Independent Wealth

The organization I work for recently called their employees back to the office … yes, I realize they are late in pulling this trigger and that most people have been called back. 

I don’t enjoy working in an office … yes, I realize this doesn’t make me unique.  I enjoy working - feeling productive - not feeling obligated to join others for lunch, or coffee, or the several other social obligations being in the office brings.  

Don’t misunderstand, I have friends at work, I’ve built relationships, I like lunch, I like coffee … I don’t like getting into a flow and having that interrupted, I don’t like the start, stop , difficulty starting that an office brings.  I’m more intentional with my relationships … I’m friendly and chatty and develop relationships organically … what I mean is I’m more intentional about who I have lunch with … I have deeper friendships with those that I would have been friends with had we met outside of work and I agree to or schedule lunch when it works for all parties.  

As someone who picks up energy, I like taking a breath between meetings. I like not spending my energy, every day, on letting go of other people’s energy … which is much harder on the days I’m tired, or stressed or not feeling great.  Spoiler, some days it takes everything I have to get myself through the day … I don’t have anything left for teasing apart what others bring into the room.  

Unpopular opinion: as much as I prefer working from home - and I do - I also recognize that organizations’ have the right to make the choice about where their employees work.  Do I agree with that choice?  If it means returning to the office, then no, I do not.  But, there are lots of things in this world that I don’t agree with.  It doesn’t change that they happen. 

Spoiler: I am not zen or chill about getting asked to return to the office.  It is disruptive, negatively impacts productivity and adds unnecessary time to people’s day … commuting is absurd.  

Rabbit hole; I don’t like being told what to do, never have.  It’s not that I’m opposed to learning or being taught, I’m not.  I like to understand the bigger picture - the “why’s” - the context. This helps me understand where I need to fill in gaps, how I can self-correct etc.  I’m not sure if that’s a by-product of how I think, which is usually different, so I have often had to fill in the blanks by asking questions, figuring out the objective and then adapting the information in a way that makes sense to me. This is why I’m drawn to jobs that are undefined - I’m not filling a position that previously existed, filling someone’s shoes - I’m designing a function, forging a path … creating. It suits me.

Being told to return to the office feels a lot like someone looking over my shoulder, someone saying you aren’t professional enough to do your work without supervision.  To me - it’s the equivalent of saying I need to be seen in order to be trusted.  Read - micromanaged. I don’t like micromanagement.  It makes me feel caged … everything about it makes me want to act out, push back … the logical part of me understands - this is not the hill - so it reigns in every emotional response … which, if I’m being honest … is exhausting.  

I also don’t like being lied to … and I have yet to hear what feels like an honest reason for the call-back.  So, it feels like dishonesty … which makes trust and respect harder for those I should want to look to as mentors and respect as leaders.  

Remote work opportunities are few and far between right now.  So, I’ve decided I need to become independently wealthy.  This might seem laughable … people think I’m joking … but, I’m not … I’m very serious.  I’m very motivated.  Serious and motivated enough  that I went to the local library, researched and checked out several books on the subject.  I’ve consumed every single one of them.  The gist of what I have read is: 

1. Figure out your number.  Define the lifestyle you want, determine your annual expenses and identify one time big ticket items (e.g., paying for your child’s education etc.).  Doing this correctly should force you to look at where, what, how and why you spend money.  The more you spend, the bigger your number needs to be.  Simple.  

2. Invest.  The idea is to live off the interest and not touch your principle.  This will require building some understanding of investment principles so you are making educated choices.  I’d rather have some sense of where and how my money is being managed to ensure it’s protected and continues to make money, to work for me.  

3. Additional income streams are beneficial.  They get you to your number faster and they allow you to leave your investments untouched for longer.  

There were other fundamentals, reduce bad debt, pay yourself first and invest in real estate.  While these are important, I already understood the principles and therefore, there was no net new gain in knowledge … no additional value.  The value for me was really in the three bullets above.  Figuring out my number isn’t new, but evaluating what I really want, how I want to live and what I need money for - transactionally - that was new.  I’m also beginning to understand the value from every finance and accounting class I’ve taken over the course of my educational career.  While I don’t think it’s required to understand the fundamentals, it helped me.  

Now, well, now I’m working towards my number so I can retire my 9 to 5.  I realize this won’t happen overnight … like everything else, it’s a process.  Figuring out my relationship with money, how I want that to change and making those changes. That’s going to take some work … some faith, but I’m ok with that.  

I’m not afraid of the work, the work I can do and truthfully … this journey, while not always easy, is still motivating, very worthwhile and worth the effort.  Like everything else that has meaning, it’s about the progress.