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Welcome to another edition of #AusFIWeekly. You’ll find great handpicked Financial Independence links from Australia and abroad – brought to you by Michelle, a mid-30s semi-retiree sharing my FI adventures at FrugalityandFreedom.com.
Next month, I’ll be coming up on a year since my career switch to online freelance work. I’ve been reflecting on how this has boosted the freedom and flexibility in my working life. In turn, this has gotten me thinking about other ways I’ve cultivated a sense of freedom over time, even if not yet at financial independence.
Some things that give me satisfaction and make me feel free include: having a healthy balance in my travel fund, doing mindset work, having “should-less” (obligation-free) days, maintaining a YOLO fund, and giving myself an unlimited coffee shop allowance.
What makes you feel abundant and free while still on your FI journey? Let me know on Instagram or Facebook.
Australian Links
Why I Cut Back To A Part-time Salary At Only 29% Of My Way to FIRE – FIRE Your Own Way
“I decided I wanted to enjoy the time I had between turning 30 and reaching my FIRE number. While I knew I couldn’t retire yet, I was determined to make some changes so that working didn’t feel so draining.”
7 Numbers You Need to Know If You’re Wanting To Become Financially Independent – Property Update
“It’s vital to know how many months or years you want, or have, to wait until you can stop working. Once you know how much time you have left before reaching your goal of financial independence, you’ll know how long you have for your investments to grow sufficiently to be able to either replace or contribute to your personal income.”
The Benefits Of Semi-Retirement (And How To Do It) – FIRE & Chill podcast
“This can give you a lot of the benefits of FIRE in a shorter amount of time. We think semi-FI is a hugely underappreciated approach. Here, we discuss the benefits of semi-retirement and the trade-offs to help you consider whether it’s right for you.”
What Do I Want To Do Before I Retire? – Latestarterfire
Right now, I long for retirement as a means to escape the stresses of full time work. I yearn for time to do my own thing and for slow travel and perhaps to tick things off my bucket list before the threat of dementia descends. But really, I need to start exploring now and think about what I can currently be doing to live life to the fullest, instead of dreaming about what I’d do in retirement.
International Links
Early Retirement: How Do You Define Work Anyway? – Fire and Wide (UK)
“Like most things in life – the idea of early retirement seems to provoke a range of responses. One of the more interesting ones I often see is people equating early retirement with laziness. As in, it’s lazy not to want to work. But how do you define work? Is it simply the fact you are paid to do something that makes it ‘work’?”
How To Make Up Lost Ground If You Got a Late Start Saving For Retirement – A Wealth of Common Sense (USA)
“If you got a late start, or just want to stretch your nest egg, you may think that taking on riskier investments — more technology stocks, for example — will get you to your goal. But focusing on saving rather than investing when you’re older might be the more prudent choice.”
The 7 Types Of Rest That Every Person Needs – TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series (USA)
“Have you ever tried to fix an ongoing lack of energy by getting more sleep — only to do so and still feel exhausted? If that’s you, here’s the secret: Sleep and rest are not the same thing, although many of us incorrectly confuse the two. We go through life thinking we’ve rested because we have gotten enough sleep — but in reality we are missing out on the other types of rest we desperately need.”
Life Can Be SO “Overwhelming”: How I Tame It – Slowly Sipping Coffee (USA)
“When I hand out tests, I tell my students to read the whole test first. Then, start with the questions you KNOW the answer to, followed by the ones you’re not sure of, and save the pure guessing until the end. I take this approach with my task list. I find a few easy ones to knock off first and get some confidence built and endorphins from crossing off a task or two and then I move on to the harder ones. This lets me not feel so overwhelmed that I feel like the list is insurmountable.”
Missed one? Read the archives here. Or get in touch if you have any FI content recommendations.
Yours in pursuit of FI,
Michelle @ Frugality and Freedom
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