What does having FI feel like?

[arebelspy]

No TV... No Simpsons - ever.

My heart goes out to you.

I would definitely consider a GoFundMe to buy you the Simpsons DVDs a worthy charity, on part with saving the environment and starving children.

[deborah]

No TV... No Simpsons - ever.

My heart goes out to you.

I would definitely consider a GoFundMe to buy you the Simpsons DVDs a worthy charity, on part with saving the environment and starving children.

I guess the DVDs might make good bird scarers... Nup, Australian birds are the most intelligent in the world. They would just ignore them. Or chew them. Or use them as a swing.

[brooklynguy]

Sorry, deb, but the cromulence of rebs' assertion is beyond dispute.

[Mr. Green]

Why would they make a TV show out of 30 rocks? :P

[BPA]

Time and circumstance will determine if I am FURE or FIRE, but I agree that I would rather pull the plug sooner rather than later.  Inflation or a market crash could send me back to work, but I'm okay with that.  I won't return to my former high-paying field.  I can work part-time for minimum wage and cover my expenses if necessary.

On my fourth day after my last day of work, I had a feeling that I've only ever had on Ativan.  I was so relaxed, I felt I'd been drugged.  Only then did I realize exactly how much that the career I had loved and had been good at was stressing me out. 

I'm less than a month in, but I feel great.  When I got sick over Christmas holidays, I didn't stew because I was wasting valuable vacation time being sick.  Even being sick, I felt really happy. 

I will admit that being bare bones FI but not RE was somewhat stressful at times.  I knew quitting was going to come as a huge surprise to my colleagues, students, and neighbours.  And it was a really rough last week.  I was good at teaching and had so many people try to talk me out of quitting.  The waiting game between FI and RE was difficult.

I'm pretty proud of myself that I didn't chicken out.  I thought for sure that I was going to.  Pulling the plug was one of the best things I've ever done for myself.

[RootofGood]

I'm less than a month in, but I feel great.  When I got sick over Christmas holidays, I didn't stew because I was wasting valuable vacation time being sick.  Even being sick, I felt really happy. 

This is an important point about how life is better in FIRE.  You get sick, you focus on getting better.  Lay on the couch all day if that's what it takes.  While working, it always took a bit of juggling to rearrange meetings, deadlines, delegate work, etc if I wanted to take a sick day. 

[Cassie]

Deborah: what I meant was that we were fully retired but something was missing for us so we decided to be semi-retired. We had a  year of full retirement and did not like it.  Now with 3 of semi this suits us much better. Of course I have no boss and work from home mostly in my pj's.

[dragoncar]

No TV... No Simpsons - ever.

No tv and no Simpsons make homer go something something

30 rock was a bad show, so you can't blame anyone for not getting a reference.

Now Simpsons seasons 1-8 or so?  You'll burn in hell, having donuts shoved down your throat til you can't eat anymore if you don't get one of those.  ;)

I don't even watch 30 rock but I like that quote.  More Forbidden donut please

[Daisy]

No TV... No Simpsons - ever.

My heart goes out to you.

I would definitely consider a GoFundMe to buy you the Simpsons DVDs a worthy charity, on part with saving the environment and starving children.

Oh yes this^. And then, once fully Simpsonized, she can graduate to South Park, you know, better than saving the starving children ;-)!

I don't think Deborah is missing much. Sorry to be the outlier here. I've watched them and gone "eh".

[frugalnacho]

No TV... No Simpsons - ever.

No tv and no Simpsons make homer go something something

go crazy?


How do I permanently ignore deborah?

[albireo13]

Simpsons ... meh.
A symptom of society

[deborah]

I have often thought about how much having no TV has contributed to FIRE for me. I did things on my house instead. I read. I learnt machine embroidery and got myself a side hassle. I discussed things with SO (who considers our lack of TV one reason why we are so happy together) and planned.

Just imagine the flack if MMM wrote a post about not having a TV!

[arebelspy]

Simpsons ... meh.
A symptom of society

If by symptom you mean "brilliant commentary on," then yes.

(And again, caveat: Seasons 1-8ish only.)

I never got into South Park.

I have often thought about how much having no TV has contributed to FIRE for me. I did things on my house instead. I read. I learnt machine embroidery and got myself a side hassle. I discussed things with SO (who considers our lack of TV one reason why we are so happy together) and planned.

Just imagine the flack if MMM wrote a post about not having a TV!

I think many of us don't have a TV.  We've discussed this at many Mustachian meetups (like Camp Mustache).

I guess if you've been doing that for 30 years, that makes sense why you wouldn't have seen the Simpsons, but for growing up in the 90s, it was pretty iconic.

[Nancy]

And suddenly the air is a little sweeter, life is just nonstop wow.  The wife and I are still boggling at how ridiculously amazing FIRE is.

This must make it harder to return to work (which I know you are considering doing (for altruistic reasons, but the question I'm about to ask would also apply to a scenario where one were potentially going to return to work, post-ER, for any other reason)) than to continue working before getting a taste of ER.

Knowing what you now know (first-hand) about how FIRE feels, and assuming you will indeed be returning to work (for X years), do you think it would have been better to tack on those X years to the end of your working career before ER'ing instead of deferring them until afterwards?

All else being equal, I'd prefer to get all of my working years over with first rather than "take some of my early retirement upfront," but of course all else is never equal (for one thing, the earlier you commence ER, the younger you are at that time, and for another, even in respects unrelated to age, none of your "future selves" will ever be exactly the same person as any of your "past selves").

So I don't have a great answer--I currently waver back and forth between delaying ER in order to increase my charitable giving (as Sol has proposed doing) and ER'ing on schedule but subsequently increasing my charitable giving (either by returning to work at some point, as you have proposed doing, or in some other way)--but I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

That's a tricky one.

I used to think getting it done all up front was best.

Now I sometimes like the idea for others of semi-ER, or short ER periods.

I also dislike the idea of working too long, trying to get it done up front, but getting more than necessary done due to the uncertainty of enough.

So my conclusion for me, personally, is that I'd rather stop potentially slightly too early, to maximize the freedom time, knowing there are lots of options later to tweak (cut back spending, earn a little more) before even having to consider going back, and going back is always a fallback.

Your worst case scenario of pulling the plug too early is you got a few extra years of freedom, and you go back/earn more during market lows (rather than the likely highs you ER'd in) to maximize the benefit of those stache additions.  No big deal. 

We often think of time value of money, but what about time value of time?

I'd rather have a year of freedom now than a year of freedom later, due to:
1) Being more able bodied/mobile now (both the uncertainty of something happening, and the certainty of age-related decline)
2) Potentially having younger kids now, to spend time with
3) The uncertainty of still being alive later

A year of ER now is worth more than a year of retirement later.  ;)

As far as earning to give, I wouldn't take that into account initially when making the decision--I'd first decide if I was ready to FIRE, or not, and then decide if I wanted to earn to give, or do that later, or whatever.

It's obviously different for everyone.  These are my thoughts for me.  And it changes.  These are my thoughts for now.  It's definitely a tricky problem.  :)

This post plus your post on FI and follow up on RE should be required reading IMO.

[arebelspy]

This post plus your post on FI and follow up on RE should be required reading IMO.

Plus my post on the Simpsons!

:)

[deborah]

The Simpsons are/were popular in Australia.  We do have different humour. I really loved it in Bill Bryson's book on Australia where he stops at a roadhouse on the way to Hay (which he calls a modest splat in the desert - if he calls that desert, I wonder what the rest of Australia is - Hay is in one of the major agricultural areas) and makes a joke about making Hay while the sun shines. The attendant replies dead pan that he should easily be able to do that, and Bryson decides the bloke has no sense of humour. The guy probably got the joke, and to me, his reply indicates that, but Bryson doesn't get it that he is joking back.

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

Feels good.  Took a long time and a lot of sacrifice to get to this point. 

Now, at age 40, with a successful career and the ability to pad my retirement with each passing year, I wonder when I might actually consider an early retirement.  Sure, I could get by with 25x expenses.  But by continuing to work, I can probably get to 40x or 50x in about 5 years, while building up a donor advised fund to give from when I don't have all this income. 

I suppose I have an extended case of OMY syndrome; call it 5MY syndrome. 

[dragoncar]

go crazy?

Don't mind if I do!

The Simpsons are/were popular in Australia. 

Ah yes, Australia, where disparaging the boot is a bootable offense.

(And again, caveat: Seasons 1-8ish only.)
...

 growing up in the 90s, it was pretty iconic.

Yeah, I only really remember the episodes from my youth.  I haven't watched the show since high school.

[deborah]

The Simpsons are/were popular in Australia. 

Ah yes, Australia, where disparaging the boot is a bootable offense.

???

[frugalnacho]

The Simpsons are/were popular in Australia. 

Ah yes, Australia, where disparaging the boot is a bootable offense.

???

She doesn't get any simpsons references.  That's a bloody outrage, it is. I'm going to report it to me member of parliament.  Hey Gus! I got something to report to you!

[deborah]

The Simpsons are/were popular in Australia. 

Ah yes, Australia, where disparaging the boot is a bootable offense.

???

She doesn't get any simpsons references.  That's a bloody outrage, it is. I'm going to report it to me member of parliament.  Hey Gus! I got something to report to you!

Who wrote this stuff? I looked up the phrase you quoted, and it says that the Australian flag has a boot in it?? And then this wonderful excerpt:

Homer: When will you Australians learn? In America, we stopped using corporal punishment, and things have never been better! The streets are safe. Old people strut confidently through the darkest alleys. And the weak and nerdy are admired for their computer-programming abilities. So, like us, let your children run wild and free, because, as the old saying goes, "Let your children run wild and free."


I have looked it up (I was already sure). Australia (as in most things IMHO - I already KNOW that there are a lot of people in the US who disagree with me and that is fine - I am happy to be Australian and for you to be US citizens) is well ahead of the US in the humane treatment of children.

Ah well, I know that I will never get a certain type of US humour! You lot are nice people despite not being Australian.

[dragoncar]

The Simpsons are/were popular in Australia. 

Ah yes, Australia, where disparaging the boot is a bootable offense.

???

She doesn't get any simpsons references.  That's a bloody outrage, it is. I'm going to report it to me member of parliament.  Hey Gus! I got something to report to you!

Who wrote this stuff? I looked up the phrase you quoted, and it says that the Australian flag has a boot in it?? And then this wonderful excerpt:

Homer: When will you Australians learn? In America, we stopped using corporal punishment, and things have never been better! The streets are safe. Old people strut confidently through the darkest alleys. And the weak and nerdy are admired for their computer-programming abilities. So, like us, let your children run wild and free, because, as the old saying goes, "Let your children run wild and free."


I have looked it up (I was already sure). Australia (as in most things IMHO - I already KNOW that there are a lot of people in the US who disagree with me and that is fine - I am happy to be Australian and for you to be US citizens) is well ahead of the US in the humane treatment of children.

Ah well, I know that I will never get a certain type of US humour! You lot are nice people despite not being Australian.

Not sure if missing the point or fighting ironic sarcasm with more ironic sarcasm

[frugalnacho]

Not sure if missing the point or fighting ironic sarcasm with more ironic sarcasm

Who the heck is that bloke?

[Bolshevik Artizan]

I have been FI for three or four years now.  I did go around with a permanent smile for a while.  Now the smile is no longer plastered on my face, but it is always near the surface, ready to emerge, especially when everyone around me is stressed out.

What being FI has given me, more than anything, is confidence.  The confidence to quit my job when it was threatening my health.  The confidence to take over a year to wander around the world.  The confidence to take a high risk new job, because if it doesn't work out, I'm still FI, but if it does, what a great learning experience I will have had! 

These are all things that I would have dreamed about pre-FI, but once I knew that I had the safety net of self-earned independence, I knew I could do anything I wanted, without the layer of anxiety I had before I was FI.

I cannot add much to this. This is more or less how it feels for me.

[dragoncar]

Not sure if missing the point or fighting ironic sarcasm with more ironic sarcasm

Who the heck is that bloke?

[FIPurpose]

I'd rather enjoy 5-10 years and have a 5% chance of needing to go back to work for a couple years sometime in the first couple decades.

I figure that now over 10 years into ER (and never having had a job in all of that time) if SHTF and the very tiny chance that I had to go back to work happened, I figure I'll have had a great decade or 2 while younger to be free and do whatever I want.

This is why I sometimes flirt with the idea of pulling the plug closer to the optimal point in time, from an expected-retirement-period-maximization perspective, which, as sol has pointed out, occurs as soon as your expected chances of retirement success cross the 50% threshold (and not 95%+).  But I suspect that my unencumbered enjoyment of retirement would decrease in inverse proportion to my expected chances of having to return to work, so I'm too much of a wimp to actually do it.

You have a link for this?  I'd want to go to there.

Not the link to Sol's post but...

Trinity Study Table for reference

50% chance of success for 30 year period in 75/25 portfolio is somewhere between a 6% and 7% withdrawal rate.

[CanuckExpat]

Not the link to Sol's post but...

Trinity Study Table for reference

50% chance of success for 30 year period in 75/25 portfolio is somewhere between a 6% and 7% withdrawal rate.

Excellent. Thanks to you and Brooklyn guy for the reminders. Those are handy reference numbers to have.

My wife and I had been discussing the possibility of temporarily/permanently stopping work earlier than we planned depending on how some work/personal stuff unfolds and taking what could either be an early FIRE, or a temporary sabbatical.

Neither she nor I would reach 40 credit SS eligibility at our current target FIRE dates, so assuming we'd do some part time work at some point in the future to meet that. Why not FIRE earlier with realization we may have to go back (unless markets skyrocket so much we forget the need for SS eligibility).

Thanks for the info, and inspiring post-FIRE tales.. and somewhat related Simpsons/30-Rock/Futurama references.

[Meowmalade]

I echo whomever said that this thread is what I wanted to read!  Except for the latest posts arguing about the Simpsons  :)  (And that guy is from Futurama, not the Simpsons... I grew up in the 90's, do not own a TV, but we do watch a bunch of stuff on Netflix.)

FIRE sounds so amazing, and it sounds like the folks who are there never lose that sense of magic every day they wake up.  We're gonna aim for 5 years (my husband might do it sooner if he gets laid off).  I know someone who lost two friends my age recently, much too young.  I tend to be very cautious and may end up just asking to go to part-time (also instinctively think I should be working for health insurance), but the thought of even an extra day or two a week is so sweet!

Am also glad that the concept of FIRE has only come to me now in my mid-30's.  I had some really rough years of work until my current job and the thought of early retirement would have made them even more unbearable, whereas now I see it as an achievable goal that's not so far in the future.

[frugalnacho]

(And that guy is from Futurama, not the Simpsons..

I'm fairly certain dragoncar knows this (as do the rest of the cool kids in the thread), and was using it appropriately as the meme it has become.

[YeahNo]

I'm 34 and have been semi-RE'd for 2 years now. I wouldn't consider myself FI'd but I do still own 100% of a company that allows us to fund our lifestyle and safe a ton. I say I'm semi-RE'd because even though I have others running the company, I do still meet with the management occasionally to check in and give opinions if needed. Even though I only put in an hour or two a month of work for the company, I still feel the responsibility of it all which is still a weight to bear. There is still random anxiety when communication gets a bit dicey with the management team (IE, someone is pissed about something, etc). Anyways, that is why I don't consider myself fully RE'd.

To the others that are saying that RE is constant excitement even after years, I can tell you that isn't the case for me. Yes, I am astonished at the life that I get to live at such a young age but its not like I wake up every day literally thinking 'holy sh*t, this is amazing'. You get into a routine nonetheless and it becomes the norm. It certainly is life changing and I feel bad for all of those people out there that just don't get it and are OK with working till 65, especially the ones that kick it before they are retired, never getting to taste what we are tasting now (as far as work/life balance).

Another thing I noticed is that with the internet these days, there is a false sense that there are a lot of people out there like us.    Real life is the complete opposite. I've never physically met another person in our situation. A large majority of the people, close family included, are so far from understanding our situation the don't even know how to ask questions about it. I'm amazed at the complete lack of curiosity from our immediate family (our bros/sis's/parents). 

To all of you out there still working your butts off to reach FIRE, hear me now....IT IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH THE EFFORT. I thank my 23 year old self everyday for putting in the effort that he did at such an early age to afford this life that I have now.

[deborah]

For Deborah - Bart vs. Australia: http://m.watchcartoononline.com/the-simpsons-season-6-episode-16-bart-vs-australia

Thanks Spartana! I have watched the episode. I am in two minds. It was somewhat funny if you ignore the disparagement of my country. It was also quite clever.

But I ask myself - could this have been broadcast with the US flag having a boot in it, and the US people being so thoroughly misrepresented? How did this go down with the vast majority of US people who seem to have absolutely no idea of the rest of the world (including the lost US citizen in Japan who told me how well I spoke English). It also shows how patriarchal Americans are towards other peoples.

[dragoncar]

For Deborah - Bart vs. Australia: http://m.watchcartoononline.com/the-simpsons-season-6-episode-16-bart-vs-australia

Thanks Spartana! I have watched the episode. I am in two minds. It was somewhat funny if you ignore the disparagement of my country. It was also quite clever.

But I ask myself - could this have been broadcast with the US flag having a boot in it, and the US people being so thoroughly misrepresented?

Well the entire show is basically "misrepresenting" the "US people."

And the American flag is hardly sacrosanct

[YeahNo]

Back on topic people?

[dragoncar]

Back on topic people?

[arebelspy]

For Deborah - Bart vs. Australia: http://m.watchcartoononline.com/the-simpsons-season-6-episode-16-bart-vs-australia

Thanks Spartana! I have watched the episode. I am in two minds. It was somewhat funny if you ignore the disparagement of my country. It was also quite clever.

Sounds like a lot of comedy.

But I ask myself - could this have been broadcast with the US flag having a boot in it, and the US people being so thoroughly misrepresented? How did this go down with the vast majority of US people who seem to have absolutely no idea of the rest of the world (including the lost US citizen in Japan who told me how well I spoke English). It also shows how patriarchal Americans are towards other peoples.

Though some may (sadly) get their education from the Simpsons, I don't think anyone is going to the Simpsons to learn about Australia, or anything else, for that matter.

Comedy is often funny because we know it's ridiculous.

I don't think you have to worry about how Australia was portrayed in a cartoon from over twenty years ago (February 19, 1995--in a month and a week, that episode will legally be of drinking age, 21, in the U.S.).  :)

[EscapeVelocity2020]

For Deborah - Bart vs. Australia: http://m.watchcartoononline.com/the-simpsons-season-6-episode-16-bart-vs-australia

Thanks Spartana! I have watched the episode. I am in two minds. It was somewhat funny if you ignore the disparagement of my country. It was also quite clever.

But I ask myself - could this have been broadcast with the US flag having a boot in it, and the US people being so thoroughly misrepresented? How did this go down with the vast majority of US people who seem to have absolutely no idea of the rest of the world (including the lost US citizen in Japan who told me how well I spoke English). It also shows how patriarchal Americans are towards other peoples.

Well, if it isn't bullfrogs - we'll send our plants or other undesirables to your island :) 

Please go with clever Deborah, or at least entertained.  But would your PM really kick a young boy?  (JK!!!!)

Sorry DC, what was the topic again?  Evil Dead has our hands taking over.... 

[deborah]

Well, if it isn't bullfrogs - we'll send our plants or other undesirables to your island :) 

Please go with clever Deborah, or at least entertained.  But would your PM really kick a young boy?  (JK!!!!)

Definitely clever. And entertaining. Actually, I liked the bullfrogs. It is so true. We have such different (you may say cosseted) life that that truly is what happens here. Prickly Pear (from the US) devastated about ten times the amount of land that is mentioned in the article about Kudzu - and you've already sent Kudzu here too (as is noted in the article).

No - as I said before, we have laws against corporal punishment.

[brooklynguy]

I don't know what the accents were, but not like any Australian I've ever heard

And the Swedish Chef sounds Norwegian!

[arebelspy]

I don't know what the accents were, but not like any Australian I've ever heard

And the Swedish Chef sounds Norwegian!

I just about died.

[choppingwood]

There are quite a few long-standing forum participants, who are enjoying FI, that are engaged in this lengthy discussion about the Simpsons. It is has nothing to do with the topic. Other participants have tried to bring the discussion back to the topic and are being ignored. Could you all let it go now, and let people get on with this thread?

My sincere thanks.

[frugalnacho]

There are quite a few long-standing forum participants, who are enjoying FI, that are engaged in this lengthy discussion about the Simpsons.

This only strengthens my resolve to FIRE.

[arebelspy]

There are quite a few long-standing forum participants, who are enjoying FI, that are engaged in this lengthy discussion about the Simpsons. It is has nothing to do with the topic. Other participants have tried to bring the discussion back to the topic and are being ignored. Could you all let it go now, and let people get on with this thread?

My sincere thanks.

Off topic stuff tends to run its course, peter out, and then someone posts an on topic post, and that's discussed, and then a thread is back on track.

It's hard to--on an open forum where posts aren't deleted/threads locked for being off topic (see: Bogleheads)--get a thread back on topic just by a request of "can we get back on topic?"

People have their thing to say, and will say it, and short of moderator intervention (deleting off topic posts), it's best to just wait a bit and then post an on topic post (not a request to go on topic, because there's nothing to discuss with that).  :)

[choppingwood]

Other participants have tried to bring the discussion back to the topic and are being ignored. Could you all let it go now, and let people get on with this thread?

[dragoncar]

I don't know what the accents were, but not like any Australian I've ever heard

And the Swedish Chef sounds Norwegian!

I just about died.

Australians in this thread re: the simpsons

[Meowmalade]

There are quite a few long-standing forum participants, who are enjoying FI, that are engaged in this lengthy discussion about the Simpsons. It is has nothing to do with the topic. Other participants have tried to bring the discussion back to the topic and are being ignored. Could you all let it go now, and let people get on with this thread?

My sincere thanks.

Off topic stuff tends to run its course, peter out, and then someone posts an on topic post, and that's discussed, and then a thread is back on track.

It's hard to--on an open forum where posts aren't deleted/threads locked for being off topic (see: Bogleheads)--get a thread back on topic just by a request of "can we get back on topic?"

People have their thing to say, and will say it, and short of moderator intervention (deleting off topic posts), it's best to just wait a bit and then post an on topic post (not a request to go on topic, because there's nothing to discuss with that).  :)

arebelspy, I usually really respect your opinions, but in this case it seems pretty rude to actively contribute to derailing a thread after people have politely asked to get back on topic, and defend it with "that's just the way open forums are".  Especially as a moderator....  Wasn't it you who said somewhere that this is what Journals are for?

Anyway, I hope to hear more about the experience of people who have FI'd or FIRE'd in this thread, and personally I really dislike gifs cluttering up my screen.

[deborah]

FIRE means that I am one of those evil, destructive koalas - I am indulging in some international travel and loving it.

Once I was FI, I started doing all sorts of things that I wouldn't have before with my money (remember that I didn't realise I could actually retire when I became FI). Most of the things I did were setting me up for a better life. For example, I had a house which needed a lot of work. Before I was FI, I gradually did work on it myself, one room at a time, as I had extra money to do it... Once I was FI, I had the back section replaced in a "proper" renovation (it was the only part that still needed work).

[Meowmalade]

OK my apologies for going OT on the last to posts I did (didn't see the complaints about going OT until after I posted) so will refrain from discussing anything except what having FI feels like. Basically it feels like a Simpsons episode full of fun, frivolity and donuts ;).

OK seriously, I think being FI and RE feel like two different thing. Being FI is comforting and feeling safe, being RE is totally awesome and I'm one of those people who, after being RE for over a decade, still feels continued excitement about all the possibilities out there that I can take part in. That doesn't mean I am blissfully happy all the time (although I usually am). I get sad, frustrated, bored, etc... But I got those tsame feeelings when working. Now, being RE, I can actually do something positive about them as I have the free time.

Appreciated, and nice tie-in with the Simpson's reference  ;)

I totally get what you're saying about the difference between FI and RE.  We are not FI (would not feel comfortable with our financial situation if we were suddenly unemployed), but we don't worry about money, and I see that as a huge blessing and a feeling of freedom.  But I can't wait for the day when I don't have to do all my personal errands on the weekend because I don't have time or am too tired on a weekday!

[arebelspy]

There are quite a few long-standing forum participants, who are enjoying FI, that are engaged in this lengthy discussion about the Simpsons. It is has nothing to do with the topic. Other participants have tried to bring the discussion back to the topic and are being ignored. Could you all let it go now, and let people get on with this thread?

My sincere thanks.

Off topic stuff tends to run its course, peter out, and then someone posts an on topic post, and that's discussed, and then a thread is back on track.

It's hard to--on an open forum where posts aren't deleted/threads locked for being off topic (see: Bogleheads)--get a thread back on topic just by a request of "can we get back on topic?"

People have their thing to say, and will say it, and short of moderator intervention (deleting off topic posts), it's best to just wait a bit and then post an on topic post (not a request to go on topic, because there's nothing to discuss with that).  :)

arebelspy, I usually really respect your opinions, but in this case it seems pretty rude to actively contribute to derailing a thread after people have politely asked to get back on topic, and defend it with "that's just the way open forums are".  Especially as a moderator....  Wasn't it you who said somewhere that this is what Journals are for?

Anyway, I hope to hear more about the experience of people who have FI'd or FIRE'd in this thread, and personally I really dislike gifs cluttering up my screen.

My point wasn't to say "that's just how it is". Sorry it came off that way.

Allow me to clarify my post: I was trying to provide an answer to the best way to get a thread on topic, in my opinion.

The other alternative I see is moderator intervention, which to me is way worse than a few off topic threads.  I don't want to constantly be editing posts that are off topic, and I don't want to participate much in a forum that does.

[Meowmalade]

My point wasn't to say "that's just how it is". Sorry it came off that way.

Allow me to clarify my post: I was trying to provide an answer to the best way to get a thread on topic, in my opinion.

The other alternative I see is moderator intervention, which to me is way worse than a few off topic threads.  I don't want to constantly be editing posts that are off topic, and I don't want to participate much in a forum that does.

Thanks, I do think that what you say carries more weight because you're a moderator, and if you actively derail a thread after someone reminds us to get back on track, that gives everyone the impression that this is always okay.  I don't think anyone wants you to edit people's posts when they're off-topic, but a polite reminder (and not participating in the derailment) goes a long way.  Thank you, I know that being a moderator is a lot of work and that you put a lot of effort into being a good one.

And thanks to spartana and deborah for sharing their experiences!

[frugalnacho]

My point wasn't to say "that's just how it is". Sorry it came off that way.

Allow me to clarify my post: I was trying to provide an answer to the best way to get a thread on topic, in my opinion.

The other alternative I see is moderator intervention, which to me is way worse than a few off topic threads.  I don't want to constantly be editing posts that are off topic, and I don't want to participate much in a forum that does.

This has nothing to do with FI.  Please ban yourself k thanks.