Camp-FI was such an amazing experience and I highly recommend it to anyone on the journey to financial independence. The thing I’ve found most challenging about the road to financial independence is how utterly lonely it can be. Very few people in my personal life understand what I’m working toward and those who aren’t immediately critical of the process seem to only listen halfheartedly. The handful of people in my personal life who are aware of this blog try to be supportive and I appreciate that, but having conversations with people who enthusiastically embrace the process and genuinely want to learn my story was incredibly therapeutic.

I was blown away by the openness and level of vulnerability that everyone shared. Fears about the process toward, and life after, FI were dredged up and talked about openly and honestly. Many attendees were at the beginning of their journey and eager to learn more. A lot of us were somewhere in the middle, while a good number are done and living a post FI lifestyle. The most impactful discussions for me were the conversations around identity post-FI. As I’ve mentioned a number of times on this blog I enjoy my job and the company, so I’m not married to any hard deadline. That said, I’ve worked in my industry for over 20 years, I’m seen as an expert in the field, and consequently a lot of my identity is tied up in my work. I shared my fear around the loss of identity in a group discussion and received such phenomenal support and understanding from those who are in my situation and individuals who are already on the other side. I’m a pretty analytical person & I know logically that my spreadsheets, FireCalc, Engaging Data, Personal Capital, etc, etc, etc… plans all compute, but the irrational fear of doing something so counterculturally oriented is still terrifying! Sitting for 3 days with people who have achieved FI and are living their best life hiking the Camino De Santiago, splitting time between Belize and the US with teenage children, hiking the Pacific Cost Trail, road tipping across the USA, attending meditation camps, or just taking daily long walks with their dog through local neighborhoods while contemplating happiness was inspiring. To see normal people raising children, running small passion-driven businesses, slow traveling the world, and living a post-FI life without deprivation calmed many of my fears.

Just as having FU money removed much of the stress around finances, attending Camp-FI has, at least temporarily, blunted the fear and anxiety around the destination.

Cheers 🍻