It’s Good to Be in the Driver’s Seat

Before discovering FIRE, I was a 98-lb. weakling in a lot of ways. . . . Let me clarify. Physically, I’m still a 98-lb. weakling. So weak. Sooooo verrrrry weak. But in several other ways, I’m now not quite as weak stronger.

Strength training

For one thing, our financial position and trajectory. As I’ve explained before, we were almost never bad with money. But we certainly weren’t what I now consider to be good with it. Then came my big bang moment.

Before reading that life-transforming article, we likely were going to remaining working stiffs until about age 65. Knowing what I know now, we may have been able to call it a day before that age. But as we didn’t even know of any “other way,” it’d likely never even have occurred to us to do so any earlier than probably age 62. And even that we’d have considered almost fanciful.

Instead, we made changes — none greater than investing instead of merely saving. Less than five years later (and well before age 62), we’re knocking on FI’s door. Hi, FI! Can you hear me? Please let us in! Whaddyou mean “COVID?” That’s irrelevant! And you’re not even a sentient being! What?! No, you shut up!

Ooops! Sorry, Dear Reader. I didn’t mean for you to witness that exchange. Let’s get back to our regularly scheduled programming, shall we?

Private parts

Since learning about FIRE, we made changes that at one point caused our regular bank account — where our emergency fund then sat — to swell. Not necessarily smart, but there were reasons.

Anyway, our bank (which in the almost 25 years I’d been banking with it had paid me precisely no attention) noticed. And so someone in its private wealth department reached out and asked to meet with me.

Now, if you’d have told me five years ago that a bank’s private wealth department would even give me the time of day, I’d have laughed in your face. I’ve worked with lawyers who represent high-net-worth individuals — who are the people I figured that these departments worked with — and I was then, and even today remain, not even close to being in the same league as those high-rollers.

So when I was contacted, I did a few things: (1) muted the phone, (2) laughed hard, (3) unmuted the phone, and (4) thought to myself “the bank wants to liberate me from my money.”

There was almost a zero chance I was going to entertain any offer the bank might extend to me in the meeting. But I agreed to the meeting nonetheless. For one thing, I wanted to see what they’d try to peddle to me. I also wanted to see if I was right about them trying to take my money. But most of all, I wanted to sense the dynamic of a meeting at which I was secretly in complete control.

And so the meeting day came. The guy put on his show, handed me some pamphlets and marketing materials about various products and services, and asked me if I had any questions. In fact, I did have questions!

I explained my investments and strategies and asked the banker if what he was proposing wouldn’t be waaaaay more expensive, with the added bonus of likely inferior returns, not even counting the expenses. Based on the look on the banker’s face, it seemed clear to me that he wasn’t used to talking to people who: (1) had much financial literacy, and (2) demonstrated to him that what he was selling was garbage. And so, my main goal — to get satisfaction from the dynamic playing out in the meeting — had been accomplished.

The banker couldn’t refute any of my points. Because as compared to what he was selling, there was nothing to refute. And so I said that so long as that was the case we had nothing more to discuss. Back turned to the banker, I walked out with a huge grin on my face.

This, for me, was a seminal win resulting from my discovery of FIRE. Before then, I might have thought what the banker said made a lot of sense. And that the products and services being offered were sensible. Worse, I might have taken up his offer. But now, I knew enough to know going into that meeting that the bank was trying to take advantage of me. And I was in control of that meeting. It was a deeply, deeply satisfying experience.

On the hiring line

Pre-FIRE discovery, I more or less used to hate/dread applying and interviewing for jobs. Even when I attained enough industry experience to put me in stronger positions as to jobs I applied for, I still hated the whole exercise and experience. Also, I’m not a job-hopper as a rule. But my dislike for job hunting probably caused me to forego exploring opportunities when I should have. What’s more, my approach in interviewing was almost wholly “I am here to impress you,” and almost not at all “you are here to impress me.”

Yeah. Things are different now.

I’ve currently got a decent thing going workwise. But I recently saw an interesting job posted. It’s in my/the legal industry and, based on the job description, right in my wheelhouse.

From what the in-house human resources person I spoke with told me, the expectation is that the hired person would be way more junior than me. But I know that to avoid a lot of expensive training that’d be necessary for a junior person, and to have a better chance of avoiding costly mistakes by the person hired, they need someone much more senior. Like me.

The people actually hiring no doubt know that, But I suspect that they were told by the money people to hire someone more junior. Nevertheless, I have a hunch that the hiring people have a good chance of getting to hire someone more senior. So, I figure that going through the hiring process is not a silly, futile exercise for me.

Now, as I mentioned, we’re knocking on FI’s door. And after next year, my thinking is that I say adios to the legal industry switch jobs and industries entirely, and probably work part-time, whether for myself or for an employer. But the job is interesting for various reasons. So I figured I’d explore it even though I know, going in, there are many reasons I might say “no” to it. Frankly, it’s likely I’d reject an offer.

Given how much I dislike the hiring process, willingly engaging in it when there’s a very strong chance I’ll say “no” is itself new for me. My previous thinking being “why bother?” Also new to me is a feeling that I have nothing to lose.

I recently went through the first round of the hiring process. It went well enough, I think. But just as in my meeting with the banker, my complete willingness to ultimately say “no” made me feel in almost total control.

But for the fact that the interviewers asked some of the best questions I’ve been asked in an interview, I’d have felt like I was toying with them the whole meeting. Regardless, I have to admit, it felt great to work from an almost complete “you are here to impress me” mindset.

And in the end . . .

Dear Reader, I talk a lot about how reaching FI will allow for this or that. And it’s all true. But almost as great is how just pursuing FI can allow for fantastic benefits. And how the value of those benefits increases as FI approaches.

It’s good to be in the driver’s seat.