Does being an introvert help you to retire early? An early retiree’s thoughts…

 

Love the solitude!

Stephen Hawking:  “Quiet people have the loudest minds.”

When my wife and I embarked on our journey to achieve financial independence and to retire early, we read often how other FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement crowd achieved their FIRE.  The more we read, listened to podcasts, watched videos on all the successful FIRE movement crowd, the more we got the sense that many of them, were introverts.

It got me thinking, “What is it about introverts that seem to help with FIRE?”  In this post, I’d like to share my perspectives on this matter.

So, what are some of the traits of an introvert?

  • Reflective and self-aware
  • Listens, rather than talks
  • Does not enjoy group settings 
  • Enjoys being alone
  • Compassionate leader
  • Thinks before speaking
  • Observes/analyzes
  • Makes quality partners/friends

How do these traits help with financial independence and retiring early?  Although not all of the listed traits help with FIRE, I do believe many of them do.  Here’s how:

  • Reflective and self-aware
I don’t know about the others, but my wife and I like to always take the time to reflect on our current situation and be grateful for or feel nostalgic about it.  It might be just a heavy rain falling, but we will watch the rain then feel nostalgic about the time we spent in Hawaii during its wet season, or the time we spent in our walk-out basement in Pennsylvania watching the rain come down…

During thunderstorms, we would stop what we are doing, then simply gather around the windows to marvel at nature’s gift to mankind.  We will sit down with our Pomeranian Toby and feel nostalgic about the times when Toby was a puppy and he would snuggle next to us, watching the thunderstorms with us without any worry in the world…

It’s these little moments that matter to us.  It gives us time to look back and take the time to appreciate that special time (even if it was just a rainy day) we spent together.  It’s these big and small special moments that make life worth living.

This, we feel, is something that is required in life.  What’s the point of working so hard to retire if you don’t get to enjoy the little and the big moments?

  • Does not enjoy group settings 
This is one of those things that really helped us.  When we were attending college, we thought at that age, that we were extroverts, who enjoyed going to clubs, karaoke bars, concerts, etc.

We quickly realized we weren’t extroverts after doing these things one too many times…We dropped out of our classmates’ invitations to go to these things after awhile.  

We instead realized that we liked spending time with each other when we were dating.  We would go to our favorite beach (Jones Beach), take a drive to a scenic road somewhere, or talk in one of the study rooms at the library.

After getting married, we continued to live a low key, laid back lifestyle.  Yes, we did go out with friends more frequently for the first 15 years of our marriage, but for whatever reason (life?), we had a natural drifting apart between friends.  We would meet up with friends much less often for the past 10 years or so.

With the arrival of Toby, we really spent more time with our own pack…

What this trait and happenstance allowed us is that it saved us money which we otherwise couldn’t have, if we frequently met up with friends/acquaintances.  You may ask why we were spending so much money when meeting up with friends, but the truth is, we often went on overnight trips to other cities ($500 per couple for a weekender) or eat out at restaurants ($100 per couple per meal).  

By not meeting up, and instead enjoying each other’s company, we saved all these disposable income towards our retirement.
  • Enjoys being alone 
During our time together, my wife and I always had our own private time.  We would call it our ‘cybergeek time’, which is what we did on weekends just browsing the internet or watching something on YouTube away from each other.  We also had our ‘individual time’, which is us doing something away from each other, whether that’s reading, playing the guitar for me, or painting for my wife.

We felt important to spend time separately from each other so we can enjoy the ‘together’ time.  This is true prior to retirement and it’s true after retirement.

Since our retirement, our Airbnb/Vrbo may not be big like the townhome we lived in Pennsylvania, but even so, we still find our own area to have our own time away from each other.  For example, in Claysburg (PA), we stayed a month in a studio that had a bed and a futon.  My wife would spend her time in the futon, while I would spend it on the bed.  We don’t bother each other usually, unless something funny or interesting comes up.

For introverts, this is really important.  We feel refreshed to step away from one another.  When we ‘get together’, it’s that much more precious.
  • Observes/analyzes
My wife is great at solving puzzles.  She likes the challenge of figuring things out.  This one time we bought a foldable box to store away our kitchen stuff.  I looked at it, but gave up after a minute.  As is usually my downfall, I use brute strength to solve these types of problems.  She uses finesse, patience and brains!

I, on the other hand, am not a problem solver.  I’m a better observer/analyzer after looking at different data sets.  

Together, we complement each other well.  I studied up on financial stuff which we then put to good use for our retirement plan, while my wife solves the everyday problems that come up that I can’t solve, like how to work an oven (at an AirBNB/Vrbo rental) or properly open a pasta salad bought from a store (without breaking the entire packaging).

The ability to observe then analyze is an important trait which is required in reaching financial independence.  It took me years to learn then understand, so I can select the best course of action.  

Be interested in finance, as this will translate to wanting to learn more about money.  Read as much as you can from different sources, then make your own decisions based on those sources.  
  • Makes quality partners/friends
As mentioned above, my wife and I make a great team.  She’s good at some things while I’m good at other things.  By bringing these strengths to our relationship, we are whole together.

Because introverts by nature like to observe rather than talk, we are constantly observing each other, to try to get a sense of each other’s moods and states of mind.  We like to talk things through when we have conflicts.  Every couple has conflicts, but it’s how you deal with that conflict that either strengthens or weakens the relationship.

Our journey to get to our retirement was a long and arduous one.  We were able to get through the journey thanks to our strong bond and the willingness to communicate.  

We’re not perfect, but then, no one is.  Just know, everyone must work at being a good partner/friend.  This is accomplished by talking things through and listening to each other more…

In conclusion:

Being an introvert is certainly helpful on your path to financial independence and to retire early.  Certain traits like enjoying being alone, observing, and listening, are definite positives to have on your journey to financial independence.  

We know we couldn’t have achieved our financial independence if we loved to go out each night (spending lots of money), take trips with friends (more money spent), or enjoyed going to restaurants or bars (yup, you guessed it, “more money spent”).  

Our introvert traits undoubtedly helped us in more ways than one…

Thank you all for reading!  We wish you the best in your path to financial independence!


Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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