it to you!!!!), I hope your followers keep the faith. Invest regularly in good solid companies, don’t reach for yield (you’ll get burned at some stage!), and let time be your friend.

    Last year my wife and I generated just over $38,000 in dividends. This year we’re on track to exceed $50,000 (we’re currently at $26,000 half way through the year)…simply by following the points noted in the previous paragraph. With the reinvestment of all dividends and fresh capital, I am targeting $62,000 in dividends for 2015. I think we can do that with our eyes closed so it really is not a “stretch” target.

    Earlier this week we purchased another 600 shares of BCE (on the TSX but this company is also listed on the NYSE in the event your US based readers are interested). This is Canada’s largest communications company. While not a high growth stock, your readers can rely on this company to continue to spit out a nice dividend (currently a 4.99% yield). Back in 2008 they suspended their dividend when there was an attempt to take the company private. The deal fell through when the financial markets had a meltdown and the company remained public; the dividend was reinstated (it was 36.5 cents on a 1/4ly basis back then and is now 61.75 cents on a 1/4ly basis). NOTE: I am NOT telling your readers to rush out and buy BCE…just telling you what we did and leaving it to your readers to do their own due diligence.

    Truly enjoy your more frequent posts and the also enjoy reading the responses from your Dividend Mantra community members. Looks like we’re all here to encourage each other!

    Cheers.

    Chuck in Ontario

  45. WW which country are you from? In Sweden we pay 15% withholding tax on dividends from US companies (and even that can be reduced to ~0 through specific savings account). I thought it would be the same for whole EU?

  46. Good to hear that you are doing well and enjoying your new found freedom from the daily bump and grind at the dealership. I know you will do well. This is only the beginning to a new chapter in your life to explore and make it what you want it to be. It does not matter that you are not fully financially independent, its much more important that you had the courage to take the opportunity when you could.

    Seven years ago I left a job that was no longer satisfying to me, even though I only had enough money to live on for a few years at the time. Even though I did not have a definitive plan, I took the opportunity to leave and figure it out. After taking a year off, I started working for myself and have been saving like crazy ever since. I have made less money being self employed, but the freedom and lack of stress is more than worth it. After living a very modest life these last 8 years or so and saving/investing the difference, at the age of 41 I have finally reached financial independence. Its really is a different world when you no longer need a pay-check in order to live.

    I wish you all the best on your Journey to financial freedom. Keep up the good work.

  47. Fun post 🙂

    Not to burst bubbles, but I think you’ll need more income in the future to be financially free since I suspect a) your tastes will change over time and b) inflation will kick in. The latter is a certainty and investors need to hedge and plan for this.

    That said, now the positives my friend – you are doing SO well. I figure in another 7-8 years, you’ll be financially free. The blog will help, but if you can earn most of your income from investments than working for a living, which includes a blog, then you’re set.

    Well done Jason and hope you’re not too hung over after July 4th fun.

    Mark

  48. Dave,

    Haha, that’s funny. Technology can definitely seem pretty magical when it’s still fresh. Pretty amazing what’s happened over just the last decade. Phones, televisions, and the internet are just a few things that have advanced tremendously over that time period.

    Hope you continue to enjoy your version of freedom!

    Best regards.

  49. Debs,

    Thanks so much. Really appreciate the readership and support. 🙂

    My sister is doing great, thanks for asking. She’s scheduled for delivery on July 31, so we’re all very excited. It’ll be my first niece. 🙂

    Hope you’re having a great weekend. And hope you had fun on the 4th!

    Best wishes.

  50. FinanceJourney,

    The power of compounding and dividend growth, indeed. I’m excited to see exactly where I stand by the time I’m 40. With the income I was earning before, I was looking at financial independence by 39 years old. Of course, it’s hard to predict exactly what’s going to happen that far out with so many variables. But I still don’t know how the recent changes in my personal life impacted my scenario. But I honestly think I’m still roughly on pace for my original goal. We’ll see!

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  51. IP,

    I’m with you. I’ll forever mark my FI day on the calender and celebrate for the rest of my life. It’s so wonderful to not have to go into work, worrying about overbearing bosses, quotas, meetings, nosy and competitive co-workers, stress, unrealistic schedules, etc. Just being able to set your own schedule is worth the sacrifices, in my opinion.

    Thanks for the kind words and support. I really appreciate it. Glad you enjoyed the post.

    Best regards!

  52. Dear Dividend,

    So glad you find some inspiration here! That’s exactly why I write and share everything. This community is really wonderful in that we all mutually inspire each other to our individual aspirations.

    Patience and discipline will definitely get you far. Keep it up!

    Best wishes.

  53. Ken,

    I have a HDHP. I wrote about my experience with it here:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2013/04/early-retirement-is-impossible-because/

    However, that plan doesn’t function up here in Michigan. So I had to cancel it. I went through the national health exchange (healthcare.gov) to get an eligible and similar plan up here. I settled on a HDHP through BCBS. It’s about $20 more per month, but the deductible is much less. I think the value is pretty on par.

    Cheers!

  54. Chuck,

    That’s really great stuff there. Thanks for sharing. That just goes to show what’s possible if you stick with this strategy. That’s an incredible amount of dividend income, and you now find yourself in a great part of the exponential curve, as your income is rapidly rising now. It takes you just a year to increase your annual dividend income by $12,000, but that will likely take me eight or nine years. That’s simply fantastic.

    I took a look at BCE a while ago. I generally liked it. Reminds me of our AT&T. However, I also liked Telus for the growth. Rogers was interesting because of their asset mix and exposure to sports, but the debt load was concerning.

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing that. Really, really inspirational. Enjoy the freedom and flexibility that kind of passive income affords you. 🙂

    Best regards.

  55. John,

    That’s a fantastic story there. You definitely took the path less traveled. I reckon at least 9 out of 10 people would prefer to take the path working for much more money, rather than working for themselves with the risk, uncertainty, and less pay. But your story proves it can be done, even with less income. And the great thing is that working for yourself not only typically comes with much less stress, but the income is technically unlimited. You’re not bound by an employers chains in any regard, including income.

    I congratulate you on reaching financial independence. That’s just so inspiring. I hope to be able to tell the same story at 41 years old myself! 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing that.

    Best wishes!

  56. Happy,

    Thanks so much. Every day is one step closer to freedom and independence. Gotta keep your eye on the ball. 🙂

    Hope you’re having a great weekend.

    Cheers!

  57. Mark,

    Great points there. We can’t forget about inflation.

    Inflation is interesting. I’ve read various reports on it, and how the CPI might impact various consumers. You have your categories that far outpace standard inflation (healthcare, education, luxury goods), and some that do not (rent in many areas in the middle of the country, certain food items, some forms of energy). I’m not sure how much inflation will actually impact me, but I do fully expect the dividend income I receive from the companies I’m invested in to rise faster than my expenses. It’ll be interesting to see how that pans out once I am financially independent. I’ll be able to compare expenses year to year against dividend income and see exactly how inflation is impacting me.

    Changing tastes, however, isn’t something I can really quantify. I don’t know how that will work out. So far, I’ve been pretty successful in avoiding lifestyle inflation through “acquired tastes”. I expect to remain vigilant there, but we’ll see. The blog will show how it turns out.

    Appreciate you stopping by. Again, great points.

    Cheers!

  58. Nice article, Jason. It serves to remind that independence is a goal worth having. I think that for most people, achieving financial independence will involve some trade-offs. I guess we all need to decide when we have enough to live on and be able to discern between wants and needs. We have the basics of food, clothing and shelter. From there we have to decide how we want to balance the time versus money conundrum.

    Reaching that balance isn’t easy for a lot of people, including me. For example, I have been agonizing over whether or not to retire at the end of October. Many issues enter into it, but a certainty is that it will involve a huge cut in income. I would certainly have more time to spend with my wife (who is now retired) and that certainly has value. Then the question becomes one of what to do with that time. To travel regularly takes a lot of money, and so on. So, we spend a lot of time at home I guess. Until my dividend income reaches a certain level, I’m not going to feel comfortable. I’m about halfway there and like so many others, currently struggling to find reasonably priced stocks. So, choices need to be made.

    I don’t say all this to complain or to ask you to solve my financial paranoia issues. What I’m getting to is that I think you are not a typical person, especially at your age. You have already concluded what you can live on, what’s most important to you and what consumables you are willing to take a pass on. In my experience, that is not a common accomplishment. In all, I think that’s pretty impressive. Keep up the good work.

  59. John, I wish i would have started younger. Around age 29/30 is where i really started to smell the roses. Right after a rather soul crushing divorce. It was like suddenly it dawned on me, i dont want to do this for another 30 years and material goods does not equal wealth. I’ve always been super conservative with my money but somehow in the rush for life missed the forest for the trees. Dug myself outta a hole and am trucking money away as fast as i can make it. I’m like a truffle pig with a mission, never having to look for another g’damn truffle 😉

    Best of luck. Compounding works wonders with time. But man is it like watching paint dry. In fact its downright torture sometimes. But is it any worse than having to wake up every day and do 60 hrs a week with a micro managing twit who only pretends to look out for anyone but his own rear end?

  60. That is possibly one of the best movies… ever, thanks for reminding me, i haven’t re-watched it lately.

  61. It’s a good thing many of these investments have DGR’s well above historical inflation. As i’m sure you are aware it’s a built in protection mechanism. I’ll be curious to see how lifestyle inflation works out. Much like you, Jason, i went through a period of financial idiocy. I inflated before i deflated. I’m not sure i want to go back. I still enjoy a balanced approach (everyone has their vices) but i’m not sure i’ll ever go back to what i was doing in my 20’s. In fact, the more i save the more i WANT to save. It’s a weird phenomena. You get a taste for not working under someones heel or even just building up F-U money and a whole new world of possibilities opens up.

  62. Steve,

    There’s definitely trade-offs involved. I’ve talked about how delaying gratification (material possessions) is actually hastening gratification (freedom), but there’s still always the trading off of something now for more of something later.

    It’s funny that you say that I’m not a typical person. That’s the same exact language my girlfriend would use. I always found it endearing. 🙂

    As for your situation, we all have different comfort levels. I personally don’t need much around to make me comfortable, but, as you pointed out, I’m atypical. But if you need a bit more income or a larger margin of safety to feel comfortable, then you simply have to possibly work a bit longer for that. Nothing wrong with that. It would be even worse to not admit you need that comfort and then jump off the ship early and end up drowning. I’d rather set myself up for success right away.

    Best of luck finding that balance. It’s difficult, but I’m confident that someone as cognizant as you will find it.

    Cheers!

  63. Zol,

    I’m with you. Whereas most people consume more after consuming, I want to save more after saving. I suppose we’re just wired differently. I personally find value in saving. Much like some people may get kind of a high off going on a big shopping spree, I get that same euphoric feeling when I go shopping for stocks. 🙂

    We’ll see how inflation impacts the lifestyle, but since most companies have inflation protection built right in through pricing power I think my overall lifestyle won’t be affected too much. Of course, we’ll see how current needs look in 8-10 years and what the corresponding expenses are.

    But I’m with you on the F-U money. I can’t think of anything in this life I’d rather own than my time, and the costs are worth it.

    Best wishes.

  64. Great article Jason…very inspiration story you have. Hey, if it took you only 4 years to be 50% financially independent, your living proof that through your recipe one can possibly reach FI in 8 years! 🙂

    Keep up the great work, always look forward to and enjoy reading your posts! AFFJ

  65. Hej hej Tom,

    allow me to speak for myself and to make a “beginners trip” into german tax law. 🙂

    It is a dream that tax regulations are the same in the whole EU. 🙂 I am a really convinced European but it is really a shame that tax agreements with non-EU countries (US, Japan, Russia etc., even Switzerland) are more convenient than regulations between EU-countries.

    I’m from Germany and here we pay 15% from US-Stocks as well. But the German tax for dividends is ca. 26%. So if you have an US stock, you pay 15% to the US and 11% in Germany. The same goes for NL. UK stocks for example have no withholding tax for investors from Germany, that means 26% tax here in Germany. Many EU-stocks are really bad for german investors, especially from Spain, France and scandinavian countries because the withholding tax is higher than 15%, which is the maximum you can offset with the German tax.

    So the tax Germans have to pay is 26% if your dividends etc. exceed 801 EUR/ yr (a single person can receive 801 EUR/ year in dividends, capital gains, interests without paying taxes). Specific saving accounts do not exist here since German politicians have no interest in establishing a “investment culture” even for retirement purposes.

    Stocks from Switzerland f.e. have a higher withholding tax but is quite easy to re-gain them from the swiss tax authority if you can prove that you are a german citizen living in Germany. So Nestle, Roche, Lindt & Sprüngli and so on could find a way into my portfolio soon. 🙂 But right now I stick to german stocks and stocks from UK, US and NL. Taboo are stocks from Spain, France, Finland, Sweden and Austria which is a shame since there are so many awesome companies.

    Ha det bra!
    Markus

    @DM: very inspiring article (as always) even it is always a little weird for Germans the way you Americans celebrate your holidays like Independence Day. 🙂 That is not meant as a offence just a slight difference in our culture!!!! 😉

  66. AFFJ,

    Thanks so much. Glad the inspiration came across. That’s exactly what I was trying to convey. This journey is just so rewarding, and the finish line isn’t the only reward.

    Appreciate all the support. Hope all is well with you and your family! 🙂

    Cheers.

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