Our travels are part of a bigger journey toward Financial Independence, or FI
In 2023, an essay I wrote appeared in this Pathfinders FI book. But it was only one story of many that can help you figure out travel and wealth in your own life.
When people find out how we travel the world full time as a family, there’s a lot of surprise. Not to mention many wishes of doing the same thing themselves. We’ve been asked if we’re rich. (Not yet, but we’re working on it.) Or if we’ve won the lottery. (We don’t play it.). Our travels stem from a broader desire to be independent in our lives and decisions, such as how we work or raise our kids.
Our choices are part of a bigger journey too. Travel is part of our path to Financial Independence, or FI. We wanted to tell you a bit about FI, how it’s part of our lives, and this really helpful Pathfinders FI book.
“The goal is what the money makes possible: an intentional life, based on what you consider worthwhile to do with your time in this world.”
First, the book (and why you want to get it)
If you’ve heard of FI, there’s a decent chance you’ve heard of an author and blogger named J.L. Collins. Collins wrote an influential book about FI, called The Simple Path to Wealth, which we’ve both read and consider a cornerstone of our financial and investing decisions.
In 2023, Collins headed up a new book.
Pathfinders: Extraordinary Stories of People Like You on the Quest for Financial Independence—And How to Join Them is a collection of essays from people about their own journeys on the path to FI. From doubts to kids, struggles to solutions, sacrifices and suggestions, each essay is deeply personal and can help you find your own path to FI.
Book description: About Pathfinders
Here’s how Collins and Harriman House, the publisher of Pathfinders, describe the book:
Pathfinders brings together scores of amazing and insightful true stories from real people on their journey to financial independence. This collection of fascinating, heartfelt and surprising stories provides practical encouragement and inspiration for readers striving to achieve financial independence. Each story explores:
- the struggles each person overcame and the rewards that followed,
- their enterprising solutions to unexpected problems,
- the sacrifices they made and the kindness of strangers,
- and surprisingly simple steps for readers to follow and apply.
Plus much, much more!
Author JL Collins accompanies each of the readers’ stories with reflections on his “rules for the road” – as well as a candid conversation about the journey to financial freedom with his daughter, who was the inspiration behind his original international bestseller, The Simple Path to Wealth.
JL Collins is the international bestselling author of The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life and How I Lost Money in Real Estate Before It was Fashionable: A cautionary tale. He has been called “The Godfather of Financial Independence.” He launched his eponymous blog, jlcollinsnh.com, in June 2011 and is the founder of the legendary Chautauqua financial independence retreats. His Talk at Google has received over 1.4 million views, and he has appeared on dozens of popular finance shows and podcasts.
My essay
For us, travel has always been part of FI. We have sought independence in our lives so we can travel with our kids, and so we can experience different parts of the world.
When you get the Pathfinders FI book, you can find my essay at the end of the Kids section. It’s about us leaving our house behind—and what we were going toward.
In August 2022, our family left everything we knew and began traveling full time. We didn’t make that choice because we were suddenly fabulously wealthy. Financial wealth is something we are working toward. However, we started traveling full time in 2022 because we had reached a point where we could. It was a good time to travel with the kids, and it was the right thing for us to do as a family.
We love to travel. And we know lots of people want to travel, but it’s always with that little qualifier of “someday.”
We decided someday is now.
What is FI?
I’ve always liked how the folks at ChooseFI explain FI:
“Financial independence (FI) is the ability to cover your living expenses without relying on a traditional job.”
ChooseFI
In other words, if you want a job or want to run a business, awesome. But the key thing is that you don’t have to.
A note on the term “FIRE”
You also might have heard of FIRE, or “financial independence retire early.” That’s a variant of FI, though personally I always thought it leaned more on the “retire early from a job I hate” aspect. Plus, you can have financial independence without wanting to retire. The point is that the decision is yours based on what you want, not out of financial necessity.
Jodie and I prefer FI over FIRE. We enjoy the work we do, and we structure our work the way we want. We also like the way finances and independence relate to one another: Finances enable our independence, and independence provides purpose and direction for our finances.
Are we FI?
Financial wealth is part of being FI. I like to say that we have independence, and we are working on the finances.
Since our family travels full time, it’s not uncommon for folks to assume that we must be loaded. Maybe we won the lottery, or received a big inheritance, or maybe we’re just rolling in dough from our work. None of these things are the case; at least, not at this point in time, but you never know.
We are not financially wealthy—yet. However, we grow our wealth, run our business, travel the world, hang out with our kids, and live the lives we want.
What does it mean to achieve FI?
Attaining FI simply means having enough financial assets that you have a greater degree of control over your life, especially whether or not you work. Some people grind out a high-paying job, then leave it once they’ve accrued enough savings to live off them long-term. That’s an approach.
We prefer something a little different. We run our business, that we own, and gradually build our overall financial assets. Since we love what we do, the idea of not working holds little appeal, at least at this point in our lives.
How can the Pathfinders FI book help me?
Often when people come to our content, it’s because they are looking for ways to travel differently. They don’t necessarily want to travel full-time like our family does. They are aware that travel can be different, and they want to understand how that can work in their own lives and vacations.
No matter how much or how little you want to travel, the Pathfinders book can be a big help. The idea of having independence and self-direction in life is key to our sense of purpose. We find meaning and motivation in the idea that we can live based on the life we want, as opposed to the life we feel we have to have, or are “supposed to” have.
I contributed my essay to Pathfinders because I wanted to share that moment when life changes, and you know you have crossed a threshold. At the same time, I wanted to share that ordinary people can make extraordinary changes in their lives, but still be ordinary.
That’s what I like about the other Pathfinders essays too: These are all regular, ordinary people, just like you. In making progress toward FI, they did something extraordinary, something gratifying—and something you can do too.
Pathfinders can help you on your journey to travel, FI, and more
Maybe you want to travel the world. Perhaps you simply want to be more intentional with your money. Or you may want to achieve FI and fire your boss.
Wherever you are on that spectrum of motivation and decision, the Pathfinders FI book can help you along your way. It’s insightful, down to earth, inspiring, and tactical, all in one collection full of stories by regular people just like you.
Ultimately, Pathfinders is about the journey of financial independence as a means to an end. The goal isn’t the money. The goal is what the money makes possible: an intentional life, based on what you consider worthwhile to do with your time in this world.
Naturally, we’re pretty honored to have had our story accepted into this collection of FI tales. What I hope more than anything though, is that if our story helps just one person, bolsters them toward FI, then it is worthwhile.
I hope you get the book, for yourself or someone you think it would help. And I hope you enjoy my wee essay in it too.
Get Pathfinders
Pathfinders is available in hardback, paperback, ebook, and audiobook. Get your copy today:
