Meet HENRY

Hi. I’m HENRY. Well… sort of. My real name is not HENRY but I have adopted this pseudonym for the purposes of sharing my journey. 

I was raised in a middle class family. My parents instilled in me the value of education, although not in the traditional sense (more on that later), and hard work. My mother was a stay at home mom who helped to raise me and my siblings. My father did not work a traditional 9 – 5, as he chose the entrepreneurial path. My childhood was uneventful in the best of ways. Like a lot of people, my childhood and the events within ultimately shaped the adult I would become. 

After completing college, I started my career and a family. As my family continued to expand, my career continued to progress, which in turn, resulted in my income continuing to rise. Like many Americans, as my income continued to increase, so did my lifestyle. As a result, without even knowing it, I became a HENRY. As a HENRY, life is great. I have a great income and a great family. I get to travel throughout the year. If I want to buy something, I buy it. If I want to travel, I travel. Life could not be any better. Or could it…??

Little did I know, I would soon discover that there is an alternate path in life. For that reason, I decided to share my journey because I have seen the truth. And let me tell you, the truth can set you free.

So… What is a HENRY?

The term HENRY (High Earners that are Not Rich Yet) was coined several years ago as a way to describe millennials who have an above average income but spend lavishly to maintain their lifestyle. A lifestyle often fueled by overconsumption and consumer debt. Like any other term used to categorize or label a group of people, I believe there are nuances. At one end of the spectrum, there are high earners that are not rich and never will be rich because they spend everything they earn or more. In the middle, there are those that are not rich but still save enough to one day enjoy a traditional retirement. At the other end of the spectrum, there are those that are not rich but they save enough that they will eventually become rich later in their career or toward retirement age. Where do you fall?

So… Why do I identify as a HENRY?

I quite simply identify as a HENRY because I do have an above average household income but I am not rich…YET. When comparing myself to the traditional HENRY, I do fall into the millennial demographic and I do have consumer debt. However, I do not necessarily identify with a lifestyle of overconsumption. Do I occasionally spend money on luxuries that are not necessary? Yes. Do I drive a nice car funded by a car loan? Yes. Do I live in a nice house that one could argue is too large for my family? Yes. To me, this is not a life of overconsumption. To me, this is MY life. A normal life.

Up until a few years ago, I would have said I fell squarely in the middle of the spectrum above. Then something changed. Everything changed. One Saturday morning, while drinking my coffee and reading through various news articles, I read an article about a movement. A movement defined by four simple letters. F.I.R.E. After reading the article, my life completely changed. Now, if you asked me to define where I fall on the spectrum above, I cannot provide a straight forward answer. The reason…I am determined to redefine the spectrum. As a high earner, I have discovered the truth that I can become rich far before my retirement years. I can do it by embracing the H-E in HENRY. I can do it by embracing the pillars of FIRE.

So… What is the FIRE movement?

For those uninitiated, the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement centers around achieving financial independence in order to retire early. Financial independence is ultimately achieved through saving. Saving is driven by increasing your income, decreasing your expenses or a combination of both. In doing so, you save enough money that at some point you hit a critical mass that is capable of sustaining your lifestyle in perpetuity.  When this occurs you can retire early because work is no longer a requirement. In short, work then becomes optional.

The concept of retiring early, as well as the activities required by many to achieve financial independence, has proven to be controversial over the last few years as the movement and members of the community have been highlighted more in the media. Many people, including myself, have a visceral negative reaction to the FIRE movement when first introduced. The first few articles I read about FIRE triggered some of the thoughts below:

• How am I supposed to save large amounts of money when I have student loan debt, consumer debt and monthly expenses? It is not possible for someone like me.
• I am not willing to live like a miser to achieve financial independence. It is not possible because I am not willing to live this way.
• I have kids. Achieving financial independence with kids is not possible.
• I don’t have the knowledge or time necessary to manage my own investments.
• I would need like $10MM to stop working early in order to have any reassurance I would not run out of money if I lived to be 100. It is not possible to save this much.
• I like working so why I would want to retire early? Even if I wanted to retire early, that is not possible for me.
• I work too hard to only save money for tomorrow instead of living today. After all, tomorrow is not guaranteed and I am not getting any younger.

As time went on, I began to unconsciously shed my limiting beliefs. In doing so, my thoughts of how it was not possible became thoughts of “What If?”.

• What if I got out of debt, cut my expenses and saved more money in order to FIRE?
• What if I could reach FIRE without living like a miser? What if I gave up nothing?
• What if kids could help me reach FIRE rather than be a hurdle to overcome?
• What if I could manage my own investments and it didn’t take much time?
• What if my FIRE number is not actually $10MM? What if it is achievable?
• What if work became optional? Would I retire early or would I keep working with a new sense of purpose?
• What if I could save for a better tomorrow while still living my best today?

Once I began to pursue the answers to the questions above, my life would be changed forever. The idea of financial independence and retiring early became more than four words. It became more than an idea. It became a mission. My mission. I began the pursuit of FIRE.

So.. Why a blog?

I started this blog because I wanted a forum to share knowledge and my continued journey to FIRE. There are thousands of blogs that exist centered around financial independence and the FIRE movement. For each blog, there are exponentially more people that have reached FIRE or  are pursuing FIRE. Despite the recent press of the FIRE movement and the wealth of information available, I still encounter HENRYs each and every day. I work with HENRYs. I am friends with HENRYs. I have family that are HENRYs. The majority of HENRYs that I talk to have never heard of financial independence or FIRE. If they have, they do not believe it aligns with their goals and values because they enjoy a high income lifestyle. I want to share my journey because it is possible to have both. You don’t have to sacrifice a high income lifestyle in order to achieve financial independence. You have to be intentional and spend money based upon your values. In doing so, you CAN save for a better tomorrow while still living your BEST today. Ask yourself these questions:

• What would my life look like if work was optional? 
• What would I do with my time if it was truly my time? 
• What makes me truly happy?
• What do I value?

If you are like most people including myself, you probably struggle answering these questions. Why? I would argue it is because we are too busy conforming to a world and a set of expectations defined by others. The late Steve Jobs once said, “Life can be so much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call ‘life’ was made up by people who were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it… Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”

I invite you to come along for the ride as I progress from an average HENRY to FIRE. Utilizing the pillars of the FIRE movement and personal finance, you too can become financially independent while still maintaining a comfortable, high income lifestyle. The aggregation of marginal gains can add up to something truly remarkable. Together, we can challenge the paradigm of traditional retirement and live a happier, more fulfilling life both today and tomorrow. A life where you make your own rules. A life where work is optional. A life built upon your values where you only do what makes you happy. Together, we can go from a HENRY to FIRE.

Regards,

– Henry