You Only Live Once (YOLO)
Financial Independence/Retire Early (FI|RE)
At first glimpse these are two polar opposites from a philosophical standpoint.
Side by side, they sure look incompatible
Proponents of the YOLO philosophy strive to live life to the fullest everyday because you never know what tomorrow will bring. The idea certainly has merit. Any number of things can happen in the future. If you love to travel, then isn’t it better to do so while you are healthy enough to enjoy it?
FI|RE disciples delay gratification so that they can escape the rat race much more quickly than most. Instead of buying the pricey cappuccino every day we stash that cash in savings and investments, because we know that we want that FU money so we can live our lives as we please… down the road.
Yep, that definitely sounds like conflicting view points.
But look a little closer…
What if these ideas aren’t as different as they seem? What if they actually complemented each other? And if you combined these approaches, what could happen? Let’s see…
Isn’t the basic notion behind both philosophies ultimately the same? To live your best life. Pretty much… but one focuses on the NOW and the other the LATER, right? Well I guess it comes down to how you define “your best life”.
If you picture your YOLO life as unchecked consumer spending and reckless living with no care as to the future consequences then, no, these ideas don’t work together. But what if you define YOLO as enjoying experiences and taking risks?
On the opposite side, if the pursuit of FI|RE to you means extreme frugal living with little to no social life, then again, these ideas do not jive. But if you build your FI|RE with lifestyle optimization, by prioritizing experiences and activities that truly are rewarding then we have quite a bit of common ground to dig into.
Going ALL-IN with one philisophy may be counter-productive
Living a hardcore YOLO lifestyle can result in future disappointment. As an example, you could blow all your savings on consumer goods, houses, cars, trips, etc. leaving you penniless later on in life. Or the wear and tear on your body from reckless partying can catch up with you. Not great.
On the other hand, living so frugally in pursuit of FI|RE can burn through your relationships with others since you can be seen as “cheap” or antisocial. A strict avoidance of “unnecessary spending” could leave you with a severe case of FOMO (fear of missing out) or worse… a lifetime of regrets.
How can we combine these philosophies?
First, find out what really matters
What it comes down to is finding out what really, truly, and deeply makes you happy. It’s much easier said then done, but one way to think about this is to find something that you like, then ask yourself: “Why?” Answer that question, then ask yourself again: “Why?” Do this until you drive yourself absolutely insane or come to some base understanding.
Once you get down to the base level you will likely find that what makes you happy doesn’t actually require vast sums of money. At the base level, you may enjoy being outdoors, helping others, trying new things, etc. You can fill your life with all sorts of ways to check these boxes without massive outlays of cash!
Embrace the best of YOLO and FIRE and be the Master of your Domain!
Well… maybe not that domain!
The next step is focusing your time and money on those activities that give you the most happiness and reduce or eliminate the things that don’t. This is called lifestyle optimization.
Use YOLO as a driving force for change…
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.“ – John Anster
This quote is often attributed to Goethe, but I think Anster is the right dude. Either way, it’s much older than the YOLO saying. Nonetheless, it hard to imagine a quote that embodies the YOLO spirit more than this.
Channel the YOLO line of thinking to give you the strength and confidence to take risks NOW to make what matters most the center of your life, regardless of conventional wisdom, or disapproving thoughts from peers. If you think to yourself: “I always wanted to do X, or try Y.” Well, there is no better time than the present. Besides, you don’t want regrets later in life for missed opportunities.
As examples: If you find that being outside is at the root of several activities you like, then find more opportunities to be outside! Don’t waste time being stuck indoors more than you need to. Like to travel? Then go!
… And let the FI|RE consume what you leave in your wake
Since you’ve made a decision to make what’s most important to you the center of your life, you no longer have the time to waste on things that don’t really matter. In doing so, you will reduce or eliminate your spending on things that don’t give you real happiness. Think of this as focusing your money on investments with your highest happiness return on investment (ROI).
Going back to the previous examples: There are several low- to no-cost ways to enjoy the outdoors. Maybe try more hiking than golfing, kayaking vs. motorboating. Also, now that you are busy doing outdoorsy stuff you don’t have time to watch hours of TV. How about cutting your cable and redirecting the money that would have been spent on it to a purpose in line with what you really, truly care about. If traveling is your thing, then do you really need a big McMansion loaded to the brim with every luxury appliance? No! You don’t really want to be there anyways. Spend on the travel and not the house!
Want another example? What if you have an undying love for food or coffee? Try to learn to make gourmet dishes or beverages at home as opposed to going out to eat or stopping by Starbucks. Use the YOLO drive to force yourself to try daunting recipes and save money that otherwise would be spent going out at the same time.
In summary, using the YOLO mindset to push yourself to take risks, coupled with the financial efficiency and savvy of FIRE concepts CAN work together. In fact, it appears that embracing both can lead to better outcomes than following only one.
So, do you have any examples of how you’ve combined the two?
Great post, suffering deprivation to FIRE is just as misguided as blowing all your money on shiny toys. You need to live fully every day of your life, just in ways that aren’t super expensive and fortunately that is not hard to do.
Absolutely. Well said.