A Life Without FI

Have you ever seen the movie Sliding Doors?  The plot centers around a protagonist who stumbles to catch a train, and then the story line bifurcates into two parallel universes based on whether she was able to make it through those sliding doors or not.  Although the better choice, in the beginning seems obvious, by the end of the movie a number of plot twists and turns make us scratch our head.  Maybe the good and bad episodes in our life lead to unexpected consequences.  I often feel this way about financial independence.  There is no argument that achieving financial freedom is both incredibly liberating and prudent.  But sometimes I wonder what a life without FI would look like.

My Sliding Doors Moment

As referenced in my origin story, my sliding doors moment occurred in 2014.  Sitting around my office seeing patients, I received a call from Jim Dahle asking to read his new book The White Coat Investor and do a write-up on my medical blog.  I never met Jim before, and although fairly financially savvy, I never considered financial independence nor plotted a route to get there.

By accepting the book review request, there formed a bifurcation that would forever change my future.  My life before financial independence going one direction, and life after FI in another.

I will never know what would have become if I had not received that fateful call.  I can guess, however, at how my work and financial life would be different.

My Net Worth Would Have Been Higher

Back in 2014, my salary was skyrocketing.  In fact, our family income was starting to bulge past seven figures.  My concierge medical practice was churning along.  I was visiting eight nursing homes, and still entangled in a bunch of side hustles.  Although I was certainly reaching a wall of fatigue, I had no plans of stopping or even slowing down.  In the back of my mind I had an unreasonably high net worth goal of eight figures and was willing to scratch, claw, or crawl to get there.

Jim’s book, and later his blog (as well as others), was the beginning of a  long questioning phase.  Did I really need 10 million dollars to be happy?  Was my net worth high enough already?   And more importantly, was having more money than I could ever spend going to win me anything?

Over the next few years, I relaxed my net worth goals, slowed down on the attempts at W2 wage escalation, and learned to worry a little less about the prowess of my business.

There is no question, however, that without my sliding doors moment, my current net worth would be far higher.

Work Life

My work life was exploding before discovering financial independence.  The number of nursing homes, concierge patients, and side hustles was overwhelming. My stress levels were over the top.  My sleep was fragmented.  And the sheer volume of tasks to achieve each day was daunting.

I accepted these facts as a matter of course.  But there was no doubt that burnout was beginning to set in.  My temper was quick and my patience short.  My best financial life was not necessarily my most healthy.

It was only after discovering financial independence that I started the slow process of downsizing to early retirement.  I dropped a few nursing homes.  Eventually I let go of the concierge practice.  And as of late, I am trying to jettison weekends.

Life before FI was much more stressful.  I was running towards a wall of burnout and discontent.

Instead, I walked through a different sliding door.

Life Life

Although there was a definite moment of panic after realizing financial freedom, financial independence has generally been good for my emotional and family life.  After escaping the money mind meld, I have learned to enjoy hobbies and create downtime by both cutting back and work bursting.

This blog is a direct effect of my sliding doors moment.

I am able to spend more time than ever with my family.

Final Thoughts

A life without FI would have been very different.  Although financially I would have had plenty, I would have never realized the superpower we call financial independence.  Reading Jim’s book changed my life.  Not because it taught me how to be more financially savvy (although it helped), but because it opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking about money and life.

Since 2014 I have slowly decreased my hours at work, and moved towards a more fulfilling existence.

I think I made the right choice.