Self Sufficiency: The Most Valuable Tool In Your FI Toolbox?

Being single and an outdoor sports junkie means I’m often going out on adventures by myself.  And now that I’m financially independent and semi-retired I have more time than ever for adventures. 

These are clearly not problem statements….

But there is a down side – it’s harder than ever to find a partner in crime since most of my new free time is when 99% of the population is at work.  I know, please don’t shed too many tears for me.  Really, I’m good….

Some sports I do are difficult to do solo.  Take stand up paddle boarding.  I’ve been paddling for 9 years (before it was hip!) and I love it.

Paddle boarding is a sport that’s best done when it’s not too windy, since your presence on the board makes you a big sail.  At 6 feet 4 inches tall it’s worse for me of course.  And believe it or not the best seasons to be outdoors near D.C., spring and fall, are usually windy.

The Potomac River goes by D.C. and generally flows in a southeast direction, which is also how the prevailing winds blow on most days.  So most of the time it’s easy to put in the river and flow down river, but very difficult and sometimes impossible to get back to the car.

Not only am I fighting the current of the river, I’m going against the wind on most days.  I’ve been stranded before, trust me.

However, if I travel with the prevailing winds, it’s a blast and I can fly!  But I still have to get back to the car.

So what do I do?  I bring my bike!  Yep, I strap a bike onto my inflatable stand up paddleboard and go down river with the wind and current.  Then I roll up the board, put it on the bike, and ride back to my car!

 

 

 

Instant multi-sport day, and a beautiful life hack!  I solved the problem of getting back to my car with a little creativity and some muscle. 

Outdoor sports nerds call this “multi-modal travel”, but I just call it fun.

If you want to see what it’s like paddling a stand up board with a bike on it check out this short video.  And I get to look at the Washington Monument and other treasures – ‘Murica!! 

Notice in that video there are no other boats on the river.  It was a weekday, I had it to myself.  Sometimes I feel like King Potomac out there 🙂

 

Solo Rockin’

Then there’s rock climbing.  If there was any sport that heavily relies on a partner it’s rock climbing.  To climb safe, you need a belay partner.  In a nutshell, your belayer holds the other end of the rope so if you fall you don’t die. 

It’s kind of important, since gravity is a heartless bastard and doesn’t care who you are or how big your net worth is. 

So how do I get around this and go climbing without a belay partner? 

Don’t tell me Accidental Fire, you’re one of those crazy idiots who climbs on vertical rock cliffs without a rope?

Nope.  That’s called “free soloing” and let’s just say unless you’re this guy who is going to be famous very soon you should never ever consider doing it. 

Ever – no matter how good you are!

I instead do something called “self-belay”.  It wasn’t hard to learn to set up the system, but it did take some practice and skill. 

And it only cost me one extra piece of specialized gear that I got for $23.

 

I quadruple check every self belay setup that I do.  To be honest, it’s probably safer than climbing with a belay partner since they can sometimes be distracted and checking out girls on other parts of the climbing wall (sorry Ryan..) 🙂

 

No One Loves Your Money Like You Do

Why am I telling you these things and exposing how weird I am?

Because I got to financial independence largely by being self-sufficient.  And you just might be able to as well. 

Sure, you can ask experts or pay a financial advisor, but no one knows all of the complicating factors and intricacies of your life and your money like you do. 

Nobody but you really knows what can be cut, what you secretly want to spend more on, and your day-to-day desires and wishes. 

It’s on you.

You need to develop your self-sufficiency muscles.  And the great news is that you don’t have to strap a bike on top of a paddleboard or learn intricate rope techniques for climbing to do so. 

You’re reading this post on the glorious internet right now, and it’s the only tool you need. 

All of the information and resources you need to become self-sufficient with your money are available online.  You just need to go out and find them, read them, and put them into practice in your life. 

It was the same for me when I was figuring out how to get my paddleboard back to my car on windy days.  The resources and tools were already in my basement – my bike, some bungee cords, and a dry bag.  I just had to address the problem and put the solution into action. 

And when I needed to learn how to set up a self-belay system to solo rock climb, the internet was there for me.  A couple of blogs and YouTube videos and 2 hours later I had it figured out.

This is the golden age of information and knowledge.  Take control and capitalize on it!