Find Your Financial Forever Pace

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The fact that the weather app on my phone said the outside temperature was in the mid thirties was reinforced by the water dripping from the roof of my house. The sun was shining, the snow was melting, and I was stretching out for my first long run outside in months. Nine miles to be exact.

The first few miles are always the hardest. Even though I thoroughly stretch out before I start, it always seems to take a few miles before everything gets loosened up. During my run on Saturday it took about 4 miles, at which point something magical happened.

My body was perfectly in tune, every motion in perfect synchronization with each other. My breathing was aligned with my stride; breathing in for two steps, breathing out for two more. I instinctively fist pumped and let out an emphatic, “Hell, yes. Let’s GO!”

I call it my “forever pace” because I feel like I could keep going just like that forever.

I did exactly that. For the next five miles, every muscle in my body worked in perfect unison, propelling me forward along West River Parkway, past the Eagle’s nest, and back home again. When I got to the end of my block, I slowed and walked up the small hill to my home at the tip of a cul-de-sac. A smile as big and bright as the morning sun was fixated on my face.

I felt GREAT.

That’s really the same thing I’m trying to find financially as well. I’m searching for a system of budgeting, saving, spending and a level of frugality that I can sustain for the rest of my life. I want to find a methodology that just becomes ingrained into my lifestyle, that I don’t even have to think about. My financial goals are intertwined with the rest of my life, in harmony, in perfect tune with each other.

I do not want to live meagerly now, subsisting on bread and water so that I can enjoy untold riches when I retire. I want to balance between experiencing wonderful things now, and being able to continue that existence in my golden years when I leave the world of employment behind. I want my passing into retirement to be peaceful, almost unnoticeable to the outside eye. Not only would I still have things to keep me stimulated and busy, but that there is also no difference in my lifestyle. I would seem to be continuing to enjoy and give my attention to the same things that I have enjoyed for decades.

I want to be consistently and continuously stashing away money for not only later in life, but also later this year. May the steady climbing of my investments match the steady accumulation of my experiences and overall enjoyment of life.

I wish to be content with the money I have budgeted for the next two weeks. I want to be able to spend it wisely without a second thought about what the people next door have. I want to be solely focused on what makes me happiest within the confines I have set for myself. I want to love what I have and have what I love.

Yes, there will be hills and valleys along the way that will require me to change my speed. There will be obstacles that will present themselves directly in my path that will need me to alter my direction. But those speed and course changes will only be temporary. Once they are behind me I will collect my thoughts, refocus and find it again. I will find my financial forever pace and continue onward.

Hell, yes. Let’s GO.

About Travis

22 Responses to “Find Your Financial Forever Pace”

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  1. Great job! It really is all about finding a pace or strategy you can live with and continually moving forward…no matter what!

  2. Wow, did you read my journal? This is the exact same way I feel. I want a balance of saving for the future and living now that I can live with without thinking about things. Almost like hitting the auto-pilot button. I want to be able to go out and not question whether a nice shirt I see fits into my budget. I want to be in the place where I can buy things (within reason of course) without needing to consult my budget. If I wasn’t focused on the future, I could easily buy that short now, but I do want the freedom of working/not working so I make sure I save as much as I can.

    • Travis says:

      I must have read your journal, Jon……we’re cut from the same mold. Your perspective matches mine exactly! Thanks for stopping by!

  3. I could not agree more Travis. This is the exact place my wife and I are seeking to live in as well – being a well oiled financial machine that prepares for the future while also enjoying things we want in the present. I think that helps breed freedom, which is something we very much want.

  4. “I want to be consistently and continuously stashing away money for not only later in life, but also later this year.” It’s so true. It seems many people swing one way or another, but there has to be a balance between those two things.

  5. I definitely need to find a happy balance. Right now, we’re in relative crunch mode as we finish saving for a major medical expense. Once that’s done, we need to ramp up retirement savings. But I want to start putting more money in the vacation fund, saving for my husband’s dream car, etc. Stuff that will let us enjoy life, but also savings that will help cover the days I miss when I take those vacations!

  6. Sassy Mamaw says:

    Great post, Travis!

    This is what we are looking for as well. We just want to get into a good routine with our finances, having enough set back for retirement, as well as some for travel or eating out occasionally. We’re getting there, but we’re still having to work at it!

  7. Awesome, Travis – just awesome. I hear you about the balance thing. We are working toward establishing a balance when the debt is gone too. Gazelle intense for now, smooth sailing later. Sounds like it was a terrific run. 🙂

    • Travis says:

      Your current Gazelle intensity is one of those “obstacles” that cause you to alter your path and/or speed…..get around it, and find that pace you can maintain forever. Great to hear from you!

  8. Michelle says:

    Love this! Why is balance such a tricky process? Keep rocking on!

  9. I’m always trying to find a way to balance everything in my life better. Finding a set routine and staying organized is definitely key for me. I go through bumps here and there, but it’s all a learning experience! =)

    • Travis says:

      Great point, Alexis….not only should we be looking for that balance and pace with our finances, but with other areas of our lives as well. Thanks for reading!

  10. So well said, Travis. This is exactly what Mr. FW and I worked to find in 2014. I think we’ve hit our stride and we honestly don’t think about our finances on a daily basis very much anymore. We just move through life on frugal autopilot and try to enjoy the present as much as possible while saving and planning for the future. I do still struggle with striking that balance of living in the present vs. the future and it’s an ongoing work in progress for me. Thank you for these thoughts!

    • Travis says:

      I’m happy to hear you hit your financial stride last year, Mrs. Frugalwoods. I look forward to when I don’t have to think so hard about my finances. 🙂

  11. Well said. I used to think, “While we’re getting out of debt, we’ll manage this way …” but now I’m thinking that not much will change once we’ve hit debt-freedom or financial freedom. Forever financial pace – I like it!

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