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!