Building A Great Life: Friendship Goals: Mid-Year Check-in

 

Tracking how often my lived experience reflects my values has been incredibly rewarding.  The dream is to spend more time with family, host friends, visit the ocean, travel, and stay active outdoors. Setting intentional goals keeps me mindful and empowers me to make deliberate choices that reflect my Great Life values. 

 

  

Building Meaningful Connections for Health, Happiness, and Wealth Beyond Measure:

Checking in on my 90+ friend visits goal at the halfway mark, and I’m right on track with 45 meaningful connections. This year, one of my “Great Life Goals” was to have 90+ visits with friends. I doubled my goal from last year. Why? It wasn’t an arbitrary number. It was a reflection of the kind of wealth I want to build: the kind that can’t be counted in dollars but shows up in stories, support, and shared laughter when life gets complicated. Tracking these moments has paid off in what I think of as “memory dividends,” as I document these gatherings and cherish the photos capturing all these wonderful experiences.
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Most visits have been beautifully simple: cooking together, tackling household projects, exploring local spots we’ve never visited. Others involved purposeful spending – supporting a friend’s business launch, or splurging on quality ingredients for a shared meal. What I’m discovering is that these regular investments in friendship create compound returns in relationship wealth. Having a network of friends, friendly aquaintances, and community resources is a different and complimentary kind of wealth compared to financial resources.

Why I Track Friend Visits Like Financial Investments

From a traditional financial planning standpoint, it can be hard to quanify the benefits of your social network. But research is clear that it plays a huge role in your lifetime health, happiness, and even your ability to weather financial struggles. The network of support, laughter, and shared experiences we’re building together is an asset that pays in so many ways.

Let’s get curious….

What steps can you take to deepen your relationships with friends and family? Are there specific experiences you want to create together that can strengthen those bonds?

In what ways do you currently measure your success? How can you incorporate joy and connection into your definition of what it means to lead a fulfilling life?

Looking ahead, what are some meaningful experiences or gatherings you want to prioritize in the coming months? How can you start planning for them now?

By exploring these questions, you can gain deeper insights into your financial journey and identify actionable steps to move closer to your goals. Financial independence is a personal and unique journey for everyone, and we hope these questions inspire you to take meaningful steps towards your own financial freedom.

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A Bit About Us

Our journey began with humble beginnings. We’ve navigated through the challenges of creating a life and a living we love, while earing low to median incomes. What started as a modest dream of being able to retire someday has turned into a concrete plan. We’ve been on the SlowFI path, consistently saving and investing for 20+ years. Our income over time has stayed roughly in the 50th percentile, so we are truely everyday Americans. We’ve achieved remarkable results through living below our means and consistently investing the difference. Now in our mid-40s, we are in the top 20% for U.S. household wealth for our age group. This has been possible through conscious spending, consistent saving, strategic investing, and a commitment to lifestyle design where we spend generously on things that bring us value and contentment, while cuting back on things we are ambivalent about. It can be daunting when you hear the stories of tech workers or doctors or other people with large income shovels. We want to share how an everyday couple with median US income has built wealth for the future, while also creating a life we love today.

Why Financial Independence?

Financial Independence means having the freedom to make choices that aren’t dictated only by the need for a paycheck. It’s about gaining control over your time and energy, and being able to pursue what truly matters to you. For us, it’s about creating time for friend & family, travel, and the experiences that bring joy and fulfillment.

Join Us on the Journey

In January 2021, I ran some calculations, projected our investment growth, and analyzed our current spending levels. After adjusting our spending assumptions for future inflation, I realized we could replace our earned income (trading time for money) with investment income (our money making money for us) in approximately 10 years. With 90 months left to go, we’re solidly on that path and we want you to join us. Whether you’re just starting out or well on your way to financial independence, Surprising Wealth is here to support and inspire you. Together, we can make every month count and turn dreams into reality.

Thank you for being a part of our community. Let’s embark on this journey to financial independence together!

Disclaimer: All the tips and stories here are from my own journey toward financial independence. Remember, what worked for me might not work for everyone. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial, legal, or tax advice. Always consult with a professional before making any significant financial decisions.