After working for 2 multinational corporates and then for a start-up, I finally acknowledged to myself that I didn’t like big or small companies. Both types were rampant with politics and the constant high stress levels left me feeling depleted and unfulfilled. So I started to search the internet for how to retire early. By this time I had missed my 35 year mark. It was 2014 and I was 38. The first article I came across was Jeremy’s story on Go Curry Cracker and I found it so inspiring, I started following them and digging into the whole concept around FIRE, Financially Independent Retire Early. It was like I had finally found my peeps, everything I had been thinking about was right there in front of me! I started reading Early Retirement Extreme and learned about how Jacob lived on $7000/year living in the Bay Area! Whew, I really wish I could do that but that’s closer to my monthly cost so I am never getting there. Then I discovered Brandon’s site, MadFientist (my favorite) which pointed me to Mr. Money Mustache and JL Collins Stock Series which led to me to reading, “Your Money or your life” by Joseph Dominguez. I realized that every minute I spent working was taking me away from doing the things I love. Continue reading “The Awakening: Embarking on the Financial Independence Journey through the 4% Rule”
That’s what weekends are for
I’m 41 and yesterday was my last day in the corporate nightmare of politics, territorial wars, bosses and power games. All I can think is whewwwww what a relief. 😅 But at the same time, I am terrified! This is unknown territory, living without a full time job! I’ve worked since I was a kid. My first paid job when I was 17 but I had numerous unpaid jobs well before that. I almost don’t know how to relax but I guess it’s time to sing a different tune, “He he he I am on vacation, every single day, every day-ay-ay-ay-ay….😀). I don’t plan to sit idle. I am creating a new life, crafting a life doing the things I love, and like they say, “Love what you do and you’ll never work another day in your life”.
Welcome to SimpliFI By The Bay!
Simplifying Life to achieve Financial Independence and Retire Early by the Bay
My husband and I and two kids live in the Bay Area. Both of us have left well paying, traditional jobs in our early forties and have retired to do things we are more passionate about. For my husband, that is about creating and teaching art and for me, it is about writing this personal finance blog to learn and share strategies to achieve Financial independence, Retire Early (FIRE)! Read about how we are redefining for ourselves what success means, simplifying our everyday, traveling and living by the rules we create rather than those of societies’. This is about our experiment with FIRE or semi FIRE! While geographic arbitrage can enable us to live comfortably in other parts of the US, we want to live by the Bay and so we are trying to create our own income streams to enable our dreams to come true. Come with us on this journey to see if and how we can make this happen!