How can you possibly exit the workforce with an entire family in tow? Well, it’s more than possible if you put your mind to it and commit as a family.
I should know because my family is leaving the workforce this year. My wife (39) has already stopped working, and I will retire (42) in 90 days. Our boys are ages 16 and 12.
The most challenging part of freeing yourself is getting over the guilt (or belief) that you must give your kids everything you didn’t have.
Debt Snowball vs. Debt Avalanche
A new way to think. As parents, we want our kids’ childhoods to be better than ours. I understand this sentiment, I genuinely do, but we have taken this belief too far.
What is childhood? I believe it’s a time when you don’t have bills or responsibilities and can focus on becoming who you are.
Somehow, we believe childhood is a time for kids to live their best lives. We want to pamper and cuddle them with trips to Disneyland, water parks, and fancy hotels.
At the same time, we want to give them fancy private education at the expense of our retirement savings. It’s all a lot to take in.
Cellphone Upgrades vs. Dividends
Time is the key to freedom. I was talking to my wife about her plans for the summer. This is her first summer not working, and she can enjoy it with the kids.
She wants to take them on incredible field trips to museums, national and state parks, and battle site tours.
It will be a very memorable summer, more so than a weekend trip to Disneyland. The key to freeing yourself is valuing your time over money.
What better way to enjoy retirement than spending it with kids AND doing something productive? We must continually instill the need to learn in our kids (schools don’t teach it).
Getting on a budget. The best fun is had on a budget. If you have older kids, tell them you have $600 for the weekend vacation.
Five Takeaways from “Find Your People”
Let them shop online for deals and events where they can squeeze the most “bang for their buck.”
As parents, we want to push enjoyment over financials—to the detriment of future success. We must value our freedom first and entertainment second.
I understand this is a tough pill to swallow, so let’s play this out over your lifetime. Let’s say you go all in with your kids, and when they leave the house, you and your spouse have $100,000 combined in retirement accounts.
Now you are both age 40 and need to hustle to get your retirement savings to $2 million so you can retire at age 65.
You will miss many future events, like weddings, baby showers, childbirths, promotions, and home purchases, because you will be on the grinder.
Home Cash: House Hacking vs. Online Business
Sacrifice a little bit today for the betterment of tomorrow. If you dial back your spending today, you can have a lifetime with your kids and grandkids.
One of the main reasons I work so hard every day is to ensure I have freedom for my grandkids. In fact, I dedicated one of my first articles to my future grandkids.
It’ll be smooth sailing once everyone gets on the same page, including your kids. Yes, it is difficult watching other parents blow all of their money on their kids.
My kids probably think we are poor, but it’s okay. Not many people can say they are retired at ages 42 and 39.
Now, we have time to spend with kids. My wife says she loves waking up to cook for the kids and prepare them for school.
Dividend Investing in Your 30s
Are you ready to work hard? However, purchasing your freedom will take much more than budgeting—you’ll need a plan.
My best advice is to plan to move to a small city at some point. Living in San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York is too costly.
You’ll need to generate a passive income plan. Here, you will determine how much passive income you’ll need to live in a small town comfortably, say $7,000 monthly.
Once you have your passive income plan, you can attack the particulars—starting with housing.
Housing is your primary concern. Let’s say you are making $200,000 per year in a big city. Are you prepared to make a massive change? Most people are not.
America is Expensive: So What Are You Going to do About It?
What if one person can make $100,000 in San Diego and the other can earn $50,000 remotely? Would you be willing to relocate the remote worker and kids to a small city?
The high earner can rent a room while the family moves to a small city to pay off the new home. Within four years, you can pay off the small city house.
Now, the high earner can move in with the family and remote work for $50,000 as well. Before you know it, you will have a bank account full of money because the house is paid off.
Investing the difference. As you obtain more cash flow, you can invest in dividend-paying stocks, more real estate (for kids), and business ideas.
Blogging vs. YouTube #4: For Large Income Streams
It sounds like a lot, but it doesn’t all come at once. The main idea is to create a passive income plan and take an extreme course of action to implement it effectively.
Most people cannot achieve this feat. This thought process is not for 99% of people. Only one percenters can think this far ahead and execute as a team.
The average person believes that family is about working routine jobs, taking kids to sports, seeing each other daily, and watching Netflix together.
This sounds good until it all falls apart. You need a strong mindset and lots of money to keep your family together (and love).
This ideal nuclear family mindset leads to everyone working harder and living separately later. The family doesn’t own multiple homes, so each kid needs to start from scratch.
The Stock Market is Not a Wealth Generator
The kids leave their homes without financial education and get into massive debt. Debt leads to drug use, divorce, and depression.
Conclusion. So as the elite do what it takes to free themselves, they learn about finances and executing a plan.
The kids may not understand what’s happening, but they are also learning these lessons. They may have had to move from California to Alabama, but they see their parents are much happier.
As my family of four moves into the future, I do not worry about much. We are financially free, and my boys each have a house of their own.
Bridge the Gap: How to Create Meaningful Content
I have brokerage accounts and savings bonds for each of them. I understand business and real estate so I can assist them throughout their lives.
I was responsible for moving our family forward from the Struggle-Mania where I grew up. Are you willing to do what it takes to free yourself?
Once my wife and I got serious, it only took four years to go from -$77,000 to +$300,000. When acting as a team, you cannot lose, only win. Good Luck!
- PDF of the Month: Don’t Gamble with Retirement 10 (Free 419-Page PDF)
- Free PDF Downloads: Download FREE PDF LIST here
- Financial Mindset: Become CEO of Yourself 2 (Free 196-Page PDF)
- Retirement Planning: Your Retirement Planning Guide 2 (Free 255-Page PDF)
- Investing: How We Plan to Retire on Dividends 4 (Free 139-Page PDF)
- Cryptocurrencies: Counting on Crypto 2 (Free 159-Page PDF)
- Real Estate: Financial Independence through Real Estate 4 (Free 112-Page PDF)
- Business: Retire Rich, Retire Comfortable with a Business 4 (Free 149-Page PDF)
- Latest DGWR: Don’t Gamble with Retirement 10 (Free 419-Page PDF)
- Everything!: The Biggest Book on Passive Income Ever 3! (book)(Web Edition)(Art Edition)
- Writer’s Comparison: M1 Macbook Air vs. GalaxyBook3 Pro 360
- Read My Books for Free: Free Kindle Books Schedule
- Book Design: Design Tips on YouTube
- Kindle Unlimited: Why I Finally Subscribed Kindle Unlimited (learn more)
- Book Reviews: 505 Takeaways from 101 Books (pdf)
- Writing: The Publishing Chronicles (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5)
- Best REIT- Fundrise: Fundrise vs. US Treasuries (Join Fundrise)
- Follow us: On our Facebook Page and Join our Facebook Group
- Support the Channel on Cash App: $Kingmarine1981
- For more detailed analysis, join my Youtube: MFI YouTube Channel
Leave a Reply