General Discussion > Post-FIRE
Did you ever feel the frustration of being "close to the goal"?
StockBeard:
I'm a few years away from RE. I had never really thought seriously about RE until my job became extremely boring to me last year. I found the MMM site while doing some research on how much money I'd actually need to never work again. Since my wife and myself are fairly frugal by nature, I felt the principles on this website really matched my personality, and became extremely motivated about retiring early.
RE for me can happen in 5 to 10 years, based on my family's expenses an my current revenue. Yet I now spend a huge amount of my time thinking of ways to accelerate this process. But it's not easy to make more money, and we've already been cutting a lot. At this point I wish I could just quit tomorrow, but this is not realistic, and I feel like the next 5 years of so could become the longest ones in my life.
Have people who are FIRE today, ever felt that type of feeling? How does one cope with it?
h2ogal:
I totally am feeling the same way. I put together a 1000 days to Freedom plan back in October. I set savings goals (750K) and spending goals (less than 3K per month) and I'm tracking both. I also keep a journal of my journey, challenges, ideas for saving and investing, and ideas for what to do in retirement.
I'm doing great tracking to the plan, over $20K ahead of savings plan so far...but...
The problem, is that while all this focus is helping me get to my goal, its NOT helping me live in the present and enjoy the moment! I think we also have to work hard on having fun NOW!
I have so many things I want to do "once I retire"....learn another language, study horticulture and philosophy, bike, hike and spend time in fitness classes...But there's nothing really stopping me from doing more of that right now, instead of waiting for another 850 days!
Why do you want to retire? What do you plan to do with your time when you retire? Is there a hobby you plan to spend more time on? Why not try spending some more time on that now?
happy:
When I started down the path 3 years ago I felt the same way and my job seemed more burdensome than ever before. Optimise, plan and track and make mini goals, and so on but the time has to pass. See if you can find a job not so boring.
Its still valuable time, you don't want to waste 5-10 years of your life being antsy about quitting. Instead choose to be happy. Ultimately whether working or retired you are responsible to choose to be happy. Once your job is gone, you won't be able to blame it for your unhappy state: its still up to you. Wake up every day and choose to be happy. Be happy you have a job that allows you to FIRE, be happy you have a job, be happy you can turn a tap and hot water comes out….
lizzie:
--- Quote from: happy on February 27, 2015, 06:09:17 AM ---When I started down the path 3 years ago I felt the same way and my job seemed more burdensome than ever before. Optimise, plan and track and make mini goals, and so on but the time has to pass. See if you can find a job not so boring.
Its still valuable time, you don't want to waste 5-10 years of your life being antsy about quitting. Instead choose to be happy. Ultimately whether working or retired you are responsible to choose to be happy. Once your job is gone, you won't be able to blame it for your unhappy state: its still up to you. Wake up every day and choose to be happy. Be happy you have a job that allows you to FIRE, be happy you have a job, be happy you can turn a tap and hot water comes out….
--- End quote ---
Thanks for this. I feel happier just having read it!
misschedda:
--- Quote from: h2ogal on February 26, 2015, 07:52:59 PM ---I have so many things I want to do "once I retire"....learn another language, study horticulture and philosophy, bike, hike and spend time in fitness classes...But there's nothing really stopping me from doing more of that right now, instead of waiting for another 850 days!
--- End quote ---
This really hits home for me. What a great way to explain the value of living in the moment while pursuing FIRE.
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