Time vs. Money

[Mountain_Mike]

This is most likely "preaching to the choir:"

Time vs. Money

Mark Twain said, "youth is wasted on the young." I have also come to really believe that for the most part, “retirement is wasted on the old!”

The solution:  get out of the rat race as soon as you can, live for today; that is what makes the most sense to me. Think about how futile it would be to finally be able to "do what you want to do" when you are too old to enjoy it.  Ponder how you will feel when you are sick and on your death bed:  what would you give to get back five more  years of your life, or even one good year?  What of value can money buy at the end of your life?  The graveyards are full of people who had large bank accounts.

We need to live for today, but it comes with a price: trading life-energy for money.  Money is important, but it is only a tool to use to enjoy life today and into the future.  Saving for the future is prudent, but there comes a point when you may find yourself at a crossroads, asking...”have I saved enough?”  There are tradeoffs in time and money in either direction. Ask yourself:  truly, what is more valuable, time or money?  Considering this question may cause you to take a different path.

 

[wildcat]

Good post MM. I have changed my views for the better on a couple issues since joining the forum. Thanks to all.

 

[yakers]

A good book along that line is "Your Money or Your Life" by Joe DOminguez. Some of his financial analysis are less than great but the idea that you expend time/energy and what do you get for it? The key, I think, is to just do right now exactly what you want to do. It may be work or studying to learn a skill. If you are working towards something then I would think you would have current contentment. Add in a little planning and you could have the financial independence to continue doing what you want.
But as far as I can tell the key to happiness is not specific achievments or even working towards something but its an inner process of just being happy with yourself. Then, just like the magic described about the theatre by the playwrite in "Shakespeare In Love" (remember that movie?) everything seems to work out.

 

[acg]

It certainly isn't all about money...it's the time...and the quality of that time...

Contentment, indeed.

Just being able to get up when you want...without that annoying alarm going off! The sound of a fresh pot of coffee brewing to start the day. The morning sun rising on the horizon, the dew settling over the fields and amongst the trees. The smell of the fresh morning air, the aroma of fresh cup of coffee, sipping rather than slugging it down. Holding the cup with two hands, sitting back, contemplating the new day.

The day is an open slate.

The freedom to do (or not to do) whatever you want is the biggest joy so far. Enjoying the mornings, the noon day sun and the evening sunsets. Listening to the cars zoom past in a hurry to go somewhere or do something and return home.

Driving in the slow lane. No time schedules. No hurry. No worry. Ahhhhhhh. Getting all the "to do list" completed early so the rest of the day is free. Stopping at the bakery to get a fresh loaf of bread, the market to get "just a few things". Chatting with a neighbor whom I've never seen in 5 years.

The wonderful feeling of accomplishment in being in control of your own life. Setting your own goals and completing them in your own time. Very rewarding stuff.

What shall we do for dinner? Eat in, Go out? Have a picnic, bbq, whatever. A bottle of wine and two big goblets. More in the cupboard just in case. No more worries...

Take time for a long walk, afterwards. Look passers-by directly in the eye and smile (they are in such a hurry to get their routine done, too...whether it be the evening jog or walking the dog obligation). And just smile inside...and say thank you, thank you, thank you.

Maybe someday it will get old. But for right now...hey, it's all we've got. Live for the moment. And ENJOY!

The rat race is over.

 

[wildcat]

A good book along that line is "Your Money or Your Life" by Joe DOminguez

You know I kinda wonder what happened to Joe.  Seemed like he passed at really young age.  I wonder it had anything to do with to his lifestyle (failure to get his cancer diagnosed in the early stages due to no insurance er what?).  I only know a little bit about his struggles to live off his savings. 

 

[SteveR]

Great posts!  

You guys are making my mouth water at the prospects ahead without a job to do all day (well half anyway; 12 hours is only half a day as my boss says)

You are all great poster children for ER.

 

[Nords]

Mark Twain said, "youth is wasted on the young." I have also come to think that “retirement is wasted on the old!”

Great quote-- I think I'll use it on my sig...

 

[flipstress]

Mark Twain said, "youth is wasted on the young." I have also come to think that “retirement is wasted on the old!”

Isn't this part of Nords' signature line?  Whenever I see it, I think of Douglas Adams' line "Life is wasted on the living" spoken by the ghost of Arthur Dent's grandfather IIRC.  If the ghosts of those folks who've died without enjoying their large bank accounts could speak, they'd probably say that, too.

As for me, retirement is a long way off because I don't have much saved up.  I figure I'm at 29% of goal.  Luckily, my job is not stressful but it does not pay much either.  I've been content in the last couple of years after putting job-hopping behind me, but part of me is thinking that maybe I'm not "making as much hay as I can while the sun is shining." 

I mean, maybe I could have a side business or be a part-time landlord, etc., but my excuse is that there's just too much to do outside of work--house chores, social stuff, etc.  In programmer parlance, I find that my "maintenance" tasks are taking priority over "new development" in either the financial or living aspects. 

I am taking an evening art class, and I consider that part of enjoying life, part of "new development".  Sometimes I wonder if I am being self-indulgent but then I forget about it when I am actually drawing.

I do look forward to retiring, and the description of several retired folks here about it being like a kid again sounds great!

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Yup!, Money isn't that important after you're dead

I have spent  a lot of time in the last few years in Assisted Living/Nursing homes with my FIL and Age 90 is not very pretty.  Everyone I've seen at that age would have a very difficult time spending $50K a year (unless it was for healthcare - out of pocket!). These folks mostly have a hard time staying awake long enough to spend it! - There will always be someone who will give anectdotal evidence of an uncle that is 91 and still going strong (Yeah Right!  - I've never seen anyone in their 90's that were living life like I currently want to live it!)

We have a lot of folks on this forum who are very conservative, and are not planning to spend down their principal even if they are in their 70's!  - I think a very, very conservative plan is to spend down principal until it's half gone by the time you are 90. (And let's face the facts, most of us on this forum are not even going to reach 90!).

Don't put off travel or other items that you deem important. LIfe is a lot shorter than you think. It's all about balance. And even if you do make it to 90, you're not gonna want to do then, what you want to do today!

Excellent post! I'm "only" 61 and there is a whole collection of stuff
that I no longer want to do (or can do). Get it done it now folks!

JG

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Isn't this part of Nords' signature line?  Whenever I see it, I think of Douglas Adams' line "Life is wasted on the living" spoken by the ghost of Arthur Dent's grandfather IIRC.  If the ghosts of those folks who've died without enjoying their large bank accounts could speak, they'd probably say that, too.

As for me, retirement is a long way off because I don't have much saved up.  I figure I'm at 29% of goal.  Luckily, my job is not stressful but it does not pay much either.  I've been content in the last couple of years after putting job-hopping behind me, but part of me is thinking that maybe I'm not "making as much hay as I can while the sun is shining." 

I mean, maybe I could have a side business or be a part-time landlord, etc., but my excuse is that there's just too much to do outside of work--house chores, social stuff, etc.  In programmer parlance, I find that my "maintenance" tasks are taking priority over "new development" in either the financial or living aspects. 

I am taking an evening art class, and I consider that part of enjoying life, part of "new development".  Sometimes I wonder if I am being self-indulgent but then I forget about it when I am actually drawing.

I do look forward to retiring, and the description of several retired folks here about it being like a kid again sounds great!

IMHO...............ER (or at least semi-ER) is available to almost
everyone. Some plan for it and some (like me) have it "thrust upon
them". Now, in the autumn of my years, I can see many many ways
to ER.

JG

 

[SteveR]

Adding my two cents worth here too.  My mother is in Assisted Living which also has a wing for "independents" that just choose the live there on their own, and I have to agree that almost all the people there would find it very hard to find a way to spend more than $50k a year and that is counting the full cost of the room and board there.  My mother is 83, can't drive due to blindness and is limited in her mobility.  My dad died at age 81 and was very limited in his last couple of years.  My late wife died at 57; seven months into her retirement.

Don't wait too long to enjoy life; you may not get the chance later.  Stop working as soon as you reach your own $$ goals.

 

[bruce1]

IMHO...............ER (or at least semi-ER) is available to almost
everyone.  Some plan for it and some (like me) have it "thrust upon
them".   Now, in the autumn of my years, I can see many many ways
to ER. 

JG

Why the HE double toothpicks was I not as smart at 20 as I am now!

 

[template]

It certainly isn't all about money...it's the time...and the quality of that time...

Contentment, indeed.

The rat race is over.

Great post, acg. I enjoyed the same experiences you describe. Don't forget being able to meet other retired friends for 3-hour long lunches.

 

[unclemick]

Don't mean to poop on a nice forum like this BUT:

The SO had a colonoscopy on Monday - Wednesday they cut out a small cancerous tumor - out of ICU yesterday.

We did get eleven years of ER in before this.

No indication of any spreading - but time has jumped on the value scale vs money.

 

[dex]

Adding my two cents worth here too. My mother is in Assisted Living which also has a wing for "independents" that just choose the live there on their own, and I have to agree that almost all the people there would find it very hard to find a way to spend more than $50k a year and that is counting the full cost of the room and board there. My mother is 83, can't drive due to blindness and is limited in her mobility. My dad died at age 81 and was very limited in his last couple of years. My late wife died at 57; seven months into her retirement.
Don't wait too long to enjoy life; you may not get the chance later. Stop working as soon as you reach your own $$ goals.

Steve R.
Great post - thanks

 

[Nords]

(Yeah Right!  - I've never seen anyone in their 90's that were living life like I currently want to live it!)

Doc Ball.  Here's an interview excerpt in 1998, when he was "only" 91:

"How 'bout the last time you surfed?"

"Last June," Doc was ever quick to reply. I asked him about his skateboarding:

"That's how I stay in shape," Doc declared, proudly. "You gotta keep your reflexes sharpened up. That's one of the best ways to find out how old you're getting."  (There's a scene of him skateboarding at the end of "Surfing For Life".  He doesn't look a day over 70...)

"To this day Doc Ball is still a dedicated beachcomber," wrote Gary after visiting Doc on his home sand. "Every morning at daybreak he can be found at water's edge, checking the tides and swells. Such activities also help provide him with a supply of driftwood perches and body parts for his hobby of bird carving."

"Latest rage," Doc wrote me in reviewing the draft of this chapter about his life, "is knife cleaning up of common driftwood. It's amazing what images will appear when it's cleaned and developed - knifed down to the original stuff. It is full of very fascinating images."

 

[Cut-Throat]

"How 'bout the last time you surfed?"

How about the last time he got laid?

Seriously Nords, When you were 8 years old on Christmas morning, I'm sure you hoped you would be just as excited about it when you were 40.

 

[tozz]

sheesh, what else could possibly happen to you guys?!

If it is any consolation, my bloodline is high risk for colon cancer.  I have been getting colonoscopies since my mid thirties.  Combined, my immediate family has had over a half dozen colon cancer operations (not including the colonoscopy snip-snips).  All have been successful.  The recovery for unplanned abdominal surgeries can be brutal, though (be prepared).  In a couple of months, things will get better.  My thoughts are with SO and you!

Don't mean to poop on a nice forum like this BUT:

 

[wabmester]

Don't forget 90-something Jack La Lanne, the Godfather of Fitness!

 

[Cut-Throat]

La Lanne says he stopped eating sugar, became a vegetarian and joined the local YMCA. He says he hasn't had a sugary dessert -- or missed a daily workout -- since 1930.

Here is a more recent picture of old Jack La Lanne. If he hasn't had chocolate or Beef since 1930, He's been dead for over 75 years!

 

[Nords]

Seriously Nords, When you were 8 years old on Christmas morning, I'm sure you hoped you would be just as excited about it when you were 40.

Yeah, well, you haven't seen the holidays I went through at either of those ages, but let's just say that my eight-year-old self had NO idea how much more fun it could be at 40...

 

[vic]

Getting out of the rat race asap is definitely great. I just said bye bye to megacorp at age 36. I will continue to work part time for myself. However, my health is perfect so I can get good insurance for next to nothing and that is a biggie for many. I read the Your money or your Life book. It had many good things - on the other hand I wondered whether they went from 40 hours working to 40 hours graphing expenses and squeezing pennies. The budget was just unreal and demanding a very spartan lifestyle. I need some fun and a cushion in case something goes wrong - healthwise or otherwise.

Vicky

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Yeah, well, you haven't seen the holidays I went through at either of those ages, but let's just say that my eight-year-old self had NO idea how much more fun it could be at 40...

I have no idea what this means, but I just wrote to a good friend about
my "Christmas experiences". Although I frequently enjoyed the gatherings
of friends and family, the other aspects of Christmas have been mostly
torture over my entire life. Few real warm fuzzy memories. Especially
in my first marriage, Christmas was expensive and labor intensive.
Bah Humbug!!

JG

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Don't mean to poop on a nice forum like this BUT:

The SO had a colonoscopy on Monday - Wednesday they cut out a small cancerous tumor - out of ICU yesterday.

We did get eleven years of ER in before this.

No indication of any spreading - but time has jumped on the value scale vs money.

Hi unclemick! Hey, for unclemick (or anyone) what is the average cost for a colonoscopy these days?

BTW, the "time scale jump" hit me in 1992, like a bolt our of the blue.

JG

 

[TromboneAl]

The SO had a colonoscopy on Monday - Wednesday they cut out a small cancerous tumor - out of ICU yesterday.

No indication of any spreading

Sorry to hear about that -- hope the news continues to be good on that.