In February of 2001, I began my first career job at a consulting firm. Thirteen years later, I was a burnt-out husk of my former self: result of the slow, steady build of chronic job stress coupled with a reduced capacity to deal with it – textbook burnout. Eventually, something had to give, of course, and it did. But because I started down the financial independence (FI) path early in my career, by the end of that 13th year I had options and was able to slip away. I left the job in September of 2014 – I had just turned 43. Two years later, the new life continues.

“Think I’ll pack it in and buy a pickup, take it down to L.A. Find a place to call my own and try to fix up. Start a brand-new day“. So begins the opening track of Neil Young’s album Harvest. I like this line because it reminds me of that alluring feeling of walking away from everyone’s expectations and doing what you want, on your own terms. To wake up each day and do what you want is freedom. It’s also a lot of fun. So, would you like to slip away from the Rat Race? Maybe pack it in, buy a pickup, and take it down to L.A. (or wherever)? Stick around and together we’ll explore how.

Why Private Revolution? A revolution is “a fundamental change in the way of thinking about something”. In this case, that “something” is the way we think about work, careers, and what makes us content (and occasionally, happy). It’s a revolution from today’s conventional wisdom, which for most of us means a life of endless toil in order to buy more and more stuff. Evolution has hard-wired us to do this, and we need to understand why and counteract it with reason. And because you’re going against conventional wisdom, this will indeed be a Private Revolution. Except for support from a small but growing group out in cyberspace, you’ll likely be on your own. But don’t despair, a Private Revolution is much easier to start and sustain. You only need to change your behavior, and no one else’s. It helps to keep things to yourself, as others will project their fears and insecurities onto you and leave you second guessing.

Here’s a 30-second description of Private Revolution: study hard in a practical field, work hard and maximize your income, live modestly while still having a good life, ramp up your annual savings rate, invest every two weeks in a handful of low-cost total stock market index funds, and then stay the course. Why? Because if you do, you’ll likely reach FI in about 15 years. You can then quietly slip away from the Rat Race if you like, take some time off to rest and enjoy yourself, and think about what you’d like to do next without worrying about money. The process is simple, but it’s not easy. But if you can stick with it and reach FI, a whole new world will open up to you – a world with less stress and anxiety, more time for friends, family, vocation, and travel, and a lot more fun.

How did I slip away? I made FI a priority early on – even when things were good – so by the time I burned out at work, I had reached FI and was able to shut down my work computer and walk out the door. It took a full year to heal from the chronic work stress. When you’ve been submerged in a stressful career for long enough, it takes a while to unwind. But after a long, slow taper, I was no longer thinking about it. Instead, my focus was on the beautiful country during a morning hike, my friends around the dinner table, enjoying the day to day, and making fun, productive plans for the future.

Reaching FI is the only reason I was able to leave the Rat Race – otherwise, I’d still be at my desk, trapped, with my mental and physical health continuing to erode away. To reach FI, I had to exit the endless earn/spend cycle, save and invest a large percent of my income during my career, and live modestly. I don’t own a house, a new SUV, or a pile of stuff. Nor do I care to. What I do have today is much more valuable to me: good health and peace of mind.

When I first joined the FI tribe, I spent a lot of time reading other early retirement and FI blogs. I still do. How is this site different? It’s not! It’s just another voice crying out in the FI wilderness. But I hope it will provide additional perspective, information, and support to others seeking FI. It also builds upon today’s FI community by adding the story of one more person that reached it at a (relatively) early age. Few of us are even aware of FI, let alone know how to reach it in our 30s or 40s. Or how predictable FI can be, for the simple reason that math is predictable. I initially wrote these articles to get my thoughts on paper with a distant plan to hand them down to my nieces and nephews. As the articles grew, however, I thought there might be some other folks out there that may also benefit from reading them. So, if you’ve stumbled onto this site and this stuff interests you, grab a beverage and start reading.

POSTSCRIPT

As you read this Home page and the first few posts, please don’t think that I’m bashing work and careers. I’m not – not at all. If you can find it, productive, meaningful work can be one of the pillars of happiness. We all need something to get us out of bed in the morning. But for some of us, me included, work can become a stressful, unhealthy thing that requires a fundamental change to correct. And this is where FI comes in, because it provides options, breathing room, and time to heal.

I think FI should be on everyone’s radar, even if you love what you do, because things can change over time and take you from loving your job to dreading it, sometimes in short order. And because you can’t reach FI overnight if your work world starts to slip, it’s important to start on the FI road early, even when the sun is shining and all is well. Besides, we all need to retire sometime. So, join the FI tribe, even if you still stroll into work with a smile.

Before we begin: what you’ll read in these pages is filtered through the lens of my experience. It is what worked for me. I know it might not be for everyone, but I hope you’ll keep an open mind. You can use this as a road map or take what you like and leave the rest – either way will work. Now, let’s get started…

CODA

In May of 2016, two years after leaving work, I was pulled back into my old gig, part-time, but with a big difference. I was no longer managing projects but rather providing technical support to various project teams. This was a much better fit with my personality and wiring. As we will discuss later, if you have chronic stress in your life, you need to make structural changes to alleviate it. In my case, the structural change was to find a new position within the company and only work part-time. It worked out well and allowed me to add to my “F-You Money”, which really did help, but after seven years I’d had enough and retired – for good this time – in December 2023.