(Self Reliance Services is a personal finance class I took through the church I attend. They also have classes on finding a job, going to (or back to) school, and starting and growing a business).
The 12 week personal finance course has come to an end. While we are excited to get 2 hours a week back, we will miss meeting with the group and discussing principles of self reliance. Everyone in the group was at least a decade or two older than my wife and I, and not part of the FIRE movement. It was great to associate with them and I learned much more than I expected, and got to share some great FIRE hacks.
Share Principles of Self-Reliance
We shouldn’t keep our knowledge to ourselves. It’s never been easier to share our thoughts and ideas with the world with the advent of social media. In the past month I’ve had the opportunity to talk with several of my coworkers about finance. Several are in the 25-30 age range, and don’t have a lot of investing experience. The company I work for doesn’t allow 401k contributions until 3 months of employment, so I just ask if they have started it around that time for some of the newer hires. By opening up the conversation, I’ve been able to explain the power of the Health Saving Account (HSA) and which funds I’ve found the best in our 401k and HSA plans.
There is an interdependence between those who have and those who have not. The process of giving exalts the poor and humbles the rich. In this process, both are sanctified. The poor, released from bondage and limitations of poverty, are enabled as free men to rise to their full potential, both temporally and spiritually. [those who have more], by imparting of their surplus, participate in the eternal principle of giving. Once a person has been made whole, or self-reliant, he reaches our to aid others, and the cycle repeats itself.
The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance
As a group attending the same congregation, we brainstormed friends and associates we might be able to share these principles with, and perhaps they will take the class next time.
Assess Progress
We took several minutes to asses a wide variety of topics, including:
- Family unity
- Commitment to self reliance
- Faith in Jesus Christ
- Tithing and Fast Offerings
- Being independent from family, church or governments support
- Budgeting
- Emergency fund
- Debt
- Insurance
- Planning for retirement
We listed out some of our next steps. Some of the steps I’ll be taking soon are holding family councils, improving in my day job, funding my Donor Advised Fund, automating our budget, funding a brokerage account through M1 Finance, improving our emergency fund and investment allocation, blogging more, and considering side hustles.
Conclusion
It was a shorter meeting, but ended with a conversation about flat squirrels. The road is covered with squirrels (and armadillos) who couldn’t make a decision. It really comes down to applying everything we have learned and taking action. Once again there has never been a time with easier access to good information and creative ways to make money or start businesses. If you are already on the path to FIRE, I encourage you to freely give of your knowledge to those around you.
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