My $1000 Monthly Pension

In my work towards financial independence, I have stumbled upon a monthly pension granting me $1000 every 30 days.

I didn’t really review this until I sat down with my financial officer. This is the dude who oversees all of my financial accounts, transactions, and potential opportunities. In my mind, they’ve got a wood-paneled office with many leather-bound books that smell of rich mahogany. I was perched on a very comfortable seat in front of their desk, smiling as they reviewed my records on the computer in silence. Because of my solid financial standing, I was pretty sure there would be no surprises when we sat down together the other day.

That is, until they turned the screen towards me to show me my Mint statement. In between my tax-advantaged investments, bonds, and regular taxable account, I have roughly $350,000 to my name.

“Neat!” I said. “Can’t get to a million without reaching that amount first!”

They paused and studied me, eyes flashing above their very smart glasses. “Do you know what else this means for you?”

“Uh, good things?” I laughed, but they didn’t join me. They’re too serious for joking around.

After making me sweat a bit, they said “Yes. If you pace yourself, this can be income for the rest of your life.”

“Oh?”

“You can now withdraw a stack every thirty days, for the rest of your life, without ever running out, if you so choose. A personal monthly pension, if you will.”

“Oh.”

“Payable immediately, if you so wish. With zero contracts or further jobs required.”

“Wow.”

“And with each further milestone you reach, you decide further what you want to do. You have to ask yourself: do I want to stop here, and make my status quo a little easier? Or do I want to keep going and make it all the way to Easy Street?”

They waited as I digested this in silence. Slowly, I answered, “I can do a lot with a $1000 monthly pension.”

“Sure,” they said, leaning back in their leather chair. “You can do a lot more if it’s doubled or tripled, too.”

“What do you think is the best route?”

They smiled. “Whatever serves you best.”

The Reason for the Visit

My “visit” with my “financial officer” comes at a point where I’m making some changes to my life. I’ll write the specifics about these changes soon; for now, it’s enough to say I am going to be in a very different place by the end of this year than where I currently am. These changes require a good chunk of research, comparisons, and attention from yours truly; it’s exciting and very nerve-wracking! With all of that said, I am able to dedicate all of this research and attention to the process(es) with the help of my financial cushion.

I think my brother said it best when I talked with him about it the other day. During the conversation, I noted other people who (successfully) did what I want to do have done it with very little to their name. “Which is great for them and all the more impressive,” I had said, “but that’s something I could never do. I’d be a ball of stress freaking out about not having some kind of financial resource to fall back on.”

“But you do have those resources,” he said. “Imagine how much more you’ll be able to do because of that.”

My financial officer visit is me doing exactly that.

If you follow the tenets of the FIRE movement for long enough, you are going to find yourself in an improved financial position. For me, following the tenets got me to balloon my net worth to $100,000 when I was 25 years old. Four years later, that’s ballooned 350% more.

Which is my current financial standing in a nutshell. Thanks to the 4% rule, I can safely take out a thousand bucks every single month starting ASAP. Not because I was born into a rich family or got stupid lucky on equity or stocks – just because I researched what FIRE resources were telling me and put what I understood into practice.

Fringe Benefits of FIRE

Putting what I understood into practice did more than boost my finances. It’s also gotten me to advance my career. I went from making $15 an hour as a marketing temp to making six figures as a marketing manager. That first company offered very little benefits; my current company excels at benefits, including a 401(k) match and an unlimited vacation policy. If I had never optimized my LinkedIn profile to attract recruiters, I would have never stumbled upon the job opening on my own. I then would have never worked for bosses whose first reaction is to say “yes” to me doing things others would never consider, like going abroad for a month. Or going abroad for a month two years in a row. Yet I have the emails and travel photos to prove it. 😊

Pursuing financial independence has made me better able to weather curveballs and make my life all the better. And it can also make my life better right now, as long as I choose to dip into the $1000 “monthly pension”. Keyword here is can. If I choose to take out a grand a month, I would stop adding more to the pile. It will still increase thanks to market growth, of course, but not as much as it would if I was still contributing.

However long I have left on this mortal coil is a matter between me and fate; if I dropped dead one year from now, or tomorrow, or immediately after I publish this post, would I have regretted not “taking the pension,” as my imaginary financial officer terms it?

Personally, I don’t regret my own financial independence ride. The peace of mind alone makes it worth doing. Extraordinarily worth doing, to be clear.

Thanks, Financial Officer!

The $1000 monthly pension scheme is a new way to frame my financial picture. I want to make sure I never lose sight of how privileged I am to have amassed as much as I have. Finance is a tool for success, after all, but should not be made into a coping mechanism for something else lacking in life. Envisioning my visit with my financial officer helps me in that regard, too.

Plus, there’s something that makes me feel good about imaging myself in an office like my financial officer’s. Did you see that photo of a fancy wood-paneled office? The ornamental details! The minimalist, elegant décor! Those windows! God, it makes me feel like I have purpose being in a space like that.

When I was leaving their office, I may or may not have declared “I’m not sneaking in here; I came by appointment! Nay, invitation!” And then skipped off into the sunset, giggling to myself like a maniac. Hopefully I’ll be invited back after this one…

Cover image credit: Adam Marikar via Unsplash