Episode Summary:
In this week’s episode, we talk about spending more time with our kids, friends, and family and how this is a strong case for achieving financial independence. We share the reasons it’s hard to spend quality time with your kids as they age, through what’s left of you at night and on the weekends, and through limited vacations. We also talk about how tragically brief the time is we have with our kids and how we’re working so hard to provide for our families, yet the irony is that means we spend less and less time with them. We challenge how we all think about time with our kids and using it as a motivation factor to get our finances in order and achieve financial freedom or independence.
Episode Notes:
We talk about the “why” of wanting financial independence. For both of us, this is it! So we share some perspectives about the time you have with your kids. Maybe you are already painfully aware, or perhaps it hasn’t hit you yet, but when we talk about financial independence and all the tactical advice on how to get there, you have to have the motivation to do so.
Mike talks about his childhood and how his parents retired at 42 to spend more time with him and his sister. They’d travel for months at a time over the summer, but it wasn’t just vacationing; Mike’s parents also spent an exorbitant amount of time doing the little things: lacrosse practice, homework, Boy Scouts, etc.
Raising kids can be like ships passing in the night. Here is why it’s so challenging:
- Being “Present” with your kids is hard, even though you might not realize it.
- Your recovery days of the weekend are the best opportunity for deep connections with your kids.
- Vacations are painfully short and usually interrupted by work.
- Your truly useable time with kids is tragically brief.
- The irony of working is that we think “we’re providing for our families,” but we’re missing the time with them. Kids need their parents, and parents want to be with their kids. We interviewed The Retired Toddlers very early on, and they built their whole life around the idea that you can do both: you can provide for your family and spend all your time with them.
Top 3 takeaways:
- If you have or want kids, make being with them your “why” for reaching FI.
- Don’t beat yourself up if you’ve missed some or all of this opportunity. Do what you can now with what you have.
- Kids value your time, not your money. Be with them.
Show references:
Retired Toddlers website