The Lifetime Table

Have you ever envisioned how your lifetime will look like in the form of a table?  

This is how a typical lifetime looks like for most people (based on the assumption that we're healthy and lucky enough to live till 75). Looks normal isn't it?

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What do you see in this table?

Life is short?   Life is long?  Is this the life you are working towards?

I appreciate time even more as I get older, and spending 40 years of our finite life working hard to enjoy the last 13 years (that's if your health doesn't give up on you), this equation doesn't make much sense. To make things worse, it seems like we're constantly missing at least one key element of life as we move down this lifetime table. 

If you were to design your own lifetime table, how different will it look?  I mean realistically.

Of course, we wished the entire table is filled with green but unfortunately, most of us ordinary people like you and I NEED to work to earn a living. Note that there's a huge difference between NEED to work vs. WANT to work. So even if you are enjoying your job, but you need the income, then you still fall into the yellow zone. The green zone is where you have the freedom to do what you want in life without having to worry about going to work to earn a living (basically a realistic version of winning a lottery), a.k.a financial independence.

I'm not a fan of the conventional table above, so here's how we would design ours:

Picture an ideal day in your normal life,  and now picture 17 extra years of living that ideal day without having to worry about money. Sounds appealing? Or unrealistic?

Anyway, that's the goal we are working towards. And no, we don't expect money to fall from the sky, we work hard to earn the life we want. Like many others, we both work ordinary 9-5 jobs, and want to keep our jobs as long as possible. 

Why does the concept of achieving FI (Financial Independence) earlier appeal to us?

• We have families on both sides of the world, and the distance limits the time we get to spend with family and friends in Malaysia.
• I enjoy traveling and would love to have more time to see more of the world when we are still physically able to (instead of crazily travel around-the-world in 20 days).
• I had a taste of 'freedom' when I took unpaid leave from work, went off the grid for a month for the Amazing Race without having to think about work at all. That feeling was pretty awesome! 
• My dad had a major stroke at the age of 55, just as he was about to retire, and second stroke at 64. My mom is a cancer survivor (diagnosed at the age of 58). Not jinxing myself, but these three events were good reminders not to take our time and health for granted.
• We are living in the land of abundance, but most people don't realize how lucky they are as compared to the rest of the world. If I can make 4 times more here (doing the same work), there's no excuse not to save more!
• Still not convinced? Here's a podcast from ChooseFI  to explain more on The Why of FI.

So how do we plan to achieve this goal?

• Simplify our life and live below our means
• Be mindful and make conscious decisions about spending by tracking our expenses
• Increase our savings rate and invest for the long-term (power of compounding interest)
• Invest in experiences and travel hack
• Avoid lifestyle inflation as we grow our income
• Be thankful and content with what we have in life and don't bother keeping up with the Joneses
• Have a goal to work towards, be patient and stay on the course​

While it is important to plan for the future and have a goal to work towards, it is also equally important to live in the present and enjoy the journey along the way.

If you think being frugal means life will be boring, I beg to differ with this. It's about making smart financial decisions today to bring us closer to the ideal life we want in the future. 

Do you think we can achieve this goal?  Follow along as we cruise along the road less traveled. =)