The Heresy: On Fire for Semi-FIRE

[Whisper9999]

Kronk called himself a heretic. But I doubt he can compete with me:

I really enjoy everything about this forum, but I believe that I actually have different goals than everyone else. Here's where I am headed:

1. Save up enough $$ to be able to live anywhere I want in the world.
2. Save up enough $$ to be able to work part time from #1 on my two favorite jobs (translating and trading).
3. Never fully retire.

Okay, now this is going to sound twisted I think to most people, but I love trading and translating so much that I really can't imagine ever wanting to stop. So I utilize the advice on this forum because I still need to save a lot to do these goals and to make sure my expenses are constrained, but my goal isn't to quit working. I just want to "work" - although it isn't really work to me it is play - in a relaxed and part time manner.

Now why am I bringing this up? Because I want to know if you think there's something wrong with me? No, seriously, I feel kind of guilty that I don't want to retire, but the truth is that I don't. I really want to die in the Mediterranean with my beautiful wife doing what I love. Are you going to send the FIRE police to get me and take away?

 

[freebird5825]

what do you translate? documents or between people?

i think you are one of those rare people who actually enjoys his means of earning a living. and that's wonderful! there's nothing wrong with being semi FIREd.

for myself, stress burnout and a hostile environment were the main motivators for FIRE. i can see myself re-entering the land of earned income if the right opportunity and the right time schedule happens. but i do not actively seek it. volunteering 1 day a week works for now.

 

[dex]

We'll I don't think there is anything wrong with you. You are doing what you want and like to do. That is what people are tying to accomplish when they say they want to ER.

Many people work because they need money. The time spent working is time taken away from what they would like to to if they didn't have to work.

Now this does necessarily mean they did not find some fulfillment in the work they did. Just that they rather spend their time doing something else.

 

[Walt34]

I also found out retirement wasn't all it's cracked up to be, at least for me. Tried a couple of different jobs that I found out I didn't like, just as experiments. Now "back in the saddle" for an unknown period of time in a low/no-stress environment, no paperwork other than a time sheet for hours worked, and the money is all "play money" since we don't need the income. The commute is a killer - all 3.4 miles of it!

DW wants a new kitchen floor even though it's the color she picked out (why do women do that?) and I'm gonna buy me a new motorcycle.

 

[Canadian Grunt]

I also found out retirement wasn't all it's cracked up to be, at least for me. Tried a couple of different jobs that I found out I didn't like, just as experiments. Now "back in the saddle" for an unknown period of time in a low/no-stress environment, no paperwork other than a time sheet for hours worked, and the money is all "play money" since we don't need the income. The commute is a killer - all 3.4 miles of it!

DW wants a new kitchen floor even though it's the color she picked out (why do women do that?) and I'm gonna buy me a new motorcycle.

Now that's what I call living. I need a new harley for my trip through central USA in two years. My days at work during the winter mean nothing once I start up the bike in the Spring. I am willing to work for my expensive toys

 

[Whisper9999]

I also found out retirement wasn't all it's cracked up to be, at least for me. Tried a couple of different jobs that I found out I didn't like, just as experiments. Now "back in the saddle" for an unknown period of time in a low/no-stress environment, no paperwork other than a time sheet for hours worked, and the money is all "play money" since we don't need the income. The commute is a killer - all 3.4 miles of it!

DW wants a new kitchen floor even though it's the color she picked out (why do women do that?) and I'm gonna buy me a new motorcycle.

3.4 miles? I'm jealous. The irony is that I can and sometime do telecommute for my job, i.e. work from home. But my boss is old-school and will not in general let me do that! Oh well...

 

[Whisper9999]

We'll I don't think there is anything wrong with you. You are doing what you want and like to do. That is what people are tying to accomplish when they say they want to ER.

Many people work because they need money. The time spent working is time taken away from what they would like to to if they didn't have to work.

Now this does necessarily mean they did not find some fulfillment in the work they did. Just that they rather spend their time doing something else.

I like that! That's exactly how I thought but couldn't express myself. Ironically, I really enjoy two things that make a little money as well, so it puts me into a different category I think...

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

many people in my life don't have to work for money yet continually do.

one old family friend (since past) who i greatly loved & admired had careers as english professor (not his first language, but only one of five he spoke), a dentist, a doctor and then a psychiatrist & a teacher.

having never found my calling, i've yet to work a job i truly loved. i've had jobs that i enjoyed for years at a time, but then either changes in the job or in me or in life altered that experience so that i didn't like it so much anymore. after 2.5 years, i'm starting to experience early retirement similarly.

what i did notice in all this is that my social situation made a big difference in how i experienced my professional life and i suspect i'm influenced similarly now. had i someone to travel the world with, maybe i'd just sell out short and vagabond on what i've left. after these years of losses, it is no longer what i thought i'd have but certainly i'd live well-enough. i quite recall that even when i had a job i thought crappy, it didn't matter at all when i was in love. i don't know if love offers strength or just distraction but it sure worked for me.

so i can not imagine a better life than being in love, being financially independent & working at your favorite vocation, whether than means being sequestered 8 hours a day in deep meditation, sipping a frozen drink on the beach for the afternoon or volunteering for an hour, or working a non-pressure job or even a high stressed one if that's what makes you happy. just find some happy. why would you care about the opinion of anyone who would want to judge that?

 

[Whisper9999]

i quite recall that even when i had a job i thought crappy, it didn't matter at all when i was in love.

This is actually very profound and very true. Makes me want to grab the little woman and kiss her: she's an angel and I don't want to take her for granted!

 

[Bimmerbill]

I'm focused more on the FI portion of FIRE. I want the option to retire early if I want and do something more enjoyable.

 

[maddythebeagle]

Good point about having friends and family outside of work esp. a significant other....I have wondered more about my FIRE future and probably will take more time to pursue a better job situation first or least part time work...but still am working towards FI...

 

[Canadian Grunt]

I have wondered more about my FIRE future and probably will take more time to pursue a better job situation first or least part time work...but still am working towards FI...

Good point....Once you are FI you can work at any job you like... a great compromise.


That is the way I am leaning....work that fits with my schedule and interests.

 

[Khan]

i quite recall that even when i had a job i thought crappy, it didn't matter at all when i was in love. i don't know if love offers strength or just distraction but it sure worked for me.

Looking back, that was my experience. I think it's the distraction: after a crappy day there's someone to come home to.

 

[ziggy29]

Heresy? Not sure. I'm starting to feel like full-blown FIRE isn't going to be feasible at the age when I wanted to get out of the corporate rate race. So I'm thinking there are two options:

1. Delay full FIRE by 5 years and keep w*rking in the corporate crap world;

2. Change my current FIRE date to a semi-FIRE date, semi-FIRE at part-time work I'd rather be doing, and fully FIRE when I'm eligible for Social Security (if I get it).

Option 2 is seeming like a better choice for me. I just don't want to deal with the BS of my current corporate existence any longer than I have to. If that means a few extra years in a "second career" I find more fulfilling, so be it.

 

[DangerMouse]

Sounds to me that you know what you want out of life and that is perfectly fine by me.

I think the important thing is even being a member of this board does not mean you have to conform to what every other member has as their set of expectations. We are all different people who enjoy different things and as long as what you intend to do makes you and your spouse happy don't worry about what anyone else thinks.

 

[haha]

Makes me want to grab the little woman and kiss her!

Does anyone have a big woman? I would like to hear from someone who wants to wrap his arms around his big woman, if only they could reach.

We need more appreciation for the big women in our lives.

BTW, I'm in the Midwest having a ball getting to know some folks who don't take themselves so damn seriously as at home.

Still enjoying market volatility- how else could we get so much excitement without being in physical danger?

Ta,

ha

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Looking back, that was my experience. I think it's the distraction: after a crappy day there's someone to come home to.

only for me it wasn't so much a distraction afterwards, as--though i might have had crappy jobs--i didn't have crappy days on the job. rather, what i did during the day didn't matter because during the day was just what i did, not who i did.

then of course, when i finally got a good job, the bastid died on me (dead people are sooo rude). some people have it all, others just get teased. apparently, i'm the latter. good thing i've got a sense of humor about it. if i ever lose that, just hand me the gun.

 

[Khan]

only for me it wasn't so much a distraction afterwards, as--though i might have had crappy jobs--i didn't have crappy days on the job. rather, what i did during the day didn't matter because during the day was just what i did, not who i did.

then of course, when i finally got a good job, the bastid died on me (dead people are sooo rude). some people have it all, others just get teased. apparently, i'm the latter. good thing i've got a sense of humor about it. if i ever lose that, just hand me the gun.

Your SO died, mine went on to other interests; at least yours didn't imply a conscious rejection. OTOH, I have forgiven all the people who died on me.

Stuff happens.

 

[aaronc879]

I don't think there's anything "wrong" with wanting to work. Everyone has different interests and goals. Personally, I would not work another day in my life if I could afford not to and i'm only 29. I would love to be able to find something I could do from home even if it only paid $1000/mo. as long as it was consistantly at least that much.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

pardon the threadjack to answer a post...

Your SO died, mine went on to other interests; at least yours didn't imply a conscious rejection. OTOH, I have forgiven all the people who died on me.

Stuff happens.

that it does. i've had both ultimately gracious and incredibly cruel people in my life. my partner was the most fun person i've ever known. our mother's had tried to get us together, saying we were so much alike. after years of avoiding each other, we became best friends from our first day together. i've never experienced anyone like him. what an amazing man. one fight in 10 years; the rest of the time just laughter.

i am still honored with so many wonderful people in my life, old friends who are all rearranging their schedules to spend time with me on my trip to jersey next week. people taking off from work to accompany me into the city and to a play (jersey boys, if he can get tickets, wooohooo) and to dinners, such generous people. i've also had selfish people in my life, close friends who took advantage of my good nature then dropped me like a rock when my fortunes turned. at the time i thought i was just sharing what i had with them. i didn't realize i was being used.

that including even a very close friend, close cousin yet, who, after 50 years of friendship said to me two weeks before the unveiling of my mother's tombstone "you shouldn't be in my life anymore." a phrase i will inscribe upon my tombstone and attribute to the back stabber. see, i told you i have a sense of humor.

of course there are others who also reject me consciously but they were never my friend so who gives a flying crap about them. regardless, conscious rejection is not unknown to me either.

still you must push on. you can not let bullies nor life beat you up. i have nothing to forgive the dead for. after i lost my partner i eventually found another man who would become my very best friend. another amazing man. but then he died too. i told you my life was a tease. still i don't hold grudges. people die. what are ya gonna do. it will always hurt but i move on. as you must too.

edit: just received phone call. we're going to see the play young frankenstein on halloween night. see, just like i said: good friends. (and they're a l i v e!)

 

[TargaDave]

1. Save up enough $$ to be able to live anywhere I want in the world.
2. Save up enough $$ to be able to work part time from #1 on my two favorite jobs (translating and trading).
3. Never fully retire.

Are you going to send the FIRE police to get me and take away?

Hopefully no FIRE police coming and with the recent downturn I actually sense a mood shift in the anti-work rhetoric of the forum (thank goodness)

We did what you are talking about and so far so good. Bailed from full time careers (I sold a small hi-tech biz and DW went from full time engineer to part time long distance consulting). Moved from suburban PA to a small waterfront beach box on the Outer Banks (NC).

DW earns about $35k/yr with the consulting and I add about $25k to the mix though I haven't settled on a final avocation. About 18hrs/week for each of us. Quite a change from the $220k we were at before but the lower income still covers about 85-95% of expenses (excluding college). Had some tough past work envrionments but we never grew cynical. Also have a 10yr old in school, so part time work compliments the daily family routine. One other great thing about maintaining enough income to cover most expenses is that we honestly have not looked at the portfolio totals since late spring (had a 50:50 mix and will rebalance towards the end of the year). Sure, we fret about current events, but really not that much.


Of course we can't just take off whenever we want but given the new surroundings (and great kiteboarding-windsurfing-sailing-fishing-etc just outside the harbour) we don't often feel the need to. Cheers

 

[Midpack]

Hopefully no FIRE police coming and with the recent downturn I actually sense a mood shift in the anti-work rhetoric of the forum (thank goodness).

Amen to that...

There's nothing wrong with your plan Whisper9999, it's one we all should aspire to. Work is inherently good, for some, RE is simply escape. This forum is not a complete slice of mainstream society, so this may not be the best place to ask your question. People who enjoy work like you, are going to be somewhat rare here.

I've come to realize my goal is/was to reach FI. Now I can move on to another career if I want to (I don't yet), even more fulfilling than the one I have now. Maybe part time someday. I don't know when I will RE, might not be until I am physically unable to work...