ColumbusFI
Financial Independence
Retire/Relax Early
Join the hundreds around Central Ohio achieving Financial Independence together!
What is FI
Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) is a movement dedicated to the foundations of Financial Independence (FI) that allow you to retire far earlier than traditional budgets and retirement plans would allow. The movement is about making small optimizations in your lifestyle giving you the freedom to live your happiest most satisfying life, pursue your dreams and ambitions on your own schedule, all without being tied down to a traditional 9 to 5 job for 40+ years.
Financial Independence doesn’t mean that you must quit your job. It just means that your job needs you more than you need them. This gives you an upper hand to be able to negotiate things like your hours, vacation time, or even a better job. Early retirement can also mean quitting any job that you wouldn’t do for free – but then continuing right ahead with work in something that you enjoy and under your own terms. At Columbus FI, we like to say the R and E in FIRE means “Relax Early.” The key is the freedom you get when you reach FI.
ColumbusFI (and other advocates) focus on value-based spending which is based upon spending on what brings value to YOU (and your family), rather than just spending out of convenience and impulses. Value-based spending isn’t about sacrificing, it’s about focusing on purchases that fit your individual wants and needs while cutting out excessive, unnecessary purchases that don’t bring value to you.
Columbus FI isn’t about being “Cheap” – rather it is about having a better understanding of your spending and savings to optimize them both for the life that you want to live.
Why Financial Independence and ColumbusFI?
For most of us it’s so that we have the option to focus on things in our lives that bring us happiness and fulfillment. For some, this means spending more time with family and friends, for some it means continuing to do work they love, and still for others it is pursuing new experiences like travelling or other adventures. Regardless of the “Why” of FI, a person on their FI journey dreams big. In a society where there is no shortage of demotivators and distractions, dreaming big focuses us and keeps us moving forward towards our attainable goals.
Foundations of FI
Simple Index Fund Investing
High Savings Rate
Live below your means
Tax Optimization
Financial Hacking
College Hacking, House Hacking, etc
Travel Rewards and Travel Hacking
Free Travel!
Cut Expenses
"Cut the Cord", Cell Phone Plans, Meal Prepping, etc
Multiple Income Streams
Side Hustles, Passive Income Opportunities
What is ColumbusFI?
ColumbusFI is a group of like minded individuals wanting to learn how to apply the foundations of FI to our lives in order to take control of our lives and financial goals.
Our Members include:
- College Students
- Single people, Couples and even Families
- People who work all types of jobs, from Blue collar,White Collar, Entrepreneurs, and even Executives of large companies.
- Those who have Retired (Yes, even those who have retired in their 30’s!)
Our mission is to assist each other and to educate ourselves on how to best achieve our goals to live a more enjoyable, fulfilling, and financially independent life.
FI is a life optimization strategy. Small 1% improvements made in every aspect of our lives. We have been collecting all the resources, ideas, calculators and spreadsheets that we can find to speed the process up.
Benefits of Participation
- No Membership fees to join or participate (We aren’t trying to sell you anything!)
- Monthly Meetings with Discussions on various topics of interest
- Invites to special events, social gatherings with like minded individuals
- Access to an immense amount of information, including our discussion mailing list and website.
Recent Blogs
Empowering Small Business Owners: A Guide to Financial Mastery for Long-Term Success
Navigating Recessions with Confidence and Strategy
Why Going Back to School in Retirement is the Best Decision You’ll Make
How We Left the U.S. to Retire Early
Jackie is a FI Success Story
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Stay up to date on our events. Get the latest information on the Foundation of Fi topics. Find out about new Side Hustles and income opportunities.
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