Would you have done it differently and taken life slower ?

[LivePassionately]

so I have been on here for a short time and it has helped me realize that I can/will FIRE at 50. There are many on here that seem like they will make it and do very well on their FIRE date without any worries whatsoever and can likely FIRE earlier than their set date (I have been lucky enough to be in that category).

I see several folks that have retired in their early 40's and while I want to work until 50, I feel like in the next 10 years, I had an epiphany that maybe I should live mentally as if I was retired now (i.e. within reason and of course fulfilling the necessary obligations of today). I have always worked and have owned/run a company with a decent amount of employees since I was in my late 20's so its not easy to get out of this work mentality (not that I don't enjoy my work..I do, but I would totally enjoy doing nothing as well).

Anyways, the long-winded question is - Do you wish you had gone from 60 to 0 over 10 years (at least mentally) rather than 60 to 0 in a year .i.e done as much as you can in the 10 or 7 years prior to retirement to build that mindset and to actually vacation and spend a lot more free time enjoying your hobbies. I have a friend who is 59 now and was always well-off but a careful spender and he always tells me he wishes he had spent more money on the things he truly enjoyed rather than being afraid. I know it goes against the FI mantra but if you know you will be fine, is there a reason to not delay gratification and enjoying certain luxuries if you can (ie. I live below my means but well but have not flown first class even though I can ). Again, it has to be balanced and its not all about money either but more of a mindset. I am also thinking doing more self-development (why wait till 50). DW and I just did a staycation where we sent the kids (8 and 10) to DS house and it was as good as any vacation because having your own house to yourself for a few days with no worries is kind of amazing.

This really got me thinking about the topic of this thread and would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[FUEGO]

I'm several years into ER in my 30's at this point. I'm glad I didn't "spend more and work 10 years longer" if that's what you're asking.

As it is, we're struggling to spend more money and I seem to be better at making more of it (through a couple of side hustles) than spending it at this point.

I'm with you on the staycation. I'm sending our 4 year old to grandma's house tomorrow after his preschool and we'll have 31 hours of sort of free time (the older 2 will still be here but they are semi-autonomous and gone during the day). I like the peace and quiet relaxation that comes with vacations. No reason you can't enjoy that at home too!

 

[LivePassionately]

I'm several years into ER in my 30's at this point. I'm glad I didn't "spend more and work 10 years longer" if that's what you're asking.

As it is, we're struggling to spend more money and I seem to be better at making more of it (through a couple of side hustles) than spending it at this point.

Yes Fuego - I have read your posts and its pretty awesome doing what you did. Kudos ! I am not there yet mentally to fully retire but glad to know you concur

 

[Ronstar]

I don't think I could have gone 60 to 0 in one year. It took me 6-8 years. The real downshift came with 2 years to go when I sold my share of the company and ramped down to 2 days a week - one day of which from home.

The slow transition worked really well for me. I had all my hobbies and retirement mindset in place on retirement day 1. I don't know how people can be working 40-50 hour weeks for years and then abruptly retire. That's quite a shock.

 

[Midpack]

You're wise to be thinking about such things this early on, and IMO your instincts are correct.

Anyways, the long-winded question is - Do you wish you had gone from 60 to 0 over 10 years (at least mentally) rather than 60 to 0 in a year .i.e done as much as you can in the 10 or 7 years prior to retirement to build that mindset and to actually vacation and spend a lot more free time enjoying your hobbies.

Ideally I would have phased out my job over a period of years, but like you, that wasn't possible. I did try to mentally change my mindset over the last few years working, but more years would have been better. That would not have in included more spending on vacations though - I still wanted to accumulate as much as possible before quitting. YMMV

I know it goes against the FI mantra but if you know you will be fine, is there a reason to not delay gratification and enjoying certain luxuries if you can (ie. I live below my means but well but have not flown first class even though I can ).

Acheiving a balance is crucial, but there is way to know "you will be fine." You can know the odds based on past history, the best source but no guarantee. You can't predict longevity, your health in later years, what returns and COL will do over 30-40 years - there will always be huge uncertainties you can't predict. So we all make our own personal judgements, based on our risk tolerances/safety factors, and live by those choices. Some here are happy with 70% probability of success, others need 200% to sleep at night.

 

[Racer X]

I retired at 47 last year and am glad that I did. I would not have wanted to extend that any further than necessary. In my mid-40s I started to notice my eye sight wasn't as good as it once was. Now at 48 I am noticing more little aches and pains each day. I'm not in terrible shape. I got to the gym with some regularity. Knock on wood I have no debilitating diseases - I'm just getting older. It takes me a day to recover from a day of physical activity. I still enjoy my hobbies, but have come to the realization that I am past my physical prime. In another 10 years? Who knows? So no - take advantage of retirement as soon as you're financially comfortable and enjoy life while you still can.

 

[Jpg1717]

I retired at 47 last year and am glad that I did. I would not have wanted to extend that any further than necessary. In my mid-40s I started to notice my eye sight wasn't as good as it once was. Now at 48 I am noticing more little aches and pains each day. I'm not in terrible shape. I got to the gym with some regularity. Knock on wood I have no debilitating diseases - I'm just getting older. It takes me a day to recover from a day of physical activity. I still enjoy my hobbies, but have come to the realization that I am past my physical prime. In another 10 years? Who knows? So no - take advantage of retirement as soon as you're financially comfortable and enjoy life while you still can.

Racer X: I agree -retire as soon as you can. Also, if you keep working out every day , you should have a very active retirement for 30 more years. I was reading about the retired founder of Bally Fitness- Don Wildman is in his early 80s and works out 7 days a week, runs marathons and triathlons, cycles , sails, and once golfed 90 holes in one day ! If he can do that, he is a good role model for a healthy retirement.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Not sure how I would answer your question. In the line of w*rk I was in, there wasn't much of a choice to "slow down", you either did the work, or well...you stopped doing it all together. And, I am with Fuego, I have ZERO regrets for retiring early...as a matter of fact, if I could have done it EARLIER...I would have.

In many ways, it's like being a kid again...very few worries in life but now I can do almost anything I want with very few limitations; I am truly having the time of my life. So, if I had to go back do things different, I thing I would work harder for a shorter period to get it OVER WITH. But, this is a very personal choice and most folks will have differing ideas and reasons.

 

[MBAustin]

I went from 50+ hour w*rk weeks directly to ER, with only a couple of months between realizing I could do it to pulling the plug (about 4 years ahead of my original plan). As DH had retired on disability a few years earlier, I do wish we had traveled more extensively during the years before I ER'd, as we ended up only being able to do two cruises before his physical condition made that no longer fun for him.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

I was very suddenly and unexpectedly retired, so I went from 60-0 without much choice. At least as far as anything that could be considered a worthwhile wage.

But that was 60-0 working for someone else. Work, both physical and mental, doesn't end just because someone else isn't paying you to perform (either an employer or customers). You can find maintaining your spaces, toys, family affairs, volunteer work, whatever, can take up as much an obligation of your time and effort as paid work.

In any case, it seems the key is finding a good balance between obligations and leisure time. It sounds like you're trying to find that balance now. I may be completely reading that wrong.

What worked for me while working was once I set a savings rate I felt I could live with and still enjoy the quality of life I wanted, my time and efforts and whatever money I had left over were all spent on enjoying myself. I loved working and keeping busy then, so that split wasn't exactly 50/50.

The ongoing debate that I kept having with myself was the idea of saving even more money, because fear of the unknown is a real ankle biter. Yet every time I tried chasing after more work or trying to sock away even more savings, my leisure dropped. My work/leisure balance became out of whack.

So, I guess, find that balance, because odds are even when you retire, you'll still be busy with obligations. Or maybe not. I can only add to a list of anecdotes, but it's easy to fill a day now with cleaning, maintenance, cooking, making sure the animals get the kind of attention they need, keeping up with finances, exercise, taking more personal care with medical issues that come up, researching things to keep entertained with, studying new things just to keep mentally stimulated.

 

[ER Eddie]

It's good to slow down. We live in such a sped-up world. We "get a lot done" but skim the surface of life.

I'm not very successful at slowing down, but I do believe in the principle of it. All kinds of things can be made better by slowing down -- thinking, decision-making, walking in nature, having sex, talking, interacting...

Everyone is in a rush. I am not consistently good at breaking the pattern, personally. When I get caught up in it, the speed has its own momentum and a sort of addictive quality (adrenalin?). It can feel dull or unproductive to slow down, at least at first, but then interesting things start to bubble up.

I've read a couple good books about it. Slow is Beautiful comes to mind, by Cecile Andrews.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

I've read a couple good books about it.

I haven't read anything on the subject, but I've heard a thing or two.

 

[45th Birthday]

It seems to me the OP is asking about two different but related questions central to FIRE: 1) Can I mentally make the transition from working to not working? and 2) Is it time to spend more and feel fine about it?


In my case, I quit working for money when I was 45. Early in my career, I worked long, stressful hours building my company. For about the last seven years before I pulled the plug, I took more time off especially in the summer and had cut back to maybe 30 hours a week. I had two very talented second-in-commands who ran things well. There was still stress, as I continued to be deeply involved in strategy. The day we sold, I walked out and never went back. Zero regrets, but I can't say I went from 60 to 0. More like 30 to 0. And, since I spend a lot of time managing my family finances, it is perhaps 30 to 5.


As for spending, we are also second-guessing that and instead of spending less as time goes on we are spending more, with more enjoyment and no second thoughts. I think after you go through a period of time in the beginning mentally calibrating to the fact that you don't have an income from working, and have some market experience under your belt, you relax a little.

 

[LivePassionately]

The ongoing debate that I kept having with myself was the idea of saving even more money, because fear of the unknown is a real ankle biter. Yet every time I tried chasing after more work or trying to sock away even more savings, my leisure dropped. My work/leisure balance became out of whack.
.

Good point - I try to keep work to 40 hours but also have a side hustle that I enjoy (Real Estate investment). It takes up more time but I do enjoy it. I hate household chores and have them all outsourced now (house cleaning, yard,etc.) so have factored this into the FIRE calcs for sure. There is always something though that I guess will come up.

Eddie - I have learned to slow down a lot but like you, it doesn't come naturally to me and I am quite imperfect. I will check out your book and see if that helps. Anytime I meditate, it really helps me. Waking up early, also, for some reason really makes my whole day better (though I love sleeping in more than anything.. go figure).. I just need to meditate more..I read this not too long ago and it has really helped things "click" when I meditate:
What's In A Label? | Stress Reduction at Work

Either way, I think slowing down and truly being retired are different things so while I was thinking of maybe even stretching after 50 if I can slow down now, this thread is convincing me more and more to REALLY set a date and just do it.
Until then - It's great to live vicariously through all you FIREd folks

 

[LivePassionately]

It seems to me the OP is asking about two different but related questions central to FIRE: 1) Can I mentally make the transition from working to not working? and 2) Is it time to spend more and feel fine about it?


In my case, I quit working for money when I was 45. Early in my career, I worked long, stressful hours building my company. For about the last seven years before I pulled the plug, I took more time off especially in the summer and had cut back to maybe 30 hours a week. I had two very talented second-in-commands who ran things well. There was still stress, as I continued to be deeply involved in strategy. The day we sold, I walked out and never went back. Zero regrets, but I can't say I went from 60 to 0. More like 30 to 0. And, since I spend a lot of time managing my family finances, it is perhaps 30 to 5.


As for spending, we are also second-guessing that and instead of spending less as time goes on we are spending more, with more enjoyment and no second thoughts. I think after you go through a period of time in the beginning mentally calibrating to the fact that you don't have an income from working, and have some market experience under your belt, you relax a little.

You have hit the nail head on thank you for getting into my mind and explaining what I was trying to say in a better way

I have gone from 4 to taking 7 weeks off in hoping for a more relaxed life.

However, I still feel guilty spending or splurging on anything too luxurious. I will try to improve this if I can

 

[pb4uski]

I went from 60 to 50 and then to 30, then back up to 50 for about a year for a special project, then back down to 30 and then to 0. Our firm had a well established reduced hours policy that was targeted more to young professionals looking to downshift to spend more time with young kids but worked well for me.

Probably a little harder to do if own a business unless you have some really good employees that you trust.

A neighbor is doing something along those lines though.... he owned a successful Saab dealership that when Saab went belly-up converted to a Saab specialty used car dealer that was successful as well. A few years ago he sold the business to a couple trusted employees but he still owns the building (rents it to the business) and finances the inventory so he is still involved and is now about 50% time (30 using your example) but has a lot of flexibility and time to do other things.

 

[DrRoy]

I have done what you suggest to a certain degree. W**k-wise, I will go from 60 to 0 in about 5 weeks. W**k has been super intense YTD, and I am quite happy that it will be ending soon. However, in 2011, DW and I started taking extensive, multi-week trips to national parks, Europe, Hawaii, etc. We like to do some hiking and getting off the beated path, and thought we should not wait for RE to start doing that, as we might run out of energy before we ran out of the more physically demanding places that we wanted to visit. This year it will be 8+ NP's out west, and next year Patagonia!

 

[W2R]

Anyways, the long-winded question is - Do you wish you had gone from 60 to 0 over 10 years (at least mentally) rather than 60 to 0 in a year .i.e done as much as you can in the 10 or 7 years prior to retirement to build that mindset and to actually vacation and spend a lot more free time enjoying your hobbies.

No, because it is so much more fun now to enjoy my hobbies in retirement, without work hanging over my head. If I had done that, I would still be working and probably by now I'd be feeling pretty bitter and resentful about having to go in to work every day. Instead, I am free to do as I wish, every single day.

Once I had decided I wanted to retire, my goal was set and I headed right for it. Before that time, I wasn't sure if I had accomplished as much at work as I wanted to do in my lifetime. To me, that is one of the few good reasons for delaying retirement. By age 50 or so I knew I was done.

I have a friend who is 59 now and was always well-off but a careful spender and he always tells me he wishes he had spent more money on the things he truly enjoyed rather than being afraid.

Not a problem for me, because the money didn't vanish; I can spend it now.

 

[Walt34]

Anyways, the long-winded question is - Do you wish you had gone from 60 to 0 over 10 years (at least mentally) rather than 60 to 0 in a year .i.e done as much as you can in the 10 or 7 years prior to retirement to build that mindset and to actually vacation and spend a lot more free time enjoying your hobbies.

It wasn't really an option for me, I worked in a public safety position and the 40-hour week was the norm. So when I retired it was from full-time to retired in one day. At the time I did have a huge project planned, that was moving from the Washington, D.C. area to West Virginia. It was only about a 90-minute drive but the lifestyles are worlds apart.

It was quite an adjustment, and a bigger one than I had thought it would be. House maintenance wasn't an issue because we moved into a brand-new house where everything worked and nothing needed painting or fixing, and if it did it was under warranty. One hobby that I thought I'd spend a lot of time on was radio control model airplanes. I'd been active in that for 18 years, but suddenly I found I had little interest in it. Maybe it was a stress reliever for work or I had simply plateaued.

For a couple of years I did spend two or three days a week helping a friend build a full size Pitts Special S-1 and that was a neat project. But I did find that I like being retired and having what seems to be almost no responsibilities. It is very relaxing.

 

[Souschef]

I retired in early January 2009. I would had pulled the plug sooner, but hung around until I got my7% profit sharing.
We then started traveling with a vengeance, especially to Europe. But as we aged, we realized the organized trips were not for us, and we have slowed down.
We started taking advantage of Business Class companion tickets, as being stuck in an airline seat for 10 hours got to us.
Year travel days
2009 80
2010 72
2011 74
2012 49
2013 34
2014 35
2015 30
2016 18

 

[brucethebroker]

Was forced into PT status due to the 07' recession. Eased in ER about 6 years later (now w*ork extremely PT). Took a couple of years to fully understand that my business was not coming back...ever. Once that took hold, it was time to decide what to do with the rest of my life. Now have a good paying "hobby" for a dozen hours a week or so. I enjoy it and the extra cash is great. "hobby-j*b" is flexible and can be turned on and off, so no real restrictions on travel.

I would say I was dragged into ER, slowly, which gave lots of time to re-evaluate and chart the course. 3.5 years into it and all is good. Financial decisions and hard work we put in 20-30 years ago has really paid off during this time.

Some would argue that having a "hobby-j*b" is not true ER. I disagree. I now w*rk because I WANT to (and I enjoy it), and not because I must. That is a major difference IMHO.

 

[FlaGator]

No.

While I try not to spend time thinking about the counterfactual, it's not clear I would be in the position I am if I had "taken it slower"

 

[pablo]

When I FIRE'd in 2015 it was definitely 60 to 0. Looking back I recognize I could have quit earlier but fear kept me from doing so. Staying until 49 allowed me to accumulate an amount that I'm comfortable with...could have also done OMY for years. More is better, right? So all in all it was the right decision at the right time. Life is good!

 

[HFWR]

If I'd have gone any slower I'd have been going backwards...

I did a couple of involuntary part-time stints in my last few years, and discovered that w*rk was interfering with my goofing off!

That said, I could have gone a few more years, at least PT, and the numbers would likely have been better. I just couldn't do it...

 

[ER-Troy]

I was lucky in this regard. 3 years before I retired, I put in for a lateral move (due to someone retiring with same position as me) to a different plant. It was located several miles away from the city and the bosses seldom came out there (unless I had a serious problem). We nicknamed it "The Country Club" because it was laid back and relaxed, most of the time. I pretty much knew my retirement date and just sort of "coasted" at the plant for my last 3 years. That was really when I started counting down the months, and it was a wonderful feeling [emoji4]