Is there a group on this forum for people that achieved FI?

[Unionville]

I'm curious to talk to talk to others who have accomplished FI and are new to "retiring" more or less. I don't see a forum for those people.  Is there one?

[pdxbator]

I'm very interested in this too. Sort of a journal of the daily life of an FI-er. I've reached FI but have yet to actually cut the cords from working life. Primarily I'm nervous that I will get bored.

[Eric]

You mean a specific forum sub-section where you'd expect to find only people who are already FI?  No, that doesn't exist, as the FI folks are encouraged to participate in all sub-sections.  I'd just ask your question/general musing in this sub-section or in the Ask a Mustachian one. 

[Unionville]

Yes I've also found myself in a bit of a shock about what's next.  I've been so programmed to think I would have to work forever.  I wondered how people's lives have unfolded for them.  I really don't have much in common with the "retirement" community of 65 year olds.

[iamlindoro]

I think the fun thought is that you're not as much a member of the "retired community" as you are a member of the community of travelers or skydivers or private pilots or volunteers or masked vigilantes, or whatever else floats your boat!  Including, but not limited to, floating your boat!

[Unionville]

I think there would be a lot of benefit for a FI group.  When I've posted about FI issues in the past, most people couldn't address it because they weren't FI. Is is possible to at least "try" adding an FI group?  So many of the other groups are struggling with things that are no longer an issue for me.  I enjoy offering advice, but it would be nice to talk to other FI people directly.

[Jon_Snow]

I pretty much participate in whatever interests me on this forum. There is more than enough to sink one's teeth into around here, even if you are FIRE'd.

If someone were to create a section for "FIRE'd Folks" I'd likely be interested and try to share my FIRE experiences, such as they are 5 months in. ;)

*hint* It's been pretty dang awesome.

[iamlindoro]

*hint* It's been pretty dang awesome.

Spoiler Alert!

[Unionville]

I'm fine with anyone accessing the forum.  I'd just like to correspond with other FI people in an easier way.

[PowerMustache]

I'm very interested in this too. Sort of a journal of the daily life of an FI-er. I've reached FI but have yet to actually cut the cords from working life. Primarily I'm nervous that I will get bored.

Not sure if you've already discovered the journals by various mustachians who are already FIREed. I've recently read through a few and enjoyed them:

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/fire-in-t-minus-30-days/
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/i-retired-today!-)/400/

[viper155]

I'm new to FIRE.....if 51 is retiring early. Up until just a month ago I intend to never work again. When I did first retire 5 years ago I had a very hard time adjusting and warned other folks that they may feel the same way I did. Empty and unfullfilled. Boy, did I get blasted here. Any questions feel free to ask. I tend not to sugar coat much.

[Unionville]

How do you submit a vote?

[Unionville]

Viper1,  I completely relate to your experience.  I had the same thing happen.  No sympathy when trying to bring up challenges in FI.  Not that I was looking for sympathy, but it's kind of like weight loss: Everyone is there to support you until you reach your goal, then people assume you don't need anything and you are cured.  I find the FI has left me in a state without direction and a bit confused.  I have been FI for 3 years  I don't have any friends who are FI.  It's weird.  Most activities in the day are all for seniors.  I don't feel like a senior at 55.  I ride my bike everywhere and don't own a car.

[secondcor521]

There are a higher percentage of early retired folks on the Early Retirement forums:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/

You might find what you need over there.

[dragoncar]

A lot of us are dubiously FI.  For example, I'm FI in that I never have to work again if I don't want to.  But it would mean moving.  As I become more solidly FI and move towards RE, I find myself less interested in "tactics" level topics (make your own soap) and am mostly interested in "strategy" level posts (best place to retire, how to transition, etc.)  I have a feeling many of those who have successfully FIRE'd have simply moved on to a higher plane of existence.  I'd like to know what's on the other side of transcendence, but maybe communication with the other side just isn't possible (plug for http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77711.A_Fire_Upon_the_Deep).

Anyways, there's one thread like "those who are FI, what's your day like?" but I can't find it ATM.

edit, here are a few -- many of them have "well, I'm not FIRE but" type responses:

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/for-those-retired-and-under-45-what-have-the-last-3-days-been-like/
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/psychological-journey-of-leaving-work-if-already-fi
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/what-do-next-after-fire/
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/fire-not-as-good-as-you-expected/
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/you-retired-early-and-your-so-didn't-how's-that-working-out/
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/does-your-post-fire-lifestyle-differ-from-what-you-thought/
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/those-who-achieved-fire-what-is-your-housing-situation-like/
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/fire-fears/
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/antimustachian-wall-of-shame-and-comedy/'so-what-kind-of-work-is-your-spouse-doing-now'/

But feel free to edit the title of this thread to: Retired Clubhouse - Talk about retired things

[secondcor521]

Anyways, there's one thread like "those who are FI, what's your day like?" but I can't find it ATM.

There's this one, but it's on the other board:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/what-did-you-do-today-37868.html

(Waiting for my MMM membership to be revoked for recommending people check out other webforums...)

[Jon_Snow]

Oh yes, THAT thread. I used to lurk in there, seething with unhealthy envy of all the early retirees. But damn did it ever help motivate me to save my ass off. Then I ER'ed...and I post in that very thread from time to time.

[iris lily]

We have so many things on our To Do list that it is crazy. But mainly, I plan to continue to do all of the things I normally do, only better, more thoroughly, more leisurely. I will not volunteer for new organizations, but I will give a whole lot more time to those I now work for. My house will be cleaner. My pets will be better cared for (nails clipped regularly, ears cleaned, etc.) My flower beds will be weed free. I will be thinner. Our meals will be cooked better and I will ry new recipes, eating mostly from our huge gardens.

Yes, I will become a better, nicer, person in retirement. :)

[CommonCents]

We have so many things on our To Do list that it is crazy. But mainly, I plan to continue to do all of the things I normally do, only better, more thoroughly, more leisurely. I will not volunteer for new organizations, but I will give a whole lot more time to those I now work for. My house will be cleaner. My pets will be better cared for (nails clipped regularly, ears cleaned, etc.) My flower beds will be weed free. I will be thinner. Our meals will be cooked better and I will ry new recipes, eating mostly from our huge gardens.

Yes, I will become a better, nicer, person in retirement. :)

Wellllll, I'm not retired, but...

lol

[Unionville]

Viper1,  I completely relate to your experience.  I had the same thing happen.  No sympathy when trying to bring up challenges in FI.  Not that I was looking for sympathy, but it's kind of like weight loss: Everyone is there to support you until you reach your goal, then people assume you don't need anything and you are cured.  I find the FI has left me in a state without direction and a bit confused.  I have been FI for 3 years  I don't have any friends who are FI.  It's weird.  Most activities in the day are all for seniors.  I don't feel like a senior at 55.  I ride my bike everywhere and don't own a car.

Meteor (and Viper too) , if you don't mind me asking, what kinds of plans did you have for retirement before retirement? Did you ER so that you could do those things or was it just because you could, financially, retire, or because you disliked your job, or disliked the time constraints of a job or some other reason? I have found that most people who retire (at whatever age) who don't have goals or activities or dreams for afterwards often feel like you do - out of sorts, maybe a bit bored, too much time on their hand. I'm not sure if any of the options people on this site do - like go back to work a p/t or contract gig, volunteering, etc... - would be something you're interested but it's worth looking at those kinds of options if you aren't happy and fulfilled in ER. I'm at the other end of the spectrum and have too many things I want to do in ER and time's going too fast to do them all in my lifetime (well, at least the more physical ones). Even though I retired at 42, I wish I had retired earlier. But I had very strong desires to do certain things before I was retired - and too old - so I think that helped a lot in alleviating any boredom or unfulfilling feelings. Having some goals mixed in with just wanting to enjoy the free time can make a big difference everyday.

  For me retirement was a surprise. I didn't believe I could do it. After talking to a Vanguard Portfolio Manager, her ran several tests on my investments and concluded I had 100% chance I could retire. I anayzed the 25 page report and his logic made sense. It was hard to shift to that mentality because I thought I would have to work forever.  I think partly because I grew up never having enough (like not having bathroom in the house), so there was always this panic feeling of no safety net.  I had to create my own retirement fund from my artwork and I pay cash for health insurance now. I never had any job benefits. I also helped my own parents buy their first and only house.  Now I can finally rest.  I just never planned on this and am walking around in a daze. I'm not complaining, I just never thought I'd be here and now I'm not sure what to do.  It's not about filling time, it's about using time in the best way possible. Hope this makes sense!

[mxt0133]

Congratulations!  I met you at the Berkeley meet-up about two year ago and it seemed like you enjoyed what you were doing.  Are you still doing that, even in a more part-basis?  If it brought you joy and an sense of purpose you don't necessarily have to stop cold turkey.

I can't really give you any words of wisdom on how to cope with "retirement" but I think you might be a little bit hard on yourself if you feel like you should all of a sudden find some new passion or purpose just because your retired.  Don't expect to0 much or feel like you have to live every minute to it's fullest just because you have the ability to.  It might take a little time to get comfortable with your new situation.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

[skyrefuge]

A FIREd sub-forum seems like a sensible idea to me. I only look at a subset of the sub-forums (Real Estate and Kids aren't relevant to my interests, for example), and I assume other people are the same. As a way to filter out stuff I don't care about, the sub-forums are nice, and I'm sure there is a ton of stuff discussed by the waiting-to-FIRE that the already-FIREd would like the opportunity to filter out. If I was newly-FIREd, I'm pretty sure I'd start spending more time on that sub-forum. And of course like all sub-forums, it would be open to everyone, it's would be guarded by the IRP anything.

It's certainly a better option than "oh, you're FIREd? Sorry you don't fit in so much here anymore, you might want to move over to early-retirement.org". I think it would be motivational to the waiting-to-FIRE population to see the already-FIREd community grow, rather than just see them disappear. Otherwise it becomes too easy to believe the naysayers who say this MMM thing is just a myth, because "hey, hardly anyone at that forum is actually retired!"

Maybe right now the Mustachian FIREd community isn't large enough to support its own sub-forum, but that community will presumably grow with time, so I don't see much harm in creating it; if it gets used, great. If not, no big deal.

[Unionville]

Iris lily:  I found out that my todo list almost disappeared after FI.   I think it's because when you are working you never have time to get things done.  After FI I found that a lot of things really weren't that important to do anyway.  My life became more simple and I got rid of a bunch of stuff (including obligations).

Mxt0133: Thanks for the kind words!!!

skyrefuge:  I couldn't have said it better.  You actually have explained clearer than I could.  I do think one side benefit is that preFI people can see that it can actually happen and it's not just a pipe dream.

Does anyone know how you go about getting another subforum?  Do you think I just write to someone who is a moderator?

[viper155]

Viper1,  I completely relate to your experience.  I had the same thing happen.  No sympathy when trying to bring up challenges in FI.  Not that I was looking for sympathy, but it's kind of like weight loss: Everyone is there to support you until you reach your goal, then people assume you don't need anything and you are cured.  I find the FI has left me in a state without direction and a bit confused.  I have been FI for 3 years  I don't have any friends who are FI.  It's weird.  Most activities in the day are all for seniors.  I don't feel like a senior at 55.  I ride my bike everywhere and don't own a car.

Meteor (and Viper too) , if you don't mind me asking, what kinds of plans did you have for retirement before retirement? Did you ER so that you could do those things or was it just because you could, financially, retire, or because you disliked your job, or disliked the time constraints of a job or some other reason? I have found that most people who retire (at whatever age) who don't have goals or activities or dreams for afterwards often feel like you do - out of sorts, maybe a bit bored, too much time on their hand. I'm not sure if any of the options people on this site do - like go back to work a p/t or contract gig, volunteering, etc... - would be something you're interested but it's worth looking at those kinds of options if you aren't happy and fulfilled in ER. I'm at the other end of the spectrum and have too many things I want to do in ER and time's going too fast to do them all in my lifetime (well, at least the more physical ones). Even though I retired at 42, I wish I had retired earlier. But I had very strong desires to do certain things before I was retired - and too old - so I think that helped a lot in alleviating any boredom or unfulfilling feelings. Having some goals mixed in with just wanting to enjoy the free time can make a big difference everyday.

Spartana,
   I had no plans whatsoever of retiring when I did. I went to work one day and was given the choice of a boring, meaningless, 9-5 desk job or retiring. I chose the latter because I was/am a very active person with many hobbies. I would wake up, eat, play my guitar for 2 hours, go for a bike ride, hit the beach for some fishing, run some errands and it would still be only 3pm. Even this routine became a drag! There is nothing like loving what you do for a living. Sure, it is great for a while but then things change. When you have an endless supply of time on your hands, the fun things just don't seem as fun. Everyone is different. I'm sure many people here will have a different experience than I. I notice most people here just assume being home is the greatest thing since sliced bread. For me, it is not.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

I have also struggled to fit in to the forum in a general sense after I hit FI.  There is so much tactical talk about 'what you did to save money', but not strategic talk like what are the pros and cons of RE (especially if you have young kids, your spouse works, etc.).  I can't exactly travel the globe at the drop of a hat, or RV around the US without home-schooling the kids, so I think there is a bit of an age-related relevance to the RE discussion, unless you are single or DFINKs (double-FI no kids). 

And there's always a financial angle (as ExFlyboy discusses).  Even with a 3% SWR, I kinda like the security of building up cash and non-equity-correlated assets to carry me from 40-something to a bit closer to getting full access to our 401ks, and eventually medicare, and finally social security.  And I don't dislike my job most days, being FI gives me sufficient flexibility to do what I like and not worry if I get laid off.  I don't think I'll feel fully FIRE'd until I'm 70, unless someone can guarantee my family good health and/or that health insurance will stay affordable / subsidized :) 

So yeah, I think that there is plenty for young FI folks to discuss that just isn't relevant to most people here.  I'm not saying that I'd post a whole lot though, I'm trying to not waste so much time in front of a computer, even though many threads are interesting, I need to have more to show for the time when I am online and limit online time in general.

But yeah, another vote for seeing if you can add another topic/sub-forum...

[alleykat]

I am new to these forums and not near FI, however, I would appreciate a separate thread to see the ups and down of FI. How everyone goes about it, thoughts?  So many times at work, I have these conversations and most of the responses are "Well, what would we do?" Even folks that have retired, some are good with it, others are lost and it's not necessarily that they loved their jobs  It just gave them something to do with their time. But I guess, it comes down to hobbies, passions, getting involved in the community, etc., but from the sounds of it, that is not enough.  To me, I would like to be FI for the pure choice of it all.  It would put work in a different persepctive.

[Nords]

I'm curious to talk to talk to others who have accomplished FI and are new to "retiring" more or less. I don't see a forum for those people.  Is there one?

12+ years for me, and I hope that still counts as "new".

Ask me anything.

[Unionville]

I got this message from a moderator regarding my request to start an FI subforum. 


"see other responses to requests for subforums. If there is not enough volume to support it, it's not happening. Perhaps when we have more retirees here."


I'm unclear  what it means. Does anyone have another understanding of it before I write back for clarification? One thing she/he said  assumes we don't have enough retirees, but perhaps we do, but they are leaving MMM because there is no forum?

[RetiredAt63]

We don't need a sub-forum, it is more fun to sit around and pontificate from on high (re RE).  ;-)

Actually it would be fun to have the category - as a not-so-early retiree there are lots of good ideas I get from the threads now, but retirement really is a different way of life when you want to do more than sit around and watch TV.

[Cassie]

I think a sub forum is a great idea. By your response it seems they think there are not enough retirees to support it.  But maybe there are.

[Dr. Doom]

Time for a poll, to determine volume, if you're intent on giving this your best shot. 

[MDM]

I got this message from a moderator regarding my request to start an FI subforum. 

"see other responses to requests for subforums. If there is not enough volume to support it, it's not happening. Perhaps when we have more retirees here."

I'm unclear  what it means. Does anyone have another understanding of it before I write back for clarification? One thing she/he said  assumes we don't have enough retirees, but perhaps we do, but they are leaving MMM because there is no forum?

I suspect the response refers to http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/forum-information-faqs/need-new-forum-area-credit-card-churning/

[iris lily]

I'm not married to the idea of a subforum for retirees (I will be joining them soon, very soon!) 

Most of the MMM forums topics are still relevant post-FIRE.

If someone wants to start a thread about a specific topics, start it. If the topic is of interest only to retirees, then only they will respond.

[NinetyFour]

Yeah Skyrefuge's comments make sense as I know sometimes I feel like I I should be on another forum since I'm already FIRE'd and can't really relate to people who are still working on getting there (and they probably can't relate to me as well very much).

Don't leave us, Spartana!!  :)

[arebelspy]

I got this message from a moderator regarding my request to start an FI subforum. 


"see other responses to requests for subforums. If there is not enough volume to support it, it's not happening. Perhaps when we have more retirees here."


I'm unclear  what it means. Does anyone have another understanding of it before I write back for clarification? One thing she/he said  assumes we don't have enough retirees, but perhaps we do, but they are leaving MMM because there is no forum?

I think he means "no". It IS a lot of work for the Mods, who are often overwhelmed already, so unless there really are a lot of ERees who would want to post in a sub-forum, and not-yet=FIRE'd-folk who also would, then it's probably a no go.  I do think ER's move away from this forum and onto other forums that they have interests in that go along more with their retired lifestyle. I've been yakking up a storm here lately but only because I am having a lot of downtime from my usual activities (have been travelling - which is downtime for me :-)!). Once I'm back to my usual routine I doubt if I will read or post nearly as much. Too busy.

I think ER people leave more for your second reason - life seems quite busy post FIRE - moreso than not having a specific subforum.  So it's not a conscious choice to leave, but a drifting away - using the forum less and less over time due to just being busy and it (and the desire to discuss FI) falling off their radar.

[arebelspy]

MOD NOTE:

New forum here: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/

Locking thread.