Now is the time

Music has opened doors for me across the world. My guitar1 and I have played dive bars in Okinawa, Japan, and a sold-out opera house in Duluth, Minnesota2. They loved us in Singapore and they hated us in Greece. Like every other touring musician, I have seen the best and the worst the world has to offer.

My time on the road has taught me here is always the place, and now is always the time. I would not trade my worst day on the road for a million dollars3.

A lifetime of adventure has helped me avoid a mistake that permeates most of the financial independence writing I have come across. Frugality, austerity, and investment are pushed as the path to freedom and independence.

Cut expenses. Pour money into index funds. Use this calculator to determine the time of your retirement, down to the second. A dollar spent today would be worth $40 in the future if you saved it. Or $400, or $40,000. You do the math!

The woke investor can gain freedom in twenty years instead of thirty, if only they save enough. The truly hard core can get it down to ten.

If you follow my plan and faithfully fill out this spreadsheet, you can find peace of mind, stability, and strength... eventually.

I do not buy it. Work for independence? Save for freedom?

Wrong way around, brother.

Choose independence and strength now, not later. Consider your options, plan for the future you want, adapt to circumstances as they arrive. Save and cut expenses. Invest. Retire early if that is your goal. All good advice, as far as it goes. But do not forget to live in the present, and no matter where you are in your life, do not think for a second that you are not already free4.