Will You Redesign Your Life When You Have Financial Independence?

A Client Case Study  

Let me tell you a story about one of my clients.  

He’s a white-collar professional who immigrated to Australia with few skills but was intelligent and hardworking.  

He returned to school as an adult and studied to become a doctor.

What’s admirable about him is that he feels a strong sense of responsibility for his family back in his home country, and he’s been able to support them thanks to his hard work and success. 

Now he’s a leader in his field and highly respected for his expertise. 

I’m telling you Jame’s story because I want you to understand more about some of his money psyches.  

When we started working together, he was already making a lot of money and had invested in some properties.  

He told me that time was really important to him. 

But after working with him for some time, I realised that he was so close to achieving financial independence, which would have given him the freedom to spend more time with his family.  

Even though he described himself as frugal and said his family could live comfortably on $100,000 to $120,000 a year, he didn’t allow himself to take time off work to attend his kids’ school events or sports games.

I’ve found that many professionals or even entrepreneurs say they want financial independence and the freedom to live on their own terms, but they struggle to take action towards this goal.  

They may fear losing control, status, or certainty, so they don’t permit themselves to start designing a life outside their current profession. 

I’m not saying this applies to everyone, but I’ve seen it as a common theme. So, I want you to think about whether this resonates with you. 

Would You Quit Work if You Could? 

If you had the option to stop working, would you take it?  

Many individuals I work with, even those who love their jobs, wish they didn’t have to work at such an intense pace or could spend more time with their families. 

It’s not necessarily the work itself that’s the problem, but rather the logistics and time demands that come with it. 

A lot of people spend their lives working towards financial independence so they can focus on the things that matter, like their passions and the causes they care about.  

But when they finally reach financial freedom, they often don’t know the important things.  

If you’re here with me right now, you’re likely seeking financial independence much sooner than the traditional retirement age.

The Gradual Path to Financial Independence

You might spend a lot of time dreaming about what life will be like when you reach your ultimate goal, but the truth is that you don’t have to wait until you achieve it completely to start making moves towards an exit ramp.  

Let’s imagine you need $100,000 to support yourself and your family, but currently, you have $50,000 in passive income from your assets, like property, investments, and shares. 

Despite having half the money to be financially independent, why do people not make any changes to their lives at this stage? 

Many say that time is very important to them and wish they had more time for their passions, causes, and commitments.  

But even when they get closer to financial independence, some of them are not willing to make changes to their lives. 

This can lead to a problem where suddenly you have all this free time but have no idea what to do with it because you never took the time to plan for it. 

My client, whom I mentioned earlier, was in a position where he had enough money to cover his basic needs and more, but he still refused to take time off to spend with his kids.  

He thought he couldn’t do anything fun until he achieved all his goals. 

Here’s an example: Have you ever had an unexpected day off and didn’t know what to do with your time?  

Most people have a hard time figuring out what to do beyond work. We make financial independence our ultimate life goal but postpone it when we finally get there or are close to it.  

We justify it by saying we love our job or need to be known for a certain title. 

Sadly, many end up unhappy in retirement because they didn’t plan for what they would do with their time. 

So we have to start thinking about who we want to be and what impact we want to have on the world long before we retire. 

We must ask ourselves: If we weren’t working as accountants, plumbers, electricians, doctors, or any other profession, then who would we be? What kind of impact do we want to make in the world? 

I know this may seem like a silly conversation for those who are just starting to build their wealth, but we need to think about it early on.  

If you don’t plan and make changes to your life design along the way, you may find that financial independence is not as fulfilling as you thought it would be. 

I’ll tell you about my own journey towards financial independence.  

At first, I just wanted to cover some bills, and that would be good enough for me.  

Then, when my husband was working really hard, I thought that if he could ease up on the pressure to earn more, we could make some changes.  

But then our kids became teenagers, and we realised we needed more money than we thought.  

So, it was always easy to put off making changes. 

It wasn’t until recently that I stopped and asked myself, “What’s holding me back? Why haven’t I designed a life after financial independence?”  

I’ve had the opportunity for a while now, but it’s easy to keep pushing it off. 

The main idea I want to share with you is this: Are you ready to make changes in your life as you get closer to financial independence?  

It’s a significant question to ask yourself because part of the journey towards financial freedom is about having a healthy relationship with money.  

And in order to do that, you need to be willing to ask yourself some tough questions and make some changes along the way. 

So, are you up for the challenge?