I was not going to write this 4 years of FIRE post but I’ve had a number of requests for it which made me do a little thinking. In the end I thought it might add a little value as it’s no secret that my FIRE journey has been a roller coaster of ups and downs around the personable side of FIRE with the financial side in hindsight actually being the easy bit. This is in stark contrast to many of the FIRE blogs out there which mostly just show the ups. So here goes…
Location
We are still in Australia and loving it. Thank-you FIRE. In fact we’re loving it so much that I can’t see us ever returning to the UK. Some day we might return to Europe, well the Mediterranean, but it’s nothing more than a reflection that in hindsight Cyprus was a wonderful experience where we (well I mainly) just didn’t give it enough of a chance. The lifestyle available to us here in Australia is just too good and continues to improve almost daily as we build friendships and integrate more. We just love the weather which allows a more outdoors life that suits us and we love the lack of crowds where we live. It’s also many little things like where we are we can get a GP appointment either that day or if not the next morning. Something that was never possible where we lived in the UK. Oh, and can you believe in many of the parks here they have free electric barbecues…
Work
As I closed out 2021 I was working 4 days per week. Closing out 2022 and that is now down to 2 days a week. Purpose outside of my ‘career’ was something I really struggled with and so a gradual reduction in the hours of a day job, while I build a great life outside of it, is something that has been really working well for me. Slow and steady is winning this race.
Also what helps immensely is the role I now do is 100% work from home, 99% no stress and also because I’m FIRE I don’t have to take any bullsh*t. The problem is this helps make me very successful in my role which means for my 2 days of work I now make more than the Australian average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults. I am truly blessed. The only negative is this results in periodic requests to increase my hours which is about the only pressure I get in the role.
2021 also saw me close out my professional registration. Surprisingly, there was not a single piece of sellers remorse associated with this action which I think means this part of my life is now closing in a positive way.