The Number 1 Thing Mr. Money Mustache Loves About Financial Independence—Every Day is Saturday.
Imagine waking up every day with the freedom to do as you please.
I recently listened to a podcast episode from Brandon Ganch, The Mad Fientist. It was a recap of an older interview that Brandon did with Pete Adeney — aka Mr. Money Mustache. For those unfamiliar, Mr. Money Mustache (MMM) is considered one of the first to mainstream the FIRE movement, and his FIRE blog is still one of the best today.
Mr. Money Mustache is the inspiration for countless FIRE journeys, and his post, The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement, is a must-read for anyone looking to achieve financial independence.
But, on the podcast, MMM shares the number 1 thing he loves about financial independence — every day is Saturday.
Every Day is Saturday
“The highest form of wealth is the ability to wake up every morning and say, “I can do whatever I want today.”
—Morgan Housel.
I think it’s no surprise that two of the greatest personal finance writers of all time, Morgan Housel and Pete Adeney, agree wholeheartedly that the highest form of wealth is the ability to do what you want, when you want, with the people you want, for as long as you want.
What would you do if every day was Saturday?
As most people progress on their FIRE journey, they focus less on what they’re running away from and more on what they are moving towards. Their toxic or stressful job may have sparked their initial interest in financial independence, but their vision of the life they’ll be able to lead after financial freedom keeps them going along the way.
This was certainly the case for me.
I first discovered the FIRE movement because I was searching for different ways to create passive income so I could leave my career as an electrician. The work was fine and paid well, but I couldn’t stand the idea of spending the rest of my life doing work that wasn’t meaningful to me. But, as my journey progressed and I became more well-versed in personal finance, I used FI as a launchpad to change careers entirely.
At that point, I realized I was no longer running away from electrical — I was running towards a lifestyle of freedom and flexibility.
I remember listening to the ChooseFI podcast with Brad and Johnathan as Brad talked about how cool it was to be able to walk his girls to school on a random Tuesday. This was before my daughter was born but I was already imagining how cool it would be to have the time to do stuff like that. My focus became living a life that I choose and using FI as a tool to get me there.
So, if you’re on the path to financial independence, take some time to map out what your life could look like.
How would you spend your time if money was no longer a consideration? What would you do? Who would you spend time with? Imagine a life that is uniquely yours, centered around who and what is important to you. What would you do with a life full of Saturdays?
The amazing part of financial independence is that you choose how you’ll spend your time.
You could decide that you want to continue working, maybe doing what you’re doing now or possibly doing something entirely different. Or, you could decide that you want to spend more of your time volunteering, choosing to forego paid work altogether. Or, you could turn your energy and attention towards your loved ones, exploring what life could look like if you maximize the time you spend with them.
It doesn’t matter how you spend your time — it just matters that you’re intentional.
Because although a life of Saturdays sounds wonderful, with great power comes great responsibility. Unfortunately, many retirees enter their work-free years with few plans of what they’ll do, solely focusing on what they no longer have to do. This can lead to a lack of purpose in retirement as they struggle to find worthwhile pursuits.
But, that doesn’t need to be you — I’ve recently written about the 3 habits every retiree needs to crush their retirement, which you can read here. Hopefully, that can help ease the transition from your career to your work-free years as you gain financial independence.
I know that for me, I’ve chosen to pursue financial independence so I can spend more time with the people I love.
My wife and daughter are the two most important people in the world to me, so every opportunity I get to hang with them is magic. And although I’ve opted for a different path to FIRE, choosing to coast to financial independence rather than pursue traditional financial independence, I still get many of the benefits of FIRE without having to wait as long.
The point is: there are many ways to enjoy financial freedom, as long as you’re intentional and clear about what is important to you.