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Exactly. It’s all a question of what you value the most. I’m a bit boring myself - my GF is not like this - and I defy the younger stereotype. I just don’t enjoy traveling if I’m honest. I know that makes me a monster but there’s really not much I care less about than traveling. I like my own bed, my own home, my comforts and my diet and exercise routine, and in general when I travel whatever I may “see” is not that great. It’s overrated to me. I learned more about Rome watching documentaries and reading Wikipedia than when I visited there myself. *shrug* Just not a big priority to me. In other areas my tastes are expensive. I like watching every new blockbuster only in IMAX and won’t bother going at all unless I’m getting that sound and picture quality. It’s not a big deal to me to spend $40/month on 2 IMAX movies though really. Sure doesn’t compare to, say, buying new luxury cars or trips or whatever.
Yes, correct. I'm the opposite of you. I like travel. But there are lots of different ways to travel. If you're doing it on a crammed schedule, travelling at peak times, and just hitting the tourist highlights, then I agree with you. I don't like that kind of travel. As far as entertainment goes, it's not as big of a deal to me. Over the last several years, I've learned quite a bit about how we're propagandized by the entertainment industry in ways I couldn't previously have imagined...so this whole idea of cable tv being a necessity is just laughable to me (actually I've felt that way about cable for a long time). Even on a surface level, people are starting to realize all this time spent staring at screens is bad for physical and mental health, and that doesn't even take into account the content people are taking in. My ideal self would not watch almost any modern t.v. shows/movies, etc. That's how negative the influence of this stuff is, IMO. So that's a long way of saying I always put entertainment lower on the list than a lot of people...and my value on it has become less and less over time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonathanLB
So we all have our standards and there are certain things that to me constitute the good life and I wouldn’t give up no matter what even if I had to work harder to make them happen.
And that's fine. The point is you're making a conscious decision. The problem I have is when people insist their luxuries are necessities and they simply couldn't live life any other way. We must become more conscious of our choices and own those choices.
It all comes down to what you want. Living on $30k is a lot better than dreading work everyday while missing out on tons of time with family.
And you assume everyone does that. I work in a place where the workday is 7.5 hours and most people telecommute 3 days a week. They are not missing much time with family. It is not exciting, but it is pretty comfortable and allows people to do stuff with their kids and afford a better lifestyle than retiring at 40.
And you assume everyone does that. I work in a place where the workday is 7.5 hours and most people telecommute 3 days a week. They are not missing much time with family. It is not exciting, but it is pretty comfortable and allows people to do stuff with their kids and afford a better lifestyle than retiring at 40.
i don’t assume everyone does that. I’ve stated before that if you enjoy whatever you do - keep doing it. I’m not trying to win over converts.
Yes, correct. I'm the opposite of you. I like travel. But there are lots of different ways to travel. If you're doing it on a crammed schedule, travelling at peak times, and just hitting the tourist highlights, then I agree with you. I don't like that kind of travel. As far as entertainment goes, it's not as big of a deal to me. Over the last several years, I've learned quite a bit about how we're propagandized by the entertainment industry in ways I couldn't previously have imagined...so this whole idea of cable tv being a necessity is just laughable to me (actually I've felt that way about cable for a long time). Even on a surface level, people are starting to realize all this time spent staring at screens is bad for physical and mental health, and that doesn't even take into account the content people are taking in. My ideal self would not watch almost any modern t.v. shows/movies, etc. That's how negative the influence of this stuff is, IMO. So that's a long way of saying I always put entertainment lower on the list than a lot of people...and my value on it has become less and less over time.
And that's fine. The point is you're making a conscious decision. The problem I have is when people insist their luxuries are necessities and they simply couldn't live life any other way. We must become more conscious of our choices and own those choices.
I get you, but of course I’m the opposite - I’m a film writer / director so watching movies and staring at screens is always going to be a large part of my day and my life I love movies and it’s essential for me to watch as many as I can, old, new, foreign, independent, all types really. Movies are my passion and my career so it’s even part of my weekly tasks to watch 3-5 classic movies. I work out regularly, never had any eye strain, I’m sure some people have issues but I never have fortunately.
Gastonia is simply a suburb of Charlotte. It’s not really meant to wow anyone. If a city like Charlotte doesn’t have what you need...well, I’d say you’re a needy person and this whole retiring early thing might not work even if you wanted it to.
How much do you spend per year on stuff you can’t give up? My income is around $20k and I spend $10k. I could do a lot of entertainment stuff with the $10k I have left over.
Hey I said that on post number 3. It's not a life I would enjoy, too much I would have to sacrifice.
actually it's not much stuff anymore. I am retiring earlier than normal, next year is my last year I'll be 59.
I don't mind being a needy person, lol. I'm a firm believer there is a difference between living and existing. I do know folks who retired early and now have to watch their pennies, now I will say life threw them curve balls but at 60 I don't want to have to say I can't go to AC for the weekend because money is tight.
like I said, one of the things my hubby and I felt strongly about was paying for our kids college education, we did not want them starting life off with 10's of thousands of dollars of debt. That was important to me, much more so than retiring early.
I've already said that I'm a city gal. I live in center city Philadelphia and grew up in Manhattan. I did hte suburb thing when my kids where small and wanted them to have better schools but now they are young adults. I didn't like it.
You are right I made the conscious decision to stay working because I wanted a different lifestyle. I spend 10K dollars on travel alone. Last week I took my family to see Hamilton on Broadway, go check out the price of tickets on that puppy. lol that's what I enjoy doing.
I also knew how I wanted to live in retirement. My goal is to be a snow bird. live half the year up North and the winters in a beach town either on Tybee island or Venice florida. near the beach, like a block or two away. I've been researching Tybee, I figure I'll spend 500K on a condo on the beach. I'll probably rent the first few years to make sure I like it. lol heck I just put in a reservation for 1 week at Ocean city NJ and the condo is 3500, lol thats a big bite out of a 10K entertainment allotment.
And lastly I kept working because I wanted my social security benefits to be as high as possible. a person making 30K through out their life will get about about 1300 bucks a month in ss. I decided to stay in my job because my salary I'll get about 1000 more a month. that is significant.
I did have 1 friend Ti, who tried it and went back to work after 5 years. She said she simply got tired of having to say "no" all the time because of a strict budget. No harm, no foul.
It really is all about choices. again I never said one is good or bad, my only criticism is that most of these guys do not give full disclosure.
Last edited by eliza61nyc; 10-30-2018 at 07:19 AM..
It really is all about choices. again I never said one is good or bad, my only criticism is that most of these guys do not give full disclosure.
These guys who are successful hawking their FIRE movement have back-up plans most of the people who follow them do not. They are making money off their blogs, books, lectures, youtubes etc so if something bad should happen they can fall back on that income. It's a real shame since not every early retiree can make side income from hobbies. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coupl...090000093.html
These guys who are successful hawking their FIRE movement have back-up plans most of the people who follow them do not. They are making money off their blogs, books, lectures, youtubes etc so if something bad should happen they can fall back on that income. It's a real shame since not every early retiree can make side income from hobbies. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coupl...090000093.html
What are you talking about? Most of the people that can afford to FIRE are extremely well educated and made excellent incomes or the math wouldn't have worked out in their favor to retire after working for 10-15 years. My guess is 80%+ of the people contemplating FIRE could go back and earn above average incomes if it doesn't work out 15-20 years from now. But my more likely guess is that within 1-2 years almost every FIRE person is making money in some other venture of their choosing. That's why I hate the RE part of that acronym because it implies a traditional 70 year old pension go to the golf course and garden retirement. What they really mean is retiring from a career and in almost all cases a career they didn't enjoy in the first place.
Using me as an example at this point I'm more focused on the FI. I'd like to be to a point by the time I turn 40 that we both could quit our jobs if we wanted to. At this point I have no desire to do so, but I want to be at that place. Who knows what could happen? The consulting firm I enjoy working for could go bankrupt in 10 years and my other offers could be pittance to what I make, forcing me to move and no longer work remotely, etc. I don't want to be put in a position I have to move or take a job that doesn't interest or fulfill me.
The entire point of the "movement" or lifestyle is to rely as little on money as possible, so you don't need a lot in the first place, which opens up a world of options most people don't have. A 35 year old couple with $500k in investments living off 50% of their gross HH income is in a much better position to weather a 50% loss of income than a similar couple with $10k in investments spending 85% of their income. I don't know how anyone could argue that.
This is what some people will just never get. I have friends that literally think if you don't live in one of those cities you live in a cow pasture and are a redneck. One friend said the reason I don't spend that much money eating out is because there are no restaurants where I live. I told him where I live is about the size of Madison, Wisconsin, he said yeah...they probably only have chains too. The funny thing is he lives in Baltimore, not exactly some food mecca.
When I was working, we were transferred to new duty stations every 3 years. So we have lived in really high COL cities. Throughout that process, we knew that when I retired, we were going to settle in a low COL rural area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eliza61nyc
Lol I admit Im guilty of that sometimes but I will say sometimes we get it honestly.
Case in point I went to visit my cousin in Greensboro NC. We decided on Italian for dinner. Where did they take me?? Olive Garden. Oh hell naw. Sorry I refuse to dignify that food by calling it Italian. Told her she should know better, we're from Manhattan.
So I do tease her ( please note I said Tease) that Im not moving anywhere Olive garden is considered Italian food.
What does MM say about eating out?
In this area, I guess that Olive Garden would be the local 'Italian' food.
We lived in Naples Italy for 3 years, and my Dw practiced many local dishes. On-base they had some local cookbooks that had been translated to English, so we have a few of those.
... Most of the people that can afford to FIRE are extremely well educated and made excellent incomes or the math wouldn't have worked out in their favor to retire after working for 10-15 years. My guess is 80%+ of the people contemplating FIRE could go back and earn above average incomes if it doesn't work out 15-20 years from now. But my more likely guess is that within 1-2 years almost every FIRE person is making money in some other venture of their choosing. That's why I hate the RE part of that acronym because it implies a traditional 70 year old pension go to the golf course and garden retirement. What they really mean is retiring from a career and in almost all cases a career they didn't enjoy in the first place.
That may be your experience.
I have been on pension since 2001. I know a lot of fellow retirees. Very few of us have ever earned high incomes.
I tried to follow the strategies presented in 'The Millionaire Next Door', by Thomas J. Stanley, and William D. Danko, and it seems to have worked well for us this past 18 years.
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I love movies and it’s essential for me to watch as many as I can, old, new, foreign, independent, all types really. Movies are my passion and my career so it’s even part of my weekly tasks to watch 3-5 classic movies. I work out regularly, never had any eye strain, I’m sure some people have issues but I never have fortunately.
