Chase more money or my Dreams?

[HostelDweller]

Hello,
I'm sure this has been asked many times before and is similar to "One More Year Syndrome". My background, I have a mandatory retirement next year at 55 years old. We will have enough money to live modestly, travel and never work again. I will definitely work part time in some way to balance life out and cover the additional travel, mostly Snowbird Surfing trips to warm places 4 months a year. I've talked to my athletic, older, mentors and they all say, take advantage of the good healthy years and go for it.

My question...How do I keep my eyes on the dream and not envy all of my colleagues who are chasing their next career to make more money. I'm telling you, I'm the only person who is NOT chasing money, I feel like the oddball.


Thanks

 

[HF63]

I've talked to my athletic, older, mentors and they all say, take advantage of the good healthy years and go for it


Focus on this, Covid really show us how short life really be.

 

[Aerides]

I'm telling you, I'm the only person who is NOT chasing money, I feel like the oddball.
Thanks

We've all still got those friends. I meet with a couple of former co-workers every year, since I retired in 2016 in my mid-40's. At the time we were all about the same salary/role: IT Directors. Fast forward and now they both have titles that include VP, and bonuses the size of our old salaries. And they both work majority from home and made that part of their contracts, as both also left my old Mega and found new promotions and fortune elsewhere. (oh, and they were super surprised jealous when I ER'd and and both now saving far more, living in the same houses they always did).

Yes, I felt a tinge of "dang..." but then I remembered I've been ER'd, doing whatever I want, with no corporate BS for all this time. And I have more than enough to keep doing that.

You're 55, so it won't be long before your peers will catch up. Being odd is just fine.

 

[Fermion]

We left a lot on the table retiring early. We have a friend who has stayed on and made a tidy bundle, but we also have another friend who died of cancer just shy of 60.

So you have to ask yourself, do you feel lucky?

 

[Dash man]

Time > Money

 

[Ronstar]

...I've talked to my athletic, older, mentors and they all say, take advantage of the good healthy years and go for it....

Heed this advice - your athletic, older mentors know what they are talking about. Your money thirsty colleagues haven't figured it out yet. Extra money doesn't do one any good if you are too old to enjoy it.

 

[old medic]

COVID took several close friends and a couple coworkers. The oldest was 62. If you have a comfortable financial future, enjoy other things besides working.

 

[TripleLindy]

I retired from a well-paying role at 55 and haven’t looked back. That athleticism won’t last forever. As the aches (and ortho procedures) increase, my doc tells me to slow down, but that’s the last thing I want to do. I’m glad I’ve been able to experience things over the past 5 years that I never would have dreamed of had I still been working. I highly doubt that I would have done some of those things at 65 or older.

Time is now your currency.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

This year I spent the least (adjusted for inflation, not adjusting for inflation I'm at my 2008-2009 spending level) I have ever since graduating college. Lots of free time and I'm happier and healthier than I've ever been (possibly adjusting for age but not sure an adjustment is necessary). For me Time and Freedom>Money by a huge margin.

 

[pacergal]

You state that you are already planning to work part time to cover extra travel and such, so retire now and count your blessings you are able to do it at a relatively young age.
The older you get, the faster Time goes, so enjoy now and each and every day!

 

[stepford]

I think you'll find that every Monday morning it's pretty easy not to envy your richer friends.

 

[COcheesehead]

For me it was just the opposite. My working friends all said they envied me, getting out on my terms at age 57.

 

[marko]

I was hyper competitive for my entire career. That's how I made enough money to RE (involuntarily).

Still, it took me several, several years to lose that resentment to see complete idiots who reported to me advance to "C Suite" positions that I had once held.

Eighteen years later--and at age 70--I have to say that it was the best thing I ever did. Too many friends have died after one or two years of retirement, a few died at their desk and now I'm starting to have health concerns. If I were you, I'd get going and don't look back!

 

[rodi]

If you look at retirement spending there have been several models that based on household data noted spending drops by age 75 for most retirees... They propose it's ok to spend more in the early retirement years because you will have checked off your expensive bucket list by the time you're that age. So there's a glide path from the earlier, expensive, years (pre 56yo) to your constant spending later years (75yo).

There's a good wiki on this over at bogleheads.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Models_of_spending_as_retirement_progresses

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I think you'll find that every Monday morning it's pretty easy not to envy your richer friends.

Best answer so far!

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Let science be your guide to happiness, not envy. The happiest person found so far, at least according to brainwave studies, is a Buddhist monk. The longest running study on happiness by Harvard researchers found the number one factor is social connections. Most of the other research finds factors like good health, being near water, exercise, music, healthy food, optimal neurotransmitters, good gut health, music, forest bathing, gratitude and tons more all contribute to happiness. Most are not expensive, but they do require free time. You can't engage in many of the happiness building factors when you are working 60 hours a week.

Related study: How Gratitude Beats Materialism - New studies reveal how to deliberately cultivate gratitude in ways that counter materialism and its negative effects. - https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/materialism_gratitude_happiness

 

[pjigar]

LBYM people are a rarity in today's world. So don't worry about being an oddball. The fact you can ER is BECAUSE you are an oddball. Time > Money. Go for it.

 

[HostelDweller]

Thanks all, appreciate it, I needed some encouragement to work my plan and get past the finish line.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Let science be your guide to happiness, not envy. The happiest person found so far, at least according to brainwave studies, is a Buddhist monk. The longest running study on happiness by Harvard researchers found the number one factor is social connections. Most of the other research finds factors like good health, being near water, exercise, music, healthy food, optimal neurotransmitters, good gut health, music, forest bathing, gratitude and tons more all contribute to happiness. Most are not expensive, but they do require free time. You can't engage in many of the happiness building factors when you are working 60 hours a week.

Related study: How Gratitude Beats Materialism - New studies reveal how to deliberately cultivate gratitude in ways that counter materialism and its negative effects. - https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/materialism_gratitude_happiness

FIRE won't make you happy but it probably makes it easier to find for most of us.



I've recently been listening to and enjoying Huberman Labs podcast when working out. A lot of science based "pop sci" but filtered through a Stanford U scientist. I get some take-a-ways from it most of the time. I'm more aware of hormones that affect my mood and how they are influenced by diet, exercise, and my own thoughts/behavior.



Agree on gratitude, I'm becoming habitually grateful and don't really consciously have to make myself to "be grateful" (only on the rare bad mood will I "make" myself). I really feel I'm rewiring my brain in a way. I'm always grateful that I achieved FIRE and it's always on my mind which is why I feel I'm the happiest I've ever been. It's not so much reminding myself now as just the background. When walking down the street, if I actively think about it, I seem to walk with a dumb grin on my face. I'm also grateful for my friends, family, for living in such a fun place, and more.



I don't think it's realistic to always be "happy" and happiness like a lot of things, is hard to achieve as a goal in and of itself and is more a byproduct of other pursuits/areas of focus. Once FIREd, it is, IMO, important to still struggle/work towards goals (FI was likely your big goal). For me it is learning guitar, learning more about my city and its history (tours help keep me motivated), and working towards fitness goals I've set for myself and maintain/improve my health (that after a night of beer and too much junk food with friends...today I'll be good!).

 

[brett]

We chose downsizing and travel.

Looking back 12 years it was the best decision ever.

My question was not how much more can I make. It was how many years with good health can I look forward to do the things that we want to do.

 

[skyking1]

If you look at retirement spending there have been several models that based on household data noted spending drops by age 75 for most retirees... They propose it's ok to spend more in the early retirement years because you will have checked off your expensive bucket list by the time you're that age. So there's a glide path from the earlier, expensive, years (pre 56yo) to your constant spending later years (75yo).

There's a good wiki on this over at bogleheads.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Models_of_spending_as_retirement_progresses

I am looking at it this way too. For us it is pretty acute, my wife's mobility is not good now and I have no illusions that we will be able to travel for many years. The spend will start off steep, but not last very long.

 

[bigcmagor]

We chose downsizing and travel.

Looking back 12 years it was the best decision ever.

My question was not how much more can I make. It was how many years with good health can I look forward to do the things that we want to do.

+1 Perfectly stated. You will always leave money on the table, no matter when you retire. While your heirs may appreciate it, you can't get time back.

 

[REWahoo]

If you look at retirement spending there have been several models that based on household data noted spending drops by age 75 for most retirees...

Here is a real world example of that, showing our annual spending, including taxes, over our 17 years of retirement.

[Edited to correct chart error]

Note that the marked decline beginning in year 15 (2020, age 72) was largely due to events surrounding Covid.

Looking at our year 18 (2023, age 76) budget, I envision spending to be similar to the past three years unless we have to replace the HVAC system, make other unplanned major repairs or get hit with some other unfortunate event.

 

[brett]

After retiring, downsizing, the first stop on our 7 month trip was Africa.

An African safari had been on the top of my spouses to do list for years. We did that and then spent another three weeks in Africa. . It was during that trip that we both knew that we had absolutely made the right decision.

The option of returning to the rat race was always there....until the we were in the middle of that trip. It is when I really let go of the slightest inclination I had to give up any control on our lives.

IMHO, the only spending model that counts is your spending model. It will no doubt adjust over time. Ours has...upward.

The other side of the equation is income and assets. The value of our equities over the past ten years has increased at a rate far greater than we planned AND inflation during that period was much less than we anticipated. Still, I am thankful that we took a conservative approach to this in our forward financial planning.

 

[ncbill]

We chose downsizing and travel.

Looking back 12 years it was the best decision ever.

My question was not how much more can I make. It was how many years with good health can I look forward to do the things that we want to do.

No kidding.

The successful male early retirees I've known were all retired by age 55 but by age 70 were no longer physically able to do many of the activities (e.g. worldwide travel) they had enjoyed over those previous ~15 years.