5 Things To Do When You Lose Your Job

My lovely boss has announced in front of my 50 colleagues that my position is currently being reviewed and reorganised shortly. 

 

‘WTF!!!! (sorry) Reviewed and reorganised? What does it mean by that? It means my position will be discontinued. Should I smile or cry?’

 

‘W…T….F!!!! (sorry again)’

 

I have been waiting for this opportunity over a year. HOWEVER, honestly it was not pleasant news at all to hear unexpectedly, especially in front of so many people. Didn’t I get an email from the boss this morning said “Well done”? What a reward I could get from the well-done work. Well…. That is our working life, isn’t it? Our present and future (also my past 10 years) can be decided and redirected by employers at any time. Tough? However, it is an absolute fact as long as we are employed.

 

Am I okay now? Fine. How? That’s what I am going to talk how I can be fine when I will lose my job.

1. Don’t be panic: This is not the end of the world so don’t think or behave it is. Look around how many people have gone through the similar processes at work and still live as before. I know this is not a good news and even worse to someone with difficult circumstances but remember, as long as we are healthy, nothing is unsolvable. Therefore, don’t be panic and try to control your mind. Panicking will get you nowhere. All will be fine as long as you control yourself.

 

2. Be positive: Try to find good points instead of hammering yourself with bad points. I will get over 7 months payout if I take a voluntary redundancy which is not too bad. I will be motivated by looking for other options which could lead me better for my future and that I have been careless for a very long time. It can be an excellent opportunity to do nothing for a while to recharge myself. I will finally have some free time to think about my future instead of living for only day by day. There are far more. Sleep-in, going to the beach whenever I want while my colleagues are working (hahaha…), opening own business, volunteering, gardening, etc… I know it is not easy to be positive when you are down but it is necessary to see good points in order to solve any difficulties. Remember that negativity can blackout you from the all the opportunities.

 

3. Share with others: Don’t try to keep it only in yourself. Losing a job is not a shameful thing or a secret thing to hide from others. Share your situation with people who you can trust and learn their thoughts. The first benefit of sharing is that you will feel much better after talking. You can also see the same problem from a different angle which you didn’t realise. When I told my husband about the chance of discontinuing my position at work, he took it very differently from me (more rational approaches), and it helped me to review and refocus on the issue. Ask friends if there are any job opportunities around. For sure, you can be lucky.

 

4. Make a plan: This is the time to make a new plan for your life. We all are busy working and get tired with our everyday working life. One of the worst things we can face through our working life is that we are too tired to make a plan for a better life. Most of us are living for only today. Now, you have got the chance to make a new plan so take and use the chance. I have been working for my current employer almost 10 years. I didn’t expect that I would stay at the same company this long when I was 10 years younger. If I knew then, my plan would have looked quite different from now. I am now 10 year older and my choice that I need to make now has to better. Make a proper plan for your future that can make your life BETTER.

5. Save harder and live simpler: Funny enough, losing job doesn’t discriminate people. Anyone can lose the job unwillingly (or willingly) at any time. Therefore, we need to be ready for the event. I can’t not imagine myself to get the news 5 years ago when my budget was extremely tight to pay off my mortgage. However, I feel quite relaxed because I have my financial independence now. I can survive without going to work every day for a while. I don’t think I can afford a luxurious lifestyle without work but I am sure that my current lifestyle can be easily continued without working every day. My husband and I have saved harder and lived a simpler life than others in order to be free from the forced employment (have to work stage). What I want to talk now is, be ready for the hardship and save as much as you can to be financially independent. You are then truly safe from losing jobs.

 

 

I am not sure when I will get the final notice from my boss but I feel quite ready for the happy news. Sorry, I know many people who are not ready yet would not be happy with my comment. All I want to say is that we all need to be ready for the event that can come to anyone at any time. Be strong and keep positive. If you need to find a job, there will be a job that is waiting for you. Someone told me that we need only one job and there will be always the job. Quite promising, isn’t it? Remember that opportunities are found within threats so, be positive. Try hard to get your financial independence as this will free you permanently.

 

I hope you feel better now as I do.

How To Be Happier

I had a very blue weekend that I certainly didn’t wish for and I am still struggling to overcome the grief. Honestly, it is neither easy nor simple especially when I have to carry on my normal life as nothing has happened to me. Therefore this blog is partially for me to fight back my sadness and also for someone who are seeking a better way to overcome their difficulties.

Do you feel down and feel absolutely lonely? Do you feel lost and have no idea where to start again? Do you feel there is nothing makes you feel better? Do you wish to be happier?

Yes, I do. If you are on a same boat as me, let’s find out how to make us happier.

1.      Realise that no one is always happy. Life cannot be always favourable to anyone. There will be ALWAYS ups and downs to EVERYONE’s life. Even who are extremely rich, who are genius and who seems to have everything we wish to have, I am sure that they would have their own problems and wounds. So, don’t think you are the only one. Believe me there are many people who are experiencing downs at the moment same as you so be strong.

2.      Accept the fact. I know you wish that if it could have been better, if it has never been happened or if the outcome could have been different. However, the outcome never cannot be changed or disappeared as it has already happened and you cannot do much. Accept the consequence and stop thinking about it over and over again. It will never help you to feel better and happier. If anything is beyond your control, just let it go. That is the way.

3.      Do not compare you with anyone. We all are different. Enjoy being who you are and what you can do instead of envying who has better situations than you at this moment. We all are unique. Love and respect yourself as who you are. Comparison and blaming yourself will never get you better or happier.

4.      Move. Stop sitting down and being sorry for yourself. I know you don’t feel like but you need to move in order to lift up your mood and yourself. Go for a walk or a run. Join a gym to make yourself and fitter and healthier. Get a fresh air and feel beauty of being sweaty. No one can be happy when they are weak and unfit. Physical movement will help you to stop being negative.

5.      Be positive. Try to find good points in anything rather than bad once. Try to be happy with what you have rather than being upset with what you don’t have. Appreciate what you can do rather than be disappointed by what you can’t do. Respect others and thank them for being around you. There any many bad things but there are far more good things around you. Positive mind can only bring the happiness into your life.

6.      Be with positive people. Positivity is contagious. When you are being with happy and alive people, your mood can be uplifted and your view on life can be more likely optimistic. Share their positive view on life and learn how they deal with problems. Talk and laugh with them.  Trust me, you will be far happier.

7.      Plan something good. Why don’t you start planning a trip with your loved one? Looking for a place you wanted to go, booking hotels and imagine yourself walking around there. Take a break from your ordinary working life and explore new places, and make unforgettable memories. Travel works really well to me. Experience something different and see how others live always fascinate me. Well… I feel already better.

8.      Do what you like to do not what you have to do. Being an adult offers a lot of responsibilities that limit us to do what we really want to do. If you really want to be happier, you need to do what you like to do rather that what you have to do. Think about your dreams that have been buried in your heart and imagine how wonderful it would be when you can do what you like to do. Find a way and pursue your dream to be truly happy.

I have to admit that these tips are not special or new. We all know how to make ourselves happier but we seem to forget/ignore doing it or only hoping for a miracle that can change our life. If we don’t try to help ourselves, no one can help us. Being happy is our birthright and it can be achievable by only us (not by anyone). Let’s smile more and be happy. Am I happier now? Yes, I am. How about you?  

I am back!

Where have I been?

  

As some animals who need to sleep during winter time to survive the rest of the year, have I been hiding to recharge myself? Have I been extraordinarily busy with anything particular? 

Unfortunately, I cannot think of any clear answers to excuse my absence but let’s say I just needed a break in order to refresh myself to share my thoughts and experiences. I have been bit down and I am trying to push myself up again TODAY.

We all know we need a break sometimes. I respected my feeling that required a break and it truly helped. I stopped writing and also painting in the end of last year. I started missing them but couldn’t dare to start. Finally last week, I held my paint brush and started painting with joy and excitement. Today, I am trying to write again. Honestly, I am having a bit awkward feeling with my writing but ‘start writing’ means far more than ‘good writing’ to me so I will keep trying.

In the end of 2013, when we were travelling in Dharamsala in India, I accidently stepped in a little shop which sells Buddhism decorations. I didn’t go into the shop for buying anything. I just loved the scent from the shop and ended up chatting with the unusual shop owner who was from Norway and decided to live peacefully in Dharmasala as a Buddhist. The end of our conversation she handed me a picture of Dalai Lama, and whispered me (with the unforgettably serene smile) “Relax….”. Any reason, the word stays in me whenever I feel anxious and uneasy.

We all need a time to relax, don’t we?

If you feel worn-out,

If you feel down,

If you feel lonely,

If you feel anxious,

If you feel lost,

Whenever you feel like to escape from our ordinary life,

Take a deep breath in, and out and allow yourself a break until you feel ready as it is our birthright.

I am back! 

What's Your Fitness Age?

 

 

 

 

 

 

How old actually are you? Do you know your fitness age?

 

Almost every morning (even in rainy days), my husband and I see this man (in his mid-50’s) who runs around our streets over and over. We live in a suburb which is named “…HILL” so you can simply imagine how hilly the streets would be but he runs like almost flying (I am not joking). I have never spoken to him (as he runs too fast…. Haha) to know how old he is but, I am 100 percent sure that his fitness age will be far lower than his chronological age. He is truly inspirational.

 

He is not the only one. I can find many older people (chronologically) who have more stamina than the youngsters to pursue their hard-core exercise regime. I call my Pilate teacher ‘A machine’. She is far older than me (A mum of 4 grown-up kids) but I have seen not many people who are as strong as her. So, I am neither exaggerating nor making stories.

 

So, what is person’s real age then? Is age only number? How old really are you?

 

It is easy to pick up the number for our chronological age as it is unchangeable fact from the moment of our birth. However, do you know what will be your fitness age? Is it not easy to guesstimate? The good news is that modern technology and studies can help us to figure out our fitness age by answering a few simple questions.

 

The idea about fitness age has been developed by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, who have studied fitness and how it relates to wellness for years. Main idea of the study which I fully agree with is that a person’s fitness age is a better predictor of longevity than chronological age. I am not quite sure how our fitness level can help us to live and how much longer but I trust that our fitness level can help us to enjoy our life longer and more. The good news is that we can decrease our fitness age unlike our actual age. It sounds promising, doesn’t it?

 

If you want to know your fitness age, try this online calculator (https://www.worldfitnesslevel.org/#/). It asks a few simple questions for determining fitness age. I was nicely surprised by finding out my own fitness age is more than 20 years younger than my chronological age. No wonder how I feel so young and healthy. Please allow me to be proud of the result and show-off. Some people would be proud of their careers or wealth but for me, the most important thing in life is health so, I am very pleased to know my fitness level is higher than I expected.

 

Hereunder are what I have found out from the questions of the online fitness age calculator in order to decrease our fitness age. They are surprisingly simple and basic.

 

1.      Regular exercise

2.      More movement at work (reduce sitting hours)

3.      Keep a healthy waistline and weight/BMI(Body Mass Index)

4.      Reduce alcohol consumption

5.      Stop smoking

6.      Watch food what you eat (More fruits and vegetables, less sugar and fatty food)

7.      Control stress level

8.      Be happy with yourself and life

 

We already know these, don’t we? Unfortunately, knowing them will not help us unless doing them.

 

I often see young people who ignore their body and health. It truly makes me upset. We all have only one life and the life is finite. It should be the full reason to love and look after our body and mind. I seriously recommend you to find out your fitness age. There is nothing to lose. If you are happy with your fitness age, keep your life style. If you get disappointed (shocked) with the result, it is time to do something. Don’t forget that you own your life and only you can change your life. The good thing is you can decrease your fitness age. It is all up to you.

 

 

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/whats-your-fitness-age-20141020-118vcn.html

 

 

Why don't we ask any more?

 

 

 

“Mum!!!!! Why? Mum!!! How? Mum!!! What? Mummmmmm!!!” “Why?” “How mum?”

 

I must be such an annoying kid as I had to find out ‘reasonable’ reasons to do anything that I was asked to do. I can’t clearly remember what kinds of answers were reasonable to me as a child but I certainly remember that I was extremely stubborn and unenforceable to do anything that didn’t make sense to me. I asked countless questions until my poor mum was totally exhausted and shut me up (=spanked).

 

I was pretty annoying to most of my teachers at school, too. I had to know why I had to do what I don’t like to do and why I couldn’t do things what I wanted to do. Therefore, I kept asking many questions until I felt comfortable to obey or reject. I was never shy to ask what I wanted to find out and it worked well until I faced “the day” when I realized that I can’t ask whatever I want to know. The time finally has arrived when I realized that I was not the leader of the world any longer. I had to learn that I had to listen and ‘DO NOT’ ask too many questions for my own sake.

 

As I was growing older, I found out that people, especially who have higher status or authorities don’t like to be asked. Let’s blame the life as usual! Life taught me that they like people who listen and ask no questions about what to do and I have become one of the people who say not much. To be a good student, a good employer and a good human being….

 

Most of weekdays I get up 6AM to go to work. To avoid the terrifying traffic jam (1hour for 14Km), every year, I get up earlier than previous year. I spend most of day times in the office without windows (just in case someone can jump out… haha). I go home in dark and have dinner, watch news to find out what bad things have happened and go the bed for the early start. I cannot imagine how I would look like if I do not try to spend lunch time for my exercise regime. I wouldn’t be able to know what kind of weather it is without checking ‘Weather information sites’. I know the weather forecasts are getting more and more accurate but it is still different from the actual feeling. Am I right? I have been repeating this life routine over 10 years without asking ‘Why?’

 

This afternoon on the way to the gym at lunch time, I simply couldn’t comprehend the fact that I have been spending all morning inside (and I will spend all afternoon inside) when the weather is astonishingly beautiful. And, guess what? Suddenly, the forgotten word smashed my head. ‘WHY?’

 

‘Why do I have to stay inside all day when I could enjoy the day better outside?’

‘Is this how I wished to live?’

‘Am I really happy with what I am doing?’

‘Is money that important so I can scarify my life?’

‘What kind of life I have dreamed of? Is this one?’

‘How long can I last living like this?’

‘Are there any other ways to spend my life better/fulfilled?’

‘Why can’t I try to live better?’

‘What is the better life?’

 

Please do not presume that I was only too emotional at that time. Please don’t discourage me by that many people have the same questions but they choose to live without asking because that is the way of life that we are supposed to be live (as we are told). Please don’t tell me we all have to live as how others live and don’t question about our life.

 

I am neither blaming myself nor complaining others. I am just asking questions that I have supposed to ask and looking for the answers that I have been reluctantly avoiding. Honestly, I don’t have all the clear answers to my questions at this stage but I feel far better as I feel empowered to be a leader of my own life again. I claim myself to have an ownership on my life and will keep asking questions in order to find better ways to live.

 

How about you?

 

 

Early Retirement Plan (ERP) makes me lonely.

I talked about my early retirement plan (ERP) very firmly in my previous posts and I believe that it sounded quite solid and strong-minded. However, frankly, my mind is often wobbly and unsure, and sometimes I feel so lonely. There is nobody who I can discuss openly about my future at the moment except my dear husband. I never consider myself as an extreme popular person but I have never expected that I would have this kind of isolated feeling (like an alien). I don’t talk about my ERP enthusiastically any more unless someone asks about it seriously (very rare case). Avoid talking about ‘REAL’ things happening in my life and talking only everyday stuff to people around me (especially, even to close ones) make me feel quite sad.

 

 

 

Since I seriously think about my future at workplace and start talking about my ERP, I have experienced many different types of people’s reaction.

 

Majority of people are who simply don’t get what I am talking about. ‘Early retirement’ doesn’t exist in their life dictionary. They need to follow the standard life which they have been taught from the very early age. Anything unusual is no good. They have to work till the retirement age or later as it is scripted so they don’t question about their life path and also don’t have any interest in the ERP.  

 

Some of them seem to ‘TRY’ listening what I am trying to achieve, but they don’t think they can have the option. They agree but they cannot afford not to work in order to keep their life-style. They have plenty of reasons why they cannot think about the ERP such as kids, mortgage, renovations, new cars, holidays, career, etc... And, never forget to comment that I have different circumstances from them such as no kids, no mortgage, rental income, high savings, etc. Guess what? No one really asked how we have no mortgage and save more than them.  

 

There are some people who I cannot talk about my ERP, especially who are closer to their retirement age or over but still have to work. As long they love what they do, I don’t have any problem with their long working life. However, if they still have to work and spend their life at work for maintaining their life, (sorry) there is no reason to talk about my plan with them. It will be a useless talk to them anyway and I don’t want to be like them anyway (sorry again).

 

Some of them look at me as a weird person who talks unreasonable stuff (BS’s). To them, I am still too young to think about retirement. Instead of that, I am supposed to work harder and focus on progression of career. I need to develop my skills to get better jobs and get paid more to increase my life standard. I must spend more time at work and devote more of my life time for ‘better life’ in future. To them, I am very hopeless, unambitious and irresponsible for my future.

 

Since I seriously think about my future at workplace and start talking about my ERP, I have been feeling;

 

I feel totally ignored. I have noticed that no one is really interested in my plan. My plan is ‘REAL’ but no one seems to take it seriously. People seem to take my ERP as an impossible or only dreamlike plan. I look like a whinger who simply complains about work as everyone does. Since I started taking about my plan, seriously, no one really has asked ‘Why?’, ‘How?’, or ‘When?’ to reach my goal. What I really cannot understand is how many people around me hate their jobs which they spend most of their life, but no one seems to be interested in getting out of the trap. Why? I really don’t get it.

 

I feel worried. Am I wrong? Will I be okay? I feel like if I have chosen answer ‘A’ when majority of people have confidently chosen answer ‘B’. I was sure to choose ‘A’ but, suddenly not sure if I am right or wrong as no one seems to agree with my choice. I know that I must choose my own pathway instead of following others without examining my own life but choosing solitary pathway and stepping forward alone make me nervous.

 

I feel lonely. I would love to share my ERP with friends, family and people around me. I want to get useful tips from others and improve/adjust my plan if needed. I would like to share my ER journey with people and help them to get on the similar journey as soon as they can. However, it is awfully hard to find anyone to share. Our simply-life living approach is taken as Scrooge-like lifestyle and being conscious on spending is considered as thinking about only money. Trying to achieve early freedom from work to enjoy more of my life becomes a lazy behaviour. I do not worry about how I would be shown to people but I am being sad that people don’t even try to understand what we really want to achieve.

 

Too long list of complaining? I know but, I want to be honest with what I feel at the moment and share my unclear feeling with people who try to achieve early retirement as we do. Sometimes I feel nervous but at the same time, I am very honoured by my situation that allows me to plan for the early freedom. I don’t deny that I feel lonely to choose unusual path but I strongly trust my decision.

 

How do I get over this loneliness and keep myself strong?

 

Early Retirement blogs and books help me tremendously. Whenever I feel lonely and unsure about my plan, I try to read the EG blogs or books. I feel released by knowing that I am not the only one and many people who are far smarter and open-minded are trying to achieve the same goal. These blogs clear up my vagueness and refresh me why I have chosen to retire as soon as possible. Life is finite and I cannot afford to waste it. The ER bloggers and authors’ clear vision on their future is simply eye opening and inspirational. I truly suggest you to visit their blogs to open up our mind.

http://www.bravenewlife.com/

http://earlyretirementextreme.com/

http://simple-living-in-suffolk.co.uk/

http://retiredsyd.typepad.com/about.html

http://lackingambition.com/

 

I need to believe in myself and my decision. Honestly, it is not easy to keep believing your decision and keeps going ahead when people surround you don’t agree with the decision. I believe that we need to listen and re-evaluate our journey time to time but I refuse to follow how other people want me to live. I have been living the standard life recommended by society and I don’t want to live and end as scripted. I know it is time to live on my own plan and be a leader of my own life.    

 

Very fortunately, I have a wonderful supporter who shares my (our) plan together. We talk a lot about our future and share information which can help us to get on our dream faster. Having a same vision is privileged and it makes our journey far delightful.

 

I truly wish that one day my family, friends and close colleagues can understand what I am trying to achieve and share our journey together. One of my favourite ER boggers mentioned that we cannot tell people what to do. All we can do is showing them how we live. I want we all enjoy our life more and have more time to spend for doing what we like to do and being with whom we would like to be. I have learnt that I cannot change them by talking so I will show them how life can be enjoyable through my ERP. I hope this can help people to live ‘a better life’.

 

 

 

 

 

Die at work?

Die at work?

 

I truly hope this is just a typo or misprint.

 

‘About 600,000 Chinese a year die from working too hard, according to the China Youth Daily. China Radio International in April reported a toll of 1,600 every day.’ http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-03/in-china-white-collar-workers-are-dying-from-overwork

 

 

 

 

This is simply unbelievable.  As a very ordinary person and also an employee, the number of death toll is absolutely staggering to me. Finishing my life at work would be the last thing I would wish for. 1,600 people every day means about 67 people every hour and about a person every minute… so while I am typing this, some people have already ended their life at work. It sounds very depressing, doesn’t it? However, the worst fact to me is that not many people seem to take these very serious figures seriously.

I was born and grown up in South Korea so I do know what kind of pressure people need to bear at workplace and what kind of work ethos is required in order to survive everyday life in the ‘Hard Working’ environment. Fortunately, I was working as a self-employed person so I could choose not to deal with workplace pressure but social pressure and prejudice that suppresses person’s (especially my own) free-will was unbearable.

It was one of the main reasons why I chose to leave my home country to have a ‘Better Life’ in Australia. So, am I happier than before? Did I make a right choice then? Certainly, my lifestyle has been changed a lot and I feel far freer than when I was in Korea. However, more than 10 years of employment has started questioning myself about my dreamed life that I was hoping to find when I left Korea. Am I having a life which I wished for? Am I happy truly to live like now, spending most of my life at work? Wouldn’t I be able to do something more meaningful in my finite life? Will I be okay to exchange my life to money rest of my life?

At this moment, 12 people are sitting around me in their own cage and say nothing. All I can hear is noise from typing the keyboard. Deadly quite…  ‘Are they still alive?’ A silly thought has hit my mind while I am pretending to be one of the busy employees. Fortunately all are definitely alive. I cannot stop giggling head off as it is too depressing way to live our precious life inside of this little cage. Isn’t it insane to live or die at work? Were we really born to live like this?

 

A lady in the lift this morning said loudly to her colleagues when she left the lift. “Another day another dollar!” (which means “good day!”) And we all laughed out. Yes, indeed… another day, another dollar. How many of us are working for only money? Why do we exchange most of our life time for money (to buy and to have more things). Even though who can claim that they love to work, it doesn’t satisfy my curiosity why we need to spend most our lifetime at work (or die at work).  I believe that it is time to examine our life and find out what life really means to us.

 

·        Find out the most important things in our life: Very unfortunately, I still don’t have clear idea about my future such as what to do and how to achieve my dreamed life after my planed early retirement has commenced. However, I ‘100%’ clearly know that I neither want to spend all my life at work nor die at work. Very often we make a mistake by focusing more on less important things. To avoid making the mistake, we need to know what the more important things in our life are. These will direct us to get on a right life path. The most important things for me are health, good relationship with my husband, time for myself, travel, setting up my own money maker etc…. so that I need to spend more time and energy for these things. Knowing what the most valuable things to your life are is the first step towards to your dreamed life.

 

·        Find out the true meaning of work: The reason why I go to work every day to me is very clear at the moment. I work for only getting paid (I know it sounds terrible but it is undeniable ‘TRUE.’). Unfortunately, I do not like what I am doing every single day. Work neither fulfils my passion nor thrills me any longer. Don’t get me wrong.  Work used to be one of the most important parts of my life. I tried hard and I finally realised that I don’t want to exchange my life to work any longer. To me, life is too precious to waste for get more money in order to spend more. How about you? Why do you go to work? Ask yourself and get truthful answers. I am sure it will let you rethink about your current life which can be eternal.

 

·        Find out things to do: As I became a social animal that has been kept in a zoo-like environment for a very long time, I am seriously scared of having too much free time. Will I be okay with managing my life instead of being told what to do? Many of my colleagues commonly asked me what I am going to do with very worried voice/tone when I mentioned my early retirement plan. Of course, I know what I want to do when I am free. I want to do whatever I want to do without being told what to do. I want to do things what make me happy, fulfil my passion and excite me every day. I don’t want to anything when I don’t feel like to do and I want to spend more valuable time with my loved ones. I hate being so tired and lack of energy after work that I cannot think of doing anything I wanted to do and having another days for going to work. I believe that there are so many more things to do in our life instead of working.

 

·        Find out ways to achieve: I do not want all my wishes and plans end up as ‘BS’. I have seen many people who know what they want and how they want but refuse to take any actions to achieve their dreams. Too hard...? Without sincere efforts, dream can stay as only dream. My husband and I have been working on our financial independence in order to achieve our early retirement plan. We have been saving more (over 70% of our salary currently), reducing unnecessary expenses and keeping a simple lifestyle, and we are ready for our freedom as time we want/decide. Having no worry about having a job for living is an absolutely wonderful feeling. It sounds too easy but too hard to do? It is all up to how truly you want to be free. Started as overseas students who were having less than $1,000 in the bank accounts, we have achieved our financial independence within 10 years so why can’t you do that?

 

Please remember that Life is finite. I don’t want to kill either myself or my life at work and hope you don’t either. I believe there are far many things to achieve, experience and enjoy in our life beside of work as long as you set up yourself financially free and mentally and physically healthy. Who has set up the rule that we have to work till when we are old or die? I cannot promise that I will never see this type of shocking article in future but I hope at least some of them who read my post start evaluating this insane work life and try to escape from it as soon as possible.