Choose FI/Financial Independence

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I found a podcast called Choose FI, and I have been listening to a lot of the old episodes.  It is made up people who want to build enough investments so that they could retire if they wanted to, and whatever age.  It is fascinating to listen to, and it has inspired me to set my pre-paycheck retirement savings to 15% of our income.  

I have even looked into a Choose FI group in my area, and I plan to go to the meetings.

However, there are a couple of weaknesses of this community.  And these are reasons that I also prefer the Dave Ramsey philosophy.

1. Lack of emphasis on giving.   I have been through over 60 episodes and have not once heard someone mention that they tithed to their church, or had a significant percentage of giving.  There were some interviewees who are doing service projects in their free time, which was nice.  But there is a lack of a giving mindset, which is something that is important to me.  I have realized while listening to this podcast that my wife and I have given up a lot of future wealth by being givers.  However, it's been worth it to me.  It's more important to me to be a giver than to reach financial independence as soon as possible.  I also feel that my attitude of giving has helped my career, and that I probably am making more salary than if I was just looking out for me and my family.

2. I am at odds with Choose FI's embrace of credit cards and travel rewards.  I totally understand wanting to take trips for free, after our expensive trip to Washington DC.  Ouch, that was not good - it was the most expensive trip we've ever taken. However, I still do not want to get a credit card.  The biggest reason is that it is not a moral industry.  They take advantage of people. So even thought we would likely pay every credit card bill on time and not incur interest, I don't want to participate in the industry.  Also, people with travel rewards may spend more, wanting to earn their rewards. (I don't have the data on this)  So the savings would be offset a little by the extra spending.  

Other than that, I am actually not totally sure if I want to be a member of the FI community. It is very similar to how I have lived, but I cannot exactly attain what they do.  I believe that is because I will not pay off my house until I'm about 50.   Then we'll have some college expenses, cards, and many more expenses.  So I think we will do above average overall, but we are not able to match the intensity that is portrayed on the podcast.

In summary, I will continue to listen and get acquainted with the community, but the Dave Ramsey method is more of my comfort zone.




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