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And a teacher in my state starts out bringing home about $25k/year. A lot of people consider that to be good money.
People keep talking about unexpected epenses like a doctor bill etc, but if you're saving and investing you'll have plenty of emergency money. Is everyone missing that?
People keep talking about unexpected epenses like a doctor bill etc, but if you're saving and investing you'll have plenty of emergency money. Is everyone missing that?
It seems like some folks believe you need millions to feel secure. Many will chase it, but very few will ever obtain it.
Hello? These are not the only two choices. How about working 8/5 rather than 24/7? I did it for years, and had plenty of time for other interests.
Even a 8-5 is more like 7-6 when you factor in getting ready and driving to and fro. And that's assuming one can totally drop all thoughts of work when they get home. Is one totally refreshed and able give 100% mentally and physically after a day at work? Does one need a nap? Have any paperwork? Does one spend time dreading the daily repetition? All this may not matter if you really enjoy what you do, but if you don't, it sucks to have it dominating the bulk of your days.
What about early retirement is not balanced? Working 24/7 gives you absolutely no time for anything, no life, no enjoyment, no family, no relationships. Early retirement gives you the chance to enjoy your life, doing exactly what you want to do, whether that brings in some money or not. Your life is not dictated on how much your paycheck is. Retirement does NOT mean sitting in a chair until you die. It means having the time to do what you've always wanted to do, to play, to enjoy life. That is indeed balanced.
Early retirement is GREAT...........if you have money to spend on your hobbies and lifestyle. Early retirement is also GREAT............if you are low maintenance/frugal person with little expenses.
Even a 8-5 is more like 7-6 when you factor in getting ready and driving to and fro. And that's assuming one can totally drop all thoughts of work when they get home. Is one totally refreshed and able give 100% mentally and physically after a day at work? Does one need a nap? Have any paperwork? Does one spend time dreading the daily repetition? All this may not matter if you really enjoy what you do, but if you don't, it sucks to have it dominating the bulk of your days.
Eddie, 24/7 usually means 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In this context, 8/5 would mean 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, not 8AM til 5PM. People have done this for years, with good results. Try it, you might like it . . .
Hello? These are not the only two choices. How about working 8/5 rather than 24/7? I did it for years, and had plenty of time for other interests.
I was answering a post that stated working 24/7. Working 8/5 still gives you no time to do what you want. In most of the country, during the winter time, working 8/5 means getting up in the dark and getting home in the dark. Unless you're a mole with unlimited energy, it pretty much eliminates any kind of life during the week, and the weekends are made up of recharging your battery to start all over again.
I work part time, and still can't wait to give that up entirely. Theres something mentally cleansing about waking up and not having to go work, even part time.
eddiehaskell and Ellise - I have to admit, I'm a little envious of y'all.
You remind me of my cousin's wife's brother.
He lives in a little beat up RV near the beach and has never worked more than part-time (painting houses or waiting tables).
Prior to getting the RV, he couch-surfed or even lived in a tent behind the sand dunes.
He's been doing this almost all his adult life, he's in his late 50's and lives sort of a bohemian lifestyle, partying and fishing.
Every time I start to stress about bills and meeting the mortgage I think of him and how it really doesn't take much to live.
Count me as part of the envious as well. I do not want to enslave myself to some job. The idea of having to work a typical full-time job: 5 days a week, 8-9 hours a day, for x number of years -- makes me want to go jump off a bridge. The idea of working 40+ hours a week is absurd. No wonder so many Americans are stressed out, pill-popping, hypertensive lunatics. How is working long hours but earning good money conducive to happiness? The amount of time a full-time job requires is unreasonable when you factor in the time it takes to get ready for work, commute to your job site, work your shift, then commute home. A typical 8-hour workday is really more like 10 when you factor everything.
I would rather have less money but more free time. And I am not one of those guys who has to have a professional, high-paying job in order to boost my ego or give my life meaning. A career or a job is just a means to an end: you work to earn money to live on. And if you can get by without working or with working a very limited amount of hours, then more power to you. I hope to be able to do that someday. For the longest time I have been turned off by the whole concept of 'working for a living'. Because working in that context feels too much like slavery; and I sure as heck do not want to be a slave (at least any more than I have to be).
And it's not that I'm against work per se; but rather, I am against working a traditional full-time job that eats up way too much of a person's time and energy.
I have a friend who is a dentist. He could be making a ton of money if he desired, but he chooses to only work one or two days a week. He basically works on call at a local dentist office; this office owned by another dentist and my friend only works when he gets called or has to fill-in for someone else. This friend is 51, and he probably works no more than 10-15 hours per week -- TOPS! He does not own a home (he rents a room in a large house), and he carries no debt. He drives a 15-year-old Volvo. He makes enough money to live comfortably and do pretty much what he wants.
- $20,000/yr passive income (increasing with inflation)
- modest home paid off (1000-1500sq ft)
- fuel efficient car paid off
- no debt
- low cost of living part of the US
With an income of $20k/year, health insurance can be had for free (Obamacare).
A modestly sized home of say 1000 sq ft (not small in most countries or even the US 40+ yrs ago) will allow for low utility cost, low property tax and lower maintenance cost.
If a person locates near a decent sized city (50k+) they may even be able to walk/bike/use public transportation.
Here is my personal expenses:
Rent $0
car payment $0 (for the next 7-8 years)
Food $325/month (includes eating out a lot)
Utilities $225/month (includes required $50 cable tv package)
Gasoline $60/month
Cell with unlimited data $40/month
Gym $20/month
Car insurance $60/month
Property tax $67/month
Health insurance $38/month (could get a bronze plan for $0)
home insurance $50/month
clothes/haircuts $30/month
home/car maintenance $??/month
travel/vacations ??
total: $915/month -- as low as $850 if needed.
That's about $11k/year which gives me a cushion of about $9k/year. I also have savings which can be tapped in an emergency.
I don't like work, schedules, mornings, bosses, responsibility, feeling replaceable, consumerism, etc, etc.
I do like coming and going as I please, sleeping until noon, hanging out at the pool, traveling, women, reading BS on the internet, playing basketball, working with my hands once in a while, etc.
Anyone else want to join me?
Definately doable
The median amount spent in retirement is about 19K per year
there is a reason expensive cities are expensive. they are more desirable places for a reason.
It depends on the type of person. A lot of people find heaven in a small, rural, out-of-the-way types of areas. A lot of the most beautiful, scenic parts of the country are backwoods, backwater towns that aren't cosmopolitan in any way, but a lot of people don't mind. I personally would love to live in an international, electric city like San Francisco if I had the money, but I think I'd be equally as happy living in a remote part of Colorado or Arkansas.
Just because an area is not necessarily in demand by a large segment of society does not mean that area is dumpy or somehow inferior.
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