In the early stages of FIRE, I wonder how many people cheat like I did.
I just went on a lovely stay-cation with my significant other (SO) and my two good friends. We drove to the Okanagan and stayed in beautiful Summerland, in an AirBNB on a farm. For five nights, a two-bedroom suite with a kitchen, barbeque, and breakfast included, it amounted to just over $800 total. Pretty good price for the centre of wine country in British Columbia. What we didn't know was the farm came with about half-a-dozen beautiful farm cats and two gorgeous Border Collies for us to love. Needless to say, there was plenty time spent sitting outside with the critters.
We made dinner a few nights of the week, but yes, we mostly ate out. There was wine tasting, ice cream, more wine with dinner, and a lot of downtime. Several magnificent fired pizzas and an enormous boat of nachos. Heaven.
Now, you ask, how is this helping you pursue FI?
Indeed it is not. Not really. Certainly not financially. Though I'm sure there are many people who could take a trip like this without noticing it in their wallet, but here's a little financial background for me:
I work in a public library system with many branches stretched over a large geographical area. I am a casual employee, working on-call at about ten of the branches that are closest to where I live. Sounds scary, right? My dad certainly feels so every now and then. The good part is I've done this for 9 years so I am tenth on the seniority list out of about two hundred people, so I can work every day of the week if I so choose. I am also qualified to work in four different positions in the library. I get about $22 per hour take-home pay, which I consider pretty good for my field, and 16 percent in lieu of benefits (which is a good chunk of money because our union fought for excellent benefits). All that is good and well; however, I only get paid for hours I work. No sick leave, no vacation leave.
So this trip amounted to half the paycheque I normally received due to my absence from work before I even spent any money. Thankfully, the trip was in August, a month where we have three paycheques, so the lighter deposit was easier to take. I also picked up extra shifts on the Sundays before to help soften the blow. And when I got home, my post-trip paycheque was enough to cover what expenses I needed it to, with a itty-bitty extra.
But still, what were you thinking? You're pursuing FIRE, aren't you?
Yes, I am. And at the same time, I am embracing a life I never had.
My ex and I didn't travel much, particularly not to big cities and busy areas. Instead, we went bush-wacking camping in the middle of nowhere, not a soul in sight, or drive up north to visit his parents on their ranch; again, not a soul in sight. Or, once we had livestock and leaving home was harder to do, we would just go down to the river and have a fire. In the last years of our relationship, we may have only taken one trip, including camping, a year. My goats needed to be milked, the gardens needed to be tended; it was a trade we made willingly.
However, this new life of mine with no animals and no one to miss me at home except the friendly neighbourhood cats and a live-in spider has freed me to do the thing most people do in their early 20s; travel and drink.
I kid, it's mostly the travel. So this first year of my new phase in life, my new SO and I booked a few trips within the province. I consider it a celebration, an adventure, and worth every penny. After our next and last trip, we plan on hunkering down and saving. I can feel the itch already. I want to see those numbers grow! But our last trip is to Tofino, a place that all British Columbians need to experience once in their life, and we decided that it's value to us is more than the money we would save by not going. This trip is shorter, just three nights, and it's just the two of us. It will be almost exactly a year to the day of when I moved out of my old life and into the new.
And I'm going to bask in the glory of rebirth.
I just went on a lovely stay-cation with my significant other (SO) and my two good friends. We drove to the Okanagan and stayed in beautiful Summerland, in an AirBNB on a farm. For five nights, a two-bedroom suite with a kitchen, barbeque, and breakfast included, it amounted to just over $800 total. Pretty good price for the centre of wine country in British Columbia. What we didn't know was the farm came with about half-a-dozen beautiful farm cats and two gorgeous Border Collies for us to love. Needless to say, there was plenty time spent sitting outside with the critters.
We made dinner a few nights of the week, but yes, we mostly ate out. There was wine tasting, ice cream, more wine with dinner, and a lot of downtime. Several magnificent fired pizzas and an enormous boat of nachos. Heaven.
Now, you ask, how is this helping you pursue FI?
Indeed it is not. Not really. Certainly not financially. Though I'm sure there are many people who could take a trip like this without noticing it in their wallet, but here's a little financial background for me:
I work in a public library system with many branches stretched over a large geographical area. I am a casual employee, working on-call at about ten of the branches that are closest to where I live. Sounds scary, right? My dad certainly feels so every now and then. The good part is I've done this for 9 years so I am tenth on the seniority list out of about two hundred people, so I can work every day of the week if I so choose. I am also qualified to work in four different positions in the library. I get about $22 per hour take-home pay, which I consider pretty good for my field, and 16 percent in lieu of benefits (which is a good chunk of money because our union fought for excellent benefits). All that is good and well; however, I only get paid for hours I work. No sick leave, no vacation leave.
So this trip amounted to half the paycheque I normally received due to my absence from work before I even spent any money. Thankfully, the trip was in August, a month where we have three paycheques, so the lighter deposit was easier to take. I also picked up extra shifts on the Sundays before to help soften the blow. And when I got home, my post-trip paycheque was enough to cover what expenses I needed it to, with a itty-bitty extra.
But still, what were you thinking? You're pursuing FIRE, aren't you?
Yes, I am. And at the same time, I am embracing a life I never had.
My ex and I didn't travel much, particularly not to big cities and busy areas. Instead, we went bush-wacking camping in the middle of nowhere, not a soul in sight, or drive up north to visit his parents on their ranch; again, not a soul in sight. Or, once we had livestock and leaving home was harder to do, we would just go down to the river and have a fire. In the last years of our relationship, we may have only taken one trip, including camping, a year. My goats needed to be milked, the gardens needed to be tended; it was a trade we made willingly.
However, this new life of mine with no animals and no one to miss me at home except the friendly neighbourhood cats and a live-in spider has freed me to do the thing most people do in their early 20s; travel and drink.
I kid, it's mostly the travel. So this first year of my new phase in life, my new SO and I booked a few trips within the province. I consider it a celebration, an adventure, and worth every penny. After our next and last trip, we plan on hunkering down and saving. I can feel the itch already. I want to see those numbers grow! But our last trip is to Tofino, a place that all British Columbians need to experience once in their life, and we decided that it's value to us is more than the money we would save by not going. This trip is shorter, just three nights, and it's just the two of us. It will be almost exactly a year to the day of when I moved out of my old life and into the new.
And I'm going to bask in the glory of rebirth.
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