As my family and I travel across Japan, I’ve been drinking a lot of tea. When in Japan, it’s the thing to do. And I like tea, especially Japanese tea. But, I love coffee. And, after 11 days in country, my perfectly prepared Espresso really hit the spot. So, at current exchange rates, that Espresso cost almost 5 bucks. Frankly, it’s ludicrous for a cheap-skate like me to spend that much on a single coffee. And, that is against the backdrop of our 3 week trip to Japan, itself no exercise in frugality.
How does spending so much money fit into the context of a Financial Independence website? Simple; this is my dream: to spend time with the people I love most. This is why I save money in almost every other facet of my life. This is why I put in over-time at work to boost my income. This is why I invest in as many assets as possible.
My family and I have saved for almost 2 years for this trip. We’ve decided to spend our holiday vacation and significant financial resources to visit extended family in Japan and tour other parts of the country while we are here. Our almost 3 year old will meet her 98 year-old Okinawan great-grandmother, and the memories and pictures will be priceless.
So, for an (almost) inaugural post on a Financial Independence website, starting with my “why” seems like the right place to begin.
In the coming years, Dan and I intend to share lots more about our personal journeys, including our mistakes and successes. We plan to distill the principles that guide our decisions into a sequence of modular courses designed to inform your own actions. Our goal is to pay it forward and help others navigate their personal financial journeys to achieve freedom as quickly as possible.
To that, I say, “Kanpai!”