Okay - the title goes wayy too far, but I’m an impatient person, alright?
Here’s what my FIRE perceptions are:
Learn about FIRE, and decide which (if any) FIRE you want to pursue.
Take the first steps, budget, reduce spending, etc.
Increase your income, side hustles, job hunting, etc.
Invest, invest, invest. This is brokerage accounts, tax-advantaged accounts, real estate, etc.
Start on your Roth conversions, and other money movement so you’re optimized to retire.
So, here’s my problem. Step 5, I’m pretty sure, is just the slog. The time you spend actually saving once you have the knowledge you need to work towards your goals. (Now, I’m not saying you’re never going to learn anything again - because that’s ridiculous. Just that the bulk of the basics are done.)
Now, I’m sort of floating around the 3rd and 4th steps. I’ve slashed my expenses as far as I can without giving up things I value. (Like, I could stop spending on some things if I needed to survive, but I don’t think it’s worth it just to retire faster.)
I’m sort of working on step 3 because I’m currently in school to move to a better paying career. But because I still work, and because I’m going to school full time, it feels like I don’t have any time for a side hustle. And if I did have more time, I’d just put them towards work (I’m hourly and basically set my schedule) to where I’d get a guaranteed and immediate benefit of more pay.
So, it feels like I’m step 5 because I can’t seem to do anything else. But I haven’t progressed that far - so I keep going back to step 1 because it’s the only other step I can reach and take action on. (Already reduced my budget, already saving and investing every dollar I can, and simply do not have the time to try and start an additional income stream without a total breakdown). But, I don’t know where to go to learn more. I’ve been listening to podcasts, reading blogs, but it’s all basics - things I already know because I go to where I’ve been. I don’t know where to find new places to learn new things.
It feels incredibly frustrating, because it feels like I’m making no progress (and I basically am not between reduced work and school expenses) unless you consider 100% reinvestment progress. And, I should consider progress, I’m just a good two years from seeing the payoffs. And. . . I’m impatient.
So, anyway. Incredibly frustrating, because it feels like I’m making no progress and that I can’t do anything to start making progress again. Even though logically I know that in two years, my salary will (hopefully) double and potentially quadruple depending on the practice area I go into.