You can have it all: How to live your B.E.S.T life
THE STACK #23I grew up believing that you can't have everything you want in life.
I thought that being successful meant you had to sacrifice love.
I also believed that to retire comfortably, you had to sacrifice your enjoyment today and sock away as much extra cash as you could spare.
The problem with thinking we can't have it all is that we don't have a clear definition of what ALL means to us.
We usually want ALL the things our parents, spouses, children, society, or culture wants us to have.
We don't pause and take stock to find out; do I really want ALL of these things?
And we don't put a container to our definition of ALL.
If your ALL is an open-ended list, it will never end; meaningless things will be added continuously.
If it is influenced by what others around you have, you will never attain it.
Instead of trying to have it all, aim to have ENOUGH.
Your ENOUGH should be your ALL.
It's about finding BALANCE.
In today's STACK, I will share some ways you can balance your enjoyment today with your security tomorrow.
THE STACK
Define your B.E.S.T life
BEST life is an acronym I coined that means:
B - Balance
E - Enjoyment and
S - Security
T - Today and tomorrow
Living your B.E.S.T life means being able to spend money on things you genuinely love without jeopardizing your financial security.
Your B.E.S.T life is not a fantasy; it is doing things that matter to you and helps improve your overall quality of life.
I want you to think deeply before you list the things that entail your B.E.S.T life.
I previously thought my B.E.S.T life meant owning a beautiful home. But owning a home affects other areas of my B.E.S.T life, such as wanting to travel the world and live in different countries, having an income-producing asset, and wanting to be lazy and not take care of a big house.
For now, renting allows me to live my B.E.S.T life.
Count the cost
So you want to travel twice a year? How much will it cost?
Do you want to be able to take extended time off work to spend time with your kids (or be by yourself)? How many months of expenses will you need?
Create a strategy
It's no secret that the best and fastest way to grow your money is to invest it.
But most people think that investing is only for retirement.
What if I told you you could also invest for your B.E.S.T life?
You can do this by using a strategy called CoastFI and goal-based investing.
What is CoastFI?
CoastFI means having enough money invested that you would have enough to retire even if you didn't contribute another dollar to it.
CoastFI requires front-loading your retirement in your 20's or early 30's.
This gives it enough time to grow and for compound interest to work its magic.
Once you're done front-loading your retirement, you can spend the extra cash living your B.E.S.T life for the rest of your life!
If you want to learn more about this strategy, see the TOOLS section.
THE TOOL
COASTFI CALCULATOR
I am a sucker for spreadsheets; I live and breathe spreadsheets, so it's only fair that I created a spreadsheet that helps you calculate your CoastFI number.
You can get it for free-ish; you have to come to this free Masterclass where I give it to those who attend.
P.S: The Masterclass details how to set up a CoastFI and B.E.S.T life account.
THE ACCOUNTABILITY
What does your B.E.S.T life look like to you?
I believe in visualizing my goals; it makes them real and motivates me to act on them.
Create a list or vision board.
Take a screenshot a tag me on Instagram!
THE COURAGE
THE KNOWLEDGE
FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
Financial Independence means having enough income to pay for your living expenses without relying on paid employment.
Don't forget to watch the 1-hour Masterclass to learn more.
Have any thoughts, comments or questions? Hit REPLY
Otherwise, I will talk to you same time next week.
Keep Stacking!
about the newsletterEvery Saturday, subscribers will receive one money tip, one tool, one actionable step, one word of courage and learn a new finance term to help you gain control of your finances in less than five minutes.
Free resources
Keep reading the latest NEWSLETTERS
Make travel a part of your B.E.S.T life