It has been more than 2 years since my last post. Maybe more importantly in round numbers it has also now been around 18 years since I started on my FIRE journey, 16 years since I started this blog to hold myself accountable to that journey, 9 years since I became FI and 7 years since I first FIRE’d (and then quickly went back to work). Looking at those timings I’ve been set up to enable me to win the game of life for some time but over the past year it really has started to feel like I’ve now actually won the game. Let’s look at a few reasons why that might be the case.
Location
Australia is home. It’s so much home that it’s time to start looking at the path to citizenship. We’ve found a region we love to live plus have built networks and friendships in that region. We’ve also built a lifestyle that works for us. It’s a much more outdoor and less crowded life than we had in England. It works so well that I just can’t believe more than 2 years has passed since I last wrote a blog post.
Work
I’m still working from home a few days per week in a role with no stress. Free from the Sword of Damocles I speak freely which enables no bullsh*t. It’s stimulating, I interact with some very clever people, learn something new regularly and it very much works for me at this time in my life.
I don’t do it for the money but it turns out my approach to work while I was building wealth combined with my attitude to work since becoming FI makes me a fairly valuable marketable commodity. To put a quantitative value on it for a few days work I earn more than twice the average Australian Full Time Salary.
Will I give it up and ever fully FIRE? It’s a possibility as history tells me work places can become ‘enshitified’ but for now it’s not on the radar.