When I video conference with James and Emily they are wearing sleeveless shirts. The high for the day in Cyprus is 89 degrees F. I show them the view out my window here in Colorado where the temperature has dropped 50 degrees in the last 24 hours. 4 inches of snow have gathered on my deck so far since this morning. It’s the polar opposite of where they sit in the apartment that they have been renovating for the last month on an island in the Mediterranean. They are a long way from Alabama where less than 4 years ago they were newlyweds just starting out financially as well. Emily and James’ financial story is truly an extraordinary one. They went from zero to financial independence in 2 years!
An Amazing Financial Independence Journey
Prior to discovering the financial independence movement, Emily spent cash on shopping online, clothes, shoes etc. James grew up on hand me downs. His mother provided for the family working at Walmart. However, when James and Emily started making some cash out of college, James spent it on cars that he now figured that he could afford. At one point, they had five cars. They also went out to eat and lived in an expensive condo. They didn’t have debt but they were spending everything that they made.
In 2016, James and Emily found out about the financial independence movement and went all in. They cut spending drastically, moved to a much cheaper condo, and started investing in real estate…like a rocket ship! In the first year, they had 9 units! Through light rehab like painting and flooring they added value. By the second year, they had 11 rental units and were able to live modestly off of just 1/3 of the income from these properties alone. Over this time, they were both working full time jobs! One of their keys to keeping their spend very low was and still is being conscious to spend only for necessities and not for happiness. That is derived in other ways.
How Much Money is Enough
As I talk to James and Emily today in Cyprus, they echo this sentiment that spending should be for necessities, not for happiness. James offers that increased spend may sometimes be due to a lack of creativity for how to get what you may want. For some, this raises a crucial question. James and Emily, you seem to have cracked the code! Why not just keep going amassing properties and piling up cash?
James and Emily offer up that they could have bought more properties. They could also have continued on at their jobs for another year for example. This might have added $100K as a cushion to the bank but it will not make life better. It is not worth the time that it would cost. Emily explains that part of the transition that has happened to them over the last 4 years is the definition of success. James offers that he and Emily, both in their late 20’s, are part of the Instagram generation. There was a time when like Instagram they believed that success was based on outward appearances. Part of their transition has been seeing how outward appearances are often at odds with an individual’s feeling of success. They hint that success is actually a state of mind. It involves enjoying life and enjoying experiences rather than thinking about things.
Living Financially Free
It’s a sunny evening on the coast in Limassol and my chat with Emily and James is briefly interrupted by the gregarious shouting of Emily’s uncle outside the window. “Have you eaten, What have you eaten?” her relatives sometimes ask. It has been a transition for them from operating so independently over the past few years to now be thrust into a family situation where everyone wants to know what they have been up to and how everything is going. I imagine that the love and concern is warm and also overpowering to suddenly have this close family situation together with cultural, language, and generational gaps. Family is important to Emily and James. In our discussion about success, they mention being a successful family member and a successful husband and wife.
Success and Relationships
There is evidence that the quality of our relationships is one of the biggest determinants of happiness and health. When I first met Emily and James at a weekend conference a few months ago, I was talking to James in a loud bar when he started gesturing with his hands toward Emily sitting at the next table over. James had noticed that Emily may not be feeling well and was checking in on her. I found out that they both know sign language (yes really) and also that they are straight up adorable. In subsequent chats, they effortlessly traded off back and forth in our conversation like they were on the same wavelength. One of the first questions I asked them during our talk for this profile was:
What Has This Journey Meant as a Couple so Far.
“I think it has actually brought us closer together,” says James. He goes on to explain that today they talk about every decision that they make and about the future. It is a carryover from the mindful discussions of their financial independence journey where they practiced making choices based on considering repercussions and taking their needs into account along the way. He explains that they still disagree but now they converse better during disagreement. They have better discussions. They also spend more time together going on walks and talking as opposed to how they may have used that time in the past on shopping or spending on entertainment. Emily goes on to explain that they bring their individual goals and needs to each other and help each other evaluate them. This works because they both have trust and understanding that when the other suggests something it is coming from a genuine place of considering what’s best for each other rather than being a selfish sort of ask or an adversarial sort of debate. In other words, every discussion starts with both of them having considered whether this is good for us and not just for me. In addition to relationship health, physical health came up numerous times in our discussion.
The Importance of Health
Health plays a major role in Emily and James’ life. They try to get to the gym daily or if not at least fit in a walk or something. They also try to adhere to a freegan type diet. This essentially means that they eat vegan when in control of their own diet but if at a bbq where someone has prepared burgers, they would not reject it or let it go to waste. The thinking seems centered around avoiding food waste as a central piece. They also have some health issues in their family history and hence try to incorporate diet and exercise.
Being a Powerlifting Champion
One of the things I’ve noticed about bad ass athletes is that they tend to be pretty chill and down play their performance even though you get a sense of the total beast inside. Such is the case when I ask about weightlifting and am casually told that James and Emily have set 18 state records between the two of them for powerlifting! I am initially a little puzzled since they are both super trim and compact. However, I learn that the secret in powerlifting is lifting huge amounts compared to your body weight. I am now deathly afraid to shake either of their hands lest I get my knuckles crushed by a secret service death grip. Apparently, James and Emily had a friend who had done some powerlifting and won a few competitions. Since they were already pretty in shape, they looked up the women’s record in Emily’s weight class and found that she was already lifting close to that. One thing led to another and then 18 state records fell. The secret that they share to powerlifting is that it is about balancing cutting weight with maximizing effectiveness in lifting. These two things directly conflict and finding the balance is the key to success. To me this achievement, like building an 11 unit real estate portfolio in 2 years, speaks to the power of determination, and following a process to achieve extraordinary results.
The Beginning of an Adventure
A few months ago, Emily and James left their jobs and the USA to renovate this apartment in Cyprus for Emily’s grandmother. The few months has been a whirlwind remodel similar to the ones they did back in Alabama to get their financial freedom. However, this one is also the beginning of a new and somewhat unknown chapter. In a very short time this project will be done. What comes next? James is the first one to admit that they don’t have a clear answer for this. They have had to leave Cyprus periodically based on James’ Visa. They also have to return to the USA in 2020 for a wedding and a conference. European citizenship is something they are exploring. They definitely want to continue to travel central Europe and continue to experience different cultures. The example that they raise is that in the USA people in the Midwest, South, West Coast, etc, are all different but we all have the same political system and the same language. However, world travel is totally different languages, political systems, and food. The perspective gained is huge.
Financial Independence, What Comes Next
“We had this big goal that we worked toward for a few years. Now that we’ve reached it, we don’t really have a next goal,” says James. Perhaps this is exactly the benefit that this transition for Emily and James has provided, I offer. Financial independence means there is no pressure to have to pretend to have certainty at an uncertain time. Recently, James spent the weekend working on something on the website and then decided to nix it. The thing is that it felt great because he had fun spending those 12 hours working on it. Going a different direction he felt no real loss or regret. Life doesn’t have to be as transactional when you know you’ll be ok for your needs. You can choose to hustle or take it easy. What is next for them? Time will tell but as they point out at the end of our call, “It’s silly but it’s hard to turn it off.” All the habits built to get to where they are so far don’t just turn off once you reach the goal. They get excited about maybe doing an AirBNB experience in the city that they are in. They chuckle about how they still habitually track every penny of spend.
James and Emily are in their first few months of post financial independence life. They’ve left their jobs and are wrapping up the apartment project in Cyprus. Don’t just wonder where their story goes from here, follow along at RethinkTheRatRace.com. Also I just love the name of their site and the visual metaphor of a rat escaping the maze. It is pure genius 😉
This is #4 in a series where I talk with others living personalized and intentional Lives that look very different from the norm. Check out more conversations from living outside the maze here.
