Early May I went to Budapest to attend the amazing Financial Independence Week Europe (FIWE) 2019. And I found my tribe.
I stayed only Thursday to Sunday instead of the full week as I went without my husband and toddler – but that was enough to get to know the other attendees on Thursday evening and take in all the conference’s presentations on Friday and Saturday and discuss them over food and drinks in the evening.
I wasn’t too sure what to expect – who are all these people with FIRE as their common goal, and how would the interaction be? What makes these people tick and will they be accepting or critical of other people’s life choices? What is their age and do they have kids like me?
This was on my mind also when my manager asked me who I was going to Budapest with. “I’m going with 50 or so people of whom I only know 3 so far. Oh, and I won’t be doing a lot of sightseeing but I’ll be listening to people discuss how not to need to work for that much longer…” That would have probably not been a wise answer.
I arrived at the pleasantly small airport where I took the bus into town. People in our FIWE 2019 WhatsApp group advised us not to use the very expensive freestanding ATMs but to buy the ticket using a card instead – I could already see the advantage of this new tribe.
Throughout my stay locals where super friendly and went out of their way to help me navigate my whereabouts, even when we didn’t have a common language.
That afternoon we met at A Grund, a beer garden with a large and impressive playground, so locals and tourists alike can meet in a place that offers something for all. It is a wonderful place, ideal for a restful few hours.
We immediately got into engaging conversations and didn’t waste time learning how others live and make their way to financial independence. Some are at the beginning of their journey, while 4 of the participants were already FIRE, proving we it can be done indeed.
It was a very mixed group: 45 people plus 3 kids in tow, many women although the balance tilted in favour of men, and about half who had been to previous FIWEs. We represented 23 nationalities in total and live in 14 different countries. I was very happy to see that I didn’t push the average age up 🙂 The range was from early 20s to probably late 40s, so I fit in perfectly.
The following day we met up at the venue, the excitement was very clear! Emma and Robert, the organisers, arranged a schedule ahead of time which we had voted for, and a list of volunteers prepared presentations to keep our brains busy for two days. This is what the presentations were about:
- Passive investing
- How to nurture happiness
- FIRE Mastermind groups: why & how
- FI by lifestyle deflation
- Monetising your website
- Life after FI
- FIRE blueprint
- Gamification of life
Each presentation was so different and good, and overall each one added knowledge and ideas to the weekend. As I have been on the path to FI for a few years, my favourite ones were the ones where individual participants introduced themselves and talk about their lifestyle and what they are doing to achieve FI or have done to achieve it.
One guy studied humanities at university, then went on to teach himself how to code and created a rather simple but useful website. A few years later he was approached to sell it – and made enough to stop working. Except he still does, because he enjoys work and his colleagues, but his approach now is different.
A couple talked us through their investment strategy to achieve passive income, and how to avoid the pitfalls of high fees by selecting the right investment broker. (Hint: they use Morningstar to see who is behind their broker, so they can go direct rather than paying for an intermediary. High fees really add up over time, eating away your money.)
Some others (a couple and a guy) mentioned they have a rather substantial real estate portfolio.
Finally another guy (yes, most presentations were held by guys…) who moved back in with his ageing parents and lives on 500 Euros a month. He doesn’t need to work given his outgoings, but he runs an online business part time because it’s fun to him.
Our conversations continued over dinner – life, dreams, kids, holidays… – and then over craft beer…
One thing that struck me is just how well organised the whole weekend was. Just wonderful.
After two and half days I was exhausted but full of inspiration! I made my way back home, eager to pass on this inspiration to my husband who had the pleasure of hearing all my stories 🙂
Life after FIWE
The first week back work was so damn hard! I had not prepared for life after FIWE, I had not managed my expectations of returning to civil life, the same old stuff. And it was even a short week due to a UK bank holiday!
After a week, as my mood started to lift again, I stumbled over the second hurdle of life after FIWE – my husband’s expectations. We are not as frugal as some other FIWErs – we like nice things but don’t splash out money mindlessly – yet apparently I had been talking so much about how to spend less, how to make early retirement a reality and about extreme frugalism, my husband got cold feed. Is that what I wanted now?
After a long discussion, I reminded him what I want from life, and he did the same, and we agreed that we actually want the same stuff even if we express it differently at times. I am further down the line in the FIRE thinking and have to find ways of involving him by example without him feeling threatened or attacked. We need to stay pragmatic while staying focused.
Well, I am already looking forward to the next FIWE and to see my progress, our progress, till then.
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