I Stand Corrected: Most Would Continue Working Even If Rich

[Schaefer Light]

If you handed me a winning lottery ticket right now (assuming it was $1 million plus), I'd turn in my two weeks notice in about 5 minutes.

Good for you.  I'm not sure I'd even turn in my weeks notice.

I doubt I'd do much work in the next two weeks, though.  I'd probably come in around 11, take a 2 hour lunch, and go home at 2.

[Cougar]

If you handed me a winning lottery ticket right now (assuming it was $1 million plus), I'd turn in my two weeks notice in about 5 minutes.

2nd. if you manage it well, 1 million ought to pay you around $5,000 for 40 years. many people raise a family on less than that, i could certainly retire on it.

[JLee]

If you handed me a winning lottery ticket right now (assuming it was $1 million plus), I'd turn in my two weeks notice in about 5 minutes.

2nd. if you manage it well, 1 million ought to pay you around $5,000 for 40 years. many people raise a family on less than that, i could certainly retire on it.

$1mil should provide an inflation-adjusted $40k/yr indefinitely.

[Daisy]

My 17-year old is taking Psych 101, and she and I were talking about a theory she was reading in her textbook -- a theory about career development. 

Don't ask me to remember all the details, but the textbook listed five stages.  One had to do with exploration of possibilities (mainly teens, but also older people looking to make a job change).  Then preparation and acclimation -- and this would include college and those first years when the worker is still "learning the ropes".  I forget the term for experienced-and-just-plodding-along, and the final stage was about preparing to leave /leaving the work force. 

Anyway, thinking about that and reading this question, I wonder if people in the early stages -- people who have just put lots of effort into becoming prepared for the job -- if they just can't see walking away without using the knowledge for which they've worked.

This correlates with my experience. I got a bachelors and masters degree in engineering and wanted to go out into the "real world" and get an interesting job and make some money. Luckily for me, I also ended up at a great and fun company full of new young people coming in during the 90s. I was making good money and having fun. I was in no rush to retire.

I wish others on this forum could find an enjoyable way on their journey to FIRE but it looks like many are just trying to rush their way through.

I think there are a lot of values to be learned while in the work force - patience, teamwork, being a good person to work with, dealing with struggles and setbacks, learning new things, learning to accept that it's not all roses out there (of course until you FIRE).

[NorCal]

My dad has lived a pretty mustachian lifestyle.  He recently retired from teaching.

And you know what?  He actually works/teaches more than he did pre-retirement.  But since now he gets to teach and doesn't have to worry about curriculum development and staff meetings, he still considers himself retired.

[louloulou]

I would keep working, probably part time. I know that makes me unusual around here but my goals are around FI rather than RE. In saying that, I am only in my 30s, having the option to RE in my 50s would be nice. I love my work and am currently doing post grad in my field also. I just cannot imagine not wanting to do it.

[DoubleDown]

I thought (wrongly) that even though this forum is self-selecting for retiring early*, I would have expected the general population to have just as high or even a higher desire to quit working if they struck it rich. Since part of the MMM message is valuing hardship and eschewing complainy-pants-ness, I might have expected people here to be a little less disgruntled about work than the average Joe. And given the high percentage of people here with high-paying and relatively cushy jobs, I would have expected the general population at large to be much more willing to ditch their shitty manual labor job working in 100 degree heat, or their soul-crushing office job, if they were offered $10 million.

I think Dr. Doom's and others' explanation is probably the most apt: A lot of people who are not actively seeking FIRE really have not imagined the possibility of not working for a living, and wouldn't particularly know what to do with themselves if granted a sudden, huge windfall.

* I'm starting to question even this lately. It seems the proportion of people on this forum now arguing for FI but not RE has evened out with the full FIRE contingent, mirroring the general population. Those who wanted to continue working used to be kind of outliers here, but now are a giant number. On a "how to retire early" blog. Go figure.

[JLee]

I thought (wrongly) that even though this forum is self-selecting for retiring early*, I would have expected the general population to have just as high or even a higher desire to quit working if they struck it rich. Since part of the MMM message is valuing hardship and eschewing complainy-pants-ness, I might have expected people here to be a little less disgruntled about work than the average Joe. And given the high percentage of people here with high-paying and relatively cushy jobs, I would have expected the general population at large to be much more willing to ditch their shitty manual labor job working in 100 degree heat, or their soul-crushing office job, if they were offered $10 million.

I think Dr. Doom's and others' explanation is probably the most apt: A lot of people who are not actively seeking FIRE really have not imagined the possibility of not working for a living, and wouldn't particularly know what to do with themselves if granted a sudden, huge windfall.

* I'm starting to question even this lately. It seems the proportion of people on this forum now arguing for FI but not RE has evened out with the full FIRE contingent, mirroring the general population. Those who wanted to continue working used to be kind of outliers here, but now are a giant number. On a "how to retire early" blog. Go figure.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/04/30/weekend-edition-retire-in-your-mind-even-if-you-love-your-job/

[bacchi]

* I'm starting to question even this lately. It seems the proportion of people on this forum now arguing for FI but not RE has evened out with the full FIRE contingent, mirroring the general population. Those who wanted to continue working used to be kind of outliers here, but now are a giant number. On a "how to retire early" blog. Go figure.

They just haven't been beaten down by The Man enough.

[Schaefer Light]

* I'm starting to question even this lately. It seems the proportion of people on this forum now arguing for FI but not RE has evened out with the full FIRE contingent, mirroring the general population. Those who wanted to continue working used to be kind of outliers here, but now are a giant number. On a "how to retire early" blog. Go figure.

They just haven't been beaten down by The Man enough.

Give "The Man" some time.  He'll beat 'em down enough that they'll come around eventually.

[Bateaux]

Easier in theory to quit.   1 million wasn't enough.  Currently 1.3 million isn't enough. Right now I consider 2 million to be the enough number.  I'm 46 and 50 is the age enough number even if the 2 million isn't reached before then.

[MLKnits]

I think a lot of people now think they would  continue working after something like winning the lottery because there are so many stories of there of people winning the lottery and becoming bankrupt.

That's a really good point. Pre MMM I would have been hesitant to make any sudden changes, not having any financial knowledge or experience.

This exactly. I would have thought "even if I invest it all and am extremely cautious, what if there's a stock market crash?" Now I think "then I would sell some stuff and eat ramen and bike everywhere, and wait for the inevitable growth."

The other thing is that I think people who have been working fulltime jobs often don't have time or energy to do a whole lot else (especially if they're parenting as well), and so it's impossible to picture more than a month of time off: what would you DO? It takes a certain amount of time to figure out how productively you can actually fill your time. My office closes for two weeks every winter and that's just enough time for me to get bored as hell and start creating or learning--French one year, guitar the next. If you've been lucky to get a few days off here and there for ten years, the prospect of quitting entirely might seem just as frightening as it is tempting.

LOTS of people have heard that retirement kills, and lots of Americans, in particular, have seen how our culture's obsession with the "Protestant work ethic" + the recent recession = many people facing serious depression and other mental health issues because not having a job makes them feel inadequate or useless. That's not a pretty picture, and I think it must play a big role when people think "hmm, maybe I'd keep working."

[asauer]

I will continue working too after FI.  However, it will be different.  It will be for less $ doing something I really love and will be part time!  I think "continue working" is such a broad statement for studies/ surveys that one really needs to break down the facets of work if one is to receive any kind of accurate data.

[TomTX]

Whether $10MM net or $3.3MM, I would finish out 10 years (6 months from now) to get medical added to my pension, then burn all my leave time on the way. So, working 3 days a week on average. I would skip all the mandatory bullshit meetings and training. I would also stop moderating my opinions on how things should be run. Should be a good 6 months. Will also give time to declutter and get ready for retirement.

[HenryDavid]

OK, did the people in that survey have a long list of things they absolutely can't find enough time for, because they're working?
-biking/hiking/skiing/snowshoeing for fun 20+ hours/week
-practicing a musical instrument 20+ hours/week
-learning new languages
-catching up on the last 2000 years of interesting writing/music that they haven't read/listened to
-struggling to understand . . . science. Science is hard.
-adding their own writing to the pile
-having long (like 3-5 hour) meals with friends and family every week
-keeping up with current movies, visual art, music
-visiting new parts of the world and revisiting old well-loved places regularly
-doing all their own cleaning, cooking repairs etc.

Who the hell has TIME to work? That's always been the motivation for me to moderate the living "standard" and get independent.
So many amazing things to do, that are not "jobs." Just the heart and soul of being alive, is all.

[clifp]

What people say they'll do and what they actually do are two different things. 

I really wish I could find the source for this statistic   This is the closest I can find http://tiny.cc/7ir7wxBut I am positive I read this circa early 2000s.
They did a survey of recent multimillion lottery winners and asked how many were planned  working 75% said they were.  One year later they followed up and only 25% were still working.

If you add asked me at age 35 if I won the lottery would still work I'd would have said yes, cause I really like my job.   Four years later, when I basically did win the lottery thanks to stock options, I had quit.