the answer of what do you do

[urn2bfree]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 I'll see what I answer on this trip. Europeans don't ask that question. It's them pesky Americans....

Not only do they not ask it in much of Europe, it is considered rude and nosy and boring to ask about another person's work.





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[cantlogin]

If asked:
"What do you do?" Nothing.

"Where do you work?" I'm unemployed.

[Ronstar]

Never tell them that you're retired. That'll just raise more questions/comments that you don't want to answer.

[Donzo]

Hi Karen, someone actually said ' it must be nice to inherit money '?! Thats gotta be one of the rudest and presumptious comments ever . I would laughed and walked away from that clown.
I got lots of questions and reactions when I retired at 49. Im 58 now and look the part of retired more now. I used to say I got lucky with some investments, people seem to like that more than telling them you saved for 30 years.....Prob because then they may be able to do it also. The thought of saving for 30 years does not appeal to many!
Congrats for getting free so young! Must be nice to have a rich husband

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack After the first few exchanges, it hasn't bothered me how others react. I realize others don't know what to say, and how they might react isn't very important to me...

+1

Sometimes I think that being recognized for the accomplishment of attaining "FIRE'd" status young is really important to many. Some are actually anxious to bring it up in conversation as an opening to achieve recognition. No wonder they are disappointed when others don't immediately recognize the value of their accomplishment and say so.

Everyone supports themselves in different ways. Full time workers. Part time workers. Stay-at-home moms and dads. Entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes. Folks with inherited wealth. Folks who've accumulated weath and/or pensions. And all combinations of all of those. When you're young and are able to support yourself exclusively on passive income, it's a surprise to many because it's fairly rare. As you say Midpack, it shouldn't be a surprise that people are surprised.


I enjoy diversity in people. For example, an entrepreneur still running their business at 70 years of age because they love it is as interesting to me as someone who cashed in options from early employment at a startup, etc. You're just less likely to get details from a FIRE'd person. It's appropriate (in the USA) to say "I'm employed as the machine shop foreman at MegaCorp" but not appropriate to say "I'm living off passive income generated from a portfolio worth $X and a 3% withdrawal rate."

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grasshopper After 10 years of ER no one asks anymore. Attachment 21729

Yes! That's my status at the 9 year point. I FIRE'd at 58 and am now 67. 58 was, of course, plenty old to avoid most of the "how did you do that" inquires. And now at 67, most would be surprised if I wasn't retired or semi-retired. Being retired is the expected answer.

Now the question is more likely to be "what have you learned from living off passive income for the past 9 years and solving other issues like health insurance and getting through the Great Recession?"

[haha]

I think a lot depends on how old/young you look, and the type of people you live around. I'm now 74, and to date no one has assumed that I am retired, though I am many years beyond looking young. I guess it is too expensive to live here, people assume that if you retire you must be truly rich and if you are rich, why aren't you living in Medina or Washington Park or something?

Also, I am an active investor, and people in my building almost all know that I work almost every morning. They don't know that I rarely make a portfolio change; in fact I want them to believe that I do rapid fire trading (about which I know nothing and for which I definitely have no talent).

I do not want people to know/think that I have any money. I don't want anyone to know my former profession, or anything else that might suggest to them money. Young woman across the hall from me got back tired from a recent business trip. She often brings my paper WSJ into our landing. She said, "how can I get you to give me some money?"

I don't even want to think about this, and I definitely do not want her to think about it.

Ha

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by karen1972 Maybe I'm over sensitive because I'm a woman and often wonder if I was a guy if you get the same crap. .

After thinking about your OP Karen, it's possible you are a bit over sensitive about the "what do you do for a living" question. That's perfectly OK and not unexpected. I bet a decade from now, when you'll still be young enough to be considered an early retiree, the same comments will flow off your back without leaving a bad feeling behind.

I retired too old to share your experiences. At 58, no one would be shocked/surprised that I was retired. But I did work as a manager. Whenever the subject of "what do you do for a living?" came up and I mentioned that, the frowns and looks of disapproval from the non-management crowd always appeared. But I got used to it and you will too. It's just people and a situation not worth you taking to heart.

[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 I view the fudge as a lot more polite than "MYOFB."

LOL I used to say that I was a Private Portfolio Manager. If people asked anything further, I simply said it was private.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcowan LOL I used to say that I was a Private Portfolio Manager. If people asked anything further, I simply said it was private.

That can be quite useful.
Once upon a time, I had a job in the military that was classified to the extent that all I could say was "Sorry, I can't talk about it."

I'm sure there are others with even more highly classified jobs who use good cover stories, but that one was kind of fun for me for a year or so.

[marko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donzo Hi Karen, someone actually said ' it must be nice to inherit money '?! Thats gotta be one of the rudest and presumptious comments ever

'Round these parts, trust funders and 'old' or 'family money' are fairly common. Almost no one would come up with that comment.

It surely wouldn't get you invited to the next big party!

[traineeinvestor]

I guess I've been lucky - the nearest I've come to an adverse reaction is the people who predict that I'll be bored and go back to work just to have something to do. In a sense, these people know that I'm not capable of sitting around watching TV etc - I need something to keep me engaged.

If people ask, I tell them we both work part time (very part time) so we can spend more time with our daughters and/or that I was taking something of an extended sabbatical from my legal practice so I could do a post-grad degree. The later has now run its course, so I'll have to think of something else (or not - I don't really care what other people think).

[Avocadorunner]

I will never buy a car directly from a dealership again after using True Car through Amex. https://amexnetwork.truecar.com/main...FQOUfgodqiwAKQ .

Costco also has an auto buying service. My employee saved over $3K from the best price he found at three dealers and they even offered to deliver the truck to his home.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avocadorunner I will never buy a car directly from a dealership again after using True Car through Amex. https://amexnetwork.truecar.com/main...FQOUfgodqiwAKQ . Costco also has an auto buying service. My employee saved over $3K from the best price he found at three dealers and they even offered to deliver the truck to his home.

It is better than walking in and dealing face to face with game players, but you can get Truecar price information (for free), then negotiate down from there, if you have the patience. After all, if you take the Truecar price, they have to pay Truecar a portion of the total.

[utrecht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avocadorunner I will never buy a car directly from a dealership again after using True Car through Amex. https://amexnetwork.truecar.com/main...FQOUfgodqiwAKQ . Costco also has an auto buying service. My employee saved over $3K from the best price he found at three dealers and they even offered to deliver the truck to his home.

I went to this site and selected a car. Then I went to Edmunds.com and found the same car, same features. The price Edmunds shows as a "Price Promise" is $2400 lower. When I buy cars I always use Edmunds and in the past, Ive been able to buy cars about $1000 lower than the Edmunds target price. It doesnt look to me like the AMEX buying service is all that great.

[Lakewood90712]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister That can be quite useful. Once upon a time, I had a job in the military that was classified to the extent that all I could say was "Sorry, I can't talk about it." I'm sure there are others with even more highly classified jobs who use good cover stories, but that one was kind of fun for me for a year or so.

A couple of times at social events around folks who don't know me , but do know I was connected to city government, I say I am an" Urban transportation consultant" .

( which is actually true. i send e-mails to the giant regional transit authority telling them how f-upped they are handling certain transportation projects. )

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lakewood90712 A couple of times at social events around folks who don't know me , but do know I was connected to city government, I say I am an" Urban transportation consultant" . ( which is actually true. i send e-mails to the giant regional transit authority telling them how f-upped they are handling certain transportation projects. )

"Urban transportation consultant" heh - I used to design parking lots for walmarts.

And later worked at one of those regional transportation authorities that received a lot of useless rantings from the public about how F-ed up everything was.

[45th Birthday]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avocadorunner I will never buy a car directly from a dealership again after using True Car through Amex. https://amexnetwork.truecar.com/main...FQOUfgodqiwAKQ . Costco also has an auto buying service. My employee saved over $3K from the best price he found at three dealers and they even offered to deliver the truck to his home.

We just bought a car for our son through the Costco program. We looked at two different makes. It was very easy. And, we shopped the price of the final choice of make/model with another dealer. They got within $75 of the Costco price (kept from them), then started to play the typical car dealer games. So, we walked in, gave the Costco dealer a check, went through the orientation and were on our way. Would do this again definitely.

[harley]

Most recently I told someone I was a music critic, but that I was willing to criticize pretty much anything. For example, that shirt you're wearing...

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha I think a lot depends on how old/young you look, and the type of people you live around. I'm now 74, and to date no one has assumed that I am retired, though I am many years beyond looking young. I guess it is too expensive to live here, people assume that if you retire you must be truly rich and if you are rich, why aren't you living in Medina or Washington Park or something? Also, I am an active investor, and people in my building almost all know that I work almost every morning. They don't know that I rarely make a portfolio change; in fact I want them to believe that I do rapid fire trading (about which I know nothing and for which I definitely have no talent). I do not want people to know/think that I have any money. I don't want anyone to know my former profession, or anything else that might suggest to them money. Young woman across the hall from me got back tired from a recent business trip. She often brings my paper WSJ into our landing. She said, "how can I get you to give me some money?" I don't even want to think about this, and I definitely do not want her to think about it. Ha

Hmm, Ha....I suppose she must not be very attractive, or I would peg you for having a very good response to her above question on "How can I get you to give me some money."


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