Have Your Bacon and Eat It, Too: How Small Rewards Can Fuel Your FI Journey

I love bacon. 

Not just any kind of bacon, though. I love the thick cut slabs of bacon - the ones that burst with flavor and fatty goodness when you sink your teeth into them and chew. The other day, as I was staring at my frying pan while cooking up some of these sizzling behemoth slices I love so much, I started to reflect back on my relationship with bacon. This may sound strange, but bear with me.

I realized that for a really long time, I had denied myself the enjoyment of purchasing and eating this particular food I love so much. Every time I would go to a fancy grocery store, I would walk by the meat case and stare at it, even pick it up and hold it in my hands while I debated about “should I or shouldn’t I”, but ultimately decide I shouldn’t and throw the package of cheap thin cut cardboard like stuff in my cart.

Here’s what’s usually going through my head during this debate: There’s only about 4 pieces of bacon in the package, making it ~$2-3 per piece. Meanwhile, if I just buy the store brand (not at the fancy grocery store), it’s $3 for the whole package which yields ~10 pieces. That’s 10X less per piece! How in the world can I justify that kind of splurge? I could be saving that money to make progress on my next fiscal goal!

Here’s how it usually turns out: I buy the cheap bacon, eat 4 or 5 pieces, and then feel zero joy or satiation. In fact, I feel empty emotionally, thinking what was the point in saving that money?

So one day I finally decided to splurge and buy that package of thick-cut bacon. My justification was that I had just closed a deal so I deserved it. I can tell you, after slowly savoring just one piece of that bacon, I was completely satisfied. In that moment, I was riding the high of closing that deal and relishing my reward for doing so. I felt true happiness.

You’re probably asking yourself, what’s the point of all of this bacon talk, Elisa? I promise there is a point to this story.

I reached financial independence a couple of years ago, which was an incredibly big milestone for me. So when I look at my bank account, why do I think I cannot allow myself this simple pleasure? 

It dawned on me that I had been so consumed in my journey to reach FI that I have forgotten to actually enjoy the fruits of my labor now that I am here. It’s actually a common trait of high achievers (not to toot my own horn…many people who reach FI are in this category). We are so quick to move on to the next goal once we achieve the previous one that we forgot to stop and celebrate what we just accomplished. In rushing into our next goal without taking the time to enjoy our success, we forgot the joy of it all. 

My point here is if you don’t actually let yourself be happy and enjoy what you’ve worked so hard to achieve, what’s the point in reaching FI? Why should you not enjoy your piece of bacon steak when you could probably buy the whole bacon factory? To be clear, I am not saying that you should go out and buy a new car every year that you crush your goals (although if you’re passively making $1M a year, go for it). I am talking about rewarding yourself with things that are of value to you and are proportional to your passive earnings. 

In fact, even before you reach FI, think about tying a small reward that has a high value to you to each milestone you achieve along your FI journey to help stay motivated. It may even net out to you actually saving more while feeling more satisfied. When I eat that piece of bacon, I not only feel physically satiated but emotionally full. That feeling could stop me from buying a bunch of packages of cheap bacon and ultimately spending the same amount money only to still feel emotionally empty.

The sad realization I came to in this reflection is that this kind of self-deprivation created a hole in my life. The obsession to prove I still have this “frugality mindset” drove me to hold back on celebrating my successes. 

I believe that you can actually reach a new stage of freedom, beyond financial independence, once you realize and decide you don’t have to prove anything to anyone.  The true meaning of FI to me is having the freedom to choose what you want to splurge on and not feeling guilty about it. Give yourself the permission to feel happy and emotionally full.

So for all your folks out there who have worked insanely hard to reach milestones in your FI journey, listen up. Reward yourself along the way. In fact, systematically rewarding yourself will make your journey to FI more sustainable and way more enjoyable. Maybe it’s the decision to allocate 5-10% of your earnings to going out to a nice restaurant or taking your family to Mexico after you close your first deal. Remember, a little splurge can go a long way. 

Don’t just endure the journey. Enjoy it.