This is an article passed on by Jacob Lund Fisker's "Extreme ER" blog:
The Dark Side Of Early Retirement | Financial Samurai
The comments are just as interesting (and funnier) than the article. Unfortunately a notorious [-]troll[/-] ER poster jumped in with the second comment and the blogger doesn't recognize him by name. Yet.
A poster by the name of "Single Mom Rich Mom" mentions E-R.org near the end:
So... back to work, good devil's advocate, or merely a strawman? Has this changed anyone's mind?
The Dark Side Of Early Retirement | Financial Samurai
He goes on to list five pros & five cons.Now that the economy is in recovery mode, it’ll be interesting to see how attitudes change towards early retirement. Will those who’ve short circuited their careers feel the pull to return to full time work and maximize their earnings potential again? I believe so. What about all our “lifestyle design” and “digital nomad” friends who had a rough time landing something stable they truly love? Possibly they’ll come back too.
Those who are able to retire early are often cherished. I certainly admire those who are able to cut down their desires to the bare bones and live a very frugal lifestyle. I also admire those who’ve been able to strike it rich very early! That said, perhaps early retirement isn’t a good idea for the large majority of people. Let’s explore several reasons as to why people want to retire early, why they exist, as well as understand why it may not be a good idea. Someone has to argue the other side, so it might as well be me.
Early retirees will croon about how great their lifestyles are. I’m sure, in some ways they are spot on. But notice how they seldom write about the hardships they face. They can’t, because it’s important they continue highlighting how awesome everything is, to justify their decision to no longer work. Can you imagine spending 16 years going to school (grade school + four years of college) only to work for 10 years? Some would surely say that’s a waste, would they not?
His "do what you love" comment resonates, since that's one reason I chose to ER. OTOH maybe ER is my avocation!Early retirees sometimes like to pity those who have to work. Yet perhaps we should empathize with those who are lost and haven’t found something they truly love to do. It’s impossible to all be great humanitarians working tirelessly until the age of 65. It’s easier just to give up and tell the world how fabulous your life is, and how you’ve retired on your “own” terms.
As the economy recovers, we’ll be able to bring back our lifestyle design friends to their home countries to work again. Our early retiree friends will stop fearing failure as employers open their arms wide open and allow them to succeed. Entrepreneurial ideas flourish once again due to an abundance of capital. The more the wealth gap widens, the more the early retiree crowd will want to get back to work, and realize their full potential.
There comes a point when working isn’t about money anymore since we have enough. If we all reach this point, we’ll no longer be focusing just on ourselves, but on helping others as well. We’ll be doing something we love, that provides a sense of purpose. Here’s hoping we all get there!
The comments are just as interesting (and funnier) than the article. Unfortunately a notorious [-]troll[/-] ER poster jumped in with the second comment and the blogger doesn't recognize him by name. Yet.
A poster by the name of "Single Mom Rich Mom" mentions E-R.org near the end:
... where it seems that some people don’t have a ‘grand purpose’ or even compelling goals that they want to achieve. Their days are free, yes – but are they meaningful or just filled with mindless activity and minutiae – just self-directed rather than employment-directed?
So... back to work, good devil's advocate, or merely a strawman? Has this changed anyone's mind?