Last week I very, very, nearly bought a house.
It was almost perfect. 4 bedrooms, a pool, and interestingly it was a freehold property, not a leasehold that I’d have to give up after 30 years. It was brand new, direct from the developers.
I viewed it three or four times and went through the process of making an offer and negotiating a price. Everything was ready to go for me to make the deposit and lock it in.
The villa was half a million dollars, and I spent some time rationalising the purchase in my head. It’s not a purchase, it’s just moving money from one asset class to another. It would be great to own a house I can live in, and I already saw myself sitting in the open plan living room playing GTA6 next spring.
However, Bitcoin had been sliding in price and was down almost 20% from its recent high. That stung. The idea of being forced to sell some Bitcoin here didn’t sit so well. But I could slow walk the final process and pay off the bulk of the purchase over the next quarter, giving Bitcoin some time to run back up before I had to sell most of it.
Slowly, however, the practicalities of the purchase started to unfold before me.
The Hard Reality
I’d have to incorporate a local business to hold the title deed of the property, as local law prohibits foreign ownership. That would require a lot of paperwork to set up, and then would require ongoing fees to maintain.
The sale would attract local tax to be paid upfront, and then paid every year on the value of the property. If I wanted to lease the place out as a holiday home when I’m not there, that would require further permits and ongoing fees, plus ongoing management fees.
Then I’d need to get insurance on the property, renewed annually. Utilities, Internet, domestic services – all monthly ongoing costs.
The business would be expected to show revenue, which I didn’t actually intend to achieve, which would mean phantom income that is taxable. I would need a corporate bank account, with minimum balances and ongoing fees.
The villa would need some ongoing maintenance, of the fixtures, fittings, the pool, etc.
If I did ever want to sell the place, it would be a long process of estate agents, appraisals, documents – and taxes, another myriad of financial obligations and fees.
If I wanted to live in the place long term I’d need to get a long term visa which would render me tax resident and place tax obligations on my global income.
Very quickly, I realised I was essentially walking myself into an endless basket of fees, taxes, and financial obligations that felt immediately like a heavy millstone around my neck.
This led me to some introspective soul searching to understand what I actually want in life.
The north star of everything I have set up in my affairs is, and always has been, freedom. But what does freedom mean?
Two Kinds of Liberty
Philosopher Isaiah Berlin called it two concepts of liberty:
- Freedom from interference – the absence of obligations, restrictions, and burdens.
- Freedom to act – the ability to own, create, or achieve.
Most of us want both. FIRE in particular is built on the tension: we chase the freedom to quit our jobs, live where we want, travel, and spend our time as we please. But along the way, we also crave the freedom from debt, bosses, routines, and commitments.
Sometimes the two align. Sometimes they fight.
The Freedom in Saying “No”
I have the freedom to buy a nice villa to live in, but doing so then gives up the freedom from all of the obligations that come with that.
For me, for now, the freedom from obligations is very much in the driving seat of my decisions.
Once I made the decision not to buy the villa, the sense of relief was palpable. Much as I had spent the time to convince myself this was merely a diversification of assets, not a purchase, the fact I didn’t need to sell Bitcoin felt like a big burden lifted.
For now my focus is once again on striving for my number. A villa can wait, maybe forever.
Perhaps structuring my finances to produce a solid annual yield and using that to rent a villa long term is still the best plan.
Choosing Your Version of Freedom
This is what FIRE really is: not just having the money, but choosing which kind of freedom you want to prioritise at a given moment.
There’s no permanent answer. Some seasons of life call for to, others for from.
For me, today, the villa can wait. My Number comes first. My freedom is intact.
The real question for anyone on this path is simple:
Which matters more to you right now – freedom to, or freedom from?