Working For a Living — Or Not
Have you heard that old Huey Lewis and The News song called Workin’ for a Living? Some of the lyrics go like this:
I’m taking what they giving ’cause I’m working for a livin’.
Hey I’m not complaining ’cause I really need the work
Hitting up my buddy’s got me feeling like a jerk
Hundred dollar car note, two hundred rent.
I get a check on Friday, but it’s all ready spent.
That song is basically the epitome of what I don’t want my life to be like. Ever! (Although I suppose $200 in rent is a great deal many places — I’d take that if it were in Hawaii.)
What I really want instead though is to reach what one of my favorite books (Your Money or Your Life) calls the Crossover Point.
According to the book, the Crossover Point is the point in time “where monthly investment income crosses above monthly expenses”. In other words, it’s the point in time where you’ll be financially independent. You won’t have to work for a living.
That doesn’t mean you must stop working for a living — it just means that you can if you want to, because your investment income will be greater than your expenses at that point. In my mind, having a steady residual income that’s greater than my expenses will accomplish this same thing.
Becoming financially independent early is something that’s important to me, because I love having choices. Somehow things are so much more interesting when you’re doing them strictly because you want to be doing them — not because you know you need the money.
How do you feeling about becoming financially independent like that? Is that something you’re striving for in your future?
I am striving to have financial freedom! I’m experienced that growing up and we were able to go on tons of vacations and not have money concerns to worry about. My dad owns his own company and could just stop and go when he wanted to. And that looks nice to me.
LenciB, I’m a big fan of vacations so that part sounds especially good to me :)
It important to me to make sure I have a substantial retirement account for my later years. Freaks me out to see my eldest family members not ready what so ever. And I know I am way under par, but I am ahead in the fact I do have retirement accounts and I have a plan to get that substantial figure.
Financial Independence at a younger age will not come so easily as the path to raising a family tempers the monetary building slightly. :)
Great post!
MoneyFunk, yeah there are so many motivators for becoming financially independent. You are definitely ahead in that you have retirement accounts and a plan :)
We’re in the same boat…saving like crazy so that our passive income (like interest) plus our hobby incomes will be enough for us to live on. Neither one of us (hubby or me) would have any problem leaving our day jobs.
Budgeting, and the good thing about the saving like crazy is that you also end up making it a whole lot easier to live on less (since you already are…)
Not to brag, but I’m there.
But I’m a geezer anyway, so I should be there.
Heavens. Geezer today, and it seems like yesterday I was carded.
Michael, hey feel free to brag! What did you do to become financially independent?
Hundred dollar car note, two hundred rent?
When the hell was he born? 1910? lol
Passive Income is where we all want to be.
Hawaii would be second! :)
Richard, heh who knows. But it is an old song!
I would love to become financially independant like that! Working because you WANT to instead of because you HAVE to, would be very freeing to me. I love my job but I might not take as many risks because I know that I need the job. Don’t want to rock the boat.
Kate, don’t wait to take a few risks though. They’re often worth it.
Yes, I am stiving for financial independence.
I have a three year old son at home that I would love to stay home with all the time.
That is what drvies me each and every day to get financially independent.
David, nice. I bet you will get there :)