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DeletedUser394
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<div class="bbWrapper">I've been getting some interest as to what it is I'm actually doing now, so I figured I'd share.<br />
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I'll be the first to admit that some people aren't going to like this. I'm not living large at the moment, I don't have fancy cars or any of that stuff. I take transit haha.<br />
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All told it took me about 2 years to get to the point where I could 'retire'. I put retire in quotations because retirement signifies an end, but this is not an end for me, it's only the beginning.<br />
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A while back I had to take a good long look at who it is that I want to be, and how I want to live my life. During this introspection, I did my best to ignore or push away all the external motivators and societal pressures. (you need to make xyz amount of money, drive this or that car, fancy clothes, etc).<br />
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What I discovered was that I valued time and freedom over the amount of money and material possessions that I have. Don't get me wrong, one day I would still like to have a 458 italia and a penthouse, etc.<br />
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But it was much more important to me to have complete freedom of my time first and foremost. Nobody owns me, nobody tells me what to do, where to be, and when to be there. That's what I was ultimately after.<br />
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To get to that point, I determined that it would take a lot less money than I previously thought. A LOT less. <br />
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For those who haven't heard of it, there's a principle known as the 4% withdrawal rate, whereby you can reasonably expect to withdraw 4% of your total capital and that money will last you 30+ years with an 85% success rate over the history of the financial markets. Right now I'm hovering around a 3% withdrawal rate to be safer.<br />
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To make this money I literally don't have to do anything. It's a blessing and a curse lol, but that's beyond the scope of this post.<br />
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Where did I get the capital to get to this point? I started by hustling;<br />
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<a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/a-hustlers-guide-to-buying-and-selling-anything-part-1.35889/" class="link link--internal">https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...-to-buying-and-selling-anything-part-1.35889/</a><br />
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Then I took all of that profit and invested in the Vending Machine business. I did no research whatsoever, and lost most of my money fairly quickly.<br />
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Put the shoes back on and started hustling again.<br />
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Working multiple jobs and hustling I was able to invest in founding a concierge business. I hated it and cashed out really quick. But at that point I had enough money. How could I have enough after such a short period of time? Because of the viewpoint I discovered above, that to reach my first goal I didn't need nearly as much money as I thought.<br />
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As of right now, my income is rather low. But I'm 100% free and in control. I take advantage of every tax break, and at year end the government actually owes me more money than the entire amount of tax that I paid throughout the year.<br />
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Find what works for you, and get there. As I said, to me the most important thing was freedom. Not even freedom in the sense that you run your own business, but freedom in the sense that I can get paid without the need for a job <u>NOR </u>a business.<br />
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<b><u>The Investment Strategy</u></b><br />
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This ain't sexy or exciting. It's slow and boring, but it works.<br />
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I only invest in the biggest stock indices in north america (TSX, Nasdaq, NYSE, etc) with some foreign exposure.<br />
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My exposure is heavily overweight in low cost ETFs held for the long term. I've lost something like $60,000 in the past 2 and a half weeks LOL, but I stay the course. Most of my investments are cyclical in nature. I've been steadily buying into the pullbacks because I don't care. While others are fearful, I'm greedy as hell and I'll buy all your shares happily.<br />
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Most managers can't beat the index... So why should I try? Is the difference between a 9% return and a 6.55% return worth it to me? (meaning I'd have to do all my own research and watch the markets constantly). Not really, no.<br />
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You may be saying that it's risky because I don't have control and the stock market could crash tomorrow, and you might not be wrong about that.<br />
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But I now have the knowledge, and the confidence to be able to pick myself up and get back into the fight if need be.<br />
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So what am I doing now then?<br />
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I'm starting a new company of course! Now that I have my base needs taken care of, I'm free to take bigger risks. As I grow my asset base, my income will increase proportionately.<br />
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I'm now officially a coached speed skating athlete and will be competing nationally next season.<br />
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I'll be going to Latvia within the next month or two. Why the hell Latvia? Because some awesome fastlaners are living there and I'd like to go hang out. <br />
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If you're in Riga, let's hang out.<br />
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Just living life, and having fun.<br />
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Good luck on your journeys folks. <br />
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As I said, I'm not at the end of my journey, it has only begun! <span class="smilie smilie--emoji" title="Big Grin :D" data-smilie="8" data-shortname=":D">😀</span><br />
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PS: If this counterculture type of shit appeals to you (it does to me.. I ain't a hippy though), check out MrMoneyMustache and EarlyRetirementExtreme.</div>
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