Early Retirement and the Shawshank Redemption

[truenorth418]

Here's an interesting article about the enduring popularity of the film "The Shawshank Redemption". Many of the actors are living comfortably off of the residuals over 20 years after its original release.

The Shawshank Redemption was one of my inspirations as I approached early retirement and my "escape" from corporate life. My job was not as bad as being in prison, but I sympathized with the hero in the film as I secretly plotted my exit. As I drove off the company property for the last time, I felt like Andy Dufresne driving down the sunny Pacific coast of Mexico to freedom.

Does anyone else relate to this film? Any other movies that inspired you to ER?

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304536104579560021265554240

 

[MuirWannabe]

Never considered the ER possible connection. But it's probably my favorite movie of all time. Surely top five.

I like your relation to ER. Maybe sometimes when I'm sitting in yet another dreadful meeting I'd like to be like Andy when he puts on the opera music, headphones, and drifts into another world at least temporarily escaping the madness.

Get busy living or get busy dying. That's damn right.

 

[haha]

Never considered the ER possible connection. But it's probably my favorite movie of all time. Surely top five.

+1. The movie was brutal, but the Mozart divine.

"Duettino - Sull'aria" from opera "Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)" Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte (uncredited) Performed by Edith Mathis (uncredited) and Gundula Janowitz (uncredited) Chor und Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin Conducted by Karl Böhm Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon, by arraingement with PolyGram Special Markets

 

[razztazz]

I can't think of any movie that inspired me to do something about retiring but there are a few, I guess you'd call them media or dramatic inspirations that I can say made a very specific impression on me as far as financial management and independence.

1) Thurston Howell III. There's an episode of Gilligan's Island where he says "People just don't understand how hard other people have to work to make me money" My brother and I laughed at the pompous assiness of that statement but yrs later I started connecting the dots and saw how investing in a "Howell Enterprises" so to speak, could be a good way to make money without working.

2) Gomez Adams. He didn't have a job but they seemed to have a lot of money. I remember him standing at the ticker tape machine in his living room saying "Buy Consolidated! Sell Amalgamated!" Years later I realized he was making money by doing nothing. Just owning some investments.

3) I remember being strangely fascinated by the old Dreyfus Fund commercials with the lion walking out of the subway at Wall St and walking into a bank. Years later when I started researching investments and mutual funds Dreyfus Funds was the only mutual fund company I knew of. I started with that but then moved on through all the others 20th Century, T Rowe Price etc etc

Watch TV and learn stuff.

1) There's a way to make money without working as long as you set the proper ground work and let your money work for you.

2) There's no need to stock pick or market time like Gomez.

3)Avoid taking the subway

 

[NW-Bound]

This movie is one of my favorites. I learned from the WSJ article that it was adapted from a novella by Stephen King.

No, I was not inspired to "escape" from megacorps by any movie. Anyway, I am also living off the "residuals" of my labor; the stock dividends keep on coming.

 

[Onward]

I've heard that the beach scene at the end of the movie was filmed in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, which is indeed a popular and still affordable retirement spot.

 

[Onward]

And while we're talking about movies that inspired our ER...

 

[oldphd]

My personal favorite… paraphrasing from Forrest, Forrest Gump…

"Lt. Dan bought us stock in a fruit company, and then we didn't have to worry about money no more… and that's a GOOD thing!"

Said with a view of the Apple logo visible…

 

[robnplunder]

The movie is my inspiration to holding on to my job for OMY.

The Devil Wears Prada is another movie that helps me make sense out of my current job situation.

 

[steelyman]

I used an image from Shawshank the day I quit working (Class of 2011). It felt fantastic!

 

[davismills]

The first time I saw Glengarry Glen Ross, I thought about how my job was much less stressful. When I reached retirement, my job had evolved into this same type of hell. It was an inspiration to escape. When we were watching the sewer swim scene in Shawshank, I jokingly told my DW that was the road to retirement. She had a part in my retirement speech and she reminded the small crowd of my statement. She added that me being home all day would be like the Green Mile for her. Got a big laugh over that one.

 

[mystang52]

Sort of off-topic: there was a skit on SNL years ago about a new personal finance road to riches book. It was one page, and it read "Spend less than you earn." Or something like that.

 

[easysurfer]

I pictured myself trapped like Cool Hand Luke when he pretended to be broken but escapes (only temporarily, of course) taking that truck.

Brings back memories of my boss at w*rk taking about plans for upcoming projects and me holding my plans to myself knowing I'd be outta there in a couple of weeks.

 

[ronin]

Anyone feel like Michael Douglas in Falling Down?

 

[RockyMtn]

"The Great Escape"

 

[truenorth418]

And while we're talking about movies that inspired our ER...

The office scenes from Joe vs the Volcano reminded me of my first job out of college. I worked for a large major department store company and our "offices", which is a charitable description for the storage spaces where our desks were placed, were similar to the room that Joe shared with his boss and others.

That was a quirky film. My favorite scene was when Joe was floating on the ocean on the raft and the moon rose up over the horizon. "Thank you for my life."

 

[GrayHare]

The coworkers said, "Lord! It's a miracle! Man up and vanished like a fart in the wind!"

 

[Redbugdave]

Sort of off-topic: there was a skit on SNL years ago about a new personal finance road to riches book. It was one page, and it read "Spend less than you earn." Or something like that.

Here ya go...
https://vimeo.com/50044167

 

[athena53]

The Shawshank Redemption was one of my inspirations as I approached early retirement and my "escape" from corporate life. My job was not as bad as being in prison, but I sympathized with the hero in the film as I secretly plotted my exit. As I drove off the company property for the last time, I felt like Andy Dufresne driving down the sunny Pacific coast of Mexico to freedom.

Great movie, but I didn't feel that way about my career. I loved the work I was doing, right up to the last day. It was the politics that did me in. I'd say that things started getting bad in January and on May 2 I called my husband after a "Shootout at the O.K. Corral" meeting in the AM and a discussion with my no-guts, non-confrontational boss in the PM, I called my husband and said, "I may quit my job on Monday." On Monday AM, I walked into the boss' office and gave him conditions of my departure and he so readily agreed I knew he must have discussed this with his boss already. I could see the relief in his eyes. He had been incapable of firing me. I fired myself.

Yeah, I'm still getting over it. In a way, though, I'd known all along that I might not be able to work as long as I wanted to and planned accordingly. I'd seen it happen to people I knew, and had read plenty of sad stories about people in their 50s and 60s who were out of a job and couldn't find anything else other than McJobs. I'm grateful for my parents, who taught me to save early, and for the long, fruitful career I did have that enabled me to prepare for an ungraceful exit.

And I got an interesting message today. Some will say it was God (I would), some would say it was good juju or whatever. This morning we had a "supply priest" at church, which is usual since we're searching for a new rector, but I'd only heard about this one. She turned out to be a serene, sweet lady in her 70s, who prayed devoutly, chanted like an angel, and preached a profound sermon. I guess I'm not all washed up at 61. No, I'm not going to study for the priesthood, but I realized how much I have left to do and to give. And now I can, because I'm not tied to a job.