Do you feel guilty about ER?

[Donzo]

I talked to a fellow Regional manager from mega pharma yesterday.....and no I don't feel guilty - I feel lucky - it has gotten worse since I left and there are now rumors of layoffs. Morale is very low and stress is high........yuck!

No guilt - just smiles - another beautiful day up here in the mountains!

I miss the company card tho!

 

[Milton]

I think about my Dad who's in his 70's and still works 2-3 days a week - so yeah occasionally I feel guitly

Perhaps he enjoys working, for social reasons (gets him out of the house, helps him feel 'relevant', etc.). If that is accurate, there is no need for you to feel sympathy, let alone guilt.

Or perhaps he has insufficient resources and must work because he needs the income. In that case you should certainly feel sorry for him, but there's no obvious reason for you to feel guilty (unless you personally contributed to his financial situation by, say, encouraging him to 'live it up', or persuading him to participate in some dubious investment scheme): adults are responsible for their own decisions. By all means help him out if you wish, but do so out of love, not guilt.

 

[socca]

Do you feel guilty about ER?

- should still be w*rking, contributing to society?

In my view, I wasn't contributing to society, I was greedily lining my own pockets with money stolen (via deficit spending) from future generations. I was part of the problem, not part of the solution, to what ails this country and this planet. Never again will I place making money above morality, ethics, or my own personal values (whatever they may be). I'm lucky that I was able to escape while so many others remain trapped in a system that has gone terribly wrong.

 

[clifp]

- should still be w*rking, contributing to society?

Other than firefighters (seems appropriate on 9/11) I am hard pressed to name a single occupation which unambiguously contributes to society.
Drug dealers - Most are very hard working (see Freaknomics) but contributing
Cops sure most do but what about the corrupt racist ones.
Doctors again almost all contribute but what about cosmetic surgeon who give breast implants to teenage girls are they contributing.
Lawyers - Hee Hee
Factory workers - Naw cause pollution, contribute to consumerism
Ad/Marketing executives- No way don't need more folks manipulating.
Politician
Military - too much money, too many dead bodies.
Plumbers - Nope the money they make discourages young people for attending college
College Professors/Teachers - No too many are incompetent or baised

It seems to me that for many people you can make a strong case that stop working is the way to make the biggest contribution to society.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Yep, unless you're growing/raising food, building shelter or healing the sick, you might as well pack it up and go home, and remain there for further instructions.

 

[heyyou]

Having escaped from Mega-Corp with a pension, I'm now making a contribution by volunteering to clean campgounds for two days a week in the local National Forest. When ask about my old job, I laugh and say that my volunteer time is better than my old job ever was. I laugh a lot these days.

Most assuredly, Mega-Corp was not interested in making a contribution to society, they were up for taking a contribution.

Guilt? We don't need no stinkin' guilt.

 

[Milton]

Plumbers - Nope the money they make discourages young people for attending college.

How is that a bad thing? Society doesn't need more unskilled people with B.A. or B.Sc. after their names. And those people don't need huge student loan debts, either.

 

[kowski]

"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness". As written in that most sacred of documents, the US Constitution. Everybody has the right to those things, and why should I feel guilty if I achieve them?

Now, I do sometimes feel bad that people I care for will not enjoy the freedoms I have, but it says somewhere in the Bible (or the script of Jesus Christ, Superstar) "the poor will be with us always". Poor by my definition meaning lack of FI. I worked hard to get where I am, and I got lucky in many ways too. I'm thankful, but not guilty.

It can be found in
ST MATTHEW 26:11

 

[shotgunner]

One does not have to be working for a paycheck to contribute to society. I voluntarily sit on the Board of a local non profit elderly health care provider in my area. Two meetings a month is much better than 5 days a week.

 

[Dawg52]

What a beautiful day today. Took the mutt on a 5 mile hike this morning at the local park. Pretty young ladies walking their dogs and a couple of people kayaking on the lake. My mutt sure enjoyed her swim. September sure has been mild here in Mississippi. Some years it can be just as hot as August. Looking forward to October, my favorite month of the year.

Guilty to be early retired? Nah.....

 

[freebird5825]

Do you feel guilty about ER?
e.g.
- should still be w*rking, contributing to society?
- having too much fun, life shouldn't be this good?
...Vick

hmmmm...a very good question. i saw a similar question back in April 2007 when i first FIREd. and i'll be darned if i remember my answer.

- today's answer: don't feel guilty for even a nanosecond

- contributing to society? i always have done volunteer work, regardless of having a paycheck or not.
- having too much fun? is that like asking "are too many mushrooms on the pizza?"

 

[Rambler]

I just took a look at Whitestick's post in Health and Early Retirement...His wife is very ill with a rare form of cancer. When I think of things like that, there's not a chance in **** I will feel guilty about ER. He's 60, don't know how long he's retired, but now faces the prospect of helping her deal with serious illness, or possibly worse, along with the accompanying loneliness. I know that these things eventually happen, but I sure would like to spend a few years with my sweet DW, enjoying each others' company, before life takes its inevitable toll. Will I feel guilty? No Way!

R

 

[hankster]

I feel guilty about holding a job that some younger person would like to have. I'm looking forward to the day that I step aside and let them take over the position.

 

[HFWR]

I feel guilty about holding a job that some younger person would like to have. I'm looking forward to the day that I step aside and let them take over the position.

That's the spirit!