How FIRE thinking helps during Lockdown
Around the globe people are being asked to stay at home and save lives. A global lockdown that has profoundly changed the lives of a large proportion of humanity.
Finding that happiness has nothing to do with spending money has helped during these months of lockdown.
For over four months spending has come down massively. With no fuel costs for the car at all and no eating out costs, an already efficient lifestyle has improved even further.
At the same time we’ve had so much more time together as a family. We’ve gone deep into our hobbies. Explored the beautiful countryside around our home more than ever before. We’ve learned together, played games, exercised in nature and read. We’ve enjoyed the home we spent so long buying more than ever before.
This got me to thinking: what do we really need and what do we miss from the old normal?
What do we really need?
- Clean water
- Healthy food
- Shelter
- Access to beautiful nature
- Exercise outside (e.g. walking, cycling, running, weights)
- Time with loved ones
- Electricity for heat and light (renewable)
- Books
- Internet connection (for music, learning, blogs, films, creating)
What do we really miss?
Being with family and friends and being able to travel to explore the world.
Give yourself a Lottery win
I spoke to a neighbour earlier today and asked how he was finding it. He said he was loving his time at home with his family as well. “If I could just win the Lottery then I could live like this forever.”
That’s what growing rich enough is all about. It’s about making that Lottery win a reality. Using simple maths, cutting out the waste, focusing on living your happiest life, then taking the surplus money and investing it to own slices of businesses.
Buying assets with your savings instead of more and more expensive liabilities. You can, in a relatively short time, buy your freedom.
Living happily at home
I’m enjoying the peace of being at home. Enjoying free activities: walking, cycling, reading, learning, and creating.
Having this time together as a family is precious.
There are aspects of the current situation that are very similar to normal frugal FIRE living …
- Eating well: whole plant foods, salads, nuts, seeds, berries, fruit, beans, turmeric, vitamins, whole grains, and ground flaxseed.
- Exercising outside in nature. We’ve taken long local walks exploring new stunningly beautiful places on our doorstep. We are enjoying getting outside into the sunshine every day.
- Staying calm and peaceful: reading, listening to music, not watching the news but instead getting accurate data (Information is Beautiful & Worldometer), sleeping well, meditating, and enjoying time in nature.
- Reducing unnecessary travel: enjoying the local area and using Zoom to keep in contact with friends and family.
- Avoiding crowds. As per usual we don’t go to places where you have to queue and even though the shops are open now we’ve stuck to doing one big trip for food every two weeks.
- Practicing a bit more minimalism while we’ve got the time at home.
- Improving our home ourselves (insourcing).
- Enjoying free activities: catching up on reading, playing board games, Lego with the children, using streaming services for music and film, and there are endless creative possibilities (writing, photography, painting, coding, craft, etc.).
- We’ve got the time to go deeper into the things we love.
Knowing you can enjoy life while spending very little money brings peace of mind in uncertain times.
Light from the Darkness
There are many positives to come out of the darkness of this pandemic: as people help each other with acts of kindness and our changing habits change the world.
The canals in Venice run crystal clear and Dolphins are coming in from the sea. Air pollution has dropped across the world as planes are grounded and cars parked up.
People are connecting even while staying physically apart. People are finding the beauty in their local area and getting to know their neighbours.
Quickening Progress
There is a good chance this global quietening will be the catalyst for some permanent changes that benefit humanity and other life on the planet.
Those that can work from home may find their lives improved without the need for polluting, wasteful, and expensive commutes; they may never go back to their old ways of working. The same applies to air travel for work.
This global challenge has already brought people closer together even as we stay physically apart. Maybe we’ll find a way to work together globally towards the other challenges that face the human race.
One of the things that this instant global change shows is that it is possible for us to make an instant global change if we want to.
- How do we want the world to look when we come back out from our homes?
- What new habits do we want to keep in place?
- What have we learnt about the things that make us happy?
Into a better future
What would the future look like if everybody realised they only needed enough to enjoy life. With the realisation that excessive consumption has a negative impact on happiness as well as upon the world, the focus of our work could shift from maximum profit to maximum good.
Healthcare could be focused on keeping people healthy, on nutrition and exercise, rather than treating symptoms. Food production could be focused on quality rather than quantity.
Imagine if the economy could be directed towards 100% renewables, towards the growth of healthy food, away from waste, pollution, and destruction.
We could reclaim time with our families, time to exercise in nature, time to enjoy this beautiful world.
Cities and towns could be re-designed around people instead of cars. Giving us all the space to walk, run, and cycle in the clean air.
What would you like the future to look like?
I hope you and your family are safe and well. Sending you best wishes and love wherever you are in the world.
