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My bitcoin funded mini-retirement

Paternity leave has been good to me. I thought I would enjoy this period of time, but I’ll tell you what, I’m really enjoying it!

Jackson just turned 7 weeks old. And through these first weeks, I’ve experienced so many special “first” moments already.

I was there on the first stroller walk outside (even though Tiffany and I were both stressed the whole time that Jackson wasn’t bundled up enough!). I was also there when he surprised us by flipping over during tummy time (even though babies aren’t supposed to flip until ~4 months). And I was even there when he sharted on the wall during the middle of a diaper change…!

In just a blink of an eye, it’s been almost 2 months since our family of two became a family of three.

As a new dad, I feel grateful that I have the ability to just take time off to bond with my son.

Right now, the plan is to take 5 months. This matches up with the 5 months my wife has for maternity leave. That means for this entire period, both Tiffany and I get to ease into parenthood vs. so many of our friends who are already back at work AND trying to learn how to handle the transition at the same time.

I feel grateful not only that I get to take time off, but that I get to take an extended period of time to learn the ins and outs of being a dad.

Bitcoin made it possible

A big part of what makes this time off possible is due to bitcoin.

Day-to-day, that means for the first time in my life, I don’t think twice about ordering take-out / getting food delivery even though its not the weekend. It also means that if we come across a new baby related gadget that we think could be valuable, we don’t need to price compare for days before pulling the trigger to buy.

Month-to-month, it means that we know we can continue making mortgage payments, credit card bills, and plan for an extended road trip to visit our families in the spring.

I can’t find the right words to say this, but it feels liberating not having to worry about the day-to-day / month-to-month expenses. As a new dad, I feel grateful that while on paternity leave, I don’t have to worry about money.

Why am I telling you this?

I believe that the price of bitcoin is still very cheap (even at $48k, as of this writing). Put another way, I think it is inevitable that bitcoin gets up to $1 million / coin. Yep, you read that right, I think bitcoin has a lot of upside. And yes, I also know that sounds crazy right now…

What that means for you is that you aren’t late. Rather, there is a lot of upside even if you buy now.

As a new dad, with all the expenses I know I need to account for, I encourage you to cast aside the fear, uncertainty, and doubt you have about bitcoin. Go down the rabbit hole…I’m confident you’ll have your own “ah ha” moment about where the price of bitcoin is headed.

Once you do have that “ah ha” moment and get bitcoin into your portfolio…

  • In the short term, maybe it can help pay for a new stroller
  • In the medium term, maybe it can fund a vacation
  • And in the long term, maybe it can pay for tuition, your mortgage, or maybe fund your early retirement too!

Without sounding like a used car salesmen, what I’m trying to say is, “it is not too late to buy your first bitcoin!”

Going forward, I’ll dig deeper into what is bitcoin and why I believe the future is bright for people who hold bitcoin in their portfolios.

But first…I have a dirty diaper to go change…!

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A mini-retirement

Hello world!

My name is Jonathan. I’m a new dad (Jackson, boy, ~6 weeks old as of publishing this post). And I’m taking a mini retirement / extended paternity leave right now – all made possible because of bitcoin.

Along with my lovely wife, Tiffany, our family of three lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Welcome to my “new dad bitcoin” journey.

More money, less problems

Less than one month before Jackson’s due date, the startup I was working at no longer needed my services.

Talk about a big ouch…

My initial reaction was to freak out. I mean, as a dad-to-be, with major expenses on the horizon, and now needing to job search too, who wouldn’t be, right?

However, after that initial freak out period, I forced myself to take a step back and assess.

While my ego was bruised, I realized what happened with the job situation wasn’t a bad thing. Actually, it was quite the opposite.

I had a golden opportunity before me. And I had bitcoin to thank for it!

Because of a bitcoin investment made in 2013 that has gone up ~80x, our family had acquired some “fuck you” / early retirement / financial independence money.

That means, instead of only being able to take a short paternity leave, and then needing to go back to work right after, I now had another option.

I could afford to:

  • take a mini-retirement / much longer paternity leave
  • not search for a new job (yet)
  • work on personal side projects
  • enjoy this new phase of life with Jackson and Tiffany

And that’s what I’ve decided to do!

Increasing wealth while not working

Around October 2020 timeframe, we transitioned into the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. With a baby around the corner, it felt like every non-working hour was spent preparing. That meant researching baby gadgets like strollers, taking an 8-week birthing class, and even physically adding more bedroom / kitchen / bathroom storage options.

At the time, bitcoin was hovering around ~$11k, and had been stuck there for a while. But in October, the price started moving up. Quickly. It has continued reaching new all time highs. And as of right now (February 8, 2021), it’s at ~$39k.

And as the price increased, I needed to have confidence in answering the question:

Should we buy / hold / sell our bitcoin?

In order to answer this question, I went deeper down the rabbit hole. In between researching baby gadgets and skimming through parenting books, I watched / read / listened to everything I could about bitcoin. Even now, in between Jackson’s diaper changes and naps, I’m continuing to go deeper!

Here’s my take:

  • I’m not selling anything
  • I’m still buying and plan to keep buying

That’s because even though I’m excited that bitcoin has funded my mini retirement, I think we’re JUST getting started in a long journey to reach bitcoin’s full potential.

Throughout this blog, my goal is to document the “new dad bitcoin” journey I am on, to better understand bitcoin myself, and to be able to explain “what is bitcoin / why should I care” to family and friends who are getting curious.

Hopefully, through this blog, I can also help other new dads have the same “ah ha” moment why bitcoin needs to be part of their portfolio too.

I’m looking forward to go on this journey together!