Why I’m building MOMENTUM

When I started Consumerism Commentary in 2003, I wanted a record of my finances and the decisions I was making. Publishing that record meant other people could question my assumptions, describe a different experience, or point out something I had missed. That was useful in a way that keeping the numbers to myself would not have been.

Years later, when I left my corporate job to work on the site full time, I wrote about what I expected to change. I thought I would have more time for photography and other interests. Five months later, I reported that much of the extra time was going toward the administrative work of running the business. Leaving the job had changed my options, but my plans for using that time still needed work.

Financial decisions often have consequences like that. The calculation can be sound while the experience is more complicated than expected. I’m developing MOMENTUM: The Financial Independence Community as a place where people can work through both.

Understanding the decision

There is plenty of information about saving, investing, and preparing to leave work. The difficulty is deciding which advice applies to your situation. A person covering a recurring monthly shortfall needs different help from someone deciding whether their investments can support a career break.

Even people with similar finances may want different things. One may want to reduce working hours to care for a relative. Another may enjoy the job but want to know that leaving is an option. A useful discussion starts with the decision and the people affected by it, rather than assuming everyone is working toward the same retirement date.

That is where I see a role for a community. Other people can question an assumption, explain how a similar choice worked out, or suggest a consequence worth investigating. Their experience does not decide the answer for you. It gives you more to consider before you act.

Different stages need different attention

The Stages of Financial Independence describe changes in what a household’s resources can support, from building stability to making paid work financially optional. A stage describes financial capacity. It does not tell us how hard someone has worked or what they ought to want, and it can change when circumstances change.

An emergency reserve, for example, may help you handle an unexpected job loss. Choosing to leave work for a year requires a different plan. You need to account for that year’s expenses while retaining protection if something else goes wrong. The amount in the account is only part of the answer.

I’m designing MOMENTUM around these differences. Members will be able to identify an area that needs attention and work through practical Quests, with opportunities to discuss their decisions and progress. The immediate work could involve debt, spending, income, or a planned change in employment. Someone already financially independent may be more concerned with how to support the life they now want.

The Toolkit complements that work by letting people examine decisions using their own circumstances. A tool can help make the assumptions visible. A conversation can reveal an assumption the person using it had not thought to enter.

After the financial goal

Reaching financial independence relatively young gave me more choice about work, family, and the communities I wanted to support. Those choices continue to interest me. Being able to afford something does not, by itself, establish that it is how you want to spend your time.

This is part of the work I want the community to support. Conversations about financial independence should leave room for the person who wants to keep working, the person preparing for a change, and the person who is still deciding. They also need room for plans that did not work and judgments that changed with experience.

Help shape MOMENTUM

MOMENTUM is still in development. Through the Pre-Launch Founding Membership, I’m inviting people to help shape the community by bringing their questions, experiences, and willingness to learn from one another.

If you are interested in working on financial independence with other people, you can read more about the community and its founding membership below.

Explore the Pre-Launch Founding Membership →