Getting to Acceptance

I have spent a lot of time in the last few months thinking about financial peace.  A place where a healthy dose of money apathy leads to an existence untethered from the economies of daily living.  It is not that money will no longer be important, but rather that it will not be so closely knit to the emotional highs and lows of existence.  A place where time is spent moving towards our true purpose, identity, and connections instead of worrying about the next paycheck.  This mental revolution is not one that comes easily.  Often fears and anxieties about the uncontrollable get in the way of finding this peace.  In order to make this transition, a certain modicum of acceptance is necessary.  Getting to acceptance, however, can sometimes be a stumbling block.

There is just so much that is out of our direct control.  Jobs.  The economy.  Health.  We can only improve our chances so much.

The rest is up to chance.

Employment

For those who have not reached financial independence yet (or at least FU money), employment can be a great cause for fear.  No matter how good we are at our jobs, things change.  Companies get bought.  New technologies disrupt the old, and jobs are downsized.

Often the W2 wage is the center of an economic plan.  No matter how much we try to prepare ourselves, we do not know the future.  It is possible that our carefully constructed career will crumble at our feet at some point. What will we do if the well runs dry?

This anxiety is a major hinderance to financial peace.  It is the thorn in the side of contentment.  Getting to acceptance means realizing that the future is largely out of our control.

We can only take it one day at a time and hope.  Somehow we’ll make do.

The Market

Mr. Market is a cagey fellow.  Often the highs and lows cannot be predicted.  When we index appropriately we bet on the US and to a smaller extent the world economy.  How do we know that at some point it won’t all go awry?  World war?  Economic decimation?  The fall of the US economy among political turmoil?

Although hard to believe these things will happen, becoming financially independent leads to a strong sense of loss aversion.  Our brains calculate every possibility no matter how infinitesimal.

Getting to acceptance means realizing that we make educated bets.  These bets are not guaranteed as is nothing in life.  But we do the best we can with the information we have.

Are we  going to be right all the time?  Probably not.

Unfortunately we don’t have any other choice.

Catastrophe

Catastrophe happens.  Not often.  Hopefully not to you.  But our financial as well as physical health can fall prey to catastrophic change.  Whether this is an accident, or a chronic illness.  Life happens.  There are only so many ways you can protect yourself from the unknown.  You can risk mitigate with appropriate insurance and safe guards.

Unfortunately, though, you can’t plan for everything.

Getting to acceptance means having a certain amount of faith that things will work out.  Even when you can’t control them.

Final thoughts

I think financial peace is a laudable goal.  A goal that many of us in the financial independence community strive towards.  The main road block seems to be the unknown.  Although we try our best, there is only so much that we can control.  Acceptance is the state of coming to terms with these unknowns.  Getting to acceptance requires both careful planning as well as a leap of faith.

At some point we just have to decide that everything will be alright.