Motley Fool Article

[Trace]

Check out this article.. You will recognize some of the references.

http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/...rce=mptoppromo

[unclemick]

I liked the one about the wife who thought counting falling leaves with his dog was meaningless. He needs to get rid of the ding dong wife and keep the dog - she obviously doesn't get it.

Apparent neither does the guy who wrote the article - all that brainwash crap about meaning and doing something.

Along the spectrum from Thoreau on Walden Pond to 'busy' Ben Franklin - stay curious and do your own thing.

Myself - I feel doing nothing in a totally meaningless way is an art form that requires years of practice(11 so far).

And get incredibly smug - that I afford it AND totally ignore anybody else's opinion.

If you don't get it - by all means go back to work.

[BigMoneyJim]

Quote:

In my Rule Your Retirement newsletter, I regularly profile people who have retired and live enviable lives (some as young as 38!). One fellow left his job as an engineer and now travels four months a year and maintains a website about early retirement. Two others are a couple from California who sold their restaurant and now literally live around the world.

Nope, never heard of people like that.

BTW, intercst, did this guy interview you for when he profiled you for his newsletter, or did he profile you from a distance? At first I was surprised you'd bother to be in someone else's paid newsletter, but TMF has been good to you.

Did anybody else think this Robert Brokamp was Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) from Married With Children?

[sgeeeee]

Quote:

. . .Did anybody else think this Robert Brokamp was Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) from Married With Children?

Hi BMJ,

That's exactly what I thought when the photo first came up on the screen. Too bad Brokamp isn't an action flick actor. This guy could be his stunt double.

[LEX]

This guy writes: But ask yourself this question right now: "How do I want to spend, on a day-to-day basis, the rest of my life?" Your answer should be the foundation for all your retirement planning.

If one actually breaks down what a day in the working life was like, (at least from my days) its talking on the phone, going to meetings, flying on air planes to go to meetings, and shuffling words around on paper or a computer screen. I would consider loitering on a beach or driving my camper van to an out of the way place just to enjoy back roads just as valid and much more personally satisfying than keeping the corporate collatoral warm for 'the shareholders' the boss and the next re-organization.

[Hyperborea]

That Brokamp guy is a doofus. When I was still actively posting over on TMF there was a big ruckus because that guy had posted another of his retirement "planning" articles which stated that there was no way to get funds out of your IRA or 401k until you were 59.5 without paying the 10% penalty.

Most of the Fool articles are geared these days to getting you to subscribe to their stock/fund/horse/lottery ticket picking newsletter. They have become the people they were railing against 10 or so years ago.

[Nords]

"This column was originally published in July 2004. It has been updated."

Beautiful-- a guy who doesn't have the experience is recycling a column that he couldn't be bothered to write or research from scratch! I'd be stunned if he actually bothered to talk to Greaney or anyone else-- he probably did it from everyone's websites.

Definitely Al Bundy.

Another quote: "Disillusionment rates are sky-high for retirees. According to one survey, 41% say retirement was the most difficult adjustment of their life and most still struggle with the monotony, boredom, lack of purpose, and lack of intellectual stimulation that traditional retirement offers. There is a good reason these retirees are not happy -- retirement is an unnatural idea. The concept runs contrary to the preservation of the human spirit."

Was this survey commissioned by th's old company? I've said it before-- some days I'm so damn productive & overstimulated that I wish I could take a vacation. I certainly don't have any recent experience with monotony, boredom, or lack of purpose. I wish I could say that about my working days.

If you have an avocation, then enjoy it-- do it until you die and don't apologize for paying my Social Security. But I think that working at an unsatisfying job, especially one that conflicts with your family priorities, is even more contrary to the preservation of the human spirit.

Early retirement IS my avocation!

Now let's go read Anthony's "Retirementality"...

[nearly50]

"How do I want to spend, on a day-to-day basis, the rest of my life?"

In the more or less immortal words of Adrian Belew (King Crimson)
"Eat, Drink, Sex, Sleep, Dream"

Works for me.

[ESRBob]

My feeling is that for the first year after ER, count leaves in the driveway all day -- whatever helps you detox and re-connect to your core. But unless you're some kind of zen holy man (and I believe there are some on this Board) then a life in ER, decades of it, with no real structure or commitments or anything that feels like an obligation may be a mistake.

MY experience (personal and also seeing other ER's) is that most of us are not wired up for decades of Nothing To Do. Just hanging out in a state of bliss is an incredibly worthy goal but how likely is it to happen? (Actually the happiest ERs seem to have plenty of projects and not enough time).

So I wouldn't advocate a life, for the average early retiree, with zero obligations. You are likely to end up watching too much daytime TV, over-trading your potfolio, worrying too much about markets, or developing any number of unhealthy interests in other people's wives or teenage girls, or alchohol or prescription drugs, porn sites, Jerry Springer, CNBC whatever -- there is no end to unwholesome things to take up your time. ERs have achieved an incredible opportunity not available to most: they have time. It seems a pity to squander it, (again, after the obligatory detox period)

Don't get me wrong, I am not against plenty of downtime, leisure, self-indulgence etc etc, just do it with clarity and joy and gusto.

That's me..............."plenty of projects and not enough time." Truly, every day is loaded and I have to pass up a lot of fun stuff just because I don't have enough hours. Just lucky I guess.

JG

[retire@40]

Quote:

ERs have achieved an incredible opportunity not available to most: *they have time. *It seems a pity to squander it, (again, after the obligatory detox period)

Gem of a post. Once in while I do get a good laugh from some of the postings here and that was one of them.

Very true that many people are so focused on ER or FI but have no idea what to do when they get there. Happens many times with mega-lottery winners.

ER does require some thought about what you want to do when you have 24/7 to do whatever you want. I agree that if you quit work and you have no interests in doing anything the brain cells will start to vanish one by one. Free time could be your best friend or your worst enemy.

[Otis]

Quote:

ER does require some thought about what you want to do when you have 24/7 to do whatever you want. I agree that if you quit work and you have no interests in doing anything the brain cells will start to vanish one by one. Free time could be your best friend or your worst enemy.

Ironically, I was having this conversation with my step-father-inlaw an hour or two ago.

Our great revelation was that in order to be done right, "doing nothing" was going to require more planning than most people spend "doing something." Which, is either a reflection on the mindset and capabilities of those who ER, or a statement about our society today. Perhaps both.
:

I had a most enjoyable day today, and quite typical.
Here it is.

Got up with DW at 5:30, had coffee and after she departed for work I putzed on the computer, fed the dogs and went back to bed. Got up about 2 hours later, putzed on the computer, showered, shaved and drove into
town for Sunday dinner with the folks. My cousin stopped by. Nice. Back home to clean up the kitchen
(I'm a house husband ) before DW's return. Loaded
my black lab in the truck and went into town for gas and a Frappacino. Then off to the park (just down the road)
where doggie and I did about 2 miles or so, just walking in the woods. Home about 4 p.m., read 2 papers and by
then it was cocktail hour. And so it goes.....................

JG