We are very much in the dark horse category. Not even our children know. That is how we like it.
We have always avoided debt, lived below our means, and invested wisely. Then we woke up one day and realized how much equity we had over and above the various annuity/pension income streams that cover our living expenses.
It seemed to have happened overnight but it did not. It took a working lifetime. We never had a sense that we deprived ourselves of anything....other than consumer debt and car loans.
My first boss in a commission environment, a very financially successful man, gave me some good advice. It is not about how much you make, it is about how much you keep and how well you invest it.
I think in general with a mostly LBYM crowd on this site, you won't receive many responses of wishing for recognition.
Is there any yearning to be recognized for your FIRE success?
Just the opposite from the OPs query - I DON’T want to be recognized for my success, FIRE or otherwise. It may not seem obvious online where I’m anonymous but in my real life, career and personal, I’ve always sought to be underestimated
Is there any yearning to be recognized for your FIRE success?
To clarify, I didn’t want to be recognized for my financial success. I didn’t strive for mediocrity in job performance by any means, I always worked hard to be the best at anything I did in my career. I was always willing to go above and beyond. I never would have enjoyed all the promotions I was blessed with otherwise, that enabled me to retire early.I was the same way in my w*rking years. I would do what was expected of me, but that was about it. I did a good job, but snubbed any kind of recognition...it has never been my style. As my best friend says, "I strive for mediocrity"
...In fact, am thinking of downsizing to the non-desript suburbs, the house I'm in is seeming too big and the grounds to large.
We have just the one vehicle, a 2005 Honda Civic with slightly under 140K km, (around 86K miles)...has a couple dings/scratches...who cares, it's just a freakin car.
We have just the one vehicle, a 2005 Honda Civic with slightly under 140K km, (around 86K miles)...has a couple dings/scratches...who cares, it's just a freakin car.
I think it's more of a sibling thing with my brother and I. It gets under my skin from time to time. It's easier to paint a mirage of success with debt.
He might get the short-term accolades but his finances were on thin ice. I rather be in my position than his for the long term.
To clarify, I didn’t want to be recognized for my financial success. I didn’t strive for mediocrity in job performance by any means, I always worked hard to be the best at anything I did in my career. I was always willing to go above and beyond. I never would have enjoyed all the promotions I was blessed with otherwise, that enabled me to retire early.
No. I look at this as just a piece of an overall strategy wanting to be underestimated. I have found it to be an advantage in many situations both in business and personally.... Is there any yearning to be recognized for your FIRE success?
Is there any yearning to be recognized for your FIRE success?
Is there any yearning to be recognized for your FIRE success?
We've been called the Clampetts by the neighbors but I'm RE and they are not. Suck eggs!
Exactly! RE status is its own best reward.
I must admit though, I did so love submitting my resignation letter when I left my office and left all the BS behind. And I loved my former bosses seeing me walk away at age 54 with three kids then aged 7, 11, and 17, and them wondering how can he do that? And a few years later, designing and having built our dream home (where I now live) and being able to pay cash for it--no mortgage. And I knew my former bosses had to stay at work and put up with all the BS for years longer. Yes, I did like that, a high point in my life.