Find Joy By Creating Epic Life Experiences

Good morning!

I hope this finds you well.

Welcome to another edition of The Matt Viera Newsletter.

The newsletter with the goal to inspire you to live the life you actually want to live.

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In the winter of 1992, I had one of the best weekends of my life.

Back then, I was an avid skier.

Because I was living in Germany, close to the Alps, I knew if I didn’t ski the Alps (as often as I could), I’d regret it.

So, one weekend, I signed up for a ski trip to the Lake Lucerne region of Switzerland.

That weekend was fantastic! The skiing was next level. The nightlife was insane.

I slept for about 4 hours the entire weekend.

It was an incredible experience.

I skied every chance I could while living in Germany: the German Alps, the French Alps, and the Swiss Alps.

I bring this up for two reasons: 1) I’ve been asked several times by friends, “Where was the best place you ever went skiing?” and 2) because of a book I am currently reading.

I am currently reading Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown.

One point that resonated with me so far is found within the chapter titled “Play. Embrace the Wisdom of Your Inner Child.”

Play? Who has time to “play”?

McKeown writes that the idea “that play is trivial stays with us as we reach adulthood and only becomes more ingrained as we enter the workplace.”

This is all the more reason to get out and do something fun.

McKeown defines play as “anything we do simply for the joy of doing rather than a means to an end—whether it’s flying a kite or listening to music or throwing around a baseball….”

Which is why I will always invest money in three activities:

• Mini-retirements

• Weekend getaways

• Cross-country road trips

I find joy in participating in these activities as often as possible.

I find joy in participating in activities that, for a moment in time, I don’t have a care in the world.

Like I did during summer vacations when I was a kid.

Or skiing in the Alps on weekends when I lived in Germany.

It’s all about life experiences.

Each of these activities allows me to feel and appreciate being alive.

As McKeown reinforces:

As much as I encourage you to try the three activities I pursue regularly, find what works for you.

Work out, join a local sports club, invite some friends over to play a board game (and have drinks).

And if you do decide to pursue any of the activities that I pursue regularly, here’s a financial tip for you (the financial angle):

Start to build a “play” fund in a high-yield savings account.

Going away for a weekend is one thing. A cross-country road trip or a mini-retirement is a different financial beast altogether.

One thing that worked for me that I implemented during my last mini-retirement is building up my “mini-retirement” fund and setting a $50 per day spending budget.

I used credit card reward points for the airfare.

I paid for the entire mini-retirement (accommodations and spending money) with the money I saved in my “mini-retirement” fund.

The best part was that after my monthly expenses, all the income I made during that time was saved and invested.

As Tim Ferriss (who I learned about the concept of mini-retirement from) says, “I think one assumption that [you’re making] is that you spend and not save money on a mini-retirement.”

Invest the time (and money) to participate in an activity that brings you joy. Explore the world. Get lost.

Live.

Interesting reads:

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Skiing in much of North America is outrageously expensive. Consider heading to Europe instead

You can find the collection of financial tools & resources that helped me grow from a 6-figure debt to a 6-figure net worth by clicking here.

Thanks for reading!

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