Achieving Financial Freedom and Energizing the Retirement Police

Break the Golden Handcuffs

Break the Golden Handcuffs and Escape the Retirement Police

Our 100 Month Countdown began April of 2024

Who are the Retirement Police?

I have a healthy respect for the law and try to be an upstanding citizen. What I am about to reveal is going to energize the Retirement Police. Who are the Retirement Police you ask? Great question and your friend, HouFIni, is willing to explain.

The Retirement Police, a.k.a. the internet retirement police. The Retirement Police core belief is that you are not really Financial Independent or have not “retired” if you work in any form.

Admittedly, HouFIni did not coin this term. Many in the FIRE Movement, short for Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE), know the Retirement Police. FIRE Movement Legends such as Mr. Money Mustache, Mr. 1500 Days, and Choose FI, regularly refer to the longer version of the Retirement Police name.

Your crime, should you choose to commit it, would be considered even worse if you actively make money during your “retirement.” Let me be clear, this is even the case if you accidentally make money during your retirement.

Houdini and HouFIni and the Great Escape

Like Harry “Handcuff” Houdini, the great magician and escapologist, HouFIni is seeking to break the Golden Handcuffs and make “paid work optional” by age 59 and a half. HouFIni knows Financial Independence (FI) is not an illusion (ni).

Achieving financial freedom is possible if you know the magic tricks that make your escape possible. Some say the Houdini used to swallow a key and then choke it back up, spit it out, and pick the lock of the handcuffs.

Hopefully, HouFIni will be able to slip through the Golden Handcuffs, or just outright grab the key and unlock financial freedom. Engaging in debt free living and only an abundant pathway forward. HouFIni is all about living your best life.

Catch Us if You Can

Again, HouFIni has a healthy respect for the law and try to be an upstanding citizen. Revealing money magic is going to energize the Retirement Police.

It’s time to go on the record and emphatically state that we intend to be Financially Independent (FI) in 100 months. OK, 96 months from the time of this writing. This blog allows us to hold ourselves accountable to making “paid work optional.” If we do chose to work the Retirement Police will charge us with breaking the law because we are not “officially retired.”

Destined for Pursuit by the Retirement Police

I have been on Financial Independence (FI) collision course since my youth which I equated with “freedom.” I was destined to be pursued by the Retirement Police. When I was younger, I thought FI was being “rich” which I equated to as having $1 million dollars. I thought retirees lived a life of “leisure” with lots of material possessions.

We currently live on more than $40,000 annually. So our Financial Independence Number needs to be higher than $1 million. I am basing our FI Number off of the four-percent rule or the 4% rule. Based on the four percent rule, HouFIni would live off the interest generated off a $1 million portfolio. In the example of $1 million, HouFIni would theoretically live off of four percent, or $40,000 annually, based on Bill Bengen’s initial work.

To be clear, I am not worried that we will hit our FI Number. I know that achieving financial freedom through our Financial Independence Number is possible.

So Enthusiastic We Have Two Financial Independence Numbers

In fact, we have a Two-Part Financial Independence Number strategy. Personal finance is personal, which is why in our case, we intend to take our FI Number in two parts.

Further, this is not a rushed journey with an age 59 and half versus making “paid work optional” at an earlier age. I now view lots of material possessions as more of a burden than a benefit. More on that in a future post. Indeed, HouFIni’s money psychology continues to evolve.

Staying Young at Heart Through Work vs. Early Retirement

On the other hand, I saw how “young at heart” my father was by not officially retiring until the age of 71.

• My father worked for no money until his late 70’s– a clear violation of the Retirement Police. My father did not experience bad days at “the lab” as this work aspect was most joyful.
• My father also enjoyed extending his time as mentor to a younger generation of researchers. If offered his advice on not only his failures but a pathway to success.
• My father, through his lab, provided an opportunity to develop a potential new generation of researchers.
• My father was particularly interested in going out of his way for first-generation scholars and individual’s with the greatest financial need. My father was simply paying it forward.
• As a first-generation college student who grew up during the Great Depression, my father had to figure out his own way to pay for college. In his case, he used the GI Bill as his ticket out.
• I’ve heard from many former students and colleagues share that my father’s kindness as a mentor helped them in their professional journey. My father taught his students and colleagues how to be a good colleague.

My father’s rapid health declines began, perhaps coincidentally, when he ceased going into “work” altogether.

• My father willingly switched roles to become my mother’s primary caregiver. It was an opportunity to pay back my mother for a lifetime of supporting my father’s career goals. While my father was glad to do this for my mother, this work was not his passion.
• Shortly after my father officially retired from “paid” work, he was asked to return to work to cover certain aspects of his job in a part-time paid role. My father struggled with this decision for a about a week and decided it conflict with his ability to take care of my mother.
• My father missed his daily work community. Occasionally catching up with his “work family” was not the same.
• Working provided my father purpose. Although taking care of my mother was incredibly important to my father, this type of work did not fulfill his sense of accomplishment. He was grateful to get them both through another day.

Work vs. Retire Early

So is it better to “retire early” or to pace ourselves and work basically your entire lifetime to maintain a purpose in your life?

• Work is a major part of my identity. Even when I’m not at my paid employment, I tend to work on other projects. My spouse is driven the same way. We struggle when we tend not to be busy. But is being busy a symptom of something else?
• Admittedly, I’m a workaholic, but this is not always related to paid employment.
• Basically, one of my life “failures” is not being able to turn off a work mode — even if it means doing a ton of yard work. I enjoying cranking music with headphones and being out in the yard working even in hot weather.
• It always feels good getting something done.
• I could retire a lot earlier than age 71 from “paid” employment and simply “work” on my passion projects.
• Despite loving his work, at the end of his life, my father never listed “time at the office” as one of his life’s regrets.
• At some point, we will have enough money that there will be no financial reason to be “paid” for work. I will acknowledge that benefits, especially health care, may be the more enticing reason to continue working after we need the cash.

Holding Myself Accountable With 100 Months (96 actually)

One of the reasons I believe I need to set a “countdown clock” for myself to end paid employment, is that I fear I will waste my days exclusively on work. Further, I know I will have contact with maybe two people from my workplace after I leave.

• I’m definitely someone who will “suffer from the one more year syndrome” and will be inclined to work another year because I want to make sure there will be enough to retire without working for money.
• I’m giving myself 100 months from the starting clock (essentially 8 years and just under 5 months) until I “retire” which equates to August 2032. Just typing August 2032 brings some clarity. It’s possible that we could end paid employment before August 2032.
• Barring some unforeseen calamity, our money will double (and then some) in the next 100 months (96 as of the writing), and we would have enough under the 4-percent rule to “retire” from paid employment officially.
• Ending paid employment in 100 months of our countdown will allow us to meet the age 59 and a half age requirement and provide us penalty-free access to “retirement plans” assets. We are assuming that the rule for accessing retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, IRAs, etc. penalty-free at the age of 59 and a half does not change under future federal tax modifications; at the very least, the government would likely be required to “grandfather” in that provision for all assets in the accounts prior to any tax changes.

The Retirement Police Know Exactly Our Plans

Call me a stupid to reveal my plans in advance so that the Retirement Police will know exactly what we are doing. The Retirement Police will certainly be after us from day 1, if not the next 100 months (96 months) and beyond. My question is, if enough people try to foil the Retirement Police– can they catch us all at once? Can we count on you to help us when we are on the lam?

Where We are in the 100 Month Journey?

You can follow our 100 month journey at any point. Our content is generally intended to be evergreen. Even content related to current events is intended to provide context to the past, future, and present. An example is Black Monday 1987 Feeling. This article, Debt Free Living and Achieving Financial Freedom, is from 98 months remaining in our journey hitting our Financial Independence Number.

HouFIni is knows Financial Independence is not an illusion. It’s time to break the golden handcuffs

About Fiftynine & @retirementpolicemostwanted on YouTube

Fiftynine & @retirementpolicemostwanted on YouTube ollows the Financial Independence (FI) journey of HouFIni. Like Harry “Handcuff” Houdini, the great magician and escapologist, HouFIni is seeking to break the Golden Handcuffs and make “paid work optional” by age 59 and a half. HouFIni knows Financial Independence (FI) is not an illusion (ni).

Come join the 100 month countdown to FI and watch as HouFIni and this Family FI seeks to elude the internet retirement police (a.k.a Retirement Police who believe you are not really FI or “retired” if you work in any form).

@retirementpolicemostwanted videos and podcast on YouTube and our posts on Medium at **Fiftynine & @retirementpolicemostwanted on YouTube **follows HouFIni’s journey from reaching debt-free status to achieving financial freedom. This show starts 100 months out as HouFIni and the Family FI is working to hit their needed Financial Independence Number. HouFIni’s Two-Part FI Number adds a twist putting the personal in personal finance.

At ⁨@retirementpolicemostwanted⁩ we want you to be debt-free and live your best life. Good financial habits start here so you can use the four percent rule to break the golden handcuffs while achieving financial freedom.

The goal is to help other FIers learn from our money magic successes and failures and adapt strategies to meet your unique needs as you perform and perfect money tricks.

Topics we discuss include but are not limited to:

Retirement Police

Financial Independence Number

Financial Independence

FI

401k

403b

HSA

Health Savings Accounts

Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE)

psychology of money from early ages,

achieving financial freedom

debt free degree

debt free living

living your best life

Coast FI

FIRE Movement

Building An Emergency Fund

Tax Bracketology

Work optional

Four percent rule

One million dollars

History repeats itself

Black Monday 1987

Charlie Brown Easter Beagle

Bracketology march madness

Houdini

HouFIni

Peeps Marshmallows

Baseball cards

Your Money or Your Life

The Millionaire Next Door

Bill Bengen

Warren Buffett

Die With Zero

Money magic

Money tricks

Social Security

Operating like an FI idiot

FIers

Golden handcuffs

Mug shots

Layoffs

JC Penney Christmas Catalogue

Kmart Blue Light Special

Roth IRA

Pre-tax retirement accounts

Paying yourself first

Personal finance

Great Depression

High Deductible Health Plan

HDHP

Higher pay versus vacation time

Internet retirement police

Linus

Mad Fientist

Mad Fientist Roth Conversion Ladder

Mr. Money Mustache

Money

Two-Part FI Number Strategy

The Three Tenors

The Three Wisemen

Three Kings

Tax Cut and Jobs Act

Priceless

Charlie Brown Christmas

Fight Club

FIght Club

FI Club

Thank you very much money

FU money

457b

Big FI

Lean FI

Family FI

One More Year Syndrome

Economic Outpatient Care

Travel

The Little Engine That Could

Sugar Daddy

This is an entertainment-based show for those looking to learn the strategies used by one family to achieve their financial freedom. This show seeks to share the stories of Fellow FIers who are on the lam. Are you ready to break your golden handcuffs and pose for your mug shot?

Disclaimer

The content on this video, website, podcast, article and any blog posts are not intended to be investment or life advice. Readers, viewers, and or listeners should consult with their legal, financial, and accounting specialists and spiritual and/or life coaches to provide insight on their personal and specific circumstances as each situation is unique. The videos, website, podcast, articles, and any blog posts are written for entertainment purposes only.