🐧 Achieving Life Dreams Before Financial Independence

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Today, in 10 minutes or less, you’ll learn:

• ⌛️ Why waiting for complete financial independence might be holding you back
• ⛵️ Real-life stories of a sailing enthusiast, farm couple, and self-employed mom who made their dreams a reality before reaching their “freedom number”
• 🧠 Creative ways to afford your ideal lifestyle sooner than you think

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🖊️ Achieving Life Dreams Before Financial Independence

This is going to get me some hate, but:

You do not need to completely achieve financial freedom to chase your life dreams.

On June 23, I published The Secret Formula to Fulfilling Your Dreams.

I featured 3 high-achievers who left their 6-figure jobs to pursue various goals:

• An Amazonian going to pastry school
• A McKinsey consultant self-publishing a book
• A Microsoft software engineer sailing the world with family

They pulled the trigger on the unconventional path.

And they did it without achieving financial independence.

Did I really just say that while writing a money newsletter?

Yes. Here’s what I believe:

In personal finance, money is a tool.

Numbers are important, but also don’t delay your life goals until you achieve your so-called “freedom number.”

In this newsletter, I share 3 case studies of people who spent money to fulfill unconventional life goals before achieving financial independence.

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Case Study #1: 35-year-old sailing enthusiast lives on a houseboat for $1,450/month

Kate Fincham loved the water.

She learned to sail as a kid, spent 10 months studying aboard on a ship in high school, and worked as a stewardess on a yacht for 2.5 years after university.

When she moved to Toronto in 2013, she had given up this on-water lifestyle for her on-land career.

With average Toronto homes selling for $700,000, she was renting.

Until everything changed during Covid lockdown.

In 2020, she stumbled upon houseboats for sale that were only a 30 minute commute from downtown.

She visited a 625-square-foot houseboat and loved it.

She decided to pull the trigger.

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How did she execute this?

She bought the houseboat for $248,159 (342,500 Canadian dollars) using a combination of her savings and $25,000 from a family member.

She moved aboard in November 2020.

She pays around $1,450 monthly expenses for her houseboat:

• Mooring fee: $732 (covers her allotted space on the dock, water, access to electricity and septic pump out, parking, and mail)
• Insurance: $223
• Electricity: $76
• Internet: $57
• Loan repayment: $362

She’s also spent about $2,200 in renovations since she’s moved in.

Given she had no experience on houseboats, this move was not easy.

Especially since she moved in right when a frigid Canadian winter hit.

But she made it work.

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Living aboard for the foreseeable future

Fast forward 3 years, she worked remotely as a content marketing specialist from her houseboat.

She spends her summers going for sunrise kayaks and picnics at the beach after work.

In the winter, she enjoys the fireplace with her two cats, and explores the park and cross-country skis.

If she needs to go into the city, she’s only a short train ride away.

Despite leaving behind the conveniences of city life, the trade off has been worth it.

She considers buying the houseboat as the best decision she’s ever made.

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Case Study #2: Farm couple in New Orleans buys an abandoned property in rural Japan for $9,292

In 2021, Dani and Evan Benton sold their small urban farm in New Orleans.

They had taught themselves how to garden, keep honeybees, grow chickens, and sell honey and eggs—while working as a photographer and licensed masseuse therapist.

They dreamed of one day having a large-scale farm in a rural environment.

This dream wasn’t affordable in the US, so they looked beyond their borders for potential properties.

Evan spoke Japanese and Spanish, which helped narrow down their search.

Fast forward to today, they run a small guesthouse and honeybee farm on Omishima Island, Japan.

They’ve bought and restored two formerly abandoned homes.

And now they’re building their dream abroad.

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How did they execute this?

They emigrated to Japan on a Startup visa, which enables foreigners to setup a business.

In spring 2023, they bought the Benton Guesthouse for $9,292:

• $7,500 for the house itself
• $1,500 in transaction fees
• $212 one-time real estate acquisition tax
• $80 annual property tax

The building was constructed in 1953 and abandoned for 10 years.

Restoration took 6 months and cost $29,000, including rental license and amenities.

Why 6 months? They wanted to show the government they had a first guest and viable business before their next visa extension application.

They did a lot of the renovations themselves to minimize costs, while also hiring local contractors.

They lived in the guesthouse during this period.

Their guesthouse’s monthly expenses:

• $40 for internet
• $15 for water
• $120 for electricity
• $10 for gas

They also bought a small truck for $2,000 and pay $300/year for car insurance.

Finally, they acquired a second guesthouse nearby the first guesthouse on September 2023 for $18,500.

This property used to be an inn and included a larger plot of land.

It’s currently being renovated.

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Opening the guesthouse and farm for business

In November 2023, they opened their doors to customers, have maintained a near 5-star rating, and earned $14,000 revenue from Benton Guesthouse so far.

On top of the guesthouse, they have built 10 honeybee colonies and sold out their first batch of honey.

Despite leaving behind the US, they couldn’t have afforded their farm dream stateside.

And now they can’t imagine living anywhere else.

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Case Study #3: 41-year-old self-employed mom buys her dream second home in Sicily for $62,000

In 2012, Stephanie Synclair quit her corporate marketing job, started her own consulting business, and first visited Palermo, Sicily with her then 6-year-old son.

She fell in love with Sicily.

Fast forward 10 years later, she bought a house on the Italian island for $62,000 (59,000 euros).

She ran her own tea company, LaRue 1680, paying herself $80,000/year.

Why Sicily? Aside from the food, views, and lifestyle, sense of community is a highlight.

She feels “she knows more about her neighbors in Sicily than she’s ever known about her neighbors in the U.S.”

Now she splits her time between her home base of Atlanta and her second home in Sicily.

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How did she execute this?

In 2020, she got serious about buying a home when mortgage rates dropped during the Covid pandemic.

Unfortunately, she got priced out of her budget of $450,000 as homes in her desired neighborhoods that had sold for $300,000 in 2019 were going for $800,000 in 2021.

That is, until she decided to look outside the country.

She discovered the town of Mussomeli, Sicily through a Facebook group for American expats in Europe.

She connected with a local real estate agency to help her search.

In March 2022, she closed on a 3-bedroom, 2-bath 4,000 square foot house for $62,000.

Given it required renovations, she budgeted about $21,000 for repairs—like converting the home’s garage into a living room and bar area, adding a bedroom and bathroom, and knocking down kitchen walls.

She spends $5,196 monthly expenses to maintain this dual-home lifestyle:

• Atlanta housing: $2,635 for rent, utilities and Wi-Fi
• Atlanta transportation: $1,165 for car payments and gas
• Sicily transportation: $389, for a car rental and gas
• Sicily utilities: $258, for utilities and Wi-Fi
• Food expenses: $486
• Subscriptions: $161
• Life insurance: $103

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Planning to retire abroad

As of October 2023, she had nearly $1M in net worth:

• ~$14,000 in savings
• ~$33,000 in a retirement account (Roth IRA)
• ~$950,000 in a brokerage account

This wasn’t sufficient to achieve her retirement number in the US ($2.5M assuming inflation).

However, this was more than sufficient for retiring in Italy ($450,000).

Going forward, that’s exactly what she aims to do.

Once her 17-year-old son graduates from high school, her plan is to fully relocate to Italy.

In Summary

Don’t live the Deferred Life Plan.

In many cases, you can achieve big life goals even before achieving financial independence.

Yes, careful planning and execution are needed.

But there are many examples of people choosing a more adventurous path.

In this edition, we showed you 3 case studies:

• Sailing enthusiast buying a houseboat to live on the water
• Farm couple starting their dream farm and guesthouse in rural Japan
• Self-employed mom buys a second home in Italy to eventually retire abroad

🌐 Beyond your borders

🇺🇸 How Does the Stock Market Perform in an Election Year? (YCharts)

🏡 How Much House is Too Much? (Of Dollars and Data)

🔐 Why Anybody Over 18 Should Have an Estate Plan (WSJ)

🧠 Social snippets

How this ex-Microsoft software engineer sails the world with his wife and daughter.

5 mistakes that kill portfolio careers before they start.

For daily insights, follow me on Linkedin or Threads.

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