I went for a walk with my dad the other day. He's a conventional early retiree (61). We passed a relative's home and he remarked on how happy they were with their new SUV. It did indeed look impressive. Very new. Like, 2022 new somehow. Really impressive.
I then asked, genuinely surprised, "They're still working?"
As my dad knows that I don't have to work anymore, and do it because I want to, he got my point. This couple is 67 and 61 and both partners have been working full-time since they were teenagers. And here they are. Still at the grind, with as far as I know no end in sight.
When people wonder why I drive a beater, or why I don't buy, well, basically anything, I try to briefly explain that I value time over goods.
I've gotten a few people to change their ways. A good friend of mine just transitioned from a Pixel to a flip phone. Of course he didn't think it possible. After all, how could I take pictures? How did I drive anywhere? How did I know where to go and at what time? I then pointed out to him that he was living more like a robot than a person. His phone told him, at various points in the day, what he had to do. 6 AM, get up for work. 6:30 AM, leave for work. 7:10 AM, pickup coffee order for coworkers. 11:00 AM on Saturday, mow the lawn. 7:00 PM, take out the garbage. He was merely the vessel through which the phone gave orders.
That seemed to hit home, and less than a month later he got a flip phone.