Money Questions

Welcome to Edition #1 of the new Money Questions Blog!

I have been writing on Twitter (X) for over 2 years now. While I love writing about the technical side of money, I want those who sign up for the newsletter to get something different from what I post on Twitter. I am lucky enough to be a part of daily money decisions with my clients and I believe the behavioral side of money is as important (if not more) as the technical side. The goal of Money Questions is to share the behavioral solutions I have seen help my clients and myself.

You can also find my best content of the month below the Q&A section (YouTube, podcasts, Twitter).

I hope you enjoy the new format and if you have a question you'd like me to answer, feel free to send me a message on any platform. I will always keep them anonymous.

Question (I've gotten several variations of this question over the years):

I feel conflicted. I’ve reached COAST FI and I know this is the point where I “should” be saving less and taking more risks. I saved aggressively for years so I could get to this point - the point where I can afford to make the leap to work I really want to do but I am finding the shift difficult. I’d like to leave my high paying demanding job to take a lower stress lower pay job so I can start the business I’ve wanted to do for years but I’m worried I’m making the wrong decision. There is a part of me that thinks I am crazy for leaving this high paying job and I should be content with it. How can I convince myself that I will be ok? How do I turn off the savings shift and turn on the risks switch?

Caroline (fictitious name)

Caroline,

First, congrats on reaching Coast FI. That is a massive accomplishment.

For those of you who don’t know - Coast FI (Financial Independence) is the point where you have saved and invested enough for traditional retirement. You can now “coast” all the way to retirement. With savings covered, all you need to do is cover your living expenses until you hit retirement age.

Here’s a good Coast FI calculator I found if you want to find your own Coast FI number.

Caroline, I once faced a similar challenge - staring down a different path when the current path I was on hit every external measure of success: money, early achievement, status. I thought I was ungrateful. Because what in the world could someone want more than money? Turns out, money (& the external scorecard) is a great silencer of dreams (& the internal scorecard) - you get comfortable, you feel secure, and everyone around you makes you feel insane for not appreciating it. But some of us have a voice in our head even money can't stifle. My internal voice wanted to create. It wanted to write words that would help people.

But this dream failed to appeal to the external scorecard: chance of success is low, even if your words get attention it's hard to monetize the attention, and it meant time away from what was working. With zero evidence it would work and a lot of evidence it wouldn't I went for it. Sometimes just to shut up the voice in your head, you need to try it.

I realize now the problem wasn’t that I was ungrateful. The problem was I was measuring success and fulfillment through an external scorecard. A scorecard assigned to me, not created by me.

The "shoulds" in life are dangerous. They will take your potential and bury them under "shoulds" - you have money, you should be satisfied. You are more successful than most people your age, you should be thrilled. But "shoulds" don't shut up that voice in your head.

You will always have two voices in your head, and if you're not careful, you won't be able to distinguish them. Here's how you do it: first, understand one speaks from fear while the other speaks from confidence. Next, start to pay attention to the state you are in when the voice speaks. When I felt terrified I would never have enough money, I wanted to win the external scorecard. When I felt competitive against my peers, I wanted to win the external scorecard. But when I felt calm and my head was clear, I wanted to write words that help people. When I was most grateful for what I already had, I wanted to write words that help people.

When you find yourself with conflicting voices - I really want to take the leap to entrepreneurship and I really want to keep my high income. Pay attention to the state you’re in. You are not conflicted on what you want. Chances are you know what you want. You are just afraid.

Seth Godin when asked how someone goes from wantreprener to entrepreneur said, “People get entrepreneurial block for only one reason. It is not because they are not passionate. It is not because they are not qualified. It’s because they are afraid. You need to be clear with yourself about what you are afraid of, why you are afraid, and whether you care enough to dance with that fear because it will never go away.” (The Tim Ferriss Show episode #138 with Seth Godin)

Caroline, it’s not about “turning on” the risks switch. It’s about giving the platform to your voice that is afraid, laying out of every fear you have, and asking yourself if you're willing to do it anyway. That voice steeped in fear will still be there. It always will be. We can only hope to quiet it. We do that by 1) proving it wrong over and over again and 2) recognizing it’s motive. It’s motive is not to actualize your potential. It’s motive is to win the external scorecard. It's motive is to keep you small and safe.

Only you can decide if you want to play small and safe or go for it, Caroline.

Rachael

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— Rachael Camp, CFP® (@camp_wealth) June 27, 2024