I Don't Care!

[oldtoyota]

I am happy with how I spend my money, my time, and my energy.

When other people mention their overly busy lives (who is at fault for that?) or trips or tuition to fancy schools or the fact their kid is in the Special Program, I am at peace. I am out of the comparison game. It's been a long time coming.

Now, I am at a point at which I am truly happy for people if they are happy. If they are not happy, I am quiet unless asked for advice.

How could a person not be happy when they have figured shit out and cut their time to FIRE by, oh, a decade?

How about you?

[RetiredAt63]

I agonized about having to retire when my last contract ended.  It wasn't the money, it was the not teaching any more, and I do still miss the contact with students and the intellectual stimulation.  Friends who were already retired me told me I would like it.  Now I go around burbling about how wonderful retirement is, and how silly I was to have gone through that angst, and they smile.

[RootofGood]

I don't care! 

Like you, Oldtoyota, I say let them be.  If they're happy and oblivious, let em be.

Want to get an ugly ass tattoo that you'll pay a bunch to remove in 10 years when you grow up and get a real job?  Sounds cool to me (for you to put that shit on your body...)

Want to spend $200k for your kid to get a useless degree?  Knock yourself out, it's your hard earned money (or if you're borrowing money from the fed govt, you're not doing anything that anyone else could do).

Thinking about spending $60k on a new luxury car because you're old car is coming off its 3 year lease and "you can't drive an old car - you need something reliable"?  Hey man, knock yourself out! It's not my money after all.

I genuinely try to let people find their own way.  Now, if they start asking for advice, I'll offer what I think will help.  I certainly wouldn't appreciate "you need to spend more money to enjoy life" type of comments, not that I've ever actually received any that I can recall.  I'll get comments occasionally about "hey why don't you get a new car?  I saw Honda had a sweet $299/month lease deal right now".  Then I tell them how the last 11 years of no car payments was even sweeter than having a new car!

[brewer12345]

Yeah.  Since I escaped the cube and dealt with the adjustment, I am a different person in some respects.  Its a lot easier to ignore nonsense and not take the bait.  I still struggle with certain things, though.  My MIL (one of two, since FIL remarried) mentioned that her financial planner was retiring and they were invited to the retirement party at the local aquarium.  DW, I, the two kids and MIL and FIL recently had  dinner there with a $200 tab, so I can only imagine what a catered event would cost.  Hugely tempting to offer to help with their investments for free ( which I already do for FIL and my other MIL), but I kept my damn trap shut.

[lizzzi]

Yeah, I'm living life on my own dime and in my own way, and I more or less just wake up in the morning, have a great day filled with reading, writing, music, exercise, family life and general good stuff, go to bed and snooze my way through the night…wake up, and do it all again. I just don't care about other people's agendas, or what they may think. Being ER and FI brings freedom, and that's what it's all about. I don't have a McMansion or a clown car or credit card debt (or any debt), but I have freedom. I think it's New Hampshire where the state slogan is "Live Free or Die." Yes, indeed.

[pachnik]

I am still working and will retire in my mid- to late- 50's.  However, being part of this community and following the MMM strategies, will get me there 9 years earlier than I had thought possible. 

I am also just not interested in expensive holidays. I enjoyed travelling much more when I was younger but I just don't like it very much anymore.  I enjoy going to a local hot springs resort for a few days or a small town on the Sunshine Coast.  These holidays are peaceful without a lot of moving around once we get there and not very spendy at all.   I just don't care about travel and believe me, when you say this you get some pretty odd looks! 

 

[oldtoyota]

I am still working and will retire in my mid- to late- 50's.  However, being part of this community and following the MMM strategies, will get me there 9 years earlier than I had thought possible. 

That is awesome about reducing your time to FIRE!

I told a friend about retiring in 3-5 years. She was shocked. It's like I said in another thread…I mentioned it to my friends before and I think they did not really believe it. Some of these folks are too busy thinking other people are rich because they take expensive trips. (Sigh.) My announcement went in one ear and out the other, I guess, because it's too hard to believe.

Why do I even tell them? Well, one is because I love them and secretly hope they will ask for advice and have the same shot at freedom. No one has asked for advice…

But, I kid you not, people most likely look at my house and neighborhood and see it's "working class" and assume we are not doing well since we do not have a garage, marble countertops, etc. My guess is that it really shocks them that I can be planning an early exit from the rat race. Also, I did not pay for expensive post-grad degrees at Ivy League colleges so how could I POSSIBLY be considering an exit from the rat race??!! I just smile and shake my head and feel bad we grew up in a Super Zip, which can really mess with your perceptions of needs vs wants.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Great thread, again reinforces the 'Matrix' analogies.  What is a Super Zip (and why didn't I grow up in one?!).  I was grounded in needs vs. wants by having British parents that thought K-Mart was the holy grail :). Suddenly none of us kids neither needed nor wanted any new clothes.

[Jamesqf]

Great thread, again reinforces the 'Matrix' analogies. 

I wonder why it is that so many supposedly Mustachian folks paid out good money to see that movie?  I didn't, so references to it tend to lose me.  But you know that it cuts both ways: your 'retirement' could just be an illusion.  You're no longer interested & productive at work, so the sleepy gas gets piped into your cube, and they warehouse your unconscious body, piping in dreams of financial independence and early retirement...

[payitoff]

yes! I just smile gracefully if they start talking about stuff i dont agree. it's their problem, not mine. I have adapted husband's habit of saying "it's their life, and they chose it, so leave it." yeah, why bother?

[oldtoyota]

Great thread, again reinforces the 'Matrix' analogies.  What is a Super Zip (and why didn't I grow up in one?!).  I was grounded in needs vs. wants by having British parents that thought K-Mart was the holy grail :). Suddenly none of us kids neither needed nor wanted any new clothes.

Here is more information on Super Zips:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2013/11/09/washington-a-world-apart/

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Thanks!  Fun to learn new things, even more humorous was that the site wanted my cell location and the ads that popped up.  Will have to check it out later....

[sleepyguy]

Yeah it's very weird people have this idea the NEED to do all these things that media/friends shoves down their throats and any less you are not "living" life.  I'm am very glad even before even knowing what FIRE is... I don't care for lavish items or vacations... I actually don't enjoy the whole tourist destination like most (well except vegas/atlantic city, which i really enjoy).  My ideal vacation is just camping/fishing/canoeing with my family.

I've only told a handful of people that I'm hanging it up in about 7yrs (42yrs old) and they usually do the "yeah right" response.

I do concur with others here, I don't get bothered to much by other peoples decisions (except my parents), their money/time... their life.

I am still working and will retire in my mid- to late- 50's.  However, being part of this community and following the MMM strategies, will get me there 9 years earlier than I had thought possible. 

That is awesome about reducing your time to FIRE!

I told a friend about retiring in 3-5 years. She was shocked. It's like I said in another thread…I mentioned it to my friends before and I think they did not really believe it. Some of these folks are too busy thinking other people are rich because they take expensive trips. (Sigh.) My announcement went in one ear and out the other, I guess, because it's too hard to believe.

Why do I even tell them? Well, one is because I love them and secretly hope they will ask for advice and have the same shot at freedom. No one has asked for advice…

But, I kid you not, people most likely look at my house and neighborhood and see it's "working class" and assume we are not doing well since we do not have a garage, marble countertops, etc. My guess is that it really shocks them that I can be planning an early exit from the rat race. Also, I did not pay for expensive post-grad degrees at Ivy League colleges so how could I POSSIBLY be considering an exit from the rat race??!! I just smile and shake my head and feel bad we grew up in a Super Zip, which can really mess with your perceptions of needs vs wants.