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I sometimes wonder if there’s a FI gene.
Up until my early 40s, I was a financial moron. But not because I knew the difference between financial rights and wrongs and voluntarily chose to engage in financial self-sabotage. Nope, I was a financial moron because I didn’t know better. My family and friends were mostly civil servants who didn’t save for retirement (pensions and Social Security had that covered) or have emergency funds (civil service protections negated the need for that) but worked hard, obeyed the law, and always paid their bills.
Then the fickle finger of fate smiled upon me. I got married to the fabulous Mrs. Groovy in 2002 and in 2003 she introduced me to Dave Ramsey and The Total Money Makeover. And as I was reading Dave’s plan for righting one’s financial ship, I found myself getting bowled over by a life-changing epiphany:
“Really? The only things separating me from financial peace are a budget, a healthy fear of debt, a willingness to live below my means, and a commitment to investing in mutual funds. Count me in!”
From that point on, Mrs. Groovy and I completely renounced financial self-sabotage. No more would we muddle through life living paycheck to paycheck. We got out of debt, lived well below our means, and started to invest heavily in the stock market. And 14 years after Mrs. Groovy handed me The Total Money Makeover, she and I were financially independent.
But the question remains. Why was I so receptive to Dave Ramsey and the subsequent FI community? Did I always have a FI gene, if you will, and it was just a matter of someone or something activating it?
Well, if there isn’t a FI gene, there are at least two traits that make one receptive to the FI idea and the sacrifices needed to make FI a reality:
- Are you open to questioning your culture? Most of us aren’t born into financially sophisticated families and communities. Most of us, in other words, are raised by people with some fairly dismal financial habits and attitudes. This doesn’t mean, of course, that our families, friends, and neighbors are bad people. It just means 1) they aren’t the best role models when it comes to building wealth, and 2) if you want to do better financially, you need to embrace a better financial culture. If you’re unwilling to renounce your inherited financial culture, and it has a poor record of generating wealth, you will likely live a life of want and struggle. It’s as simple as that.
- Are you open to challenging your ego? We all pine for love and glory. Nothing wrong with that, per se. But if you are constantly puffing up your image by buying things you can’t afford, you will never get ahead financially. You will be yoked to debt and living paycheck to paycheck. The only way to build wealth on a middle-class income is to live in a modest home, drive a crappy car, wear ordinary clothes, and enjoy mundane entertainments. If your ego can’t handle that, and you’re saddled with a middle-class income, you will never know financial security or financial independence.
Final Thoughts
Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s all I got. What say you? Is there a FI gene that some people have and others don’t? Or can we all be taught to recognize and reject the financially disastrous aspects of our cultures and egos? Let me know what you think when you get a chance. Peace.
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