After four years at a decent job, thanks to the FIRE movement, I now have the ability to make a huge life change. I have been running extra hard in the rat race for far too many years (even though some would call me young). I worked very hard, even working to support myself through college and the grad school. I neglected my health, my friends, and my family along the way. The COVID quarantine was a wakeup call for me. It gave me a taste of what life would be like when I didn't have to commute across the city to sit in an office for certain prescribed hours each week. I'm hooked and I can't go back.

The past several years, I house-hacked and side-hustled my way to FU money and to be honest it came so much faster than I anticipated. FU money in hand, I've realized that I can't stay in my day job anymore. I need to be free to do my own thing. In the next 3-6 months, I'm moving from my M/HCOL city to a much smaller LCOL city near the water. I just put a cash offer on a house and I hope it gets accepted. It's a small house that needs work but it's in a safe location near downtown, it's livable, and most importantly in my budget. I plan on renting out the house I currently own which should cover it's mortgage and give me some cash flow.

Recently, I paid cash for a 4 year old economy car with 48k miles on it which should last me many years so my expenses are going to be very low. I am looking forward to waking up in the morning, working out, then cooking a healthy breakfast before tackling some home improvement projects in between working for clients at my own work from home business. When I land a new client, I am going to treat myself with lunch and a couple of beers at my local joint. Occasionally I'm going to wake up on a Tuesday morning and go to the beach and chill all day because I can.

And I'm going to focus less on myself and more on the people I care about. I'm not waiting any more. I'm going to do this now while I can. I've had friends die in their 20s and relatives live to over 100. You never know when it's the last time you'll ever see someone again. I'm going to surprise my sister with tickets to her favorite musical artist and take her to a show. I'm going to visit my old college buddy who is married with a kid and have a few beers. And I'm going to help my dad restore the classic car he bought which is very similar to his first new car. I still have my car from high school though it hasn't run in years. Maybe I can get that fixed up and my dad and I can take our cars to a car show together.

I don't want to stop working. I have no desire to ever fully retire. I think as humans, we crave progress. And progress comes from work. It's not just satisfying, it's a damn privilege to be able to work. But you have to work on something that you're passionate about. I want to invent things. I want to create things. I want to design things. I want to build things. And most importantly, I want to teach and inspire people to do great things of their own. This world is far from perfect, but hopefully by the time I'm gone it'll be one step closer.