Why write this blog about me?
Essentially, for most of my adult life I’ve been following the money advice that I now share with parents and this has now allowed me to live my dream life. If my story can inspire parents to help their kids look after their money so they can grow up and live their dream life, then I would be super happy.
My dream life
For the longest time, I never really thought too much about what my ‘dream life’ would actually look like. I just assumed my life would involve always working in a corporate role, getting married, having kids, going on nice holidays and then retiring when I am 65. That was the life I was to live. I had no complaints at all, until 2017, when I was speaking about my kids (who were 3 & 5 at the time) to someone who said,
“Enjoy this time with your kids, they only grow up once!”.
This statement is obvious but triggered something in me. I was working hard at a job I loved, but only saw my kids an hour or so each work day and then at the weekends (which were activity packed!).
It was then that I started to consider my ‘dream life’. I wanted to spend more time with my kids, have more time with my wife and have more time for myself.
I also wanted to make a positive impact on the world. It was then that I started to think about how to make my dream a reality.
My wife and I have been good at saving and investing money. We have always been on nice holidays and had a nice house, but we made sure we saved a certain amount before we started spending.
In 2019, we left our full-time jobs!
My wife agreed to support me with the gift of some time to dedicate to my new business venture, helping parents teach their kids about money.
We now live in Vietnam, where I get to see my girls all the time (when they aren’t at school), have ‘date lunches’ most days with my wife, do charity work and focus on the business I’m passionate about.
I’m now living my dream life, living near the beach, enjoying great weather, amazing Vietnamese food and experiencing a completely new culture.
Achieving my dream life
When I told people about our plan to quit our jobs, most people said they wouldn’t be able to afford to do what we are doing. That's despite many of those people earning a lot more than we were. This is when it really hit me how lucky it was that my wife and I were savers.
Most people never learnt to save as they were growing up. As they started earning more, they simply spent more (cars, bigger house, extensions). They didn’t have money saved to allow them to do what we are doing.
We didn’t just save our money; we invested our money (in a really simple and boring manner). This means that the money we saved had been growing for years and now provides us with an income each month. This income, plus our income from renting out property in the UK, allows us to live our dream life without financial worries.
Most people don’t invest their money as they were never taught about investing when they were growing up.
Starting Blue Tree Savings
The above highlights how important it is to teach kids about money. Most of what we do with money as adults comes from what we learnt as were growing up. That’s why I started Blue Tree Savings.
I want to help parents teach their kids about money so all kids have the opportunity to live their ‘dream life’, whatever that may be, when they grow up.
The key is to make sure your kids grow up following:
The 3 Rules of Wealth:
1. Spend less than they receive
2. Invest the difference (learn more here)
3. Be patient
Summary
I hope my story shows that living a dream life doesn’t mean waiting until you are 65 years old or winning the lottery or inheriting lots of money.
If your kids learn to follow the 3 Rules of Wealth (before they learn to spend), they’ll be able to live their ‘dream life’.
Thanks for reading!
Will
p.s. I appreciate that it’s not essential to have money to ‘live your dream life’ but for many, not having money is a big hurdle.
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