I was recently invited on the Bigger Pockets Money podcast. Bigger Pockets is one of the leading platforms for those pursuing real estate investing, or FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). There are a few reasons I was excited to appear on the podcast, including that Bigger Pockets was such a learning resource for me early on in my investing career. But one thing got me really fired up (🤓) to come onto the show: my pre-interview chat with the producer.
A couple of weeks before recording, I had a video call with one of the producers of the Money show. She walked me through the recording process and asked me several questions about my story. She kicked off our conversation by letting me know that while the hosts really like to dive into strategies that lead people to financial freedom, they are especially interested in highlighting the parts of each personal story that have the biggest human element: what were some big personal struggles along the way? What was the transition like? What are some of your biggest changes since pursuing FIRE/achieving FIRE?
The Human Side of Financial Freedom
I love these questions. It’s one thing to preach to an audience about what cash-on-cash numbers they should look for in an investment, and what their target return-on-equity should be. Numbers are important. But without context, and without being able to relate to the human experience that drives, accompanies, and results from these numbers, they become meaningless.
Going onto the show, I was ready to spill my FIRE details, including the personal struggles and transitions that came with achieving my financial freedom. During the recording, we talked a lot about my real estate journey and some about what came next: when I quit my job, how I felt about it, how I came to find a new purpose in empowering more women to own their financial freedom, and why Susan and I started this business. So you’ll hear (a little bit) in the episode, that during my pursuit of financial freedom, I had failed to create my life design. Because of this, after hitting my financial freedom number, I struggled to pursue my ideal life. However, the final edited version of the podcast didn't fully capture this side of the story. Alas- we were on a time crunch; they needed to fit in ad blocks, and I imagine they were more enthused to prioritize the promotion of their own tools rather than share the origins of Rising Femme Wealth. 😆
As humans and especially women pursuing financial freedom, it’s important to acknowledge the complex feelings that can arise when we redefine our identities beyond our careers. The transition from being a working professional to achieving financial independence isn't just about numbers – it's a profound shift in how we view ourselves and our place in the world.
Clickbait! (And the Elusive Nature of FIRE)
The episode was titled “What Happens When High Expenses Extinguish Your FIRE?” with the subtitle: "Is she still FIRE if the goal posts have moved?" These headlines surprised me, as we only briefly touched on this topic towards the end of our conversation. It’s 100% true that life changes can impact our financial plans. But I believe the focus should be on building resilience and flexibility into our strategies, rather than letting fear of those changes prevent us from living the lives we’ve worked hard to build.
In my case, we've created a buffer beyond our basic passive income to account for unexpected expenses or lifestyle changes. We haven’t had to rely on this buffer, but having it allows us to maintain our financial freedom even after moving to a higher cost-of-living area. All this to say: I can attest that my FIRE is neither "extinguished" nor have my goal posts moved. In fact, I'm in a phase of life where I'm living the biggest goals I had ever dreamed of (working for myself, realizing a professional purpose, spending more time on my wellness, my family, and my relationships than ever, and living in my paradise). It's an important hypothetical though: how do you retire early knowing that one day, your goal posts might move? My response hovers in the arena of: have a back-up plan, acknowledge your options, and then: just do it.
The Real Question: Work and Purpose Post-FIRE
Perhaps a more intriguing headline would have been "Is she still FIRE if she's working again?" As many of you know, I've chosen to start this business in my early retirement. This decision wasn't driven by financial necessity but by a desire for purpose and personal fulfillment. As I stated on the podcast, if you’re doing work you love- you shouldn’t feel obligated to stop working once you hit financial freedom. If you’re doing work you love but want more flexibility, you should explore how financial freedom allows you to keep the part of work that you love, on the schedule that allows you to do other things you love. If you’ve always wanted to do different work than your career, financial freedom gives you the option to explore that work (but don’t require yourself to hit financial freedom before pursuing the work you love!). AND: if we’re working because we think that’s where our value comes from, or because we can’t imagine what we would do with our lives if we didn’t work, those are signs that we really need to question our own money stories, and explore what our ideal lives really look like (outside of the cultural expectations we have).
The intersection of work, purpose, and financial freedom is a complex and fascinating topic – one that you can bet I’ll explore more deeply with you in future newsletters. 😜
Coming Full-Circle
Appearing on Bigger Pockets was truly a full-circle moment for me. This podcast was a beacon of information when I first started my investing career, and I still deeply appreciate its mission. Being able to contribute to a platform that helped shape my path felt incredibly rewarding. I don’t have to love my edited story in order to feel grateful to have been a guest, and contribute to the progression of others’ financial lives.
While my podcast experience didn't delve as deeply as I’d hoped into the personal aspects of financial freedom, it reinforced my belief in the importance of discussing these topics. As we continue on our journeys to financial independence, let's remember to address not just the financial strategies, but also the personal growth and challenges that come with redefining our relationships with work and money.
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