I would like to welcome you to join my Financial Independence community. As my community becomes bigger and more diverse, I want to set some guidelines so members will come away happy. After all, the whole point of joining my community is to strive for financial independence without sacrificing happiness.

Maintain a Sense of Balance

I understand that you may need to lead a slightly unbalanced life to push your financial life forward but a successful life is similar a Roman building with many strong pillars. Don’t let your other pillars become so weak that the building collapses.  

Don’t overwork so you miss meals and sleep. Don’t eat an unbalanced diet. Don’t skip too many gym days for side hustles. Don’t skip too much time with your loved ones. Don’t compare yourself to others’ best self in the Internet. Don’t regret your past mistakes. The list can go on and on but you get the idea.

Don’t achieve FI so you can live your life, live your life on your journey to FI.

Remain Positive

There is so much negativity in this world and we don’t need to pollute any further. Be mindful of the tone you written words may convey and the intention of your posts.  

Lastly, others are entitled to their own opinions and their path to FI. It is their choice to either accept or to decline your advices. Don’t take their rejections to your advices personally. No Bullying and Trolling.

Be Open-minded and Curious

Personal Finance is personal. There are many paths to Financial Independence (FI) and we are just finding the right path for our own self, and the beauty of pursuing FI is the flexibility that comes with having your personal finance in order. You don’t necessarily have to be fully financial independent to change your current lifestyle to your desired lifestyle. You can choose to more intense or slow down to smell the roses a little.

Since there is no one Path (with the capital P) to FI, be open to other’s path to FI, ask probing questions with the intention to have an intelligent conversation! You may want to change your path afterward.  

Practice the Growth Mindset

This group is essentially a self-improvement community with a focus on personal finance. While you may not be fluent in the language of financial independence now, you can get 1% closer by asking questions and learning the answers. Your past financial failures are not fatal, just learning lessons to propel yourself forward.   

That’s it for now. This is a living and breathing guideline and I will be sure to update it as I go, or as I get more eloquent!