Sharing Thoughts on FIRE

[Nords]

Who are these people and why aren't they at work? 

I think they're personal shoppers & production assistants, and they ARE hard at work.

Or they're unemployed.

Or they're stay-at-home parents.

Because they couldn't all be ERs, could they?

There's a whole big, wonderful world outside...

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Martha,
Could it be JG?

Could be I ask myself that all the time "Who are these people
and why aren't they at work?" For example, I go to an auction
which is every Tuesday morning. Huge crowds attend. Who is minding the store? That's what I want to know.

JG

 

[Martha]

Re who works

I just checked the 2000 Census figures and about 64% of the population is in the workforce. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_sse=on
So I guess I keep running into the other third of the population I don't ordinarily notice.

Interesting that the average commute to work is 25 minutes. I read once someplace that since Roman times, the average communte to work has been about a half hour and people really dislike a longer commute and might not even like a shorter commute. This may be why I like to take a half hour to walk to work rather than 5 minutes to drive.

 

[Martha]

Could be I ask myself that all the time "Who are these people
and why aren't they at work?" For example, I go to an auction
which is every Tuesday morning. Huge crowds attend. Who is minding the store? That's what I want to know.

JG

Yeah, somehow I feel like I've been screwed. There is a whole world out there getting along without working.

 

[MJ]

You probably seeing people who besides being retired are,
unemployed
on vacation
working 2nd or 3rd shift
working part time
working from home
non-working spouse (not er'd)
man (woman) on the moon visiting
aliens among us
walking pods
and of course, JG

 

[Alan]

I am quite open about my plans to RE in 4.5 years time. It helps my managers and others plan for succession. I have enjoyed my work for the most part over the years and get on well with everyone at work. To those who think I am nuts to stop working so "young" (55) I now quote from the figures that were released 2 or 3 years back from several of the large USA employers. (the likes of GE, GM and Lockeed). They have 10's of thousands retired folks on their books so they know when they retired and when they died. The charts they released showing age of death against age that they retired is quite convincing. Average LE of 83 if you retire at 55 and 67 if you retire at 65!!

 

[maddythebeagle]

I have seen some of that info. thrown around. I thought somebody on one of these boards mentioned that one of the surveys wasnt entirely believable since it may have been used to "encourage" some attrition through retirements during a downsizing period. I dont know if some of the company data can be verified. I suppose people can believe it because everyone knows somebody that died right after retiring.

 

[Alan]

I have seen some of that info. thrown around. I thought somebody on one of these boards mentioned that one of the surveys wasnt entirely believable since it may have been used to "encourage" some attrition through retirements during a downsizing period. I dont know if some of the company data can be verified. I suppose people can believe it because everyone knows somebody that died right after retiring.

I'm sure that it may well have been publicized to encourage early retirement from those companies but I doubt that the companies will have publicized incorrect raw data. The data of course indicates nothing about why younger workers may live longer. It could well be that many of them took other less stressful jobs. Whether you are a manager at GM or working on an assembly line, the lure of picking up a payout and immediate pension, then working part time has got to be less stressful.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Re: Re who works

I just checked the 2000 Census figures and about 64% of the population is in the workforce.  http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_sse=on
So I guess I keep running into the other third of the population I don't ordinarily notice.

Interesting that the average commute to work is 25 minutes.  I read once someplace that since Roman times, the average communte to work has been about a half hour and people really dislike a longer commute and might not even like a shorter commute.  This may be why I like to take a half hour to walk to work rather than 5 minutes to drive.

When I retired, my commute in Texas was about 25 minutes.
Over the years, my commute ranged from under 5 minutes to one hour.
The one hour commute was mostly freeway outside of the city.
As I recall, I kind of enjoyed it.

JG

 

[scrood]

I'll go on record as hating the commute.

The only "want" for our new house was location to work....
My commute takes about 7-10 minutes.
That is barely tolerable....
unfortunately, my fiance won't let me stay overnight in my lab...

one fellow employee told me last week that it took him 40 minutes to just get out of his neighborhood! YIKES!

scrood

 

[Sheryl]

I think they're personal shoppers & production assistants, and they ARE hard at work.

Or they're unemployed.

Or they're stay-at-home parents.

Because they couldn't all be ERs, could they?

There's a whole big, wonderful world outside...

Or they work the night shift or swing shift... that's usually my theory.

 

[azanon]

Unless you're one of those benevolent types, its probably best to just keep FIRE to yourself when it comes to workmates. Saying you're going to retire early, especially if early means within the near-term, wont do you any favors at work.

The goal at work is to make everyone think you're passionate about your job and that it is more important to you than anything else; whether that is true or not. That is;..... if your goal is to be as successful and as highly paid at work as possible.

When the day comes that you're actually going to retire; give them the standard notice and say bu-bye! Don't let the stunned faces bother you. You got yours and to you, that's what counts.

This is a dog-eat-dog world. The most successful realize this.

Azanon