jimday1982
Dryer sheet wannabe
I'm having one of those "Peter Gibbons days" at the office and have elected to kind of just zone out for the later part of the afternoon. As I was going through my web browser's bookmarks, I stumbled upon these forums and realized that it had been six months since I last logged in, so figured it would probably be prudent of me to see what I've been missing since I last visited.
As I was reading some of my previous posts, it hit me as to just how much my mindset has changed over the last six months regarding my focus on early retirement. Instead of literally obsessing over earmarking every possible penny for early retirement, I'm now starting to relax my intensity and allowing myself to enjoy some of the luxuries life has to offer that I previously dismissed as being wasteful. For instance, I now find myself taking out my current girlfriend to dinner much more frequently, taking spontaneous trips, and I even purchased a Mercedes that I was lusting after for many months (yes, I did my homework and am happy with what I ended up paying for it).
Granted, I went through a pretty awful divorce during the beginning of the year that had a significant impact on me, but I don't know if that was the root cause for this radical transformation in my way of thinking. More than that, I think that I finally came to the realization that perhaps it's more important to strike a balance and aim to enjoy life, both before AND during retirement, than to be a complete and total miser and live a miserable existence now for the sake of living like a king during retirement. After all, as cliche as it sounds, life really is too short to not enjoy (all of) it.
I've done a lot of self-evaluation over the last few months and I think I'm pretty comfortable with this new mindset. I'm meeting all of my financial goals and obligations while actually living a relatively happy life, so it's almost as if I've managed to achieve the balance that I was previously lacking.
Anyhow, the last thing I mean to do here is boast or brag about some kind of "enlightenment" that I've managed to find, but I thought this post would possibly spark some interesting conversation and serve as a jumping-off point for other young folks who find themselves wrestling with similar issues.
Good luck and best wishes to all!
As I was reading some of my previous posts, it hit me as to just how much my mindset has changed over the last six months regarding my focus on early retirement. Instead of literally obsessing over earmarking every possible penny for early retirement, I'm now starting to relax my intensity and allowing myself to enjoy some of the luxuries life has to offer that I previously dismissed as being wasteful. For instance, I now find myself taking out my current girlfriend to dinner much more frequently, taking spontaneous trips, and I even purchased a Mercedes that I was lusting after for many months (yes, I did my homework and am happy with what I ended up paying for it).
Granted, I went through a pretty awful divorce during the beginning of the year that had a significant impact on me, but I don't know if that was the root cause for this radical transformation in my way of thinking. More than that, I think that I finally came to the realization that perhaps it's more important to strike a balance and aim to enjoy life, both before AND during retirement, than to be a complete and total miser and live a miserable existence now for the sake of living like a king during retirement. After all, as cliche as it sounds, life really is too short to not enjoy (all of) it.
I've done a lot of self-evaluation over the last few months and I think I'm pretty comfortable with this new mindset. I'm meeting all of my financial goals and obligations while actually living a relatively happy life, so it's almost as if I've managed to achieve the balance that I was previously lacking.
Anyhow, the last thing I mean to do here is boast or brag about some kind of "enlightenment" that I've managed to find, but I thought this post would possibly spark some interesting conversation and serve as a jumping-off point for other young folks who find themselves wrestling with similar issues.
Good luck and best wishes to all!