So I'm usually the guy who puts savings over all else. Every cent of extra money, I'm trying to stuff into retirement savings or my brokerage account. I agonize over every dollar. I want to FIRE so badly someday. I look to see where I can save at every turn, and I would normally NEVER consider buying a motorcycle again, as it is a lot of money for very little use (especially in WI). So here's where things changed:
My dad is a vintage Harley guy. He's always had one and I remember riding on the back of his many times when I was a kid. When I graduated high school, I had money from working every summer and decided to buy a used one. I owned it for two years and my dad and I rode often those two summers. It was awesome, but I was in college and needed money for other things, so I sold it. I sold it for maybe 500 less than I bought it, so not a terrible financial decision by any means. My dad was pretty down about it at the time, but understood why.
Fast forward 5 years later, I make good money, have a fiance who I'm going to marry next summer who makes good money, and have a hair over 125k in retirement accounts and cash at 26. I feel like I'm doing quite well. My dad asked me if he could store his Harley in my garage for the winter, and said "Hey, I don't really ride much anymore, your mom doesn't like it anymore either and I have no one to go with. Would you want to buy my bike?"
I've always had that urge in the back of my head to get another bike, but my FI desire always outweighed it. At first I thought this was an awesome thing though. My dad would give me a good deal, and I would know what I'm getting. Then I realized, one of the main reasons I wanted a bike again was to go riding with him. I don't want to buy his and go by myself. It was about spending time with him and sharing a hobby. I asked him if I got another one, if he would keep his and ride together, his eyes lit up. "Hell ya!" Well that was all she wrote. I decided I'm buying a bike again (nice used one). My dad is getting up there and we only have so much time to do stuff like this together again, so I'm pulling the trigger.
Wanted to share this because it has been a huge shift in perspective for me and it seems like a common theme on this sub about balancing life and happiness with FIRE. I decided this is something I'm willing to trade time for at the end of my career.
Submitted March 18, 2021 at 06:10PM by InspectorAdvanced214 https://ift.tt/3eTe9gw
