{"id":236475,"date":"2019-05-21T23:44:31","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T06:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moneyboss.com\/?p=392"},"modified":"2023-12-05T14:18:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T21:18:07","slug":"beyond-wealth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/beyond-wealth\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond wealth: What happens AFTER you achieve financial independence?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In their classic Your Money or Your Life<\/em><\/a>, Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin argue that the relationship between spending and happiness is non-linear.<\/p>\n

More spending brings more fulfillment \u2014 up to a point. But spending too much can actually have a negative impact on your quality of life.<\/strong> The authors suggest that personal fulfillment \u2014 that is, contentment \u2014 can be graphed on a curve that looks like this:<\/p>\n

\"[The<\/p>\n

Beyond the peak, Stuff starts to take control of your life. Buying a sofa made you happy, so you buy recliners to match. Your DVD collection grows from 20 titles to 200, and you drink expensive hot chocolate made from Peruvian cocoa beans. Soon your house is so full of Stuff that you have to buy a bigger home \u2014 and rent a storage unit. But none of this makes you any happier. In fact, all of your things become a burden. Rather than adding to your fulfillment, buying new Stuff actually detracts from it.<\/p>\n

The sweet spot on the Fulfillment Curve is in the Luxuries section, where money gives you the most happiness: You’ve provided for your survival needs, you have some creature comforts, and you even have a few luxuries. Life is grand. Your spending and your happiness are perfectly balanced. You have Enough.<\/p>\n

According to Dominguez and Robin, your goal should be to achieve Financial Independence<\/a>, the condition of having Enough for the rest of your life. “Financial Independence has nothing to do with rich,” they write. “Financial Independence is the experience of having enough — and then some.<\/strong>” This is achieved when your savings has reached a level that will sustain you at the peak of the Fulfillment Curve indefinitely.<\/p>\n

As many Get Rich Slowly readers have discovered over the years, the exercises and advice in Your Money or Your Life<\/em> can transform your relationship with money, helping to break your dependency on Stuff. It’s a great book for learning how to align your spending with your values. It provides a roadmap to Financial Independence.<\/p>\n

Where Your Money or Your Life<\/em> is less good, however, is providing advice for what to do after<\/em> you’ve reached this goal. What happens when you achieve Financial Independence? What happens when you have enough \u2014 and then some?<\/strong> Many people reach this place only to find themselves wondering, “What next?” It’s an important question, one that’s often tough to answer.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The Power of Purpose<\/span><\/h2>\n

When you’re building your wealth snowball<\/a>, your goals and mission keep you focused on the future. They guide you toward the things you ought<\/em> to do while helping you avoid temptation and peril. Without a clear purpose, it’s difficult to stay on course during the long march to financial freedom.<\/p>\n

Purpose is also important after you’ve obtained the wealth you desire.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his book You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think<\/em><\/a>, financial planner Wes Moss shares five “secrets” of a happy retirement. After surveying 1350 retirees across 46 states, Moss found that the number-one predictor of contentment is a sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

“[Happy retirees] have a well-defined understanding of their purpose in life,” he writes. According to his research:<\/p>\n