I have written so much about process, FIRE planning, life planning, and thinking through everything.

I should be transparent and share that there is a LOT of freedom in my actions—in my process.  There is a lot of going with the flow of the day, week, or trip.

There actually is a lot less structure in my life than it may seem from my posts.

YES, I do think a LOT.

Yes, I process, plan, and structure life and projects.  That stuff interests me.  It helps me look at the task from multiple angles to try to make what I feel is the best decision.

I was asked how much “cash” or liquid assets we personally have ready for use in the near term (3,6, 12,18 months).

I did not have a good answer to this question because we just kind of moved things around, sold some assets a little while before the money was needed.  That required logical tax planning if it was an ordinary income/distribution, or a LTCG (or loss), or selling a physical asset.

We have since sold some assets and parked the money in some 1-2 treasuries, as well as a high-yield savings account, and now an ultra-short treasury fund.  This allows the freedom of moving some of those funds to a checking account without calculating a taxable event.

Another task I do periodically is moving some of that cash to our international debit card account before traveling internationally.

Structure

What I’m working toward is a structure for near-term money.  More specifically, money that I/we want to spend freely in the next few (4-ish?) years.

I have created an actual account and labeled it FI Bucket (FI spelled out–not financial independence–Emma!) for the money that is targeted for ONLY spending on above and beyond items, with the intent to empty the bucket in the near-term to add more to it.  Jim and Chris often plan for the Fun Number money window of use as 75% in GoGo, 15% SloGo, and 5-10% NoGo.

A few more thoughts

I am late to the idea of getting busy on spending.  The idea of “this money (savings) is ‘deferred spending.’”  NOW is the future.  The later future can be prepared for and still protected.

A milestone I had was creating a duplicate Net Worth chart–one that has the past, as well as the future with, the Net Worth line declining.  Using that money in the future.  A steeper decline for the MoJo period, then less steep for GoGo, then calmer for SloGo, then slightly down for NoGo.    Of course, all with long-term “what if” considerations.

I am glad I spent time selling assets to fund life in the past few years and learned how selling can be tax-complicated.  All kinds of levers to manage related to taxes: current, future, and after EOP.

The selling skills I learned have helped me liquidate assets to fill the FI bucket so that money is free to spend when we want to.  We don’t have to consider a sale–is the market up or down (lever) at that moment?  The money has been allocated in spendable form in the FI bucket.  Its job is to get out of the bucket on something good.

I’ve gotten better, more logical (different) about our assets.  Better at prepping them for use.  WAY better at using them.

Surround yourself with the right people, and your life should be much better.

You are the average of the FI people you surround yourself with.

*** Nothing in this article is to be construed as financial advice.  I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend to be.  You should always consult your own professional when seeking advice. This post is not a piece of literary mastery, just a random thought I had.