living rich
by rantywoman
This one is aimed at Canadians but is still quite useful for crunching the retirement numbers:
http://www.readersdigest.ca/health/relationships/truth-about-early-retirement
For some of us, early retirement may mean a chance to pursue new areas of study or to work part-time in an area that interests us. For Sadownik and Robinson, it means living by the ocean, travelling and attending a rich menu of cultural events. Three years after escaping from the work world, both are glad they made the decision to retire early. “Take the leap,” advises Robinson. “It’s been a real gift.”
thebitterbabe 
Great article.
My dad took early retirement from his secure, well paid government job at 54. This was rare 25 years ago, especially for someone in rude health with a wife and 4 kids under 20 to support. But he did it anyway. And he was damn right for the time and enjoyment he gained but more importantly because he died at 69.
I am going to start crunching the numbers and make a plan for myself. Heck, I’ve no wife and 4 kids and back of an envelope know already it’s possible, especiialy if I ignore the unnecessary 70 per cent rule.
I definitely don’t need 70%. I think I could live on somewhere in the 24-30k range. I think I can make that plan happen by my mid-fifties and am feeling happy about that.
http://earlyretirementextreme.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_is_ERE%3F
http://moneyover55.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=moneyover55&cdn=money&tm=29&f=20&su=p284.13.342.ip_&tt=65&bt=5&bts=56&zu=http%3A//earlyretirementextreme.com/
“For independent thinkers and creative radicals, this blog feels like the red pill of the Matrix movie. Some people have grown up having seen or heard nothing else about how to live than consumerism and careerism and yet it never felt quite right to them. ERE is a completely different philosophy and so it’s refreshing or eye-opening to learn that an alternative exists.”
Interesting reading with an amusing reference to red pill.
Yes I’ve read about ERE too, which is very interesting! I’m playing it a bit safer than that but OTOH I do think it’s ridiculous when I read that you need a million saved in order to retire.
I’m going to hear in the next few weeks whether I am getting to take early retirement from my job at 52. I won’t be on 70%, more like 33% and I expect to get a part time job to pay for my holidays and hairdressing appointments although basic bills will be paid. But I will be giving up a well paid but unfulfilling full time job for less money but hopefully a more fulfilling lifestyle with freedom.
Good luck!
Good luck Fi – how do you plan to spend your free time? A discussion of what constitutes “fulfilment” in this regard would be an interesting one. I
Ah well I plan to do more of the things that I currently do outside work – reading, gardening, cooking, visiting art galleries and museums, cinemas, socialising, yoga and meditation and playing music – and get a part time job, or rather a series of them, that allow me to try different things while topping up my income so that I can still afford my trips to the hairdresser. That’s the plan anyway. 🙂
Sounds nice… that’s how I plan to spend my time as well. I might just let my hair go gray though and get cheap haircuts by that point!
Eeeeek no. Not yet!!! That would really put paid to anyone finding me attractive ever again.
I spend a ton of money on my hair currently… am ready to be done with that expense!
The more you sleep, the less you spend.
Came across this ridiculous article the other day, basically the usual New Age B.S.about how you are wasting your life if you are some sort of loser wage-slave grunt:
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140604120739-2562773-five-lies-that-are-ruining-your-career-and-your-life?trk=mta-lnk
I was surprised by how perceptive and beautifully expressed most of the top-rated comments are:
Wow. Just… wow. In this job market, telling yourself that you need to stay in a job in order to pay the bills, provide for your family — is a LIE?!?!? On what planet?? The ‘lie’ would be convincing yourself that you DON’T need to stay in that job, not that you do. I’m sorry, but this article is hogwash and upside-down….
Jesus Christ, if I see one more story about being happy, living/working your passion, doing what you love, blah, blah, blah….that’s all well and good, but God d*@n it, ya better realize your place on this whole Earth have gratitude and not just the little bubble around you… This country has gotten really, really soft. I was raised in a hard working, blue collar family. I learned great work ethics early on….To anyone who read this article, living your passion can be achieved in your off time as well. And your job to pay the bills to support your passions…..
This one was my favourite:
I work late in the evenings and have gotten to know the cleaning crew very well. They are all Latinos. They don’t speak English and they work 2-3 menial jobs each day to pay the bills and help raise their children. Their hope is that their children will have a better life, since this is not possible for them. This article and any sense of Maslowian self-actualization is very middle-class/upper-class centered and not realistic for people who are literally trapped in poverty. Some people simply have to do what they don’t enjoy. Period.
Actually I think the problem with our culture is that we are encouraged all the time to be dissatisfied with what we have and to go for more. I think that happiness is being content with what you have achieved or what is within reach.
I like the idea of retiring early. I wonder if I could do it in the expensive city where I live. Truth: I don’t love the city. But it’s all I know. I was thinking of trying to freelance for a while. I thought it might provide flexibility to spend time in other places, either because the project is there or because I could work remotely. And then I could stop working gradually.
If I retire early I won’t be able to stay in the L.A. area. It’s too expensive. I’d definitely be moving back into some property I own in another state or moving somewhere else even cheaper… that’s one of the reasons I’m keeping up my Spanish.
Also, the story I’ve covered in this blog is long and complicated… I did try to “scale down” last year… I quit my job and moved back to a place that was cheaper to live in and got a roommate to boot. But I couldn’t find a satisfactory job– the job search was pretty bleak– and the roommate situation fell apart so I moved back to the L.A. area and accepted another high-powered position. It wasn’t time yet. But I’ll be better situated by my mid-fifites.