What I want most

[target2019]

I've been in and out of the job market since 2013. For me, when not working, one attraction is not having other employees to deal with.

With current position, it has gotten distasteful when I've had to deal with a manager who is persistent in pushing me to get more work from the customer for other employees to bill against.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Totally agree on the point about being able to hang it up but not necessarily doing it the first day it's possible. I'm not there yet but we'll see.

It has occurred to me that I could go two extra years and point 100% of that income towards charity. Seems like a worthy thing.

I've also thought of going on but not at the same company.

I've also thought of just driving around the country with DW and dropping the metaphorical anchor wherever we feel like it.

 

[DrRoy]

I wondered if I would feel that way when I was FI but still working. Becoming FI helped, but not as much as I thought it might. Now that I picked a date early next year, I will be quite pleased to RE.

 

[Bamaman]

Retirement for me is freedom. Freedom to do what I want and do it when I want. Freedom to sleep late. Freedom to travel and see the world.

But early retirement is not avoiding work. I actually work harder in retirement than while working--keeping up maintenance on properties. I'm often working with our church building projects for charity. And I work hard to keep my family and grandchildren going in the right direction.

Getting out of college and going to work for MegaCorp at age 22, I intended to work 30 years and get out. The King (U.S. Government) has different ideas about early retirees under 55 years old and throws regulations at MegaCorp that doesn't allow retirements under most cases. MegaCorp decided in 2008 to retire everyone 55 and older which was the best thing to ever happen to me--and my co-workers. The trend now is to run large companies without employees. Good luck to them, as long as my pension check clears the bank.

 

[Nemo2]

From the day I started working until today I have wanted to retire!

I have always said that the only reason I started working in the first place was so that I could stop.

 

[Music Lover]

Isnt that the truth, Music. My Uncle was a team MVP on a minor league ball team for Cardinals in the 50s and didnt get a sniff at the majors... Insurance salesman was a nice career fall back for him though.
I dont have much desire to learn new things anymore, but I certainly admire people like yourself who learned how to play music. I have regretted not following through with it when I was younger. I do not have it in me to learn now, but if I could stick my finger in an electrical socket for a few seconds and that would allow me to play a guitar, I most certainly would do that!

I realized early that I didn't have enough natural talent to be a real musician...I can't sing, don't write music, and things that came naturally to others were a struggle for me. It took me years to do what some people can do after a year of playing. So, not pursuing my "dream" wasn't as much of a let down for me as it would be for others. Understanding my limitations allows me to play music a hobbyist with no thoughts of "what it"...

 

[Nemo2]

Understanding my limitations allows me to play music a hobbyist with no thoughts of "what it"...

Years ago, in Toronto, I worked with a guy who played great guitar......but not 'well enough'. He also drew superb cartoons......but not 'good enough'.

I thought at the time how lucky I was to have zero talent so that the "what if" factor didn't eat at me.

 

[Mill]

I thought for the longest time that I wanted to retire early. I recently had a conversation with a friend and it dawned on me that I really don't care to retire. What want most is to be ABLE to not work. I want to work solely because it's what I want to do, and not what I HAVE to do. At this point in my life/career, I'm pumping 37% of my income into retirement and other accounts. I hope to only work cause I want to, or not, at age 50...2027. Is this what you want too?


I better not die right after retiring! I've saved for years to be able to enjoy the money and time. (This is one of my fears)

I think I'm with you on this. I had a good paying job I liked in a part of the country I hated. I thought about FIRE every day so I could move home and be with the people I love. I couldn't wait that long though, so I quit when I found work here at home. Unfortunately the job in my hometown was a horrid match for my personality and I thought about FIRE every day still. I finally had enough of that job so I quit and found a job I like, but for 50% of the pay.

I sure do miss the paychecks, but now that I have a job I like, I rarely think about FIRE anymore. I guess its just good that I was financially stable enough to have made these moves.

 

[38Chevy454]

I think you Brian have a good point. The goal is really to become FI so that you work because you want to, not because you have to. That has always been my definition of retirement, being able to do what you want to do, whether that is working (at whatever amount you want) or not working at all.

I am just starting a transition to part-time in my job, and I feel fortunate that I can do this as I call part-time retirement, as opposed to one more (part-time) year. At this point in my life, time away form work is worth more than the extra money working.

I think we all worry some about health issues affecting our retirement plans. There are things you can control and things you can't. The best we can do is control the factors we have ability to influence. A sort of ironic factor of retirement planning is you do have to address your expected lifespan, and certainly when your physical capabilities start to diminish.

I am an engineer and generally worked for larger companies. I started out really liking work, but then recently my BS bucket is too full. I believe it is a combination of both my bucket is smaller than it used to be, and there is more administrative BS to fill it up.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Years ago, in Toronto, I worked with a guy who played great guitar......but not 'well enough'. He also drew superb cartoons......but not 'good enough'.

I thought at the time how lucky I was to have zero talent so that the "what if" factor didn't eat at me.

I've had this exact thought for years. Thank goodness I never displayed any particular talents for music, art, sports, or the like. I would have felt compelled to pursue those talents, and have felt mostly relief not to have had that burden.