When my brother was here, among the many conversations we had, one was about goals. Financial goals, more than anything. He was burning out, again, trying to reach his - and then we discovered, that he hadn't even defined them in any tangible way.
"When I have enough not to worry."
Yeah sure, but how much is that?
I did that exercise around 3 years ago. Lily's mom had taken her away from me again, I was trying to drown myself in work besides the legal work, and making more money then ever. My father had a stroke, and was suddenly unable to work again. My mom had worked herself into illness when I was in puberty, and never got rid of that.
I did not want that. None of that.
The Question of Questions - Survival
So, I made numbers. Numbers calm me down. And I started with myself - what would I need to survive (beer excluded!) if for whatever reason I couldn't work anymore? Bare minimum?
Answer: $500 monthly. A shitty, but functional apartment is $150. Food is $100 a month for me. Child support is $200/month. Health Insurance for Lily and I is $125 a month. Electricity, gas and water is $25/month.
How do I get $500 passive income? $60,000 in CDs, spread over different "Cooperativas" (small-ish saving banks, insured by the state), at 10% interest rate.
That was my new goal. I got to work, hard.
Then, a year later, my brother burned out renovating the house my father inherited, but couldn't afford, so he directly passed it on to my brother who took on high debt to get it fixed up. It didn't take me long to follow, half a year later I was burned out, too.
Is that life? Burning out all the time?
Not for me. I sat back. I realized that I had gotten there. Even further. I was able to set some money aside to invest in stocks and hopefully grow that enough to finance Lily's college one day.
Don't chase.
I was thinking about setting a new goal, like an "okay life" goal, including beer. But I didn't want to become what I had seen so many times in the world: Greedy. Greed is not only wanting more, it is to think to need more, too. Not having a clear goal. Never experiencing surplus. Always being on the hunt. Always burning.
I just wrote a post about my HIVE experience, where I put this entry phrase:
I'm excited. This is the first time I'm wealthy enough to participate in a Pre-Sale. That's great as feeling my personal financial growth (I don't need to hang on to any penny anymore, but can spend more and more on things that I enjoy), as well as feeling a little less under pressure and being able to go around my bakery a little more relaxed.
I have reached my goals, I can spend on hobbies now. Splinterlands is a hobby, it appeals to many of my nerdy interests. That's a level of relaxation that I never really had.
Individual goals
My brother is not worried about monthly income, but about sudden big spending. A heating installation in his big house failing. A roof breaking in an incident that's not covered by insurance. So I told him - find that number that covers the worst case. That's your goal. It's not rocket science, it's the best possible preparation for the worst possible case.
The worst case is not the case
If something happens to me, I won't need to rely on my own passive income. I have a vast network of friends and family who would jump to help in less than a heartbeat. My brother does, too. This exercise is not about reality. It's about peace of mind. I was raised to be independent, so was my brother, so knowing that we don't have to rely on others is very satisfying.
My passive income, not counting the stocks nor the almost passive bakery, is at $750 now. It's accumulating in the cooperativas and in a friend's construction firm I bought into, as I don't need it. I don't have a goal anymore. I might go on vacation when Lily is with her mom. I deserve it, because I earned it.
What's your goal?
Financially. And what is your worst financial nightmare? Would your goal cover that? Do you have to burn out to achieve it?