​It is insane to me that I am now 33 years old with a family and two kids.  It feels like yesterday I moved to the United States from Australia.  Last month marked 12 years since I moved to  the US.  I was 21 when I first moved and obviously as most people that age believe they are invincible.  There is no concept of time in your 20s.  You have in the back of your head that you have such a long life ahead of you.  I was not thinking about cherishing everyday.  Appreciating the opportunities that I had in front of me and the phenomenal people had around me.  Knowing that what I had achieved as a Hammer Thrower in Track & Field was something I could be proud of and being able to compete at the collegiate level in the US was a gift and shouldn’t be taken for granted.  Now all of a sudden I am 33 and I am looking back and asking where the time has gone.  

Time is the only thing that matters in our lives.  The question is how do we want to spend that time.  Do we want to work to live or live to work?  Do we want to spend our time creating experiences with who we care about?  Ultimately our time will come to an end and the question is will there by those voices in the back of your mind saying “what if” or “should of”.  

Let’s put time into perspective no matter what age you are reading this article.  According to the CDC in their 2017 Mortality Report the average life expectancy in the United States for males is 78.6 years old and for females it is 81.1 years old.  The average combined life expectancy between the two sexes is 78.7 years old.  These numbers might not surprise many of you, but let’s think about these numbers based on your current age and the percentage of time you are through your life assuming you will live to the combined average listed above.  Let’s break it down below:

20 Years Old - 25.4% through your life
30 Years Old - 38.2% through your life
40 Years Old - 50.9% through your life
50 Years Old - 63.6% through your life
60 Years Old - 76.3% through your life
70 Years Old - 89.1% through your life

I am 33 years old.  Assuming I live to the average combined life expectancy I am approximately 42% through my life.  This almost made my heart drop when you look at it in this context.  Obviously, I hope I am not just at the average, but holy shit I feel like my life is still in its infancy.  I only got married 5.5 years ago and have two young kids.  There are still things I want to get achieved and things I want to experience in my life.  This realization has given me a greater sense of urgency that I want to retire as early as possible so I can experience life with no restrictions.  However, in order to have these experiences and have freedom requires financial independence.  What things can my wife and I do now financially to put us in a position so we can have this independence and retire early and take advantage of everything life has to offer.  

I want to take you on this journey with me because I want everyone to have the same opportunity.  I want you to remember that time is all we have and nothing else matters.  I hope you can learn from me and vice versa on the financial investments and ideas that can bring us all one step closer to freedom.  

I have spent a lot of time lately listening to podcasts and YouTube videos of motivational speakers.  The likes of Les Brown, Eric Thomas, and Tony Robbins.  The biggest themes that they talk about especially when it comes to making money is:

What is your why or your passion?  
How much effort are you willing to put in to reach your goal?

As it relates to my “why” or passion I still don’t think I have completely found it.  I know there are things that I absolutely love doing from a hobby standpoint, but nothing I have ever felt I could do for a living and monetize.  I know that I want to impact people’s lives in a positive manner.  I am just not sure what that “impact” is.  This is another theme that is brought up in that doing something for self reward only is not going to be fulfilling.  Major hurdle we need to overcome is how can our passion serve others.  I believe that is what brings true happiness.  I know it sounds cliche, but I believe the most fulfilling life is one that we try to make people around us better.  Feeding that passion with serving others won’t only provide fulfillment internally, but also financially.  

So you are probably wondering how this relates to HTF and my journey to financial independence.  Well one of my passions is financial markets and money since I was a kid.  My level of engagement on staying up to date with latest market trends and the state of overall global economics since I have started my career, met my wife, and started a family has been limited.  However, recently I have a new found awareness that I want to live my life on my own terms and not on someone else’s.  I have had a fear of what if I do not have the money to retire?  What if my wife and I are not setting ourselves up for financial success now in our 30s to get where we need to be in our 50s.  

I don’t want to work into my 60s.  I want to be able to have a degree of freedom that will allow my family and I to experience everything life has to offer.  Travel the world and interact with other cultures.  Be servants to our community we live in.  Give back to people who have supported us.

With that said I need to expand my horizons on what financial investing and income streams are available to me.  I read an article recently that outlined the results of an actuarial study of the largest US Pension Funds.  Results showed that those who retired at 65 or normal retirement age received pension cheques on average for 18 months prior to death.  However, results showed that those who retired early in their mid-50s enjoyed retirement on average until they were 80, or 25 years!  After reading this I feel a greater sense of urgency to get my act together. 

I would love to get your thoughts and let me know what your passion is.  What drives you everyday?  I know this is something I need to keep working at.      

It is incredibly sobering and surreal with everything going on right now around the world with the spread of the Coronavirus.  No less than two and a half months ago I was going into the office for my full time job and going along business as usual.  It is insane when I look back at the past 60 days how much I was taking for granted in my everyday life pre-COVID.  From the simplest of things as human interaction in person, to personal hygiene, to finances and our safety net, and ultimately my own mortality.  The last two points really drive it home for me.  This virus is so unpredictable that it doesn’t discriminate by health of an individual, race etc.  When faced with ultimate uncertainty and safety, what is driving you and your decisions for you or your family? 

FINANCES

So let’s talk about finances during this time.  Our family is fortunate enough that even with everything going on right now that I have kept my job and my wife has been able to take the kids and pulled back on her business that she has grown exponentially over the past 2-3 years.  She is also 8 months pregnant, which just adds another layer of complication into this conversation.  We have a good safety net in place, which takes the pressure off the family and my wife.  However, if these factors didn’t hold true, OUR situation and OUR financial decisions we have made would be quite different.  

If we were in the latter position above, I completely understand that a significant number of people and business owners want the economy to re-open.  If I needed money to survive and pay the bills and support my family I would be pounding the pavement to find any work that was out there.  I can’t fault people for wanting to support themselves and their family even if it means putting themselves in harms way or potentially their families.  

The things that come to my head when you are reviewing your monthly expenses and how you and your family could preserve cash during these times are as follows:

Food - Outside of your mortgage/rent, food is probably your 2nd or 3rd highest monthly cost.  Adjustments you can potentially make:

Substituting Beef for Chicken - Raw meat is going to be one of your largest grocery items.  Our family are big meat eaters (Taco Meat, Homemade Beef Patties, Pasta, BBQ Chicken).  Based on current meat markets you will see a greater favorability or bang for your buck with buying chicken.
Stay Home/Eat Out Less - Obviously this is something that you hear EVERYONE saying.  Nonetheless, from personal experience just ONE date night for my wife and I on a “cheap date” was $30-$40.  Any discretionary spending adds up REALLY quick.

Review Your Bank Statements - You may be surprised by a frequent number of small charges for Mobile Apps and other subscriptions that you don’t use.  CANCEL them!  We have been doing this lately and the number of Apple and Amazon charges is insane.  Monthly cloud storage, Apple Music, Linkedin Premium, Adobe Photoshop, etc. 

Review Any Debt You Have - Financial institutions may be giving you a break regarding payments and payment terms, but that is going to end sometime soon and don’t be mistaken the majority of the “breaks” you are given truly aren’t “free”.  Interest will still be accruing!  If you are concerned about where you are, I would recommend talking to a debt advisor.  

Cost Compare - There are a ton of resources available online to review and cost compare any items you are looking to purchase.  It takes time, but it could provide meaningful savings over time and multiple purchases.  

MORTALITY

It has never been more evident than recently that this virus has the potential to end the lives of people prematurely.  This has given me pause in that it has forced me to evaluate everything I am doing in my life.  Asking myself questions and critically thinking of if I am doing what I want to do professionally?  Am I serving others?  Am I putting myself and my family in a position to support ourselves if something like this happens again?

(Insert ideas)

I hope that the posts that I write will continue to assist anyone willing to read them about ways to start getting ahead financially.  Every single person has the ability to make the choices to get on track financially. I want to be able to use my experiences and background along with any feedback from within “our” online community to make a difference.  

Hope everyone is staying safe and staying posted for my upcoming blog posts!

Jarrod               

I am sure this has happened to a number of individuals and couple’s when it comes to discussing or reviewing the “B” word.  BUDGET!  Depending on the individual, budgets can be extremely useful.  For my wife and I the monthly budget review and finances update can be a point of contention.  Without a doubt the following statements/questions are made when reviewing budget and monthly spending with my wife:

• “Did we really spend that much on coffee?”
  
• “Man we ate out a lot!”
  
• “You spent $300 at target last month!  What did you need?” 
  
• “We are not putting enough away to savings.”
  
• “Do we really need to be spending money every month on this?”
  

Note: The third bullet point doesn’t normally go down well :)   

Almost straight after we do our review we always say we will do better.  And in certain areas we definitely do make the adjustment.  In an effort to do better it almost ALWAYS comes down to discretionary spending between my wife and I.  Our main areas we look at are:

1. Coffee Charges
   
2. Fast Food Charges
   
3. Restaurant Charges - Date Nights
   
4. Beauty Charges - Hair & Nails
   
5. Sports - My Golfing Addiction
   
6. Clothes - Work or Personal
   
7. Misc Purchases - Usually from Target
   

In any given month we probably spend anywhere from $500-$600 between these 7 categories.  As of late, we are trying to commit to ourselves to try to cut $100 per month from our average spend in these categories.  That is $1200 per year!  We realize that we will never cut back hard and become complete minimalists.  We want to have date nights and spend money on things that make us feel good, which is even healthy.  With two toddlers my wife and I need to have our own one-on-one time every month to just catch up and continue to work on our relationship in the midst of our hectic lives.  In my view, the big question is what is a “need” vs. “want” when it comes to discretionary spending?  

I would love to hear from you all regarding your experiences when it comes to budgeting whether you are single or in a relationship with a joint bank account.  I have met married couples that have been together for decades that still have separate bank accounts.  Does that work?  One thing my wife and I have found is we have multiple accounts that we transfer money to every month that makes money out of sight out of mind.  We don’t have debit cards for these accounts so we are not tempted to withdraw the money.     

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