What is the fascination with early retirement?

[Sil3nt1]

Who knows

[Ironmanlet]

The idea of spending most of your life doing something you “have to” (you don’t), even though you get no joy or satisfaction from it is a mental prison.

I don’t understand why you need someone to explain why pursuing getting out of that is preferable to staying in it.

[Dan_S]

Retired 2 years ago (November 2021) at 37. Never been happier.

Maybe it says more about you that your only purpose from life comes from working for someone else?

Also, I've seen plenty of people who "retired early" in their 50's and realized that they missed the window for all the stuff they wanted to do because their bodies are already breaking down. "I wanted to hike a bunch but it hurts too much."

[Visel]

Some people look fondly at what it was like to have Summer Vacation after school. It felt like forever but in a good way, you had your cartoons, video games, outdoors sports/activities, usually a family trip or 2 if your family is wealthier, etc. Now what if you could have that 365 days a year? I'm being silly but I think that this idea is sort of in the back of the minds of everyone who went through a 1st world education program, at least to some degree, unless your family sucked and you felt better away from them and at school. But also, same applies to holiday vacations, people have looked forward to time off since they were kids, srs.

For adults early retirement probably doesn't just mean no work, but also enough money to feel satisfied without any extra income. AKA millions of dollars. So some people wishing they could retire probably primarily care about the money that ideally comes along with it, but also the ability to not feel negative emotions along the lines of "feeling obligated to be on time or be on your A-game at work, concerns for losing your job/income and having to go through another interview process, potentially feeling desperate as your net worth depletes if jobless."

Last thought, is one of the only reasons people wish they might've been born in a more primitive era, as in caveman days, is the ability to just wake up and focus on doing what you want/need at the time. No showing up to your boss, just hunting/gathering for your tribe, chasing pleasure, exploring.

[Dave22reborn]

The idea of spending most of your life doing something you “have to” (you don’t), even though you get no joy or satisfaction from it is a mental prison.

I don’t understand why you need someone to explain why pursuing getting out of that is preferable to staying in it.

Nobody is forcing anyone to work a job they hate.

[DuracellBunny]

The irony is that the people most able to take early retirement are the least inclined to do it.

[Muscle2021]

maybe when im 50 ill sell all my chit and open up a coffee shop or something.
Some chill work to do until I die

[friesbruh]

cause for the vast majority of the population their jobs are soul crushing and unfulfilling, with ****ty bosses, and especially now in Biden's economy lay offs are everywhere.

/thread

retire early for me means permanently escape the need for a W2 while having enough residual income to eliminate the need to work while still giving me the flexibility to do so.

IE, leaving a W2 job but then using those 40hrs a week towards studying business, a particular market, devoting that time to a business i have already, etc.

doubt many could "retire" and be content w/doing nothing for the rest of their lives. its about freedom mostly - the ability to control your time and not have it dictated by someone else.

case in point, im in a coffee shop right now reading the EPRI Power Systems Manual on ac/dc theory, why, not because I have to but because I dont start back FT for another two weeks & i get to do whatever the **** i want until then.

[DustinTheHuss]

I've been working for 30 years so now I need more vacations to get through the year.

The problem is I don't have any accumulated vacation since I'm paid hourly, and they are unpaid vacations.

I also wish more places let you work part-time. I did that when my daughter was young, but then companies went away from part-time work.

[AncientYouth]

The trick is to enjoy your life at all times working or not..................just dont do a chit job that wrecks your life

[crupiea]

Most people buy into this idea that tv told them how retirement would be.

They think they will suddenly travel the world and spend money on lavish meals and go to Europe and do all that stuff.

Reality is if you walk around the block and go to walmart on the same day you will consider that day a busy day.

You will get very well acquainted with your remote.

[BigElephant]

Work doesn't add anything to my life other than the means to provide for myself and family. If I had millions in the bank I would never work again.

I have plenty of interests that keep my mind focused and involved that I could spend more time on as well. If I didn't have to work I'd probably play trumpet a few hours a day. I'd lean heavy into working out, specifically lifting. I'd spend more time gaming. I'd read more and likely try to read into more complex subjects like physics and try to self teach myself some things in that area. And yes I'd probably watch more TV, but mostly replays and streams of games that aren't on network TV.

The only jobs I would choose to continue doing if I were paid for them would be:

- Professional trumpet player in a symphony (Currently not good enough; if I had gone this route early on and really leaned in in HS/college this could have been a possibility)
- Physicist (Don't have the degree/qualifications/knowledge for this, and college advisors steered me to a different major; on top of that I like the subject matter but hate writing papers so not sure if there are jobs in this field where I could do research and do the math behind it without having to write a research paper)
- Professional gamer playing PVZ GW2 (this doesn't even exist, and even if it did the pro scene would end up being sweaty AF and unenjoyable so this one is even doubtful)

And that's about it. Everything else just detracts time and energy from other things that I'm actually interested in.

[Ironmanlet]

Nobody is forcing anyone to work a job they hate.

I know that. However society tells people they have to do things and make something of themselves and blah blah blah blah.

People feel like they are forced to work jobs they hate. The situation seemingly dictates.

I am free. I get it. Most people do not.

[imbored21]

hobbies are just work you dont get paid for

[-JR]

When I learned about FIRE I only cared about FI.

Honestly I'm impressed with the amount of people who are aweir of FI/RE here. I suppose miscers....even tho they are miscers...are smarter than the average bear.

Living in Florida with many retires, I've come to suspect some retire early so they can become their communities HOA presidents. They become kings or queens of their neighborhood, lording over all in their territory.

Other main activity is going to the doctors, having many tests performed, and then telling everyone, and sometimes demonstrating for others to see how the testing was performed. Then adding at the end of the story that it was paid for by Medicare.

Holy chit, fukkin lol. Someone shoot me if I get to that stage.

Last thought, is one of the only reasons people wish they might've been born in a more primitive era, as in caveman days, is the ability to just wake up and focus on doing what you want/need at the time. No showing up to your boss, just hunting/gathering for your tribe, chasing pleasure, exploring.

This thought is one of the reasons I want to homestead. If I can get to this stage quickly enough I can instill the ideals of working for yourself and being as self sufficient as possible into my kids. I've done the math and it's not really self sustainable these days, but to retire I think it's something that can basically replace a job AND be rewarding and fulfilling in a way that a job might be, minus assfuk coworkers and dumb policies. Everything matters, and you are needed or the operation goes to chit, and there's a push to be responsible. Everything about a job really. Just less soul crushing.

maybe when im 50 ill sell all my chit and open up a coffee shop or something.
Some chill work to do until I die

This also is appealing. Getting to talk to people, be a part of the community, and having the energy of a wide group of people (students, regular joes, execs, artists, etc) would be pretty interesting.

[DuracellBunny]

A lot of the people on here who want to retire early spend most of their spare time rotting already. They are basically just lazy bastards who don't want to work, rather than want to allocate that time to something of any consequence.

The same people want to "get rich" or "WFH"; they just want to rot even more than they currently do and will punch the clock until they can collect SS, whilst moaning that the world isn't fair and they could have achieved something if not for the boomers/jews/insert flavor of the month here.

[-JR]

A lot of the people on here who want to retire early spend most of their spare time rotting already. They are basically just lazy bastards who don't want to work, rather than want to allocate that time to something of any consequence.

The same people want to "get rich" or "WFH"; they just want to rot even more than they currently do and will punch the clock until they can collect SS, whilst moaning that the world isn't fair and they could have achieved something if not for the boomers/jews/insert flavor of the month here.

This is a guy that did FIRE right:

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015...n-about-money/

Little Money Mustache and Money

In our household, money is an open subject without any attached baggage or taboos . Our 9-year old knows exactly how money is earned, what happens when you spend it (it’s gone), and what happens if you invest it instead (it works for you, for life).

Since we retired just before he was born, he has grown up with the idea of financial independence – if you own assets like rental houses or shares of businesses, they provide income which means you don’t have to leave home for 9 hours every day and commute to an office unless this is your idea of fun. He sees this by comparing the daily routine of his own parents, to what other parents do each day.

So ever since he has been old enough to have a use for money himself (age six or so), I have tried to give him a chance to learn for himself how it works.

Making Money:

Being a kid is quite a lucrative proposition these days. On top of the free rent, he gets occasional cash gifts from relatives and a salary from me that consists of 10 cents for every mile walked or biked as part of family life. These tend to add up in a mostly-car-free family, as he already has more than 1200 miles on the little 20″ tires of his mountain bike and we wear through quality shoes before growing out of them.

Over the coming years, I’m expecting him to move from these little-kid sources of income into more independent ones. Whether he pursues traditional employment or hardcore full entrepreneurship right off the bat is up to him*.

Some parents like to focus on academics: “Until you graduate, getting good grades is your only job.” But I like to think of a good education as a highly diverse set of experiences. Working and earning your own money at any age – even if it includes stocking shelves and assembling wheelbarrows at a hardware store – is a key part of this. School is just a tiny part of a kid’s education, and not even the most important part. In fact, my most vibrant experiences from high school were side effects of work rather than classes at school.

The entire point of FIRE for this guy was to remove the obstacles in life that would prevent him from being able to teach his kids valuable lessons. Work isn't to be avoided really, it's to be encouraged and comes with reward. Too often though we accept a subpar reward for the effort and sacrifice that goes into it and are unable to tend to other aspects of our life, like educating our children, loving our wives, or building our own life. Having life revolve around work, planning around work, jumping when your boss says so and sacrificing whatever when he asks....are we better than feudal serfs? It doesn't go away with higher responsibility or pay either, sometimes it gets worse.

[plebmaximus]

OP that's a legitimate concern, but it's hard for you (and others) to grasp because it's not something that you can theorisie while you work a job


"retiring" doesn't mean not 'working', it just means doing work you choose to do. It's hard to imagine, but give your 2.5 years of no work, and you'll figure it out. (2.5 years, not 4 x weeks of 'vacation' from a job).



The 'work' you choose will give you purpose. It could be anything, it coild be writing a book, or getitng into politics, or exploring an interest (like climbing mountains) or whatever you want. That's not the same 'hobby' which is something you 'after work',

no, it becomes a core thing for you.


you meet interesting people, you live your life. Working a 'chill' WFH job will make imagning this impossible, because a job like that will systematically destroy any life purpose you have - the more comfortable a job is the worse it is.




It is VERY hard to conceptualise until you do it. Then you will start to think that working a job is literal insanity

[FelixTheCat1919]

To experience a few halfway decent years of life without constantly worrying about the grind of working for the man, before one's health goes bad or they just pass away. Seems like a pretty reasonable idea to look forward to after 30+ years of working.

[PShift5]

OP that's a legitimate concern, but it's hard for you (and others) to grasp because it's not something that you can theorisie while you work a job


"retiring" doesn't mean not 'working', it just means doing work you choose to do. It's hard to imagine, but give your 2.5 years of no work, and you'll figure it out. (2.5 years, not 4 x weeks of 'vacation' from a job).



The 'work' you choose will give you purpose. It could be anything, it coild be writing a book, or getitng into politics, or exploring an interest (like climbing mountains) or whatever you want. That's not the same 'hobby' which is something you 'after work',

no, it becomes a core thing for you.


you meet interesting people, you live your life. Working a 'chill' WFH job will make imagning this impossible, because a job like that will systematically destroy any life purpose you have - the more comfortable a job is the worse it is.




It is VERY hard to conceptualise until you do it. Then you will start to think that working a job is literal insanity

Lol what, I wfh and I love it, during fishing season I come home at 2am and sleep fro 2am - 8:55am and sign in for work. If I had a **** commute I wouldn't be able to fish all night. Idgaf about meeting interesting people

[Visel]

Lol what, I wfh and I love it, during fishing season I come home at 2am and sleep fro 2am - 8:55am and sign in for work. If I had a **** commute I wouldn't be able to fish all night. Idgaf about meeting interesting people

This, WFH crew.

- No commute
- Wear anything remotely comfortable (no formal/office attire)
- Get chores done
- Misc/YouTube/TV/Spotify/Whatever
- Give pets (or kids) your attention from time to time
- Cook and eat groceries
- No physical micromanagement
- Home resources (home gym, private bathroom)

All these perks... and if you get paid 6 figures for it, then you're honestly embracing the peak workceldom mankind has ever offered thus far.

[plebmaximus]

Lol what, I wfh and I love it, during fishing season I come home at 2am and sleep fro 2am - 8:55am and sign in for work. If I had a **** commute I wouldn't be able to fish all night. Idgaf about meeting interesting people

good for you .... and?


proves my point, you have no idea what's even possible if you don't have your cushy WFH job.

[DustinTheHuss]

Living in Florida with many retires, I've come to suspect some retire early so they can become their communities HOA presidents. They become kings or queens of their neighborhood, lording over all in their territory.

Other main activity is going to the doctors, having many tests performed, and then telling everyone, and sometimes demonstrating for others to see how the testing was performed. Then adding at the end of the story that it was paid for by Medicare.

I think retirees get off on being in the HOA board and posting about trivial items on Nextdoor.

I gosh know too much about Medicare now that I'm taking over elder care. It's too much, especially as that is all they'll talk about when they're in doctor waiting rooms or with friends.

Most people buy into this idea that tv told them how retirement would be.

They think they will suddenly travel the world and spend money on lavish meals and go to Europe and do all that stuff.

Reality is if you walk around the block and go to walmart on the same day you will consider that day a busy day.

You will get very well acquainted with your remote.

So much truth!

I kept asking my parents if they were bored as they would act like it was so exciting to go to the grocery store.

I wanted them to travel.

This, WFH crew.

- No commute
- Wear anything remotely comfortable (no formal/office attire)
- Get chores done
- Misc/YouTube/TV/Spotify/Whatever
- Give pets (or kids) your attention from time to time
- Cook and eat groceries
- No physical micromanagement
- Home resources (home gym, private bathroom)

All these perks... and if you get paid 6 figures for it, then you're honestly embracing the peak workceldom mankind has ever offered thus far.

Miscers would post about this schedule when we worked from home full time and I couldn't get chores done or cook, gym, etc. as with my job I need to be online from 9 to 5pm so even grabbing something to eat I'll hear my Slack keep dinging and I don't want them to think I'm goofing off.

Still, I got back 2-3 hours from not getting dressed up and the commute. That is a lot of time out of your day!

[Evil_D]

Retired 2 years ago (November 2021) at 37. Never been happier.

Maybe it says more about you that your only purpose from life comes from working for someone else?

Also, I've seen plenty of people who "retired early" in their 50's and realized that they missed the window for all the stuff they wanted to do because their bodies are already breaking down. "I wanted to hike a bunch but it hurts too much."

This.

[DustinTheHuss]

This.

Truth. I'm starting to have moar back and neck trouble so I want to travel now vs. wait until retirement as I may not be physically able to. Losing weight has helped as carrying 20 extra lbs around Europe hurt my back and knees.

My early retirement fear is more financial as my Grandmother lived to age 97. How can one fund that if you retire in your 50s??

[RagnarChadbrok]

If you have nothing better to do with your free time than watch TV and need to wage slave to give your life purpose, just say that. Don’t put that on the rest of us though

[Abzu]

Do you know how most retired people spend their time?

Watching TV
Napping
"Hobbies"

They have no aim in life, just waiting to die - no purpose, nothing to work towards. What kind of life is that?

I see so many miscers saying to adopt the FIRE mentality and try to retire by 40-45 or something crazy early. For many of us that's the halfway point of our lives since life expectancies have gone up, and if not, that's may be the 60-70% point.


Why not find something that you're interested in which pays a good salary and work on it? Eventually if you're smart with your money you'll be financially free in your 30s/40s anyways and have a valuable skillset.

Most of the miscers wanting to retire early will be living on an absolutely peasant tier income, pinching pennies and stressing about the cost of their bills going up. It's a completely alien concept to me, help me to understand? Not every job forces you to work 60 hours a week and kills your soul, many are legitimately interesting. Humans weren't created to sit there and rot in indulgence 100 hours a week. It's about balance.

An Amazon worker can produce $5,000/day in revenue and receive $150/day.

Even if I love my job that is untenable.

If I hate it then its suicide.



I can produce more than $5,000/day on my own and I get to decide how it is allocated lol.

I'm not retired but I don't work for anyone.

I can do what I want when I want.



No one takes advantage of me but Jeff does not care if it is rainin' or if its snowin', he wants you out there hoein'.

[Abzu]

Every miscer should read The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. A relevant tenet of the book is that money can only help make us happy if its used as a tool to make us feel more in control of our lives.

"Having a strong sense of controlling one’s life is a more dependable predictor of positive feelings of wellbeing than any of the objective conditions of life we have considered."

A Ferrari might be fun to drive for an hour or two but REAL wealth is waking up when you want and not having to put on a suit and tie to go shuck and jive for Mr. Noseberg for 60 years

That part.

[PShift5]

good for you .... and?


proves my point, you have no idea what's even possible if you don't have your cushy WFH job.

?? I make six figs working from home the fuk would I wanna go driving 45 minutes to an office for to make the same salary?

[6gorillion]

?? I make six figs working from home the fuk would I wanna go driving 45 minutes to an office for to make the same salary?

JFL at *******s that are wasting their lives away commuting and sitting in a cubicle lmao