Having It All

Yogi Berra once said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." It's a quip that's been made light of over the years, but I'm actually a firm believer in this philosophy. I do think it's possible to have it all - spontaneity and security, wanderlust and roots, extravagance now and financial security later. My current goal? Indulge my deep desire to travel the world while planning for a stable (and hopefully early!) retirement in the years ahead. As a millennial, I will admit that some of how the media portrays us in the media has shown through in my own life: picky about my career choices, unwilling to settle for less than I think I'm worth in the workplace, and very clear on my desire for work/life balance. As the markets have taught us, we're on our own for retirement - Social Security may be there, but it may not. Pensions may be there in certain sectors, but they may not. It's up to us to create a game plan that will see us through, be it through investments, passive income, savings or some other method.

This, however, is a good thing. It means that we have the ability to write our own story while achieving financial success.

The flip side of this - my fork in the road - has always been my love of travel. I want to travel now, everywhere, for as long as possible, without cementing a retirement living under a bridge in a cardboard box in my later years (unless, you know, there are some really cool technical advances in cardboard development and I'm feeling adventurous. But event then). And that's really what this blog is about - achieving the balance between long-term financial planning without missing out on the current opportunities for new experiences, be they through travel or meeting new people or learning how to work with the current job and financial markets to gain financial freedom.

It's real and possible - now it's just up to us to make it a reality.