Well, I did it. I resigned from my $120k/year job with a war-mongering/war-profiteering mega-corp defense contractor in late January 2007. Last month (February 2007) was my first month as an 'entrepreneur'. Some thoughts:
+ I'm still in the corporate-slave mental model, where MON-FRI is work-work-work, and maintenance tasks around the house are delayed until the weekends. For some reason, I find this mental game comforting even though it is entirely unnecessary with my new lifestyle. I guess after 20 years of working in the traditional MON-FRI corporate/society-imposed weekly structure, I'm unwilling to let that go. Maybe as time passes I'll become more flexible in my scheduling.
+ Last month, 100% of my income was from my investments. This will be the case for quite a few months into the future as I slowly build my business (my budgeting is to live 100% off of investment income with no principal drawdown whatsoever. I will be greatly alarmed if I ever have to touch principal even though I have no heirs. I guess I'm in denial that I'm ever going to die, although the way folks drive here in Florida it could well be tomorrow
). I never really paid much attention to investment income before, but now that it's keeping me alive I'm watching it like a hawk. This is the difference between theory and reality.I'm relieved to report that investment income far exceeded expenses, as anticipated. Those Vanguard mutual fund bond managers had better keep doing a good job!
+ I would like to get involved in some sort of charitable organization aligned with my values (e.g. Nature Conservancy, etc.), but I'm not sure if I can afford it from a time investment standpoint. No rush on this, but something I think about occasionally.
Anyway - good luck to everyone regarding FIRE... I'll keep you posted