If you are happy, Financial Independence (FI) will make you happier. Pursue happiness before pursuing FI.
Financial Independence and Happiness
One of my big revelations after reaching Financial Independence (FI) was that it did not change my level of happiness. During my FI journey, I had imagined that everything would get better once I hit my FI number. In reality, reaching FI did not feel any different than before.
Looking back, it makes sense that reaching FI did not automatically make me happier:
- FI is a Number: At the end of the day, FI is just a number. Having one dollar more than your FI number does not make you instantly happier, much the same as having one dollar less than the FI number would not make you sad. Life does not miraculously change after that extra dollar.
- FI is a (Long) Journey: A FI journey can take many years. You don’t go from no money or being in debt to suddenly being Financially Independent. You improve your finances over time. As you do, you get used to the FI Benefits – some of them even before you reach FI. So the actual day you reach FI almost becomes a non-event (I don’t even remember the exact date I reached FI).
- FI helps your Financial Life: FI did help me with my finances, but life is much more than just finances. And happiness comes from many things (finance being one of them). I am the same person now after reaching FI as I was before reaching FI.
FI will solve your money problems, not your life problems.
What Financial Independence Provides
I am not saying that FI has nothing to do with happiness. FI provides a sense of security around money. I do not have to worry about having enough money – ever. So in a sense, FI does remove one source of potential unhappiness.
But Financial Independence is not a path to happiness, neither is it a solution for unhappiness. If someone is a naturally happy / optimistic person, FI can make them happier.
On the other hand – if someone is unhappy, FI will likely make them more unhappy. After reaching FI, there will be no work to distract them from their unhappiness. There will be no work meetings, commutes, conferences, etc., to take their mind off the fact that they are unhappy.
Hence, it is essential to work on being happy before reaching FI.
The good news is that most people pursuing FI are inherently optimistic (otherwise, it isn’t easy to stay on the FI journey for a long time). So typically, you would find that the FIRE crowd is a group of happy people!
Money and success don’t change people.
They merely amplify what is already there.
Will Smith
In Conclusion
Financial Independence in itself does not lead to happiness. Money is an amplifier; if someone is happy, they will be happier once they get to FI. Conversely, if someone is miserable, FI will give them more time and freedom to focus on their misery.
Hence it is prudent to pursue happiness before you pursue FI.
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