The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Welcome and General Discussion => Topic started by: BeardedMustache on November 01, 2018, 03:44:39 PM
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May be obvious for many/most of us, but I'm curious what your specific motivation for FI is?
Mine used to be out of hatred for my job and office politics in general. Since then, I've had kids. One of whom turns out to have special needs, and may require lifetime assistance. That turned a tepid interest in RE to a full-on FI fever.
So, what motivates you?
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Freedom of choice.
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Never carrying a pager again = complete freedom
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Freedom of choice.
+1
It's not so much that I dislike every aspect of my job. I just dislike the requirement that I HAVE to spend 40 hours a week doing it. There are SO many other things I would rather do with my time.
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For a “job” I am pretty dang fortunate. I don’t love it, or often even like it, but many people would be very very happy with it.
My biggest problem is having a schedule and no freedom to travel like I want, or energy for my own hobbies. My wife and I exercise a lot, and have some fun, but I’m prohibited from just leaving for months to camp, travel, explore, except for between jobs.
If I owned a gym or had a fab shop, I think I would be far happier with “work,” however those just aren’t a possibility right now, and a huge risk.
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I may be unusual here, but I miss my wife when I am working. We spend almost every moment outside of work together, and I resent work for keeping us apart. Married for 25 years, and she's still my best friend and love of my life.
FI will let us spend much more time together, whenever we want.
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Pure laziness.
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I may be unusual here, but I miss my wife when I am working. We spend almost every moment outside of work together, and I resent work for keeping us apart. Married for 25 years, and she's still my best friend and love of my life.
FI will let us spend much more time together, whenever we want.
That is awesome, so jealous.
My job is one most people would at a minimum tolerate and many would deem great for a job, but I want freedom to hike/camp/travel for months at a time. I want to be able to ride my bike for hours and just read at the lake for the 6 months of the year when it's nice out. Also be nice to not have to deal with some of the asshole clients and my new micromanaging boss.
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I may be unusual here, but I miss my wife when I am working. We spend almost every moment outside of work together, and I resent work for keeping us apart. Married for 25 years, and she's still my best friend and love of my life.
FI will let us spend much more time together, whenever we want.
This is a great point as well. My wife is a SAHW, and we’re together 24/7 enjoying hobbies together when I’m not work. I took two, 4 month sabbaticals in 2016/2017 and we did extended trips to Asia, Baja, and throughout the US and spent basically every moment together, and it was truly perfect.
Glad you have pointed this out, I don’t think all couples are always as fortunate!
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"Freedom" I guess. But freedom isn't free. Humans aren't meant to be happy all the time and without the bitter there is no sweet. The sabbaticals wouldn't be as amazing if it weren't for the fact that you were looking extremely forward to and you had put in the sweat in order to get there.
If everyday was a vacation then it would be nice but also boring really quick if you didn't constantly challenge yourself to grow.
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I may be unusual here, but I miss my wife when I am working. We spend almost every moment outside of work together, and I resent work for keeping us apart. Married for 25 years, and she's still my best friend and love of my life.
FI will let us spend much more time together, whenever we want.
This is a great point as well. My wife is a SAHW, and we’re together 24/7 enjoying hobbies together when I’m not work. I took two, 4 month sabbaticals in 2016/2017 and we did extended trips to Asia, Baja, and throughout the US and spent basically every moment together, and it was truly perfect.
Glad you have pointed this out, I don’t think all couples are always as fortunate!
This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing. I miss this state. Between work and two little kids my husband and I barely get any time together. I miss him and really look forward to time again with him. After I get a little time to myself, because I don’t get any of that either.
Are we there yet? How about now? ??
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I was diagnosed with a chronic illness as a teen that might at some point in my life prevent me from working. I want to be prepared if/when that time comes instead of depending on the government to provide me with some income (who knows what kind of disability benefits exist then).
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Freedom of choice.
Me too. I like my job and my coworkers but I want to have the option available to do whatever I want.
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Freedom of choice.
+1
It's not so much that I dislike every aspect of my job. I just dislike the requirement that I HAVE to spend 40 hours a week doing it. There are SO many other things I would rather do with my time.
+2 Freedom to have more choices in the world. Travel and adventure. Less day to day worry.
To touch briefly on that last point, I know what it is like to loose a job you really liked and standing in the unemployment line (many years ago) sucked!
Also experienced my father being laid-off years ago when I was young and how hard my parents worked and that probably had a profound impact on me.
FI today.
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Yep, freedom of choice.
We were not placed on this earth to work, pay bills and die. I am not a slave to wages, and I do not want to owe my time to anyone outside of my own free will. This is no way to live.
Also, committing 40 hours a week to anything really kills your joy of it.
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Honestly, it's uncertainty about the future.
The formative years of my professional life were 2008-2010, at the height of the Great Recession. I am crystal clear on the fact that jobs can evaporate out from under anyone, at any time, for reasons well outside their control. My husband works in a high tech field and worries that it will become so complex over the coming decades that he'll have a hard time keeping up. I'm in a great situation right now, but all it would take would be a change of leadership in my company to someone who says, "Meh. We don't need that group. The other functions can absorb that work."
As long as you're reliant on your wages to live, you have to accept that you're in a precarious position that could change at any time. No one is indispensable. There is no such thing as loyalty in a company. If someone decides you're not worth the line you take up on a spreadsheet, you could be out tomorrow.
And in the long term, I worry about the impact of climate change on just about everything.
Right now, we're in a position to 1) build a giant pile of money that can support us for the rest of our lives, 2) buy a second property outside our coastal, HCOL city where we can further indulge our gardening habit, and 3) learn skills and habits that make frugality automatic and joyful. In a few years, we'll have enough that it won't matter whether we ever work again.
That security--that we're good no matter what--is very motivating.
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Pure laziness.
Haha thanks for your honesty!
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For me the uncertainty of the future having barely kept employment 2008-2013.
Also to have the freedom to be bolder at work, to have the ability to start a new career at some point, to have time to do stuff with my kids when they are middle school aged.
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FREEEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
That's basically it.
In more detail: I have a ridiculously large number of things that interest me, and I rarely manage to stick to focusing on the same one for more than a couple of weeks. But during the between-half-a-day-and-couple-of-weeks that I'm interested in something, I often want to do that thing ALL THE TIME (for those few days). So what I want is to be able to wake up and look into whatever's caught my eye that day, without worrying about whether it's "useful", and without having to drag myself away from it for hours to go do boring work.
Plus, when I've been unemployed or only employed with a very low number of hours, I generally did a lot more exercise, ate healthier, and even had time to do chores without resenting them.
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I may be unusual here, but I miss my wife when I am working. We spend almost every moment outside of work together, and I resent work for keeping us apart. Married for 25 years, and she's still my best friend and love of my life.
FI will let us spend much more time together, whenever we want.
This is a great point as well. My wife is a SAHW, and we’re together 24/7 enjoying hobbies together when I’m not work. I took two, 4 month sabbaticals in 2016/2017 and we did extended trips to Asia, Baja, and throughout the US and spent basically every moment together, and it was truly perfect.
Glad you have pointed this out, I don’t think all couples are always as fortunate!
This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing. I miss this state. Between work and two little kids my husband and I barely get any time together. I miss him and really look forward to time again with him. After I get a little time to myself, because I don’t get any of that either.
Are we there yet? How about now? ??
While I can’t personally relate, I do understand. I’m 30, wife is 24, and we plan to have a kid(s) in the next couple years. I’m sure I will miss how spoiled I’ve been with just my wife and I the last 6-7 years!
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We were self employed for 18 years.
Hours were 10 hours a day 363 days a
year, split between the two of us, but
on busy days we both worked. However
there was more work after closing hours.
The work was easy, but I was always on call
for one thing or another, the business was our life.
I cut back a year and a half ago, my wife took
up the slack and was working over 70 hours a week.
About 1-1/2 years of that and she came around to
the idea of retiring. We started putting out the
word that our business was for sale.
Micheal put a quick end to our business and my wife
has no bad feelings after three weeks. Her carpel tunnel
symptoms have disappeared and her mindset of business, business,
business is already gone. I say this with the caveat that,
we have had so much to do with all the damage she hasn't
had any down time to think about it. I'll be watching for
any changes when things finally get back to normal.
Conclusion, I just got tired of my life being the business.
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Pure laziness.
Same here. And the desire to live somewhere where I can scuba dive 365 days a year without a drysuit.
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Pure laziness.
Same here. And the desire to live somewhere where I can scuba dive 365 days a year without a drysuit.
ohh that would be nice...I love diving, but have absolutely zero interest in drysuits.
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Hanging out with my kids as they get older. Enough time to wake up and putter around with coffee, books, or video games every day before getting productive.
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Pure laziness.
Same here. And the desire to live somewhere where I can scuba dive 365 days a year without a drysuit.
ohh that would be nice...I love diving, but have absolutely zero interest in drysuits.
I mean, I'm lucky enough that there is a quarry nearby so I'm not completely landlocked. That at least keeps my gills from drying out. And 6 months out of the year it's okay with a 3mm full suit as long as you don't get much deeper than about 40-50 ft because it's got a hell of a thermocline at that depth. Like a 20 degree drop from one foot to the next. I've debated buying a semi-dry to extend my season and depth a bit, but I just can't bring myself to spend the money. Plus the owner just announced the quarry is up for sale so until that's settled I won't be making any moves.
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I am crystal clear on the fact that jobs can evaporate out from under anyone, at any time, for reasons well outside their control.
As long as you're reliant on your wages to live, you have to accept that you're in a precarious position that could change at any time. No one is indispensable. There is no such thing as loyalty in a company. If someone decides you're not worth the line you take up on a spreadsheet, you could be out tomorrow.
This is a big one for me. I don't like the insecurity that comes with knowing that all it would take is one VP deciding my services are no longer needed for me to be unemployed. I also want the freedom to make my own decisions about how to spend my time. The idea that a company "owns" my time really grates on me. It seems absolutely ridiculous that I had more freedom as an 18-22 year old college student than I do as a 39 year old. I got shit done on my own time in college, but I can't be trusted to get shit done on my own time now. Fuck that.
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Stress reduction. Since childhood I've had some medical conditions that can flare without warning and upend my life (and occasionally threaten it) and the lives of people around me (my parents and siblings then, my wife now). The physical limitations that can be imposed on you by illness are bad enough. The additional demands placed on your time and money are sometimes worse. I want options. When healthy or reasonably healthy, I want to go places and do things. I want to not be tethered to a sub-optimal job forever simply for the health insurance.
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Yep, freedom of choice.
We were not placed on this earth to work, pay bills and die. I am not a slave to wages, and I do not want to owe my time to anyone outside of my own free will. This is no way to live.
Also, committing 40 hours a week to anything really kills your joy of it.
I could commit a solid 80 hours a week to sleeping
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Yep, freedom of choice.
We were not placed on this earth to work, pay bills and die. I am not a slave to wages, and I do not want to owe my time to anyone outside of my own free will. This is no way to live.
Also, committing 40 hours a week to anything really kills your joy of it.
I could commit a solid 80 hours a week to sleeping
Okay, I confess. This is the exception!
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Like Aelias said, the 2008 recession had a major impact on me. I was 30 and making decent money. I saw 50 somethings being let go because of a merger my company was going through at the time, and they COULD NOT find other work. My husband and I had already been good at saving, but that is when we decided that we would make decisions on spending and saving with the goal to not need any employment by the time we were 50. We hit the target at 40.
I also saw (and still see) so many older people in the office that look like they are so unhappy, so tired, some are dealing with major health issues. I don't ever want to be in that position.
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Freedom of choice
Really bored at work
Lazy!!! : 0 )
I had a life threatening illness which could recur and I'd rather have more fun/play now while I'm healthy
I'm already at "my number" just working a few more months for padding an emergency fund - it's a wonderful feeling. Just took two mental health days this week because I can! Feels good!
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I may be unusual here, but I miss my wife when I am working. We spend almost every moment outside of work together, and I resent work for keeping us apart. Married for 25 years, and she's still my best friend and love of my life.
FI will let us spend much more time together, whenever we want.
Great post! My list is very long and many of my top reasons have been covered, but this is a reason that after you pointed it out is a very strong pull for me as well even though I don't think I've ever explicitly articulated it. My partner and I spend most of our free time together, and I think some people think it's odd that after almost 30 years we still enjoy being around each other so much.
Now that I'm in my 40s I am very aware that every day I wake up I'm the youngest and therefore potentially the healthiest, strongest, and most full of energy I will ever be. I'm aware that my fitness and eating play a role in that, but there's no getting around the fact that every day we live is one day closer to the end and that gradual decline is on the agenda for all of us. I eat well and exercise to stave off the worst of it as long as I can but the trend is inevitable. That sounds morbid but I don't mean it to. It really is just very powerful motivator for me to stay dedicated to a lifestyle that will allow me to make the most of the years that I have left on this earth with an emphasis on getting there quickly so the the years of freedom and choice that I have coincide with the best years I have remaining. At the same time, I'm not so focused on getting there quickly that I neglect to make the most of each day and I ensure that my work doesn't bleed into my personal time. But with over 50 hours each week taken up with work, commuting, and work-related tasks it's impossible to squeeze in everything I want to do to live a fulfilling life. FIRE will give me an opportunity to find and live my version of a fulfilling life, and I'm looking forward to the challenge that that presents.
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Fresh air.
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FI enables RE, which in turn affords more time/opportunities to pursue other interests. That's not incorrect, and it's the answer I've most often provided when someone asks. But for me it's a little too neat and tidy -- a pithy catchphrase on a FIRE pamphlet.
It's probably more accurate to say that my upbringing (frugal parents who instilled the value and habit of saving) and personality type (innate focus on long-term goals) made FI an obvious and inevitable outcome. I can't point to any extrinsic events like job loss, having a miserable job, market crash, etc., that motivated me to achieve FI.
The motivation at the beginning was simply to embark on an exciting journey of accumulating and growing wealth. After that I was just along for the ride. Frugal habits and the stock market dragged me through the middle part of the journey, almost without conscious effort on my part. I've drifted through the last part of the journey with similar compulsion, and the S&P500 did the heavy lifting. Now that we've +/- reached FI, I'm realizing that RE was just a phantom goalpost to give the journey some kind of endpoint.
I've read books like this before. The journeys always seem to end the same way: 90% completion and an uneasy feeling of "now what?"
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My motivation is twofold. Firstly I find the corporate world suffocating to some extent. I suffer from anxiety and struggle with the meetings, pressure and political nonsense. I’m also very aware that both my employment and day to day working environment is completely determined by the whims of people above that don’t know me. I am nothing to them. I can’t wait to break free from that set up.
Secondly I want to be able to help my parents who are older relative to my age than the average. I’m keen to help them stay independent and have no need to go into a home (medical issues permitting).
All of the boards on this forum talk about money but I think the biggest win is actually not having to think of it anymore. That problem/part of life is over and it will be time to focus on more fun stuff.
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We live in an area heavily dependent on a single industry that we are both part of. Compensation is amazing and cost of living is relatively low but I fear how bad it could become in the lean times.
Plus the preparations for the lean times is frequently "buyouts" for employees that voluntarily leave. If I am already FI and they offer me a year of salary to leave I want to be prepared to sign on the dotted line with no concerns.
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Brutally honest: PTSD. Makes work a frickin' minefield that explodes on a regular basis.
Being FI means never having to enter that minefield again. I still might, someday, on my own terms -- but I will never have to stay with bombs exploding all around me.
It's been a strong FI motivator for decades, from before "FI" was even a thing.
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For me the uncertainty of the future having barely kept employment 2008-2013.
Next to my illness the Great Recession was also a big motivation. I turned 18 in 2008, graduated from high school and basically saw all the jobs disappear right in front of me. Due to personal circumstances, I had no family to rely on - on the contrary, they relied on me. My parents had to sell their home for a really low price to prevent foreclosure.
The next 5 years I worked a variety of temp jobs, I worked very hard with little security and for low pay. I had saved up some money in high school and that money saved my life do many times. I studied parttime when I had time and energy for it.
I worked my first job in my current field in 2012 and even though it was a horrible company and only a 9 month temp job, I knew I'd found my calling. I know I'm good at what I do. I did some temp work until I found a steady entry level position in 2016 and I got my current, medior role last month. It was difficult but a very valuable experience.
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So these past few weeks I've been talked to (ominously) by the higher ups for issues with documentation and now they're micromanaging me, taking accounts away from me, etc. I'm FI right now at 3.5% and was planning to GTFO in April 2019. I'm thankful I've been on the FI path since even before college.
I didn't like hearing the criticisms of course, but instead of stressing out over finances in case I get canned like the masses would, I'm hoping they lay me off LOL. I've long thought of engineering my own layoff, but I guess I've subconsciously been doing it the last year or two.
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Sleep more/live longer - If you sleep more, you have not only higher quality of life, but higher quantity as well. I want to throw my alarm clock into the trash permanently!!!
Weird projects - I'm the type that gets really into things until I'm to the point where I'm "pretty good" at it, then I like to get into something else. There are SO MANY things I want to do, I'd love more available hours to play:)
Travel - My wife is fluent in spanish, my kids are in a spanish immersion program. My goal is to become somewhat fluent in the next 5-7 years, and do some extended trips to spanish speaking countries during summers (I'm a teacher). When fully retired my wife and I hope to spend time in many places throughout the world.
Family Time - I hit a home run when I married my wife. My kids are amazing. More time with them wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit.
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I am similar to Bird In Hand, but I've also developed medical conditions that are exacerbated by stress.
So I think I'm just type A and it makes me stressy.
I am very interested in seeing what a life of non-stressful goals looks like (and if it is possible for someone with my particular personality quirks).
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+1 for the freedom of choice response.
Ever since I can remember, I was never into the your-job-is-your-life-and-identity idea like so many other Americans are. I wanted to have a job to pay for a middle-class lifestyle, sure. Those feelings were confirmed when I graduated and entered the work world; I decided that other things in life are much more important than work. I'm still way more into the goal of FI than RE, but maybe that will change with age. As many others have mentioned, my job is good as far as jobs go and I get paid plenty. However, I sure as hell wouldn't do it for free. I want the freedom to quit if work sucks, take a sabbatical to help with a baby, take big vacays.
A good example: sis was told she'd be let go in several months. She immediately started looking for work and accepted a job in the very middle of Dallas and she lives way out in the suburbs in her McMansion. Has to wake up at 5 to deal with the baby and then drive an hour to work in stupid traffic. I asked her about this (BIL has a nice job and salary)...she said they had built a lifestyle that required two jobs, and if they had only one, they'd have to significantly cut down.
I want the freedom to encourage my wife to just ride out until the severance, take your time finding a nice job, and you don't have to work for several months or a year if you want to. The freedom to do this comes from the magical secret formula of LBYM ON ONLY ONE INCOME, NOT TWO. Gasp!
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1) I work in a volatile industry. Things are great now, but pay cuts and furloughs happen. I want to be ready for those just in case.
2) My career is dependent on maintaining my medical certificate. I could wake up tomorrow with some disease like Type 1 Diabetes and it would be game over. I have disability and loss of medical insurance, but that is intended more for getting by until finding a new career.
3) Freedom. Both freedom of schedule and freedom of response. Work as much or as little as I want, and be able to say FU to anyone with no fear of financial ruin.
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Lots of good responses here.
I'm seeing some themes, beginning with the premise Money=Freedom. Whether it's free from worry, free to be lazy, free to spend time with loved ones, etc.
This is great, keep em coming!
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1. I have been unemployed three different times in my career. I do not, ever again, want to worry about that “what if” scenario.
2. I am really tired and think a few weeks of naps could help. I cannot do that at work, so I guess I will just have to get rich enough to avoid work.
3. THere is so much I want to do in life and 50 hours a week at someone else’s beck and call (other than my wife, daughter, and dog) is uncondusive to this desire.
4. I do not really find life fulfillment through what I do at work. Some aspects are fun, but others are total BS (instituted by clients or corporate for some reasons). Either way, my job is not who I am and not what I want my life to be.
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Being able to say NO at work (especially devops). Work on projects I want to work on. Slack when I want to slack. Have a sense of security that others cannot take away from me easily.
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FU$ to have peace of mind about basic survival
FI to have the freedom of choice, will take a sabbatical for 9-12 months and reassess what future work would look like
RE to have complete control over my time and spend it on things that do not have to generate an income and would otherwise be impossible even with a remote/PT job
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Spent more of my married/parental life away from my family than with them. Once the Army and I part ways, I'm never leaving my family again. If I decide to keep working/work again, it'll be entirely on my terms.
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So much to do, so little time! Also, every job I've had requires me to do unethical things, and while I try to optimise for "least bad" it will be nice to know I don't have to help big corporations hurt people and society anymore just so my daughter can eat.
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Laziness/desire to sleep odd hours.
I’m lucky to currently have a job where I don’t always have to be accounted for. This means most days I can stroll in at 9:30am or later and no one notices and certainly no one cares. I always heard that as we get older we naturally get up earlier. I’m 38 and if I had my choice I’d sleep from midnight until 9am everyday. Occasionally staying up until 1 or 2am.
This Friday I had the relatively unusual expectation to be at work for an 8am breakfast. It was pure hell. I had to get up at 6:30am to get ready, drive 15 minutes to work and be there extra early to make sure I wasn’t late (I work in higher ed and was meeting an important donor). I was tired all day on Friday. I realize this sounds like a huge entitlement First World problem, but the answer to your question is laziness. I’ll still teach when I FIRE but I’ll adjunct and teach afternoon classes.
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Mine is my dad's mom and my mom's parents.
Dad's mom was totally dependent on her kids and medicaid nursing during her later years, it was no kind of life. Mom's parents had money and choices, they lived where they wanted, did what they wanted, etc.
I decided long ago which life I wanted when I was older, and since I have no kids I'll have no one to fall back on like dad's mom did.
This isn't necessarily my motivation for RE, but it is my motivation for FI, always has been.
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I would like to be able to leave work if I need to, in order to care for my disabled husband.
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Lot's things for me
- I feel like work takes all my energy and that I'm not human a lot of the rest of the time.
- I want to travel
- I stress at work easily
- I want to be able to move to my own rhythm
- I want to move to another city where I feel like I fit in better, and it would be nice to be able to pick a place independent of job prospects
- I want to be able to sleep in. Is it weird if I say that I think my life would be a lot better if I could sleep until 9 when I wanted to?
A lot of the other things people have said here are nice side benefits, too.
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-To be able to take a long sabbatical from work if/when we have children and be able to home school if we choose.
-To be able to try a variety of careers over the course of my life without worrying about it being lower paid, or losing a paycheck if I decide to do any schooling required for trying a new career, or being able to try things with no sure payout like writing novels.
-To be able to prioritize my mental health over looking good for promotions.
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- Seeing and doing what I love instead of what I make money at. Sometimes they coincide, often not.
- What I love is kids/wife/brother etc what I love doing is biking, skiing, creating, learning, video games ;P, etc.
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Lot's things for me
- I feel like work takes all my energy and that I'm not human a lot of the rest of the time.
1+ for this particular one :).
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To have a genuine work/life balance...except I don't mean "only working till 5.30pm, and you don't have to take work home in the evenings or work on the weekends."
I mean working 3 days a week at jobs that I like, and then have 4 days to do my own thing.
Life isn't meant to be spent at a desk.
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Living frugal is what came naturally to DH and me when we moved to expensive Norway. So after 10 years of working full time, we noticed we had built up quite a lot of stash compared to other people. DH mentioned that we could perhaps retire at 50, like his parents had done, if we continued living that way. We didn't think more of it and continued as usual. Some 8 years after that, we bought a clown house that emptied all our stash. Stupid, but at least the money is not all gone, the house can be sold.
We have always had the relaxed knowledge that we could have lived on 1 income if necessary.
In the last decade we have both become very tired of our jobs and the whole concept of working for a boss and commuting. I got my commuting resolved by finding a relevant job closer to home and becoming independent from the train.
But still, DH and I are both experiencing health issues, made worse by stress at work. When I once searched the internet for Early Retirement, just to check how much stash you actually need to retire early, I found MMM. Since then I have upped by frugal behaviour even more and we are now planning to FIRE in autumn next year.
We are very outdoorsy people who like to go on all sorts of trips. Job is a big stand in the way for that. I always live healthiest way when on summer vacation, being active almost every day.
My main motivation list for FIRE is now:
- Freedom to do whatever I want.
- More outdoor life and more exercise.
- Not having to do boring or otherwise annoying tasks at work.
- Being an extremely responsible and committed employee, not having to stress at work.
- Staying up as long as I please in the evenings. Getting out of bed at a natural time.
- Traveling around (within or out of the country) and be at the right place in the right season. Avoid the most depressing seasons that all parts of Norway have at different times.
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My husband will probably never stop working, but I want the security and freedom to know that if something happens or he changes his mind he could. Also, I see how easy it is to fall into the trap of making 200K+ per year and still living pay check to paycheck, and having and FI goal keeps us from going down that path. I also just feel like making do with less keeps me grounded and makes me appreciate the good things in life more.
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In scouring the internet, I learned that we are already pretty darn frugal, so I shifted my focus to how to manage our investments during a planned sabbatical to sail the seven seas.
Instead, I learned that with just a couple of extra years, we could eliminate that aspect of an extended sabbatical I have seen so many others fail at: re-entry into the work force. I fully expect DH to dabble in consulting or working for a start up at some point in the future, but he will be free to explore, rather both feeling pressure to earn.
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Freedom.
It's kind of strange to allow other people to determine when you are allowed to wake up, go for a walk, take a vacation. This is even without significant workplace drama - I have a job that's very good, not much that could improve as far as jobs go.
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Freedom. I have a lot of ideas and I want to be able to chase them, likely leading to starting my own business. They are super technical though, so I don't have enough time or energy while working full time to really pursue my ideas. Also I want to be a better partner / friend. I love hanging out with my husband but my high stress job takes up way too much of my time. I'd much rather spend my time on people I love and interesting projects.
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“I’m free to do what I want any old time.”
The Rolling Stones
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I have a slightly irrational fear of being the guy you read about who drops dead in his office a few months before he was due to retire. My FI motivation is to reduce my exposure time in hopes of not being "that guy".
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Freedom. If I'd been a Forest or Park Ranger instead of a lawyer, I think I'd work until they made me quit. Being outdoors in nature often is essential to my well-being. I want to spend far, far more time climbing, hiking, backcountry snowboarding, camping, surfing and scuba diving than my current job allows -- and I get a generous amount of time off. And maybe part of me sub-consciously feels like I need to get out there and experience the remaining wild places while they last, before climate change renders them unrecognizable. I've really started to feel the acceleration of time in the past few years, and it's left me with a sense of urgency regarding getting the hell out of the workplace.
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I have a slightly irrational fear of being the guy you read about who drops dead in his office a few months before he was due to retire. My FI motivation is to reduce my exposure time in hopes of not being "that guy".
One of my earlier neighbours did this within half a year after his traditional retirement.
My father died at 50. He never enjoyed any of the pension he built up. I realize that life can be over swiftly and before that I want to have experienced total freedom from work and school, which I have never experienced in my adult life.
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I have a slightly irrational fear of being the guy you read about who drops dead in his office a few months before he was due to retire. My FI motivation is to reduce my exposure time in hopes of not being "that guy".
One of my earlier neighbours did this within half a year after his traditional retirement.
My father died at 50. He never enjoyed any of the pension he built up. I realize that life can be over swiftly and before that I want to have experienced total freedom from work and school, which I have never experienced in my adult life.
My dad died at 54 and 11 months to an diagnosed heart condition. The good news is he had 14 years of retirement in by then.
My motivation is similar to what others have expressed, and what my dad expressed to me. Freedom to choose.
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Mine is to live a relatively simple quiet life with a feeling of peace about my finances.
I'd also like to reclaim the time I've given away to other people in exchange for money. It's such a depressing heartbreaking thing to me. Here, you may have some of my LIFE... the scarcest resource that I have... my time... and I'll take some money in exchange in order to stay alive. It makes me so deeply sad.
This morning I had just come in from walking my dog around 6:30am and I noted what a nice day it was turning out to be- the air was a little crisp, but the sun was rising and felt warm and relaxing on my skin.
My dog was happy and wanted to stay outside.
I was happy and wanted to stay outside.
I want the freedom to stay outside.
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Mine is to live a relatively simple quiet life with a feeling of peace about my finances.
I'd also like to reclaim the time I've given away to other people in exchange for money. It's such a depressing heartbreaking thing to me. Here, you may have some of my LIFE... the scarcest resource that I have... my time... and I'll take some money in exchange in order to stay alive. It makes me so deeply sad.
This morning I had just come in from walking my dog around 6:30am and I noted what a nice day it was turning out to be- the air was a little crisp, but the sun was rising and felt warm and relaxing on my skin.
My dog was happy and wanted to stay outside.
I was happy and wanted to stay outside.
I want the freedom to stay outside.
Our cat stays outside almost all day on weekends. When he sees us going through our normal weekday routine on Monday morning you can see the dejected look on his face. When I go to walk out the door, his expression is almost enough to make you cry. It's ironic that I feel more sorry for him than myself.
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I mainly pursued FI originally because my husband wanted to. I was in my early twenties when he caught the FIRE bug. At the time, I thought I would always want to work. At first, pursuing FI felt like it meant living in a house I wouldn't choose and choosing to stay LCOL area longer than I'd like. But I loved him enough, was young enough, was otherwise frugal enough that I gave it a try. Eventually, I converted into the Church of the Mustache.
Now I'm in the remarkably privileged position of being FI in my early 30s, and I am so grateful. A few reasons why:
--Quit my stressful job and have so much less anxiety
--Spending time with our kids when they're little
--Fulfilling a lifelong dream of writing novels.
--Getting to spend time outside everyday
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Mine is to live a relatively simple quiet life with a feeling of peace about my finances.
I'd also like to reclaim the time I've given away to other people in exchange for money. It's such a depressing heartbreaking thing to me. Here, you may have some of my LIFE... the scarcest resource that I have... my time... and I'll take some money in exchange in order to stay alive. It makes me so deeply sad.
This morning I had just come in from walking my dog around 6:30am and I noted what a nice day it was turning out to be- the air was a little crisp, but the sun was rising and felt warm and relaxing on my skin.
My dog was happy and wanted to stay outside.
I was happy and wanted to stay outside.
I want the freedom to stay outside.
Our cat stays outside almost all day on weekends. When he sees us going through our normal weekday routine on Monday morning you can see the dejected look on his face. When I go to walk out the door, his expression is almost enough to make you cry. It's ironic that I feel more sorry for him than myself.
I know right?! Probably 80% of the time I do my little kiss-on-the-head goodbye to my pup and carry all my stupid work stuff to the car... and then get in, and then get back out and go back inside to give her a few more kisses. Then I audibly sigh and finally go out to the car. I don't wanna!
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We've just sold our business, my wife has retired and I'm working two days a week, as a courtesy to the buyers. I'll be gone by the end of August 2019, sooner if they want rid of me!
Why did we do it? Push and pull factors.
I don't think the business will ever be so profitable again. Leastways, I'm not prepared, at 52, to make the required investments.
We received an offer that was more than I would ever have paid for the business at this point.
I have Hshimoto's thyroiditis; it's not well treated and I need a lot of sleep.
We have ongoing family stress from several different directions.
I'm a professional. I work for the money.
I want to do all the things!
We want to spend more time together
It's easier to deal with family things if you don't have to run a business as well
There are only two sums of money; enough and not enough. We have enough money.
We're retiring because we can.
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Mine is to live a relatively simple quiet life with a feeling of peace about my finances.
I'd also like to reclaim the time I've given away to other people in exchange for money. It's such a depressing heartbreaking thing to me. Here, you may have some of my LIFE... the scarcest resource that I have... my time... and I'll take some money in exchange in order to stay alive. It makes me so deeply sad.
This morning I had just come in from walking my dog around 6:30am and I noted what a nice day it was turning out to be- the air was a little crisp, but the sun was rising and felt warm and relaxing on my skin.
My dog was happy and wanted to stay outside.
I was happy and wanted to stay outside.
I want the freedom to stay outside.
Our cat stays outside almost all day on weekends. When he sees us going through our normal weekday routine on Monday morning you can see the dejected look on his face. When I go to walk out the door, his expression is almost enough to make you cry. It's ironic that I feel more sorry for him than myself.
I know right?! Probably 80% of the time I do my little kiss-on-the-head goodbye to my pup and carry all my stupid work stuff to the car... and then get in, and then get back out and go back inside to give her a few more kisses. Then I audibly sigh and finally go out to the car. I don't wanna!
It used to bother me that our old cat would never live to see us home with her more. She passed away last year. At least our new guy will get that at some point. He'll probably be middle-aged by that point, but so will I for that matter.
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Our motivation for FIRE (though for us it's more like FIR because of when we learned about this concept) is pretty darn simple:
1) We have a daughter with Downs Syndrome and don't trust that Uncle Sam will take good care of her when we can't anymore. We wanted to make sure there was enough available to help our son and his kids take good care of her. That was job #1.
2) We had other things we wanted to do with our time besides our day jobs.
MMM helped us do both and in a fraction of the time it would have taken us to do it on our own - if we had managed it.
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Honestly mine motivation is twofold: being free from worrying about losing my job, not having money and not having control of my life, and absolute freedom to travel the world, whenever I want, however I want.
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FI -
DH has autoimmune disease that might mean he has to stop working suddenly.
Young kids that I want to be able to leave work/not travel because they have some random school thing going on. I want the saying "your lack of planning does not necessitate an emergency on my part" to be something I can live by without fear of a negative mark on my working record.
I want to be able to capitalize on experiences and things that will make my family's life easier/more fulfilling (completely tricked out all wheel drive electric wheelchair for DH if needed so he can still be as independent as he wants, long relaxing vacations that the whole family talks about for years, competition sports that the kids will learn the value of hard work at a young age ... I want to be able to say yes to that if/when needed without it causing a major impact to our budget).
I want to have the time/energy to garden, go for long hikes, read books, learn new hobbies, etc because I am able to cut hours at work or find work from home positions.
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I use my time better than ANY employer ever has. I want to be FI, for freedom. And when you read that word freedom, typed by me, you need to picture William Wallace at the end of his life, in the movie Braveheart to really give it the value it deserves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3ubag7dtn4
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RE and the ability to do what I wanted everyday. I can always earn more money if needed but I can't get back time or youth squandered just to buy shiny things.
Excellently put.
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I have 1578 projects/hobbies I want to be doing besides work. At that is just currently. Some may make money but I don't want to HAVE to make money. Then the whole rigid schedule really sucks.
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I'm a programmer and I actually love my work. However, I keep hearing horror stories of older programmers becoming unemployable and thus being unable to support their families. Because of this, I see FIRE as more of a safety net and backup plan in case this nightmare scenario plays out in my career (or if I eventually get sick of programming.) Just because I'm in love with my line of work today doesn't mean that interest will remain several years or several decades from now and I want to milk as much of my earning potential as possible NOW and save it so that it impacts me not just in the immediate future but decades from now.
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I'm a programmer and I actually love my work. However, I keep hearing horror stories of older programmers becoming unemployable ...
Do you think this could be a result of them failing to keep up with the latest trends, conventions, programming languages etc.? The same is true for any industry. If a graphic designer does not keep up with the latest design styles and trends, their work will begin to look dated, old and quite possibly ugly. Their portfolio will age and their work will dry up because nobody employs a graphic designer whose work looks like it fits in with the 80's if they're looking to stay ahead of the curve in the modern day.
A good example of how trends can change so quickly is with the fact that just, say, 3-5 years ago, you'd be shot dead for using a colour gradient anywhere in your design work; it was considered old and looked tacky, because it was reminiscent of the early days of the internet and the 90's. Now with the rise of ever more colourful, higher res display screens, gradients are back - in a big way. Look at the new Instagram logo, and the fact that many things followed suit around the same time or shortly afterwards (Instagram tends to be a little ahead of the curve).
Just food for thought. Unless there are other things (such as health problems, sight loss etc.) that cause a programmer do be less able to effectively do their job, I can't imagine why an older programmer is any worse than a 23-year-old recent graduate.
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I'm a programmer and I actually love my work. However, I keep hearing horror stories of older programmers becoming unemployable ...
Do you think this could be a result of them failing to keep up with the latest trends, conventions, programming languages etc.? The same is true for any industry. If a graphic designer does not keep up with the latest design styles and trends, their work will begin to look dated, old and quite possibly ugly. Their portfolio will age and their work will dry up because nobody employs a graphic designer whose work looks like it fits in with the 80's if they're looking to stay ahead of the curve in the modern day.
A good example of how trends can change so quickly is with the fact that just, say, 3-5 years ago, you'd be shot dead for using a colour gradient anywhere in your design work; it was considered old and looked tacky, because it was reminiscent of the early days of the internet and the 90's. Now with the rise of ever more colourful, higher res display screens, gradients are back - in a big way. Look at the new Instagram logo, and the fact that many things followed suit around the same time or shortly afterwards (Instagram tends to be a little ahead of the curve).
Just food for thought. Unless there are other things (such as health problems, sight loss etc.) that cause a programmer do be less able to effectively do their job, I can't imagine why an older programmer is any worse than a 23-year-old recent graduate.
The question is whether the elder programmer is better than the younger one. Because the elder one is a lot more expensive.
I see at my job that programmers with many years of experience in a complicated software system are very valuable, because of their system knowledge.
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As stated by others, a safety net. DH and I are lean FI, and almost RE. I am the main breadwinner and work for a company that is going through a merger. This week we are going through another round of re-organizations and layoffs (we've been doing this for several years). The only people that don't seem to worried are the ones that are getting paid to retire, ones that have spouses making the big bucks and can swing one income (rare), and people like me (very rare-as far as I can tell).
My heart aches for those that are getting cut and don't have a solid plan B. There are lots of transferable skills, but few companies around here pay nearly as well.
LV
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I'm a programmer and I actually love my work. However, I keep hearing horror stories of older programmers becoming unemployable ...
Do you think this could be a result of them failing to keep up with the latest trends, conventions, programming languages etc.? The same is true for any industry. If a graphic designer does not keep up with the latest design styles and trends, their work will begin to look dated, old and quite possibly ugly. Their portfolio will age and their work will dry up because nobody employs a graphic designer whose work looks like it fits in with the 80's if they're looking to stay ahead of the curve in the modern day.
A good example of how trends can change so quickly is with the fact that just, say, 3-5 years ago, you'd be shot dead for using a colour gradient anywhere in your design work; it was considered old and looked tacky, because it was reminiscent of the early days of the internet and the 90's. Now with the rise of ever more colourful, higher res display screens, gradients are back - in a big way. Look at the new Instagram logo, and the fact that many things followed suit around the same time or shortly afterwards (Instagram tends to be a little ahead of the curve).
Just food for thought. Unless there are other things (such as health problems, sight loss etc.) that cause a programmer do be less able to effectively do their job, I can't imagine why an older programmer is any worse than a 23-year-old recent graduate.
Agree with you and I often do my best to keep up with the latest technologies but age discrimination is rampant for programmers which is harder to overcome.
Sent from my LGUS997 using Tapatalk
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Fresh air.
YES YES!
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I am terrified of being old and cold, beans and toast in my elder years. I also dont want to be working in a shop of something when I am 70 to pay bills. That would be grim.... unless it was a fun environment / giving back to the community or something.
I have a dream in my head of being comfortably retired, going on a nice cruise with my wife when we are silver foxes and having a little dinner and dance... I want to be able to afford that sort of life when I am older.
I want to be able to give my son the best chance in life and to help out with expensive costs like school and a house deposit when he gets older.
Well paying jobs are never a sure thing despite qualifications, technology moves on and you have to always adapt... investing now while I can is a blessing and one to take advantage of.
I have a fairly comfortable life now, house, family, car and the necessities, I just need to keep investing and saving and work towards that long term plan.
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I wouldn't say anything really "motivates" me, since in our case FIRE is almost just a natural extension of our overall low consumption, simple living, index investing type of lifestyle. We don't really need motivation, because the FIRE thing is basically happening on autopilot while we focus on living life the way we like best.
I do suspect jobs are going to disappear like crazy in the future due to the pace of automation, so being able to avoid that is a definite plus.
Also, we're kind of liking the idea of moving to a remote island right now. 2019 is going to be the Year of Island Hopping and Weighing options (Project YIHAW! for short), where we evaluate possible islands.
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Main motivation:
--Spend as much time as possible with DH and our future children (I also miss my DH during the workday).
Big motivations:
--Freedom to choose how I spend my own life energy - proper sleep, travel, relaxation, projects that interest me
--Provide a financial safety net to more easily navigate rough waters - I worry about automation, changes in demand for our skills, etc
--Fund cushy, high quality end-of-life care (Ending up in a dingy, miserable nursing home at the end of my life is my own definition of hell)
Optional, but DH and I really want these additional consumption items "on top of" our FI number:
--Have the funds available to take advantage of advances in medical care as we age - CRISPR is fascinating to me, and if a therapy was created that could eliminate risk for heart disease and alzheimers and other diseases, it would save us money and joy over the long run. Again, this comes back to my primary motivator, spending as much time as possible with family. Dying early cuts into my time!
--Build our own house, with all of the things we want, where we want to live
--Provide a debt-free start in life to our children if possible, but even partial coverage if we can't reach 100% would be great legacy
So really, it will be a balancing act during our working years between wanting to spend as much time with family as possible, and building enough of a stash to fund the big consumption items. Our plan is to hit 50% of our FI number, have kids, then scale back our work schedule to 60% time (work 3 days per week, 4 days off, enough to just fund our $40k/yr lifestyle); we are both confident that this schedule will give us the balance we want, where we can keep working for as long as needed. At 50% FI, we know we are within a decade of FI even if we never contributed another dime to our investments, so family time can take precedence, and we can slowly grow our assets past our base FI number to support our additional goals.
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Inspiring others and taking care of my family.
I`ve only been at this for a short time, and few others around me believe me when I explain how much I have accumulated in such a short time. I think that my lifestyle/spending reduction results is proof of how 99 percent of everybody around me are just absolutely dumb when it comes to handling money(myself included until recently). For most people I consider friends I let it be known what I am doing. The ones who scoff or secretly doubt just inspire me even more to continue. I want to win the argument in proving that it works. What makes it even better is my job title is what somebody would call unsuccessful according to most around me. I really want to prove them wrong that you can be successful with even the most mediocre/lower paying types of jobs. In my case, it is hourly retail pay.
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Our society has made life so complicated. Most of what we study in school and college goes waste. For most people what you actually do at work has little relation to all the education you get. Then work is another thing. Work politics, bad colleagues and bosses, overwhelming work loads all make work life stressful.
If I relived my life,
- I would quit school at age 10 (once I learnt how to read books) and then spend rest of my life in reading and learning whatever interests me.
- At age 18, I'll start working in whatever job that pays slightly higher than a minimum wage.
- Live with parents for first 15 years and save and invest this money. By age 33, I would reach ~800K and be FI
- Marry someone who is both frugal and is working with the understanding of no kids; I love my kids but I feel it is a lot of responsibility and causes more stress especially worrying about them
- Give up work or go part time whenever I feel like and resume if I wanted to
My motivation for FI (and to live life differently from start)
- Meaningless education system imposed by society
- Stressful jobs; bad colleagues, bosses etc
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To start a new career.
The work I want to do full time, I might be able to keep the lights on, but it would very tight. I plan on getting ~75% FI, and then jumping into it.
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Not a huge fan of the rat race and all the BS that comes with it. My LinkedIn feed is full of people - some ostensibly successful, some genuinely successful - trying to pump up their own tyres. Not sure why - ego? vanity? insecurity? But anyway I want to be done with it, retreat into my own little world with my family and friends and just enjoy without having to deal with the stuff that society/work throws at you. That whole world seems to me to be insincere and insecure.
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After giving up my 20's ,30's and Most of my 40's working and living like a fool, knowing that inside I was a lazy, anti-stress, and healthier wanabee it was either get my freedom or the business i once loved and built had turned on me and was going to kill me.
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I am an engineer and recently looked back in some old notebooks I had from my very first full time job.
It was enlightening. I actually was quite creative back then and worked on real problem solving.
It really underscored my feeling that my mind has turned to mush .. now attending mind-numbing meetings and working so much on pointless and useless documents.
Can't wait to leave the MegaCorp rat race behind!
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I love my job, and I love the lifestyle that it allows me to have -- living abroad, traveling to cool places, meeting and talking to interesting people, etc. But my true passions are sustainable gardening and writing, and I've had to give up both. It's impossible to do the kind of gardening I want when we're moving all the time for work, and I'm too exhausted and peopled-out by the end of the day to dig in creatively. I want to be able to retire comfortably, and early enough that I can still physically do the hard work of market gardening. That's it, really.
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Freedom of choice is the biggest one for me. FI is quite a while away since I only just built up my own self employed career, but ever since it's been going well, I've been looking into what to do with my surplus money. Here are some things I might like to do in the future:
- Cut down from 5-6 days a week to maybe 3 half-days. This would still provide a decent income which might pay all essential housing costs and bills.
- Live in an area I choose, closer to the countryside, and at the same time have the freedom to visit my family (in a different country) for 2-3 months every year. A long summer would be great.
- Use the excess money to work with a charity or environmental/wildlife association. This might be what I'd spend the rest of my time with.
- Have time to write, as I've wanted to be an author since I was very little.
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My motivation was a simpler life, one less thing to worry about.
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I would like to get to a place where I do not have to rely on someone else to pay me for my time. Also, explore and experience while my wife and I are young and healthy enough to do so.
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- Eating food
- Living indoors
- Living where I want to live
- Working on what I want to work on
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Laziness/desire to sleep odd hours.
I’m lucky to currently have a job where I don’t always have to be accounted for. This means most days I can stroll in at 9:30am or later and no one notices and certainly no one cares. I always heard that as we get older we naturally get up earlier. I’m 38 and if I had my choice I’d sleep from midnight until 9am everyday. Occasionally staying up until 1 or 2am.
This Friday I had the relatively unusual expectation to be at work for an 8am breakfast. It was pure hell. I had to get up at 6:30am to get ready, drive 15 minutes to work and be there extra early to make sure I wasn’t late (I work in higher ed and was meeting an important donor). I was tired all day on Friday. I realize this sounds like a huge entitlement First World problem, but the answer to your question is laziness. I’ll still teach when I FIRE but I’ll adjunct and teach afternoon classes.
Of course, you had a jetlag that day, and the rest of the week.
I think everyone can get used to getting up early, but you need to schedule for it and keep that schedule the whole time. I had a period where I needed to get up at 10. I made sure I could hit bed at 10 pm (during the week and during weekends) and that was sufficient. After a short time I was used to it.
But I totally agree that it sucks to have to adjust your life schedule to get up at some unnatural hour for work. I like to do astronomy at night. which typically means sitting outside until 2 or 3 am. This is not something I can do a lot on weekdays. And even weekends break up the whole weekly schedule. And clear skies are most often on Sunday night.
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I have a looooooooong list of things I want to do, and I don't have time. I want to get a pilot's license, and maybe build my own airplane. I want to renovate a house from the studs out. I would like to travel more. I want more time to laze about. I'd love to get more involved in local politics. Retirement will give me more of an opportunity to pursue those interests.
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1. I'm sick and tired of what I do. It used to give me a lot of job satisfaction, but not any more.
2. I do not want to be financially dependent on the whims of a corporation or clients. My field is volatile and age discrimination is real, as is outsourcing ("a tenth of the quality for a third of the price!"). I've had it with feeling afraid of losing my job.
3. I used to depend on work a lot for *emotional* satisfaction, to feel like I was worthwhile and justifying my existence. I really don't need that now (and don't get it). I want more time to explore other things that can make me feel rewarded and satisfied.
4. I don't want to be emotionally dependent on a job. If I get laid off, I don't want to be devastated.
5. More time for relationships, friends, etc.
6. I'm sick of commuting. My commute isn't bad, but I don't want to do it at all any more.
7. Stop having to put up with my various bosses' personality defects. I wouldn't choose a flaming manipulator or a control freak as a friend, so why would I want to spend a third of my life dealing with them?
8. Did I mention there are other things I want to do a lot more?
Edit: How could I have left this out? I DON'T WANT TO WAKE UP TO AN ALARM CLOCK EVERY DAY.
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And clear skies are most often on Sunday night.
Now we know you're making stuff up =D
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I want to be the person I once was, full of joy and laughter and a positive outlook on life. 35 years of work I don't like doing and having extremely limited time off has gradually turned me into someone I don't much like anymore. I'm hoping to find a glimpse of that carefree young woman again. I think she's still in here, somewhere.
Jan 4, 2019 is my last day in this awful job....I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Primarily it's because I'm transgender and can't count on things not getting worse or improving during my lifetime. I'm also doing what I can on the social side through volunteer work, but being able to feed myself sure helps with that.
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Edit: How could I have left this out? I DON'T WANT TO WAKE UP TO AN ALARM CLOCK EVERY DAY.
I mean this has got to be the unsung MVP of FIRE, right? I always wake up to an alarm - even on the weekends - but imagine the bliss of turning a regular alarm off for the very last time - without having to be 65 years old.
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I want to be the person I once was, full of joy and laughter and a positive outlook on life. 35 years of work I don't like doing and having extremely limited time off has gradually turned me into someone I don't much like anymore. I'm hoping to find a glimpse of that carefree young woman again. I think she's still in here, somewhere.
Jan 4, 2019 is my last day in this awful job....I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats!!!!!
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My latest motivation is not having to put up with constant re-orgs and all of the stress that comes along with them. I just found out I'm about to have my 3rd boss in the past 13 months. Either that, or I'll be out of a job. I'm not sure which it's going to be just yet. I'm also not sure I even give a damn at this point. I'm still about 5-7 years from FI, but I don't know if I can last that long in this job.
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Edit: How could I have left this out? I DON'T WANT TO WAKE UP TO AN ALARM CLOCK EVERY DAY.
I mean this has got to be the unsung MVP of FIRE, right? I always wake up to an alarm - even on the weekends - but imagine the bliss of turning a regular alarm off for the very last time - without having to be 65 years old.
I also decided that every Monday will be a day of rest and a holiday.
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Security, peace of mind.
I tried being minimalist (i.e. poor) in my 20s and it was very stressful. I became a saver long before hearing about FIRE. I was not brave enough to not have an emergency reserve. Since an emergency can range from a relative inconvenience like a car breaking down to a major issue like never being able to work again I decided that I needed to save aggressively at a fairly young age. But I never thought about how to use the money. It was just a case of saving = good.
About 5 years ago I discovered MMM, did the maths and realized I was already FI. Since I am financially conservative I kept working another 3 years to get my WR down as low as possible.
Now I am both FI and RE and loving it.
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My motivation is that I work with people who I would never voluntarily spend 5 minutes with outside of work. Yet, I am forced to interact with them every few minutes, for 8-9 hours a day.
And if I don't have my headphones in, then I am subjected to their toxic personalities, whining, complaining, irrational ranting, arguments on how everything is someone else's fault, as well as their various sounds (one has chronic gas and doesn't even try to cover up the sound of farting, another literally sleeps at his desk and snores, another eats constantly at his desk and smacks his lips, another talks to herself all day and doesn't seem to even be aware that she's doing it because she has lived alone with just a cat for 40+ years.)
It's too much for me to handle. I don't want to spend my life here.
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Stress reduction. Since childhood I've had some medical conditions that can flare without warning and upend my life (and occasionally threaten it) and the lives of people around me (my parents and siblings then, my wife now). The physical limitations that can be imposed on you by illness are bad enough. The additional demands placed on your time and money are sometimes worse. I want options. When healthy or reasonably healthy, I want to go places and do things. I want to not be tethered to a sub-optimal job forever simply for the health insurance.
A dash of this (lupus, although mine was diagnosed about five years ago) & a lot of not knowing what the future holds, & not wanting to build a life that requires me to work the big/high income job. I'm okay with working. If I choose to work. For a company and/or a cause that excites me. Having to slog away & trade my freedom for something that doesn't fit into that bucket? That's what I'd like to avoid.
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1. Health problems. Had a major surgery two years ago and a subsequent diagnosis. Last two years have been hard!
2. Stress from work/running a business. I've found I don't do the best at keeping work/life separate.
3. Desire to spend more time helping my immidiate family without trying to balance a bunch of work stress on top of the fun. Again, not the greatest with this.
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Edit: How could I have left this out? I DON'T WANT TO WAKE UP TO AN ALARM CLOCK EVERY DAY.
I mean this has got to be the unsung MVP of FIRE, right? I always wake up to an alarm - even on the weekends - but imagine the bliss of turning a regular alarm off for the very last time - without having to be 65 years old.
I also decided that every Monday will be a day of rest and a holiday.
I dream about FIRE more than any other time by far after my alarm goes in the morning. It's really bad this time of year when it's still dark. If I'm completely honest, that's a huge one for me.
I remember reading a post a while back on another thread where the poster said she would set an alarm in the morning so she could laugh at it then turn it off. So sadistic.
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I want to be the person I once was, full of joy and laughter and a positive outlook on life. 35 years of work I don't like doing and having extremely limited time off has gradually turned me into someone I don't much like anymore. I'm hoping to find a glimpse of that carefree young woman again. I think she's still in here, somewhere.
Well written. I did contract work, mostly, but on long contracts I'd gradually lose parts of my personality until I became a formless, bland, blob. It'd take a week of vacation, doing nothing, before I gained some semblance of curiosity and interest in life again. A psychiatrist friend said it was a form of depression, and it is, but the cure isn't/wasn't drugs -- it's not having to work so much, or at all. I muddled through and found myself waiting for me.
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My latest motivation is not having to put up with constant re-orgs and all of the stress that comes along with them. I just found out I'm about to have my 3rd boss in the past 13 months. Either that, or I'll be out of a job. I'm not sure which it's going to be just yet. I'm also not sure I even give a damn at this point. I'm still about 5-7 years from FI, but I don't know if I can last that long in this job.
Well, I was right to be stressed about the re-org. I lost my job today. I had a feeling when I went to sleep last night that this would be my last week working there. I really wish I was FI right now. This would be so much less stressful.
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Keep your chin up, Schaefer Light. I bet most of those on this board have lost a job at one time or another, and there's plenty of us who landed in a much better place.
Use the holidays to relax and regroup, and I know 2019 will bring better things for you.
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1) Fear - I graduated University during the recession to no jobs and ended up going to grad school then professional school. I never want to experience the fear of not being able to support myself or my family again. Having money in the bank removes the daily anxiety over having to make a paycheck. I have the mindset that no job is permanent and everyone is replaceable.
2) While I truly enjoy my job I don't enjoy having a strict schedule and want to be available when my kids need me. Ideally I would continue to work part time in some capacity after FI because I do enjoy my profession.
3) More time for hobbies such as vegetable gardening and preserving.
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My latest motivation is not having to put up with constant re-orgs and all of the stress that comes along with them. I just found out I'm about to have my 3rd boss in the past 13 months. Either that, or I'll be out of a job. I'm not sure which it's going to be just yet. I'm also not sure I even give a damn at this point. I'm still about 5-7 years from FI, but I don't know if I can last that long in this job.
Well, I was right to be stressed about the re-org. I lost my job today. I had a feeling when I went to sleep last night that this would be my last week working there. I really wish I was FI right now. This would be so much less stressful.
I’m sorry to hear that. What shit timing. I hope you have plenty of FU money so you can enjoy the holidays and figure out what comes next after a nice break with family.
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I want to be the person I once was, full of joy and laughter and a positive outlook on life. 35 years of work I don't like doing and having extremely limited time off has gradually turned me into someone I don't much like anymore. I'm hoping to find a glimpse of that carefree young woman again. I think she's still in here, somewhere.
Well written. I did contract work, mostly, but on long contracts I'd gradually lose parts of my personality until I became a formless, bland, blob. It'd take a week of vacation, doing nothing, before I gained some semblance of curiosity and interest in life again. A psychiatrist friend said it was a form of depression, and it is, but the cure isn't/wasn't drugs -- it's not having to work so much, or at all. I muddled through and found myself waiting for me.
Oh my gosh, yes, this!!! This is exactly how I feel....even when I have a little time off now, I have no energy or drive left to do the things I enjoy, and the work stress and negativity is always still there, just below the surface, dragging my mood down. Glad to hear you worked through it....gives me hope that I can too!
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"I remember reading a post a while back on another thread where the poster said she would set an alarm in the morning so she could laugh at it then turn it off."
I love this.
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FI motivation was initially wanting freedom from work then, more importantly, freedom from my wife working (she was working when we married and had our first child, hated our child being at daycare). So always freedom, but became something different than I initially expected.
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My latest motivation is not having to put up with constant re-orgs and all of the stress that comes along with them. I just found out I'm about to have my 3rd boss in the past 13 months. Either that, or I'll be out of a job. I'm not sure which it's going to be just yet. I'm also not sure I even give a damn at this point. I'm still about 5-7 years from FI, but I don't know if I can last that long in this job.
Well, I was right to be stressed about the re-org. I lost my job today. I had a feeling when I went to sleep last night that this would be my last week working there. I really wish I was FI right now. This would be so much less stressful.
I’m sorry to hear that. What shit timing. I hope you have plenty of FU money so you can enjoy the holidays and figure out what comes next after a nice break with family.
Thanks. My EF is big enough that I'm not in any immediate financial danger. I'm not looking forward to the holidays, but that has more to do with my divorce than the job loss.
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When I first started out a few years ago, it was definitely a "freedom to do what I please with my own time" answer, and I was fine with that. This year actually put that to the test, since I had a longer-than-planned break from work, and I think it confirmed that that's still the answer. I did learn that I will need to be much more specific about my goals and create more structure than I had anticipated, though.
"I remember reading a post a while back on another thread where the poster said she would set an alarm in the morning so she could laugh at it then turn it off."
I love this.
Ha! That is hilarious.
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My latest motivation is not having to put up with constant re-orgs and all of the stress that comes along with them. I just found out I'm about to have my 3rd boss in the past 13 months. Either that, or I'll be out of a job. I'm not sure which it's going to be just yet. I'm also not sure I even give a damn at this point. I'm still about 5-7 years from FI, but I don't know if I can last that long in this job.
Well, I was right to be stressed about the re-org. I lost my job today. I had a feeling when I went to sleep last night that this would be my last week working there. I really wish I was FI right now. This would be so much less stressful.
I’m sorry to hear that. What shit timing. I hope you have plenty of FU money so you can enjoy the holidays and figure out what comes next after a nice break with family.
Thanks. My EF is big enough that I'm not in any immediate financial danger. I'm not looking forward to the holidays, but that has more to do with my divorce than the job loss.
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. That sounds doubly rough. Hang in there.
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I like my job, but I am still motivated to FIRE so that I won't have to spend 40 to 50 hours per week at a job so that I can spend more time doing what I really want to do.
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I like my job, but I am still motivated to FIRE so that I won't have to spend 40 to 50 hours per week at a job so that I can spend more time doing what I really want to do.
Then I'd argue that you probably really don't like your job. You get paid, get health benefits, paid vacation, and retirement benefits above and beyond the pay - and yet you think not getting these things and doing what you want to do all day vs. in your free time is worth the trade-off, then you probably don't like what you do.
I like what I do for work (taking the whole picture into account). It makes for a well rounded and sustainable lifestyle, although I'm FI and could sleep in more and play video games all day if I wanted to.
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While I enjoy some parts of work, more and more
it's all about schedule and less about quality.
Working on projects across 3 continents is ridiculous but
management loves this $hit.
Schedules are created that are totally unrealistic and we are expected
to meet them. ... whatever it takes.
Anything less and it affects your evaluation, ranking, and ultimately your pay.
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#1 - Freedom
#2- I have fairly bad social anxiety and although there are jobs with limited socialization I've found them either very hard to come by or they don't pay very well. I could take more medication to possibly make it better however, my true salve for my anxiety is in lots of solitude, work I enjoy, and spending time with my husband.
#3 - Security to protect against the unknown
#4 - So many people in my life told me I couldn't do this and I want to prove them wrong. Possibly a stupid reason but it's an honest one :)
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Today talk of potential layoffs from manager. I just paid off the house and at minimum FI where bills are paid but no fun money... I have heard these words often working in tech and have been layed off before a couple of times in the early 2000's and it was kind of devastating. This is the FIRST time threats of layoffs did not bother me at all (not even a little), I even thought of it being a blessing because a severance would probably be granted and I could get some time off.
So, I can confirm with 100% certainty, my biggest FI motivation is to buy my "sense" of freedom and not have others control my life.
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Today talk of potential layoffs from manager. I just paid off the house and at minimum FI where bills are paid but no fun money... I have heard these words often working in tech and have been layed off before a couple of times in the early 2000's and it was kind of devastating. This is the FIRST time threats of layoffs did not bother me at all (not even a little), I even thought of it being a blessing because a severance would probably be granted and I could get some time off.
So, I can confirm with 100% certainty, my biggest FI motivation is to buy my "sense" of freedom and not have others control my life.
Good for you to be well prepared this time. I hope you do get a good severance package if it indeed hits you.
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I am terrified of being old and cold, beans and toast in my elder years. I also dont want to be working in a shop of something when I am 70 to pay bills. That would be grim.... unless it was a fun environment / giving back to the community or something.
I have a dream in my head of being comfortably retired, going on a nice cruise with my wife when we are silver foxes and having a little dinner and dance... I want to be able to afford that sort of life when I am older.
I want to be able to give my son the best chance in life and to help out with expensive costs like school and a house deposit when he gets older.
Well paying jobs are never a sure thing despite qualifications, technology moves on and you have to always adapt... investing now while I can is a blessing and one to take advantage of.
I have a fairly comfortable life now, house, family, car and the necessities, I just need to keep investing and saving and work towards that long term plan.
This sums up many of my motivations as well. I'm not as concerned with being cold and eating beans, lol...I guess for me it's more so that I've set myself up to be well cared for and that I won't be a burden to my son or wife. I do hope to be comfortable and content later in life; spending time watching my future grandchildren play, having tea with my wife on the back porch, etc.
I also want to give my son the head-start in life that I never got through a sound financial education and by allowing him to pursue his passions without worrying about taking on student loan debt to get there. I want to give him the information and provide the path to see that an FI life is the only way to live and that chasing dollars and keeping up with the Joneses doesn't lead to happiness or fulfillment. The future of our world is uncertain, so if my wife and I can work toward and achieve FI...and then pay it forward to our son so that he can get the absolute most out of his life...then I'll feel like I really accomplished something worthwhile.
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Compared to most my coworkers, employers, and often employees, im much younger than most. Many are 40’s minimum but most in 50’s.
Monday night I had a work dinner with my boss (50’s) and two contractors (40’s-50’s). They were talking about hoping to retire someday, being burnt out of work. I just sat there wondering how people with income similar to mine could even be working so long and not be loaded.
Today I interviewed a gentleman who must’ve been at least 65+ because he mentioned he’s been off work due to surgeries and had to take S.S. And he wants to work longer to put off withdrawing sooner. He is a master of our field who I’m sure could’ve commanded 200k-300k/yr for the last couple decades.
It just doesn’t make sense to me. I work oil & gas and industrial construction, and I would bet this industry is by far one of the worst with money in general. You get tons of people with little to no education, a blue collar attitude with expensive hobbies and the money just slips through their hands. Sure do see a lot of nice trucks in the parking lots though!
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Compared to most my coworkers, employers, and often employees, im much younger than most. Many are 40’s minimum but most in 50’s.
Monday night I had a work dinner with my boss (50’s) and two contractors (40’s-50’s). They were talking about hoping to retire someday, being burnt out of work. I just sat there wondering how people with income similar to mine could even be working so long and not be loaded.
Today I interviewed a gentleman who must’ve been at least 65+ because he mentioned he’s been off work due to surgeries and had to take S.S. And he wants to work longer to put off withdrawing sooner. He is a master of our field who I’m sure could’ve commanded 200k-300k/yr for the last couple decades.
It just doesn’t make sense to me. I work oil & gas and industrial construction, and I would bet this industry is by far one of the worst with money in general. You get tons of people with little to no education, a blue collar attitude with expensive hobbies and the money just slips through their hands. Sure do see a lot of nice trucks in the parking lots though!
I work with a lot of high-earners, although I'm not making a huge amount (yet). I get that not everyone is mustachian, some people like to spend more on material possessions than I do, but sometimes i'm amazed that some people actually seem to manage to burn through their whole pay check every time. If you get paid 10k, how do you not even accidentally have any money leftover by the next paydate, even if you're not consciously trying to save?
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For me it is all about self empowerment. Many on this thread have said that freedom is most important, but I think of freedom as a component of empowerment. Being FI allows you to empower yourself (because no one else will) and when you are empowered, you become proactive rather than reactive to the events that happen in your life. You are not just free to pursue the results that you want, you are in the driver's seat to open up many more alternatives, opportunities or solutions that someone who is not financially independent can never access, because they have given away their power. Empowerment brings confidence, allows creativity, decreases the stress that clouds your perspective, and enables you to see things through an entirely different lens. People, things and circumstances loose their control over you. Does that mean life is a bed of roses? No way. Job loss, death, divorce, illness are still part of life. How your faced life's challenges changes.
When you are empowered thru FI, you can make bolder choices, walk away from situations that suck joy from your life, and give grace and compassion to those you want to help. And the list goes on and on.
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For me it is all about self empowerment. Many on this thread have said that freedom is most important, but I think of freedom as a component of empowerment. Being FI allows you to empower yourself (because no one else will) and when you are empowered, you become proactive rather than reactive to the events that happen in your life. You are not just free to pursue the results that you want, you are in the driver's seat to open up many more alternatives, opportunities or solutions that someone who is not financially independent can never access, because they have given away their power. Empowerment brings confidence, allows creativity, decreases the stress that clouds your perspective, and enables you to see things through an entirely different lens. People, things and circumstances loose their control over you. Does that mean life is a bed of roses? No way. Job loss, death, divorce, illness are still part of life. How your faced life's challenges changes.
When you are empowered thru FI, you can make bolder choices, walk away from situations that suck joy from your life, and give grace and compassion to those you want to help. And the list goes on and on.
All very true. I'm curious, though, if you aren't looking to get away from corporate-speak, too, words like "empowerment", "proactive", and "alternatives." I totally agree with what you're saying, but I have a gut reaction against the language. It seems like part of a corporate culture that a lot of us are trying to escape.
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I work with a lot of high-earners, although I'm not making a huge amount (yet). I get that not everyone is mustachian, some people like to spend more on material possessions than I do, but sometimes i'm amazed that some people actually seem to manage to burn through their whole pay check every time. If you get paid 10k, how do you not even accidentally have any money leftover by the next paydate, even if you're not consciously trying to save?
When you have a high income, banks are very willing to grant you a high mortgage and a high loan for a car and a sailboat. Maybe these people therefore have taken up expensive obligations to live a fancy lifestyle, that they associate with their high salary. This is then combined with the American habit of eating out every day for both lunch and dinner, and sometimes even breakfast. And the additional spending on fancy clothes and fancy vacations. Not to name fancy private schools for the children. I understand very well how so much money is spent too easily.
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I work with a lot of high-earners, although I'm not making a huge amount (yet). I get that not everyone is mustachian, some people like to spend more on material possessions than I do, but sometimes i'm amazed that some people actually seem to manage to burn through their whole pay check every time. If you get paid 10k, how do you not even accidentally have any money leftover by the next paydate, even if you're not consciously trying to save?
When you have a high income, banks are very willing to grant you a high mortgage and a high loan for a car and a sailboat. Maybe these people therefore have taken up expensive obligations to live a fancy lifestyle, that they associate with their high salary. This is then combined with the American habit of eating out every day for both lunch and dinner, and sometimes even breakfast. And the additional spending on fancy clothes and fancy vacations. Not to name fancy private schools for the children. I understand very well how so much money is spent too easily.
This generalization made me smile. We rarely eat out but my Norwegian cousin and his wife "don't cook" and eat out almost every day.
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1) I'm in the tech industry, and layoffs are always a possibility. I don't want to have to worry about finding work in my 50s, which is notoriously difficult in my field.
2) My SO works a union job and has about five years left on her pension. It would be nice to be FI by then so she doesn't have to work after that.
3) My family is fairly long-lived (dad is 92), but things can happen at any time. One close relative was recently hit with a serious debilitating condition in his early 60s, which has impacted his quality of life tremendously.
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I have a deep need for freedom. I have disliked being pushed to do anything for as long as I remember, and I didn’t realize I could get out sooner until I came here.
I don’t mind doing household chores and all the little things we have to do to keep living, and I get motivated at times to do challenging things, but being in self-imposed economic slavery is barely tolerable. Thankfully I work with good people or I would lose my mind completely.
I was forced on a three week furlough during the recession, and by the third week I had noticed myself starting to settle into a state of mind that was truly bliss. I want to return to that feeling as soon as possible, which will be even better without the reliance of a job weighing so heavily.
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I work with a lot of high-earners, although I'm not making a huge amount (yet). I get that not everyone is mustachian, some people like to spend more on material possessions than I do, but sometimes i'm amazed that some people actually seem to manage to burn through their whole pay check every time. If you get paid 10k, how do you not even accidentally have any money leftover by the next paydate, even if you're not consciously trying to save?
When you have a high income, banks are very willing to grant you a high mortgage and a high loan for a car and a sailboat. Maybe these people therefore have taken up expensive obligations to live a fancy lifestyle, that they associate with their high salary. This is then combined with the American habit of eating out every day for both lunch and dinner, and sometimes even breakfast. And the additional spending on fancy clothes and fancy vacations. Not to name fancy private schools for the children. I understand very well how so much money is spent too easily.
This generalization made me smile. We rarely eat out but my Norwegian cousin and his wife "don't cook" and eat out almost every day.
I made this comment, because in the Case Study section, there are often people who eat out daily. I know the Mustachian don't do this that often. That anyone can afford to eat out often in Norway baffles me. Although I noticed that most of the Norwegians buy lunch at their office every day. In my department there are only 2 out of 45 or so, who bring lunch from home.
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I work with a lot of high-earners, although I'm not making a huge amount (yet). I get that not everyone is mustachian, some people like to spend more on material possessions than I do, but sometimes i'm amazed that some people actually seem to manage to burn through their whole pay check every time. If you get paid 10k, how do you not even accidentally have any money leftover by the next paydate, even if you're not consciously trying to save?
When you have a high income, banks are very willing to grant you a high mortgage and a high loan for a car and a sailboat. Maybe these people therefore have taken up expensive obligations to live a fancy lifestyle, that they associate with their high salary. This is then combined with the American habit of eating out every day for both lunch and dinner, and sometimes even breakfast. And the additional spending on fancy clothes and fancy vacations. Not to name fancy private schools for the children. I understand very well how so much money is spent too easily.
This generalization made me smile. We rarely eat out but my Norwegian cousin and his wife "don't cook" and eat out almost every day.
I made this comment, because in the Case Study section, there are often people who eat out daily. I know the Mustachian don't do this that often. That anyone can afford to eat out often in Norway baffles me. Although I noticed that most of the Norwegians buy lunch at their office every day. In my department there are only 2 out of 45 or so, who bring lunch from home.
No worries. They are both retired SAS flight attendants. Seem to be doing quite well. Winter condo in the US, 2 in Norway, a city place and a summer house on the SE coast. We didn't talk much about finance but they seemed very comfortable with their life.
I thought a box lunch from home was pretty standard in Norway, bread, cheese and meat (liver?)paste in a tube.
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I work with a lot of high-earners, although I'm not making a huge amount (yet). I get that not everyone is mustachian, some people like to spend more on material possessions than I do, but sometimes i'm amazed that some people actually seem to manage to burn through their whole pay check every time. If you get paid 10k, how do you not even accidentally have any money leftover by the next paydate, even if you're not consciously trying to save?
When you have a high income, banks are very willing to grant you a high mortgage and a high loan for a car and a sailboat. Maybe these people therefore have taken up expensive obligations to live a fancy lifestyle, that they associate with their high salary. This is then combined with the American habit of eating out every day for both lunch and dinner, and sometimes even breakfast. And the additional spending on fancy clothes and fancy vacations. Not to name fancy private schools for the children. I understand very well how so much money is spent too easily.
This generalization made me smile. We rarely eat out but my Norwegian cousin and his wife "don't cook" and eat out almost every day.
I made this comment, because in the Case Study section, there are often people who eat out daily. I know the Mustachian don't do this that often. That anyone can afford to eat out often in Norway baffles me. Although I noticed that most of the Norwegians buy lunch at their office every day. In my department there are only 2 out of 45 or so, who bring lunch from home.
No worries. They are both retired SAS flight attendants. Seem to be doing quite well. Winter condo in the US, 2 in Norway, a city place and a summer house on the SE coast. We didn't talk much about finance but they seemed very comfortable with their life.
I thought a box lunch from home was pretty standard in Norway, bread, cheese and meat (liver?)paste in a tube.
Recently SAS flight attendants were in the paper complaining that the bottom was now reached. But good to hear that your cousin is doing well.
The lunch box, or better, lunch wrapped in food paper, is still popular when people travel to a place where you can't buy foid, like a hike in the mountains. But at all the placed I worked, 95% or so buy their lunch every day.
The stuff in the tube is fish egg paste and called caviar, but it is from another fish and does not look or taste are real caviar. It tastes very salty. They put it under a slice of Norwegian cheese, because that cheese is pretty tasteless. Or just only the caviar, topped with a slice of cucumber, red pepper or such. I don't eat it.
Liver paste of meat is also eaten, but does not come from tubes, but rather small cups. They also like to eat smoked makrel in tomato sauce, also sold in small cups.
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I work with a lot of high-earners, although I'm not making a huge amount (yet). I get that not everyone is mustachian, some people like to spend more on material possessions than I do, but sometimes i'm amazed that some people actually seem to manage to burn through their whole pay check every time. If you get paid 10k, how do you not even accidentally have any money leftover by the next paydate, even if you're not consciously trying to save?
When you have a high income, banks are very willing to grant you a high mortgage and a high loan for a car and a sailboat. Maybe these people therefore have taken up expensive obligations to live a fancy lifestyle, that they associate with their high salary. This is then combined with the American habit of eating out every day for both lunch and dinner, and sometimes even breakfast. And the additional spending on fancy clothes and fancy vacations. Not to name fancy private schools for the children. I understand very well how so much money is spent too easily.
This generalization made me smile. We rarely eat out but my Norwegian cousin and his wife "don't cook" and eat out almost every day.
I made this comment, because in the Case Study section, there are often people who eat out daily. I know the Mustachian don't do this that often. That anyone can afford to eat out often in Norway baffles me. Although I noticed that most of the Norwegians buy lunch at their office every day. In my department there are only 2 out of 45 or so, who bring lunch from home.
No worries. They are both retired SAS flight attendants. Seem to be doing quite well. Winter condo in the US, 2 in Norway, a city place and a summer house on the SE coast. We didn't talk much about finance but they seemed very comfortable with their life.
I thought a box lunch from home was pretty standard in Norway, bread, cheese and meat (liver?)paste in a tube.
Recently SAS flight attendants were in the paper complaining that the bottom was now reached. But good to hear that your cousin is doing well.
The lunch box, or better, lunch wrapped in food paper, is still popular when people travel to a place where you can't buy foid, like a hike in the mountains. But at all the placed I worked, 95% or so buy their lunch every day.
The stuff in the tube is fish egg paste and called caviar, but it is from another fish and does not look or taste are real caviar. It tastes very salty. They put it under a slice of Norwegian cheese, because that cheese is pretty tasteless. Or just only the caviar, topped with a slice of cucumber, red pepper or such. I don't eat it.
Liver paste of meat is also eaten, but does not come from tubes, but rather small cups. They also like to eat smoked makrel in tomato sauce, also sold in small cups.
[Thumbs up] All the good food. Though I must admit I prefer smoked salmon, fish balls, brown goat cheese, flat bread, lefsa and krum kaka. (I know the Norwegian words for most of these but not how to spell them.)
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My new motivation:
I think going for FI is fun. Seeing our net worth go up is motivational in itself and it is becoming really fun and exciting. It is making me enjoy my job more. Working in retail makes this a rare thing to see.
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My motivation is that I work with people who I would never voluntarily spend 5 minutes with outside of work. Yet, I am forced to interact with them every few minutes, for 8-9 hours a day.
And if I don't have my headphones in, then I am subjected to their toxic personalities, whining, complaining, irrational ranting, arguments on how everything is someone else's fault, as well as their various sounds (one has chronic gas and doesn't even try to cover up the sound of farting, another literally sleeps at his desk and snores, another eats constantly at his desk and smacks his lips, another talks to herself all day and doesn't seem to even be aware that she's doing it because she has lived alone with just a cat for 40+ years.)
It's too much for me to handle. I don't want to spend my life here.
This sounds a lot like my place of work. I used to enjoy people there more.
Now there maybe 10 people there that I actually enjoy carrying on a conversation.
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So my goal has always been FI — even right out of law school when I didn’t even know FI was a thing. Maybe it’s just my experience but I grew up around tons of engineers in the 80s-2000s btwn parents and parents’ social circle and I saw tons of them get laid off anywhere from age 50-65, never to be gainfully employed in the same high salary from which they had been laid off. Made a huge impression on me even in my late teens/early 20s that you have to start saving young (in every field except like medicine where there is constant demand and experience is valued) because you just never know if the salary you make at 35 or 47 will be where you top out. Yet many of my friends seem to view it as — nah we’re mid to late 30s, we’re just getting started, live the fancy lawyer life now, you can always focus on saving more out of a larger salary in your mid 40s or 50s. I just assume they didn’t grow up someplace where white collar professional layoffs were nightly dinner conversation.
But for me, tying my life to an employer because I HAVE TO seems risky. And in just my 13 yrs of professional life, I’ve already experienced 1 long layoff and now on furlough for who knows how long (govt) - and both experiences validate my decision to pursue FI bc you just can’t trust any employer.