16 Mar Independently Wealthy vs. Financially Independent

This is going to be an interesting journey as I navigate my mind all the way back to 2010 when I got married, and began speaking with a financial planner.  I have no idea where I first heard the phrase “Independently Wealthy” but it sounded good and I wanted it.  I had no framework of what it meant and certainly didn’t have any concept of what kind of money it took to achieve.  In my head it was likely a flurry of a pile of cash into the millions, an income to the tune of $250k+, or business ownership that was significant.

The only reason I truly remember this is because I told my financial planner at the time that I wanted to accomplish a number of things when he asked our long-term goals.  I remember telling him I wanted to own a franchise some day or buy an existing business to run and grow because that would make me independently wealthy.  There were a number of other goals that have since faded, one that sticks out was hunting land, I can’t even imagine trying to fit that into my plan right now as it would be a completely under-utilized luxury.  Looking back a decade later I wasn’t wrong about my desire to own an existing business or franchise, as I’m still on the path.  While I didn’t understand at the time what Independently Wealthy meant, I wasn’t too far off in my methodology of how to get there.  I always envisioned business ownership as high-status symbol while others looking up to you as something special.  In reality, business ownership comes with a pile of problems and perceptions of others that range from “why the heck would you walk away from your safe secure high paying job” all the way to “business owners are crooks and prey on the weak”, sweet, sounds fun to navigate.

Considering business ownership while looking from the outside in, I never really took much of a step to see what it cost to buy any kind of existing business for sale that might replace my income at the time.  Had I done that, I may have discovered how affordable it was to buy something but I also didn’t understand how money moved at the time.  The only look under the hood I took for example was a Sports Clips Franchise as well as the Franchise I currently worked for, both required a net worth at or above a half million dollars and an investment of $250-$500k, neither of which did I qualify for.  At one point I completed the Franchisee Interest form for Sports Clips and am still shocked they called me back when I clearly didn’t have the financial requirements but that must have been enough for me to have learned I wasn’t in the right spot at the time and I never really looked again until a few years later when we went down the laundromat path.

Looking back what I find odd but perhaps revealing is that at the time I absolutely loved my job, the franchise I worked for and saw tremendous upside for myself and my income.  What I was doing seemed relatively important and I was well out earning what I ever thought my potential would be.  Thinking back I can’t say I ever remember this striking me as odd that while I was completely happy and fulfilled doing what I did for work, I still had this entrepreneurial itch and desire to be independently wealthy.  Where did I even hear those two words, I wonder, because they clearly had an impact on me.  Perhaps I had the combination of entrepreneurial itch as well as a little imposter syndrome worried my then level of success wasn’t sustainable and eventually, they’d figure me out.

Regardless at some point I began to better conceptualize the amount of wealth it took or takes to actually retire which I first learned from my financial planner when we would discuss savings percentages and the end result being X amount of income at X age of retirement and how we closed the gap to meet our goals.  I still remember one of our earlier meetings we talked about saving 10-20% of our income for all the years ahead, or a single deposit of $750k at the time being enough.  That number sunk in, and I realized either lottery winnings, or saving 20% was probably the path to retiring and doing so on time.  Certainly this didn’t check the independently wealthy box but it still put us in a spot where we could Dave Ramsey retire at 65 with dignity and enjoy the beginning of our golden years.  As you can see from this site and journey we eventually figured out what Financially Independent and Independently Wealthy meant and quantified it in dollars and cents.

We are working toward a goal at this point that we previously didn’t really understand but knew that we wanted.  It certainly helps that my income grew significantly over the last 3-5 years allowing us to save a high percentage of income and invest aggressively while my wife stayed home raising our son.  More than income growth however, we became educated on how to put that money to work more efficiently than we had in the past and accelerate ourselves toward being Independently Wealthy by our definition, and not the opinion of others.  No butlers, no crazy fancy cars, no exuberant lifestyle, just wealth measured in time.  Credit Rich Dad Poor Dad, wealth is measured in time, how many months or years can you live without completing paid for work.  This my friends is the journey for FI, Independent Wealth, whatever you call it we are seeking it and hope to be well on our way to achieving the goal.