Posted by Tim Stobbs on June 3, 2011
I have an interesting email earlier this week which I won’t post the entire email, but in summary Rochelle asked:
My question is about how you manage to keep your “eye on the prize”? How do you keep strong during your end-game? Have you had to deal with any of these major temptation delays? Do you fear being debt free and potential let down you might feel once you have attained that goal?
I have literally asked myself almost the exact some questions several times in the last couple of years. Perhaps not all at once, but almost the exact same wording.
The answer depends heavily on your motivation for becoming debt free in the first place. My personal motivation for becoming debt free has largely for the desire to have that added flexibility once we hit that state. At that point I can either continue to work at my current job or switch careers to something else that pays less if I want. Since I’m personally still not sure about if I will fully go for full financial independence or just a semi-retired state I personally put a greater value of paying off my mortgage that people with other plans.
Yet the one issue that seems to keep coming up is should I accept some debt for investment purposes. In this case I have been faced some major temptations over the last year as I’ve looked around at some investments which potentially could earn me more than paying off the mortgage. While I keep considering stopping the additional payments to do this, I keep reminding myself of my motivation of getting rid of the debt in the first place.
In Rochelle’s case the motivation might be different, so an investment might make sense if being debt free isn’t essential to her plans. If being debt free is desired, then here is how I’ve dealt with the issue: keep busy with other things.
Honestly, that is the best idea in the world when you have a problem you aren’t sure how to solve. By working on the other areas of your life, you make progress on things that are important to you but also free up your mind from the treadmill of your current thought to realize how you feel about it. Problems like this are often best solved when you come at them sideways, the emotional part of the decision is actual the major issue. On the money side it is usually more clear cut: will you make more money going into debt than staying out of it? The emotional side is where the problem lies thus logic here won’t be particularity useful.
So while at times the decision seem obvious that I should push off paying down the mortgage to invest instead, I’ve chosen a different path because it feels right to me. It took me a while to realize that the issue was not in my logic, but rather how I felt. I hope that helps.
Anyone else got some ideas on what Rochelle should do?
Posted by Tim Stobbs on June 1, 2011
You might have been one of those people that when they were young took some time to find themselves either after high school or post secondary. Which granted does sound a little odd, after all are you just you? How can you really find yourself? Well guess what, those people are likely making a good investment even if they lose a year of income doing it.
Say what!?! Yes, I think people that take the time to find themselves are likely making a good investment. Why? Simply put they don’t piss around the long way learning what they are good at and what makes them happy. As such they can potentially save thousands of dollars on secondary education, going through the credit card debt cycle on stuff they don’t need and they are more likely to put their full effort into what they try their hand at.
Think about the number people you know that are in jobs they dislike or hate, are in therapy for their issues or just have so much debt because they don’t really know what they want from life. Now think about how many of them would likely be further ahead in life both financially and in happiness if they knew themselves better and what they really wanted in life. Likely that would be most of them.
I know I personally didn’t take the time to find myself. As such I’ve taken a long while to realize that I really like to write and would love to do it full time. To me writing is as easy as breathing some days (editing is an entirely different matter). My passion for writing has always been overshadowed by a fear of not making enough money at it to live. So this is why I have a drive to be financially independent at an early age. I want the ability to write without the pressure of taking on a lot of writing work I dislike just because it happens to pay well.
Yet because I didn’t understand this about myself at an early age I didn’t bother to look into the fact the it is possible to get a job writing that does pay the bills. You likely won’t get rich at it, but if your income requirements are modest (which mine are) you can live on it. This isn’t to say I totally regret my choices in life, but I certainty do wish I would have realized these facts at a much earlier age.
So while I’m still getting to where I want to be in life, it has taken me a much longer time to get there had a realized some things at an earlier age. My point is that knowing yourself regardless of age is a good investment. Take the time to sit still and explore the corners of your own mind. You might find a few interesting facts about yourself that can help plan your life now or even give your retirement plans a little more direction. As for the details on how to do this…see the self help section of the library as a good place to start.
So did you ever take some time to find out what you want from life? Do you think it paid off? Or if you didn’t take the time, do you know now what you want?
