The over pursuit of money can enslave someone just as much as having high debt can. For many people the thing that triggers them to begin their journey towards financial independence is:

• Hitting rock bottom financially
• If not hitting bottom at least struggling financially and realizing there is a better way to live.

My FI trigger was “B”. Everyone knows about financial enslavement by debt. You get in too deep and soon you have nothing left. All income goes to pay off all the monthly credit card and loan payments. You are trapped to continue working your keister off just to stay current with your debt obligations. Never getting ahead to start saving for a better life. All because your money goes to paying for crap you bought on credit a long time ago. There is no real freedom living that life. Feeling that struggle and pain of debt-enslavement is necessary. I think it keeps us from repeating the financial mistakes we made.

But people who are successfully on the path to financial independence or have already reached it are an ambitious lot. They –

• Figure out how to live frugally to free up more money to save, invest and pay off all their debts.
• Set sustainable budgets for the long haul and track their lifestyle costs.
• Find ways to increase their income through career advancement, side hustles, or driven to increase their self-employment business.

Here is the question. Can we go too far?

I can tell you, YES we can. I know because I suffered from this.

“The money you have can give you freedom; the money you pursue enslaves you”.  Jean-Jacques Rousseau

I think those who are dedicated, motivated , and successfully striving for financial independence have to be careful that they do not fall into the over-pursuit of money trap. Trapped in believing they must continue working their keister off to reach a very large “Number” or have overly aggressive timeline goals. Just as living with high debt, there is no real freedom living this kind of life either. It may start out as temporarily setting aside “balance” and our personal relationships to get things kick-started, or at least that is what we tell ourselves. We know we are doing the right thing financially so we take off full speed with all the best intentions. Then it drags on because it is either not happening as fast as we set our goals for or in some cases it is so successful we think we would be fools to step back from it.

All of that is fine if you still love the journey.

If while making the big sacrifices on your journey to financial independence you are still enjoying yourself, not feeling enslaved in your pursuit of more money, stocks, rental units, business, etc. then keep going. For me I delayed my first retirement by a year. Sure I added to my net-worth doing so but it did take a toll on my well-being and I lost a year of my life that I will never get back. I am just very happy that one extra year is all I spent in FI Denial trapped in my pursuit of a little more.

Yes, over pursuit of money can enslave.

Signs you may be over doing your pursuit of financial independence.

• You have recurring thoughts of having no time to be with the people you care about or doing things you really want to do. Then you intend to make time but your income and saving pursuits keep you too busy.
• You start to resent portions of your frugal lifestyle. You find yourself complaining about aspects of your budget even with your net-worth growing. This isn’t about lifestyle inflation. This is about pushing your frugal thresholds and going too far. You are essentially breaking it.
• The passion is gone. You have to force yourself to do your job, side hustle or whatever you are doing to increase income. Finding yourself complaining about it even though you are making positive strides towards your financial goals.
• You know deep in your soul that you are burning out and running out of gas. You can see and feel your energy and enthusiasm diminish. Your work ethic and commitment to your financial goals keeps you from backing off. You are constantly pushing forward but all is not well inside you because the journey has become all-encompassing.

The steps you can take to break free.

• Understand what financial independence is or at least what it is to you. It isn’t just some big number. It can be at minimum having enough income produced by your assets to pay your basic living essentials without you having to work. You may want to include in that amount your discretionary costs and add some income from doing work you want to do. If you have chased after a “Number” like one million dollars or more, maybe tweaking your definition may have you closer than you think. Then you can scale back some of your money pursuits to make room for the other things that are important to you.
• Re-evaluate your plan, your current net-worth and your projected net-worth within your timeline goals. See if you can still make progress while making time in your life. We aren’t talking about quitting the FI quest. It’s about scaling back because you are a workaholic and enslaved by your actions.
• If you find your lifestyle lacking because of your frugal budget, recognize where you crossed your frugality threshold and make adjustments. Every dollar saved counts and adds up but it is not worth feeling like you are living a deprived life. You aren’t in a place of high debt and having to struggle to pay it off. You are successfully banking money. There is always room for compromise as long as it is smart-frugal and still leaves you feeling satisfied and happy. All while maintaining a “no money wasted” policy in the budget.
• Prioritize “balance” as highest and then model your pursuits after it. Scaling back from a successful plan is far better than scrapping it or hating your life while doing it.

The Last Word

Whether you find that you can consider yourself as financially independent, ahead of schedule or on track to reaching financial independence, or just need to scale back so that you can live a more balanced life, the idea is the same. Find that sweet spot where you can still live a full and happy life while still being financially responsible and keeping to your financial independence goals.

The over pursuit of money can enslave because if you are good at it, it can become a trap. Especially for successful, high work ethic, hardworking people. Don’t be enslaved chasing for more. Know when enough is enough.

I was being pretty successful increasing my net-worth but miserable doing it. Even when I had enough to start living my life on my terms. Although it was good financially it was hard on my life because I had no balance. Have you ever felt like you have pushed too hard and lost the balance in your life?