I Resigned. Can I be healthy/wealthy without wealth/health?

I have been thinking about writing, but thanks to my friend and fellow blogger Mr. Fig I’ve been inspired to get back to the keyboard plunking, share some ideas, and give some advice. In fact, he wrote recently about mental health. The least I can do is write about financial independence.

It is not that I haven’t been Showing Up. Whew, have I ever. I can’t wait to do a summary of my break and exploration in a later post. I’ve learned so much. Everyone should take a break! I knew I was leveraging some interesting projects but I was not prepared for the busyness. All good–I promise you! But I do need to prioritize and use a block schedule for my days. Who would have thought a “break” from work would require such a thing as time management skills!? It is part of who I am, I suppose. It may also be the time of life I find myself. And, more importantly, it is required to make the hustle benefit my future. This situation of full and fuller days just makes it even harder to imagine going back to the 9-5. More on that decision later.

Today I want to re-insert myself into the blogging world by discussing my biggest issue. The issue that is vital to all decisions, wishes, dreams of being fearless, and even health. Yes, even my health–the thing that used to take up all my waking hours. The thing that has kept me laser focused and excited is financial literacy. Being well and financial fit is my new mantra.

It is because of my financial security (lack of financial security? financial insecurity?) that makes my decisions now so difficult and important. When we (my partner and I–a super important distinction) decided to forgo my monthly paycheck temporarily reducing our income by about half, it was possible because we had done some financial planning in the past, thankfully. We also had a very determined and accurate End Date to the paycheck hiatus. What is that I hear? Oh yeah, the ticking clock. While penny-pinching we asked the question many people ask, “Have we done enough?” Well, the answer to that would be a resounding no.

The good money decisions we made were made in the later half of our working life. That’s what I would change. They were made based on some good and some not-so-good advice. We learned over the years what we were never taught when younger. When we were young we thought talking about money required wealth and we were far from experiencing that. I took learning into our own hands because I am a student of the world; I like to study, listen to podcasts, find gurus, and think intelligently. When we knew more, we did better. Had we been smart and not stupid from the beginning, I would not be having this anxiety. I would instead be a “busy” early retired person beginning to live off the millions of dollars we made from putting the millions we earned to good use.

Although I learned about money over the years, I was slow in changing my mindset—money limited my thinking and I let it. Decisions I made were based on my perceived place in the world, mom guilt, ego, ignorance, middle-class-stuff-culture, scarcity thinking, and insecurities. Have you been there? It is my health and awareness that makes my future path a secure one and financial wellness is part of that. I just wish I would have started sooner. Perhaps that is impossible. Perhaps the awareness does come along at 5-0 like so many women tell me. Had I known earlier, I may have had the wherewithal to ask, “What do I want to do/be?” Or “Is this job right for me?” Knowing where my dollars and cents were going much earlier would have made all the difference to my current situation. Strategies for financial independence, I have learned, do not require age, awareness, or much money.

We really are fine. We won’t need to start eating cat food for some time. I don’t know why my husband thinks that’s a thing in old age!? (Actually, cat food is pretty expensive now, isn’t it?) Not only are we okay, we have been fortunate enough to have traveled to some pretty amazing and enviable places. This was possible because of my changed mindset of money. One of the wishes I had for my break was to travel–my break could have lasted longer had I not. My goal, like my life goal, was to have experiences, expand, and explore. We love to travel. My End Date is looming and I WILL be back to work soon, but I will not regret those travels and I look forward to the next.

We went to Madrid Spain this spring and visited LA for a long weekend. Fabulous trips–on a budget. It is almost like a challenge now to plan for a responsibly priced exploration of the world. I’m not the only one hacking my way through Europe. Google it. My aunt said, “Well you can’t be on a budget if you’re planning a trip to Spain.” (Can you hear an aunt saying that!? Then you don’t have Italian aunts.) Actually, I explained, it is because we are on a budget, we travel. Our youngest daughter was discovered explaining to someone how she once thought we were “poor.” She felt we struggled to make ends meet all through her childhood, the way a child would. “Now they travel to Europe every year!” What she saw and was confusing was her working parents without all the money in the world make decisions about spending. And we did make decisions–probably not the decisions a teenage daughter would make, thankfully. Everything else was charged to a credit card. Stupid.

It wouldn’t be such an issue if I hadn’t had this time to really get my finances in order. What good planning, thinking, and being financially responsible may require is time. Most of us can find a little bit of extra money before time. A friend explained that to me recently and it’s sadly true. The hustle of a 9-5 with bosses and meetings and family and bills and home and overwhelm is ubiquitous and not conducive to taking the proper action. I read somewhere it’s worth your time and money to take a PI or mental health day to get your shit together. I agree. So get your shit together. Start with a list of questions. Get your questions answered, preferably from someone NOT making money off your money. Then do the research it takes to confirm the answers. This, of course, will give you a new list of questions. Repeat. Use your time and money well. You won’t regret it.

Finally, regarding my regrettable (and privileged) decision between well-being and wealth, I resigned this week and hope to never go back to a high-stress job. You may think I choose health. Within 24 hours of resigning I received a job offer. With proper planning and some tenacity, is it possible to have both health and wealth? Stay tuned. I will let you know if I can find that balance. In the meantime, I need to make some money.