Thanks but no thanks! I think you may have misunderstood the house being a liability not an asset point. Obviously one has to live somewhere. My wealth is in the low 7-figures. Hey, I resemble that comment!!! You wanna make an older vehicle work for you? Do your own maintenance. My Civic got ALL new brakes from the brake lines down stainless steel braided lines, new rotors, new drums, new pads, new shoes, new hardware, new fluid.
Insurance and registration are dirt cheap. Prior to this I owned a Ram which required midgrade and got 13mpg. Yep, old cars can be reliable! I am all about being frugal. Learned this from my parents. I am 31 years old and a registered nurse. I drive Ford taurus that my grandma gave to me with only 66k miles on it. The car has one big dent on the side and I could care less! I will continue to drive it untill it no longer will drive. Not only do I stay frugal with my car. Even if i made millions you would still catch me shopping at the thrift stores for my amazing wardrobe! And buy a new one as soon as the old one is paid off?
They just have to choose to spend less on eating out, entertainment, etc. Our lives are busy and one breakdown has drastic impact on how the rest of the day goes and a lot of resulting stress. For some people it will cost them income, business, or worst a business account. That is surprisingly high. It all comes down to need. If the top priority is reliability then get a known reliable care.
This is what we shoot for. Looking back now, it was a bit much. I might have wanted to avoid buy brand new… but that decision has already been made. On the flip side we historically keep cars past K miles. Since I do most work myself I have a decent feel on when it is time to cut our losses and move on. I still want to hit K on something someday, but the next milestone for this round of cars is K, then K.
The key to happiness is to be content with what you have. Otherwise happiness in not obtainable. We have been blessed in many ways and one way is with being content. Car payments are only a small part of costs. You also have gas, insurance, tax and maintenance. In which case, what are you doing even talking about cars since you barely use one? I also paid my own insurance and gas. Now I will be the first to admit I got a killer deal n my vehicle, but that was really because a friend of my parents sold that car to me.
However, if you live somewhere or are in a situation where you need a reliable vehicle I think it may be worth it to spend a little bit of extra cash on a good, reliable vehicle. Paying around 8 or 9k for a car really can be worth it, even if you are not making 80 or 90k a year. At the same time, most cars I see tend to be worth an extra k because as long as you shop smart you are buying reliability.
They have yet to be a good deal. If anything, save money while you still have a good car so that you can buy the car outright for what you would otherwise have to pay in interest. You pay more, but get a much better deal. I would also say it is a bit extreme but it does offer some good thinking.
I do think people spend way too much on cars but you need to really assess how you plan to use and keep the car. Just a personal choice. I have cut back in other areas that others spend a lot more in. I violated your rule when I bought my car in ! I definitely plan to keep my car until my income shoots up and I have a need to replace it. Now if you read about the rule, and then went out and bought a car… well, maybe not so much. And I advise them to buy a car with cash. The moment you drive a car off the lot it decreases in value dramatically.
Why make payments to something that decreases in value? These are cars that are mostly used up.
The Dangers Of Early Retirement
This is not reliable transportation and poor advice. A vehicle like that will be extremely high mileage and coming into serious repair requirements. As such, is be much more lax on the rules for sure! Cars are well built nowadays! I followed your advice but have a big problem.
Had to hire an engineer, a guy to feed coal to power engine. Plus a conductor to collect tickets. Please reconsider including a train even one older than I absolutely agree with you, Sam! Am I doing something wrong? Brand new cookie-cutter houses. But they also had enough money saved to send three kids to college and help a lot with graduate school. Never broke down, started every time, and got me from A to B. Business or first class might seem like an extravagance, but I only travel about twice a year and generally live a low-key lifestyle.
No waiting for security, no queuing to get on or off the plane, getting your bags almost immediately, the ability to use the premium airport lounges, and the comfort of a bigger seat and meals. If I flew every week, I might not pick first if paying for myself… or I might find another job. Rules or formulas work most of the time! Since I just recently bought a new car, I broke your rule. I tend to keep my cars forever and keep a low profile lifestyle. Glad you are living it up Larry! What did you buy? I bought a Toyota Prius C. The cost dealer invoice was about the same price I paid 17 years earlier for my Honda Accord Coupe.
Car is one of the major expenses of any middle class family of course after their house. I have seen many people my friends too that they spend a lot of money on buying a car and then they need to spend money on its maintenance and then blame others for not reaching the end of the month. I like new cars, but I always used car. I think people often spend more on a car than they can afford. OR stick with bikes and public transport. Have nothing and like it! You have to admit reliable public transportation is not common in America however. Try Texas — public transit is a joke. I understand a car is very alluring for guys who just graduate from school.
I would use this rule to try and motivate you to earn more first. As soon as you try killing yourself and realize how hard it is to make bigger money, you might very well not want to waste it again! However, I drove my last car well past k miles and saved money for a newer car. For me, no car payments is the smarter financial decision. Unless it was an emergency car exploded or something , I will never have a car payment. Those cars outlast the others, and for good reason.
I like that rule of not buying anything newer than 5 years! You should write a post about that! Where do you find these cars for so cheap? At this point we would have been better off buying new. Anna, go to Craigslist. Everyone should inspect the car and take it to a trust mechanic before you buy. Bring a friend who knows cars, kick the tires, negotiate, go for a test drive, etc.
And what Sam said; Get a mechanic to inspect it, or a friend who knows cars to chekc it out. Also, you need to to research on the model you are buying, i. Thank you for posting the hard truth! I truly believe that. I personally made a six figure income and I bought my Honda Civic 2 years ago at less than a tenth of my salary and it runs just fine. If people were required to purchase their vehicles using cash I guarantee BMWs, Mercedes, and Range Rovers would almost be extinct on our roads! It always seems like the older, financially savvier, wealthier readers agree with my financial advice.
If you want it, do it. Out of these cars, most are in the k range, with a few at 5k and mine at 10k partially a gift, partially cash. Also, keep in mind that wealthier readers can buy cars at or above the k sweet spot. I think you need to realize that there is a minimum standard that needs to be included in the equation rather like a baseline. This is really the key. If you make 50k and buy a 5k car every year, that would be worse than buying a 20k car and driving it for years.
However, with the right skill set you can make a car last indefinitely, and it will be cheaper in the long run than purchasing another car — new or used. Taking one to a mechanic. Not some shady joint! You can learn how to perform pretty much any repair on a car using the internet. It should take me about two hours to perform the repairs once the parts arrive. Remember folks, ignorance is expensive. What do you do about lifting the engine block out?
The easiest way to get the engine block out will be to rent an engine hoist. If you have the space and intend to repeat this on multiple cars, might make sense in the long run to purchase your own but probably not worth it. Lease is a guarantee to lose money, just like renting. At least with owning, you have a chance to break even or make money. It took me two years to prepay and pay it off in full, been enjoying 4 years of no carpayments. So your car is currently 6 years old? What type is it? My rule on a car: Set aside a fund for it. Even if I want to get a car right away, I need to save so I can spend as much cash on it and get it paid off quickly.
Well, I broke your rule back in when I was making almost nothing and getting a college degree. I was also 21, so cut me some slack: I bought a new Scion that was paid off in Live and learn, you know.. Not only is it hard to come up with the money but also come up with the time away from a start-up company that is very demanding! Thanks for the article, I look up to you! I wish I could buy a new Scion. Will just have to keep on loving Moose! Really funny how after we start working for money we cherish money so much more.
Why does when you announce the rule matter? Was there a car boom in or something? I absolutely love your car buying rule. The conversations have been hilarious. To be a little bit wealthier is a choice indeed! But being wealthy or financially independent is overrated. More fun to rev the Ferrari in traffic down the main strip!
Mercedes, especiall G wagon,are known for unreliable. Lambo and ferrari under normal circumstance are not supposed to be driven daily fo communte and after every k miles, you need ship them back to italy for major maintence. While this breaks your rule, I intend on keeping this new car for 10 years well into the K miles again. Depends on how much cash you have too.
Take it to a mechanic, have him go over it, and all should be good. What do you do when there is no public transportation? Carpooling only gets you far when others have a schedule that works. Same with sharing cars. Sam, I think you ignore safety as well. Gas mileage is better on newer cars too. I bought a Infinity G35 for 36k in in cash. I am now trading it in for a new Audi Q5.
Getting 6, usd for the trade in. Will pay 38k with trade in for the new vehicle and pay cash. I make k a year. I like to keep my cars for a long time and pay cash. I usually by safe vehicles that are well rated and keep well. Been thru the process of buying cheap cars and found they cost more in the end.
I think the important thing is too keep the cost of any outlays cheap so when things change you are not stressed. I think financial security is the ability to make wise choices, realize your not smarter then everyone else and SAVE. Oh yeah, and make a budget. Ho ho, you should see how much cars in Singapore cost and people are buying them like there is no tomorrow.
I did a comparison of car prices before. If you are interested, it is here: Well, it is not just the high taxes. The certificate now actually costs more than a 1. This will really shock you: It is plain ridiculous. Which would you take? According to your rule, it should be the former. Which is a laughable absurdity in my book. What kind of logic are you talking about? Just be angry at yourself and learn from your mistakes of you want to build your wealth.
It is a thought experiment to demonstrate the absurdity of allocating a fixed percentage of income for any specific expenditure. Can we at least agree on that? The point of that conversation seems to be to get the flaws of this system acknowledged so a better rule can be made. There is a viable public transportation system where you live. Once every 10 years? I like that rule of not getting a car! I paid it off 3 years later by paying extra to the principal whenever I could. The car has never broken down nor given me any problems even after falling into a ditch one icy day. She lives at least 10 miles from her work place.
That is below poverty wages. I have a Neon paid for upfront that we got for 10k. If I was to buy this exact car after the 93k miles, I would still pay approximately 7k for the car. All of them have spent around what I do over this time because they have to replace their car several times over this period. On top of that, I have had to give several of them rides when their savings car broke down. Over this 14 years, I have plenty of time to save for another car that is reliable. I also save myself the worry that my car will break down at an inopportune time, as well as time searching for a new car.
This is just bad advice. In fact its just ridiculous and unpractical If you make 40K you should buy no more then a dollar car? That means a 10 year old car with over K miles on it. How much would your annual repair costs be to keep a car like that running? What about the wage earner that has to rely on that dollar car to get to work everyday.
Can you take the chance that such a car will reliably get you to your job every day, day in day out? Do you feel secure if your spouse and children have to be traveling some dark road at night in a 10 year old car with K plus miles. Consider this as a better idea. You can find many offers for per month or less. I recently saw A Honda Civic for example for per month with no buydown. You have a dollars per month expense for a car with full warranty , no repair costs almost no maintenance costs, safety and dependability.
Just release every three years and you can budget your transportation costs to the penny month after month. A dollar car could well exceed the cost of a monthly lease payment in repair and maintenance costs over the same three year span. Fact of life- Reliable automotive transportation is something many Americans can not do with out. TheCarBuyersHero can help save you with those costs. My income then was in the multiple six figures. The car has been very reliable. If I had to sell the car today I would still profit from the deal so I consider it a win-win.
Buying a car is kind of a waste of money but it just how much of a waste depends on a few factors:. In my humble and personal experience, I would agree buying new is just plain stupid. The market is flooded with vehicles that are slightly used or off-lease. If you maintain your vehicles, make good choices on which models to buy do your research! I love cars… and my current vehicle is a smaller turbo-charged sports car. I am currently in the middle of swapping an engine into an old car that was never designed to hold it.
Long story short, I know where you are coming from as a fellow car guy. That being said, I think that your Item 1 is irrelevant.
- The Semet Tree.
- Dangerous Wind (Carol Golden Book 3).
- Chère Barbara (French Edition).
Item 2 is also irrelevant, in my opinion. You should maintain a car religiously regardless of how much you paid for it. If you do that, then Item 3 should be a non-issue. The real issue is not how well you take care of your car s. You should take care of them regardless of how much they cost. But since we have zero debt, own our house outright, have fully funded the college funds for the kids, have a portfolio of over 2. Lets not lose focus why we have worked and saved all our lives I just turned It also depends on what you think is enough. I agree, it is up to the individual where and how they spend their money.
My current net worth, with house, two properties, art, and physical precious metals is a little over 5. Carry on the great job…: I want to apply this logic to my life, but alas I am a car fanatic. A car is not an appliance for getting me from point A. It is a huge part of my life that I spend at least an hour a day in, and it provides me with a level of enjoyment few other things can provide.
I bought enough inexpensive sports cars to learn that I would spend more time fixing them than driving them. Guess there is always the government and parents to take care of us. What demographic are you? Well for one very few people will ever make 6 figures. New to this whole car buying business. Not a lot of assets as I just finished paying off my school loans.
My only expenses are: No dependants, rent etc. I live in Canada where taxes and car prices are higher. Welcome to my site. I guess it depends on how much you like cars. Take a look at this post to see how your net worth stacks up. If you stack up great, then go ahead and be a little looser. If not, then stay strong. Shell out a few thousand dollars in repair costs and continue to drive the wheels off of that car. It will cost you FAR less than shelling out even bigger bucks on a new er car would cost.
I agree with cars being too much money, however there is a strategy to buying a slightly used car. With an older car with , miles, you can easily put in 2k or 3k for repairs on a 4k car. That brings it to 7k. Why not just buy the 14k car with no problems and better mpg because it is newer? I got a Corolla for 15k a couple years ago. The next part is all about inflation. When you purchased your car for 14k, used cars were usually around 4k depending.
However, after my 5 year loan is up, i expect the used car prices to have risen a little. With buying a used car from someone, you often have to give them 4k cash up front. Dank, no argument on buying a 3 year old car vs. In fact, I much prefer it. Serious issues with this post. They just entered the U.
So, according to your rule, no one in that salary range should be buying a Fiat C. The Fiat C come with a full 5-year warranty that covers maintenance, so I never have to worry about those costs. This is good finance sense in my book. Ana, you are welcome to justify your car buying purchase. Take a look at this post to see where you stack up: Or this one on savings: Over the long term, car repairs on a paid-off vehicle are much cheaper than monthly car payments. Plus, the depreciation hit that you take is much smaller if you purchase a used vehicle.
Purchase vehicles with good reliability track records another argument for going with an older used car, rather than the new, hip model , and then maintain it well. This is just one example. Power nothing and fewer mandated safety features mean a much lighter car. Curb weight has a huge impact on gas mileage. The Toyota was sold as-is. I decided that I might as well pay the dealer to do a complete overhaul on the vehicle. Some services were not required yet, but I needed the piece of mind.
Now I no longer care where I park, because I can afford to replace any part on this vehicle on any given day. I feel like a burden has been lifted. Best part of it all, I started to cut-back on all other spending that I noticed were wastes:. Good to have you here! Nice work optimizing your finances. Paying off debt, checking your credit score, and saving money on non vital service will help. They aggregate all your finances, tracks your net worth, keeps you in budget, and provides free tool for analyzing your investments.
I realize that this is a gamble and could end up being much less, but I will assume the worst case scenario. I could easily make the sacrifice of cancelling the cable if necessary. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. There are no variables considered. Luckily I can change things now instead of waiting another few years. Paid it off in two years and now I am on track to make a little over K. It was in no way a strain on my finances. Read this post to see if your net worth is on track and let me know.
We have no kids and no debt. We drive two Corollas, a 97 and a 06, both paid for in cash. In other words, I completely support your rule. Btw, we are not minimalists or hippies or socialists or anything like that — we spend plenty of money on traveling, have a nice house, etc. I think this is a bit extreme. Getting a second hand coupe? If you are comfortable spending half your cash stash on a car, then go for it! Nice article and nice advice. To make the point of this article even clearer, I would add that buyers should only purchase vehicles in cash.
Pay the entire amount upfront then. I would also caution people against buying premium vehicles with high mileage. The comments are interesting indeed. Funny how some folks get so riled up. This rule is my suggestion. Folks can do whatever they want with their money. Wow, what a load of crap.
However, I managed to pay it off in 3. After the initial 3. That is how you keep your costs down and have a good vehicle you can completely trust. You think taking a bus is beneath you or something? I proudly take public transportation as to many other people. I would also be all for taking the bus, but that is not always possible in all places in the U. Public transportation is a joke in the U. And then it nearly died. It was a headache and we prayed everyday that it would start, that car gave me some good memories, but ultimately made me realize I wanted a reliable car.
It is not as easy as it looks to go into a dealership and negotiate… dealers will rip you off by telling you lies, like, the financing is only available for that vehicle. I will give myself a break because I own my apartment outright, so no expenses there, and am halfway through the loan already.
It is not so easy to stick to your rule, though, because of the variable of being ripped off. First you have the shady salesman in the dealerships, then you have the banks that will loan you any sort of money with high interest rates, and then you have the old beat-up cars that might break on you any second. I would say, instead of providing you hard fast rule, you should include all the tips on how to actually achieve your rule. I did try getting a loan on my own before entering a dealership, I did research used cars, and I did go around looking in Craigslist, I did know exactly what I wanted and still ended up with a more expensive car because it was my first time buying and financing.
So tell me, what is your ideal path for anyone to achieve this rule? Go on craigslist and take months shopping around, and save cash for maybe longer than a year for a car? Sounds like you are doing great. You paying with cash or loan or lease? If you can pay with cash and feel it is a little too painful then you are probably spending too much.
Not sure if hybrids are worth the premium. I need to sell stock in your company. What would you recommend cash vs. It is cheaper in the long run and will HURT more in the short run to help control your spending. That moment when I make a bit over 20G per year but my car cost me over 10 grand, why? Best decision of my life was to save my money instead of financing it, because i am sure I would of regretted it in the future. I violated this rule pretty bad. I make around 44k, and I bought a z that came out to 36k after taxes. I took out a 4 year loan to pay it off quicker, so the payments are pretty high.
I was 25 at the time, and figured I would buy a nice car, pay it off, and then proceed to purchase my first house. Hell, I still have my 95 Civic that I purchased after graduating high school in Between the two of those, I really have no need to purchase a new car for a very long, long time. Hope you enjoy your babies. I have a question? How much do you save of your after tax income a year? Plus any bonuses I get though if I bought a car I would probably use any bonuses to pay off the car.
Mind you this is my current budget, any raises I get would just go into savings. I have this one particular friend he drives a 30k vehicle and makes about k a year. I guess they know what they are doing, huh? Makes you wonder how they can afford them vehicles. This article might help you. You are just extremely stingy and are highly content with a minimalistic lifestyle.
Obviously hyperbole by the way. Theres a difference between being an irresponsible consumerist idiot and living a comfortable lifestyle within your means. You are missing the mark in my opinion. Sean, whatever floats your boat. This is my guideline. One of my k retirement accounts with a former employer is a great illustration of just how the market has rebounded, and then some, since the crash. During the economic meltdown, my company went bankrupt due to an over-leveraged buy-out.
Our plant was idled and the company stopped contributing to k — as did I, since I was trying to put as much cash into the bank as possible in preparation for the layoff I saw coming. I moved my investments around within that plan, trying to get the best mix for growth on what I hoped would be a great rebound. Pretty amazing recovery, if you ask me. I found this article quite interesting. I am a huge gearhead and an avid member of many car forums.
It always intrigues me how much people spend on their cars. I simply wanted to understand how much the average enthusiast was willing to spend on a vehicle in ratio to salary. I was quite shocked but not surprised how most people view the affordability of a car relative to payments, not the full value of the vehicle. Often when we would have car meets it would always intrigue me how a doctor could own the same car as a discount tire tech. Patting you on the back Al! And there can be rules for that too.
Secondly, you should take your age, your net worth and your liabilities in consideration. This is BS all the way, yeah is well known cars depreciate quickly and is not in any way a good investment, but is definitely one of those little things that make you happy, to drive on a proper vehicle and not a peace of crap, that actually makes me sad, humans must surround themselves with beautiful things is one of the ways to make life bearable, if you pay all your bills and at the end of the month you still have a few thousands laying around why the fuck not, proper investments have proved to be really bad investments over the last few years, so fuck it, if you can afford it get a nice car and live a little.
I think the rule should go like this: Make , and drive a Honda Accord…… are u fucking serious this is a retarded list you have made. What is your age and net worth? You can see how you are doing here: So the follow up question is: A combination of general savings, maintenance of my current vehicle timing belt service due this fall, plus tires will be needed soon , and additional savings for the master bathroom remodeling that our house needs still original decor, with everything that entails.
Sam, I think this is the first article on your site, where i completely disagree with you. It may in fact be cheaper to buy a 1 year old BMW vs. In addition there is value for people to drive a car they really enjoy, vs a POS. I would be very comfortable with 2 cars in the same price range. House x annual salary. This way, it keeps people motivated and financially prudent.
But at least I made a lot more money. Example is my vehicle that only has 60k miles on it. I plan on getting another 10 years out of it. The only reason I got my most recent car, is because someone hit and totalled my vehicle. At least you can work for a very long time to keep paying taxes to help support our country. So keep it up! Unless your retirement accounts are fully funded i.
My question for the author is: What do you do with your money? Saving to buy that sports car when you are 70 years old and can barely see to drive it? Surely you would not tell someone never to travel. Happiness comes in many forms as you have said above , but contrary to popular sentiment, it is not always free… Traveling to be with family, taking time off with your wife on vacation, or enjoying a convertible drive by the coast after a stressful day at your average wage job….
Two of the weeks are spent traveling internationally. In I went to Amsterdam, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and Brugge. In I plan to go to Madrid and Mallorca. Experiences last a lifetime and gain value with age. In fact, I found out a way to never feel homesick on vacation. Loved my black on black M3 with BBS rims.
What are you doing with your money? Are you really that into cars? I encourage you to just make more money if you want a fancier car and enjoy life to the fullest. While fond memories of vacations last a lifetime, so do the memories of driving a hot car. Experiences and Things are not mutually exclusive. A very significant portion of my best memories maybe a majority of them?
My goal is to make seven figures a year in the future. A lot of my friends overspend so much on cars. I still like taking my bike and the train! But I do want to get a high end exotic some day. I day trade, and any extra money gets put in big investment vehicles. I should have no debt coming out of college, so hopefully I can get in that top bracket soon! You should make an article about houses and salaries. I can never find a good one. In the area I want to live in, I see a lot of 2.
But I scratch my head and say how much are these people making in a year? I would love to hear your insight on this. You can read this article here. Also, there is more money out there than you know. In reality there are so many factors when it comes to buying anything and cars are no exception. I live in a low income rural area. A decent 1 bed room apartment however can go for as little as a month. You NEED a car here. As long as everyone can still afford their child support haha.
It is a British car and parts are expensive. If you think a k car is worth it to you while making minimum wage then go for it. No need to justify. I never heard such nonsense. The intention is to snap consumers who want help out of their mindless zombie spending habits and become financially independent. Actually, I did not come across your site looking for financial advice.
My web surf for new car comparisons is what brought me to your site quite by accident. Funny how search engines work eh? Hope you found the car you want to buy with some helpful financial advice. I like your advice, and I read this article before purchasing my new-to-me car. I understand your logic and considered it in my buying process. But, a big reason I chose to overspend was related to safety. I will soon be responsible for the life of my forthcoming daughter. The car I decided to buy had several airbags and has an excellent safety rating. The most dangerous place to be is in a moving vehicle.
I will gladly overspend to reduce my risk of injury related to being in an automobile. Insurance is a vital component to financial health. Modern safety features on cars are a vital component of any comprehensive insurance package. If it was just me, I would have probably bought another beater. A decade old or older car is bound to have significantly higher maintenance costs. Not only will the normal wear and tear continue brakes, tires, oil changes, et al , but longer life components will need replacing. Additionally, parts like air conditioner condensers and evaporators, oil coolers, radiators, and the like are exponentially more likely to need a replacement once the vehicle is past the ten year, , mile mark which, according to you, How much are you losing having to dip into your emergency fund to repair your old clunker when you could be investing that money?
What about time away from work — wasted vacation or sick days dealing with a broken down car? The cost of towing? Having crappy things makes you want to have nice things to compensate! Each time you spend all your spare cash paying for that third repair on the same problem, you are reminded how foolish you are.
I can do it too. You understand nothing about repair and maintenance costs, have no concept of how a car works or what is likely or not to break, and have a nearly absurdly warped view of the cost of a car. This is at best irresponsible writing, and at worst, an advertisement misrepresenting itself as. Not sure how old you are, but the one thing I do know is that cars built this century are way more reliable than those in the 80s and 90s.
How could they not be with more years of advancements. Nice how you disabled the reply on your response. Yes, cars built more recently are more reliable. Conversely, however, they are significantly more expensive to repair when they break. All that technology that helps you stop faster, turn better, and get better mileage also equates to complexity, which equals expense.
Electronic fuel injection is vastly more precise, allowing us both better mileage and better performance out of modern engines. It is necessarily more complex — high pressure fuel pumps, injectors, fuel rate meters, fuel rails and much, much more — than a carburetor and some rubber fuel lines. That means it is both more likely to break and that breakage will be more expensive to fix.
Again, I repeat what I said — this article is irresponsible at best and a scam at worst. You just make an unsound judgement of character based on a single financial decision viewed through the warped lens of your ignorance. This article is irresponsible because it encourages people to spend below their means to build a stronger financial foundation?
The best way to get out of your funk is to recognize the hole you are in, stop digging, and really start saving money. No amount of anger towards others is going to help you make better decisions. But I but the bullet, bought property, saved more, invested and made my target financial nut by PS The comment system is the way it is. You are free to start new comments and attack me all you want.
I own a sports car. It has expensive parts, relative to cars costing the same as it does. I love driving it. According to the math in your article, it seems like I probably deserve that fun just about never, unless I first become a successful investor to boost my income, or change positions to something I loathe that offers more cash.
Maybe I should rent it instead? Furthermore, a lot of people who actually are in financial trouble would be likely to see your rule as draconian and un-followable. The trick is not to get some cheap pos, but to get a car where most of the depreciation has settled in, but still has lower mileage and age.
Furthermore, ease of maintenance and model reliability factor into the purchase as well, as he suggested. I have no argument that making financially responsible life decisions is a good idea. It really is whatever you want out of life. I do believe everything is rational in the end and people will spend money on what gives them the most pleasure. You may like this article: These days, in terms of function, even the cheap Ford Focuses are really great. Repair costs have come down with increased reliability. On the other hand, there are lots of complicated electronics which might go out nowadays.
Cars maybe post have become very reliable compared to cars in the 80s. My family and I want no problems with the car. That puts it into perspective. We are looking for something new, however, since it is an 11 year old car. The first one, I overspent, but had to commute an hour and a half to my first out of college job and needed something reliable. I kept it for 8 years until a red light runner totaled it. I then bought a used truck. I also bought a home the same year. Considering your average individual U.
Perhaps happiness is just a state of mind. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Perhaps one way of looking into retirement that is, changing the perspective of the definition entirely should be taken into consideration as well. For example, when most people mention retirement, they mention not working either their primary trade in favour of something easy, or not working at all. To me, this is not how I intend to retire. In my eyes, a solid definition of retirement means barring off cataclysmic changes in finances.
I guess you can say it means freedom of purchasing power. I want to remain part of my communities. If by retiring, it means never working again and going into solitude.. Yes, a big debate is what the definition of retirement is. Hence, those who proclaim they are retired while working on this and that is somewhat misleading.
Would we have more innovation and progress? Or just a bunch of unhappy people? If we never have a choice, the path we are on is all we know, and therefore, we may be very happy as a result! First on the selfish thing: What are the rest of you doing, reading blogs at work while your employer is paying you? I had a job that I loved for many, many, many, too many years.
Yes, I could have gotten another job, tried for one I loved. Or, since I had made enough money in those 18 years to retire, I could just go do something I loved and not get paid for it. All good points Retired Syd. Hence, why I question whether we are all inherently selfish? I think 20 years is long enough to work at building wealth. Time to do something else afterwards. I think the same thing about having children.
Does that mean that if you do un-paid work, you should not have respect for yourself? Where does that put volunteering? So why assume that the job you are paid to do is in any way optimal? Volunteering is highly noble, and you make a great point. Good luck in your post graduate work life! Early retirement is not for everyone. Personally, I would find far more meaning outside the work place than in it — if I had a different occupation I might feel differently.
To address the holiday point, it would be nice…. To address the status point, I simply do not understand the issue — I will not miss the corner office which I have and the other perks that go with my job. I view the ability to retire early and be financially independent as a bigger status symbol than any job I could possibly aspire to. There is an endless menu of meaningful and enjoyable things to do with my limited life. My current job and most other forms of paid employment do not rank very highly by either criteria.
The issue is not whether people should or should not retire early but why some people have the means to persue alternatives to a working life which does not fulfill their aspirations but choose not to do so. I have posted an extended version of this on my own blog here: Vanakkam Sam-san, Hate to sound cynical, but was this post written to get more hits?
I jumped here from ERE. Like hell they do! Do they read your post? Hmmmm, an interesting thought. Read and decide for yourself. This can happen to anyone!: The famous Joshua Bell experiment. This one came to my mind first! Frankly, I think Sam writes with a lot of truth. We already have tons of posts and forums like early-retirement.
The comments are meant to keep him on his toes when his standards appear to be slipping. In this case, it was not. The way to see this whole Early Retirement Early Retirement Financial Independence palaver is by looking a little into the discoveries made in the field of Physics. Newtonian Physics was not enough to describe the Time-Space continuum, so Quantum Physics had to be invented and used in order to better explain the whole kaboodle. This is a generalisation and terms will be mixed-and-matched badly.
Purists may forgive and absorb the general sense of my analogy. So it is with Early Retirement. What will you do from ? I like to think that the readers that DO read his post are higher on the Maslow triangle than the exotic vacation, corner ofice chasing kinds. I felt no one addressed this in the comments so far.
Of this point I am very confident! It is a rhethorical question. Hi Surio, thanks for your thoughts, all for some reason I have a hard time fully following your comments. Sorry for my lack of reading comprehension! I write my posts in a way that is authentic as possible. Some fantastic insights and comments. I learn as much from others as some do from the posts I suspect. What standard are we talking about, and who are the comparisons?
Please read my comments in context with your blog post; the comprehension will come. Not everyone bothers about this concept. This is a fact. This is my point of view. So much for his parents nurturing his talent and his teachers honing his skills. Nobody gave a damn! It cannot be treated as an absolute Never assume your readership demography on the Net: The goal can be etc.
Should I put it any more differently? I am very sorry my comments made no sense in the first place. And here I was, deluding myself that I had a engaging, chatty style of writing and cross-referencing: Better stick to an odd post, and forget about that award-winning novel ;- Ha Ha. No hard feelings from my side: I think people are so obsessed with retirement because it brings the hope of freedom and choices.
My definition of retirement is having enough financial reserve to have the choice to choose what you do on a daily basis without worries. If someone had sacrificed for their family and worked hard all their lives, they might want to spend a few years or more relaxing. For others, they have gone back into work because they are too bored. There is nothing wrong with any choices. Will that change in the future? People are better off planning to answer this question: Will I have enough assets to pay me a salary without working from when I retire Age here until I am We have retirees today who retired before I was even born.
The average life span for someone who is 65 this year is 90 years old. Hi Kim — The hope of freedom and more choices is definitely something that I along with many others look forward to in early retirement. I wish I had your desire and energy, even until 65! Thnx for sharing your thoughts! I retired at 50 because I was a millionaire.
Plus, I had achieved every single thing I ever set my heart to. Or so I thought. No matter what chart or calculator you use to figure out your financial structure, the math never works out correctly. You can try to figure the worst case scenario but trust me, the numbers just never work. Here I am almost 60, I have spent a decade living well a bare bones pace with a frugal lifestyle.
I want back in. The ages will have changed but the procedure will have not. Good luck to everyone. Early Retirement and Frugality Suck. Morrison, you write a truly fascinating, insightful, and poignant post regarding your experience as an early retiree! Was traveling even more not in your desire list? What about trying to make your blog humungo and monetize it? What about joining a tennis league for those over 50 or 55? Thanks for your candidness!! Retiring early is great if you have a plan. Surio Thanks for further clarification. Can you share with us your age, some semblance of what you need to require to retire, and how you are going about achieving your early retirement goals if that is what you ultimately desire?
It takes 7 colours to make a beautiful rainbow. And variety IS the spice of life. So no comparisons ever with apples or pears. Do not read too much into that. It is just a job. A job is a way to earn income. How you spend your time is your life, and your job is just part of it. I too made bad calls with the real estate bubble, with credit cards, with impulse buys…. Or to simply say, sod all this…. I use a combination of Bonds, mutual funds and Equities, a watertight, frugal lifestyle, NO credit cards believe me, it IS possible!
Fortune is a fickle mistress; She arrives without announcement and leaves without notice. So, I am not at all in favour of using it as a point of assessment. Those with jobs you love, Count your blessings, and hope the good times last I certainly do! Your writing style is very different. And that is exactly what I have been trying to do all the while, in all my comments.
To try and bring a slightly macro the 3 billion population point, the globalisation impact on our finances and jobs we love , the Joshua Bell article, etc. Thanks for sharing your background Surio. May I ask whether getting your PhD contributed to your desire to want to no longer work? What is your PhD in? What do you think about my argument of at least working the amount of time one is in school? In your case, that would be about 20 years or so. I really liked this post. Or to put it another way, you better have some idea what you actually want to do when you retire.
Nothing selfish about it. Being a stay-at-home-do-nothing-spouse is selfish. Retiring by living on your own hard earned money is just another life choice. Abusive bosses and 12 hour days. The pay was nice, but there is no early retirement that would have been early enough from these places.
They are just there. So the question is would I keep working if I could retire and maintain the same quality of life? The answer is probably no. If working 40 hours a week gets me a small apartment, used furniture, an ancient car and no real respect, how is retiring going to be much worse? At least if I retired I could move to some place with better weather. I am also very well aware that one day my career will hit a wall. At this point there are a few options.
And your career can get derailed other ways like through mergers and layoffs. If and when this happens I might not have any desire to go through the hassle of sending out resumes which will never be read, trying to BS my way through interviews and moving across country to get another job. The grind is still the grind.
What it does do is provide more opportunities for people to advance their careers thus eliminating a certain sense of career malaise. On the other hand it also makes early retirement easier by allowing people to save up money faster. But there needs to be some way for even the lowly peons to get ahead. Everyone needs to have things that they can realistically work towards. Nothing is more depressing than showing up every day just because you need to pay the rent. Real breaks — If I could take a real break of 3 months to a year and still be able to return to my job it would be the perfect answer to the current deferred life plan.
It just has to be a break so that I can focus on bettering myself. The point is that I want the time to do those things. Perhaps a good analogy is like quitting in a baseball game during the 4th inning while behind I took the thing that I was best at academics and pushed it to its absolute limit.
During the process I learned exactly where my limits are and a lot about what would be needed to surpass them. I think of it more as playing the odds. One very painful thing that I learned while pushing myself to the limits academically was just how much of life I missed out on. While I try not to be bitter and angry about it I firmly believe that very little comes from such thoughts , the fact is that sometimes when I think about how much I gave up to chase a goal I get pretty sad.
Average is fine with me. Search engines, not people, read your resume. Politics, not results, gets you a promotion. Networking, not your resume, gets you an interview. A merger wipes out your whole department. Work stress ruins your home life. The thought of being able to walk away from all that is very enticing.
Honestly, if I liked my job I would probably stay there until I finally got laid off.
Grandpa,Investment,Rules
And in this economy that can be very hard. I was pretty close to becoming one of them a few months ago. But there is another group of people who sponge off their parents, spouses, significant others, relatives, the government, etc simply because they are lazy. Actually I think the definition of early retirement varies. I will probably do this for 30 years, not for the pension or benefits, but because I just love what I do and it makes me happy doing it.
I get to travel a lot, spend time with my daughter, do side projects I own a real estate company teach, and do so many more things. I hope the military is taking care of you! I love, love what I do, so I do it for me and not because I have to, or because it pays the bills, trust me, money is not an issue. I can buy almost anything I want. When I posted the accurate numbers at his site, Bill went nuts. Hundreds of other people expressed interest in being able to have honest discussions. Do you now understand why there is such a deep hatred of me among some of the people who congregate there?
How would you feel if you not only had gotten the numbers wrong in a retirement study but had thereby caused lots of your friends to suffer failed retirements and had also banned honest posting on the topic at a retirement board? You would feel pretty darn bad about yourself. You could be helping them out by writing about this matter. We need to get this all in the open so that people can return to sanity.
I encourage you and all other personal finance bloggers to do so. Lots of people have been hurt, lots of boards and blogs have been destroyed or seriously damaged and those of us who care about the future of these communities should be doing what we can to help out. Good luck in fighting for what you believe in! Retirement is different for everyone as many have noted. It annoys me that early retirees show off so much and try and tell us how great their lives are when the rest of us are not retirement.
All that serves to do is make people feel bad for doing a normal job. Retiring from paid employment is simply going back to the way humans were meant to live. Taking care of business food, clothing, and shelter and having fun. Are you kidding me? Why are you calling people who work at their job losers? I just read your profile. You might have to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself why you are in the state you are in. As is usual in arguments like this, it degenerates to misquoting. I would tend to agree. Out of the gazillions of things out there that a person can do with their time, work is just one of them.
So I would have to agree with the initial sentiment, that if you can only find friends by working, if you can only find something to do with your day by working, and if you can only feel productive by doing what someone else is telling you to do, you really might be a loser. No one is happy every minute of every day, working or retired. Will have to disagree.
Who are we to say that someone is a loser for loving their work and making an income to boot? I guess my point was that if a happy person can be made to be unhappy simply by removing one activity from their life, that is sad. If someone has complete dependence on one aspect of their life for making them happy, I suggest they are not very well-rounded.
As far as the paycheck, I think that is a very good reason to work. Most people need to work because of that little thing called making ends meet, which I fully understand. Under a bulky amount of assumption in this article, I see an unrefined sense that retirement does not mean one quits having life purpose. What I think man cannot be retired at any age in life.
He always have something to do , he can stop earning but still he will need money and it become quite difficult for him to get it from some else. Mostly what i think those people retire early those who either have some hidden mean or some earning coming easy or some one helping him in his loving.
I think you bring up a lot of good points including that the lifestyle design movement may shrink if more people are gainfully employed rather than sitting in front of their laptops. What kind of things would you like to be doing when you hit age 45? Early retirement holds its pros and cons. But I personally was not in favor of early retirement from the beginning when this ideology came up. One of elder cousins is working with a big MNC having very good salary. He planned to retire early around the age of 45 and in doing so he is not able to dedicate any time for his family.
Also what early retirement does is that when we are completely skilled after a certain age and experience, we waste all those efforts we put to get those skills. In fact that is best time to yield all the benefits of those hard efforts put in. Its that type of control that having money can provide. Invest early, invest often, actively manage your assets and let compounding lead the way. Then your options open up later in life. Sound so easy, right? I do like this post and topic — thought provoking. Retiring early is a good hedge against bad health.
What if I get really ill at Are we only here to be slaves to society and submit to its whims? Why not work fewer years than you went to school. Did your mother and father work so hard educating you to see you grow up and be a drone, working away your life feeling shamed at thoughts of self, or did they want you to be happy? We accept certain changes to our lifestyles to avoid work. Even doing what you love if fraught with compromises when you do it for others.
Ignorant management, bad bosses, corporate policy, government regulation, etc. The freedom retirement brings can far outweigh the perceived negatives, allowing us to pursue out life on our terms. Dan, sorry you have such anger. Others could use your helping hand. Wow… I find it really fascinating that people see such a distinct line between being employed and being retired. The Cable has been Cut!
Thnx for your insights. Gotcha, thanks for the insights Rebecca. Please if anyone could give me a hint, or a nod in the right direction to be able to make real money online, please help! I want to feel like a man again! And we truly could use the extra income we lost, when I had to take the disability retirement. Thank You, God Bless. Perhaps there is a fringe benefit to living most of your adult life surrounded by starving musicians!
Since you are a self proclaimed eco-maniac, where do you live may I ask? Love to hear your thoughts on the subject! I have to disagree with the statement of our monetary system is bad. The capitalist system works just fine. Look at how some people can retire, new talented individuals opening their own companies, being better educated etc. When we stop stuffing people into a dependency cacoon and let their genius and creativity flourish you will see a whole new person. No one owes anyone anything.
Those who criticize early retirement forget that we are not retiring to our bedrooms but to the conquering of the rest of our lives, be that what may be. Read up on Adam Smith, see what you get out of it. Russell Roberts is another good economist also. The mind needs to be constantly challenge. Another Dark Side to early retirement is that the risk of outliving your money could increase. I have never had any desire to retire at Thats a signal that I need to switch, start a new business, or get another hobby. To be honest, all this early-retirement-stuff on the web baffles me.
What on earth are you going to do with your life with nothing to do? Any human being needs a goal, a feeling of purpose, something to strive for. I do thing we need to rethink retirement. Working part-time should be norm for older people. Starting up businesses should be easier. Having a year off should be easier, and it could replace those pitiful weeks every now and then we call vacation. One friend just did that — and he did have to threaten to leave the company for good before getting a sabbatical.
It simply shows how narrow our definition of work has become. And I do thing many people would find jobs that feel better than whatever they do now — even if that would not be their passion — if they thought at least a little outside a box. Hi Kirsi — What is it that you do for a living? My field is IT, the tech side, which may or may not come as a surprise…I still remember browsing through all the it mags in the local library, and coding evenings at home secretly, as admitting such a passion would have been a social suicide;. I think one reason I still love to work is the fact that there are plenty of things to choose from in my field.
I started out of passion for coding: I do work hard when I need to, but at some point, one must stop to breathe. I only used 6, and let my husband keep the rest. I also started blogging about those issues. If we get another, we might move abroad for the duration of the leave. I think work is considered too narrowly.
People change, and interests change. One must be ready to change what they do when that becomes a burden. There are always times in life when something does not feel exciting — sometimes the feeling passes, and sometimes you need to change the assignment, the job, or even the entire profession. Maybe less lazy people work this dilemma better…. Kirsi — It is a different world in the US. We only have 3 months maternity leave max, and vacations are less.
Europeans are lucky, and I guess Greece is changing that by making Europeans work longer and harder now. I just need to release them.
[PDF] Grandpa s Investment Rules or Hey, Where d My Retirement Go? Full Colection
The system should learn. But if I had to rethink about my retirement, I would still choose to retire early. I am glad that I am retired now because I have been able to do things meaningful and enjoyable in the last two years. Glad you retired early Suzan and have done some great things over the past two years!
Also good to hear your husband is treating you well and going on good vacations: Gotta live life to the fullest! I could imagine my mother would love to retire early. She did have a sabbatical a few years ago. But there are other stories, too. My husband knows an elderly man who refereed football for years and travelled even aged 70 years about days a year. Two years later, he does not know his own name. They literally took his life away.
In the end, it is about having that feeling that you are living up to your potential, according to your values, and have a reason to wake up each day. I am seeing, in my mind, someone with very clear vision, striving to live a life to its fullest! What a beautiful and encouraging scene for everyone else to see and to follow! I am sad for the football referee though. Is the only persuit in life selling your soul for money? To me, no amount of money is worth the constant exhaustion that being employed required.
Eventhough I really loved the organization that I worked for, it was a choice between having a job or having a life, and I chose life! I agree with you Rebecca. I have put up with so many people that concept you stated about the only way to stay busy trading your life for money. There are so many things to do out there. Having the freedom to come and go and do what makes you happy is a problem???? I am rereading the book Your Money Or Your LIfe… and the authors retired early; but then did volunteer work; including donating all the money from that book and other work to charity.
It is about reaching Financial Independent to not have to work.. At first thought, early retirement is not selfish if you have a family. On second thought, you do have a great point about parents slaving away… Two birds with one stone, retire early enough so you can treat your parents for the sacrifices they have made.
Dunno if there is an ideal age. Reach your potential, but still be healthy enough to enjoy your free time? When is the right time? Most people are naturally greedy so of course they have to fully partake in the money grab! For me, it was an achievement of a goal I set out at 31 years old. I knew I did not want to work for someone forever. At age thirty-eight, I was a full time entrepreneur. It was everything I thought it would be and more!
The Dark Side Of Early Retirement
No, because my wife and I discussed it extensively before I took the leap. Our lifestyle actually improved, because I had more freedom. In many ways, late thirties is an ideal age for this kind of career change. Young enough to enjoy the opportunities that are available and energetic enough for the additional responsibilities.
I thought I picked the perfect time to strike out on my own. Although I returned to the working world, I have no regrets. I was able to do what few have accomplished. Success in the market has little to do with a desire to be financial independent. A bull market may make it easier to retire or to become financially independent. That entrepreneurial spirit is there or it is not. It is what drives people to success. Good to hear about your entrepreneurial endeavors at Why did you return to the working world, and could you have retired and never work again at 45 or 50 years old?
It was seven years later 45 yrs. I returned because I was bored! I was not prepared for retirement and it was not stimulating enough for me. The income from my income property was sufficient to maintain a certain level of comfort. The business became a drain emotionally and financially. I ended up selling it all off and invested the proceeds in the stock market.
I have no regrets! I am much more prepared emotionally and mentally to retire this time. I am preparing now starting this blog, starting volunteering, downsized home, children are grown and a much lower lifestyle. My income stream is fixed and guaranteed and my retirement savings will create a very comfortable standard of living. Truly passive earnings versus active earnings. What is one or two things I should emotionally prepare for if I retire?
I just wrote out a post for Yakezie. Your question gave me an idea for a post. I realized many people prepare for the financial side of retirement, but few prepare for the changes that occur naturally in retirement. It is already published as you read this. Thank you for your question and comments. People wants to retire early so they will be able to enjoy life with no worries.
There is nothing wrong about it. It is a normal human instinct. But you need to work for your retirement. You need enough money or even start with a good business early in your life. Sam I think it is kind of selfish, but then again, what isnt? When people go on a diet, who are they really doing it for? Sometimes they say they want to be healthy because of their family or kids or whatever, but they may just want to get healthy so they can look and feel better about themselves. I also think that people who want to retire may not have found the right think to do yet.
Right now, I just need to keep my health up so that I can transition to that later in life. Can you imagine if our blogs lasted for the next 20 years? We could easily retire from our blogs by then imo! Retiring early may have its flaws but it has its privileges as well. It is a personal choice which should come with proper consideration of so many things.
Be it financially, emotionally, psychologically and physically. What ever people may say, an article like this could only let you see what options and choices you have. You cannot box retirement to either good or bad. I also run my own company and because of this, retiring early is not as big of a wish as it was when I worked for someone else. I have no other responsibilities other than the daily house chores and driving my son off to school every morning, and putting up with my annoying cat. But do you know what I do in between the time that my son is at school and then comes home?
Things that I would much rather do than work, whether I enjoyed my job or not. I need to purchase something from Wally world? No long weekend rush to get behind. Retirement is not about being bored. Hell, traveling the world is only a bonus. Oz, blog, read, work-out, and blog some more. I hope retirement will be everything you want it to be. KrantCents wrote an interesting post where he talked about not being emotionally ready the first go around. I thought that was quite insightful. I think so long as people ate being productive in their early retirement, they have a chance of doing whatever they want.
Fortunately, there will be something available in for acquiring health care should I have trouble obtaining it through other channels. As I always harp on the fact that there are too many people competing for too many resources, including jobs, this should not come as a surprise. Older employees are edged out through many means, and companies know when you hit 50 your needs for medical care go up. So, my message is: Basically, the current state of things is awful, D. I believe that what you say probably does occur, even though it might to be overt.
That really sounds like good advice. What is your age currently? I used to want to do just that. Despite that working very well, and even not-so-well … I realized that I wanted to do something more. I probably would have needed to get back to work anyway. My caste is not blue as in blood. But then … as I sat around for a year or 3 … spending money, not making it … I started wondering and asking myself questions.
Depression, self doubts, even worse for some. I think everyone will work until they die. Something that makes you want to do it everyday. Learn it inside and out. Be all you can be … only push yourself to be better. I found life to be a lot like the markets financial markets … utter chaos. But there are repeating patterns. You can change your mind.
Just stop racing around with rats. Maybe you are in the wrong profession? If a person loves their work, why would they retire? Sitting out around a pool, reading books from my favorite authors. They can still go back to work, if they like. They can open up a taco stand and only work breakfast and lunch crowds.
Retiring without money coming in … is just that. The balance sheet gets smaller, not larger.
But, what if a scenario , you started buying real estate or had enough dividends coming in to live off of? Anything that generated income, right? IMO again , no one in the normal so-called middle class range will ever retire and just graze the golf course, like the uber-wealthy do. But … even they still work, managing their money. They just do it with aggressive abandon. They love to do it. These people still work, just not for the same reasons most of the population does. J Especially if one does something they really like to do. Go ahead, force me to retire …. Thanks for sharing your incredibly thorough thoughts!
Always good to hear different perspectives. I was 44 when I started to retire … from working for someone else. I can still manage trading part time vs. Depite what Gold is doing, SIlver is has been the best bang for the buck. Selling portions at highs, buying back at lows highs lows are based purely on technical data, NOT financials.
Find a way to get your money working for you. Learn the markets, or learn everything there is to know about real estate, or what it takes to run a specialty business restaurant, etc, etc. I would probably not know what to do with it. Sam, your thoughts about why people want to retire early are very true.
All of those and probably more… related to the same theme. As mentioned in post below, retire on your own terms. Just be wise and think ahead. Not like the unreal visions I originally had. I know I want to keep working, but doing something I enjoy doing like now. With great health benefits at that! One day … many will understand that in full detail. Keep up the great work! I completely agree with this! Many young people are not aware of this natural progression, which is one reason why it is important to save for an early retirement even if it never happens.
Not selfish at at, there are a lot of good things that can be done in retirement. Non-profit work, spending more time with the family, pursuing a dream, etc. I think people should retire before someone else tell them they have to. Do it on your own terms. In my organization I have been successful, promoted, etc. With many employers trying to get by with fewer people, I am sure many have reached a point when leaving is an act of self-preservation. I cannot wait to use my energy and intellect for things that interest me, like college courses and volunteer work probably as a tutor.
I would like to encourage you and others to make changes in your work life sooner rather than later if you are not happy. While it was necessary for me to work these years to amass what I need to retire, I wish I had done it somewhere else — by the time I hit 50, it would have made zero sense financially to leave because of a very good pension plan, so I stuck it out. As to whether it is selfish to retire young — I agree with those who say you are doing a good thing by creating an opportunity for someone else to work.
Indeed, I think many twenty- and thirty-somethings probably wish we boomers would get out of the way. Good luck with whatever you decide. Hi Jennifer, welcome to Financial Samurai! Glad the search engine brought you here. I would just take all my vacations and then some every year until then. I think you will enjoy your retirement in 4 months. All of his friends still worked, so he really had no one to do anything with except for much older retirees. I will work to my grave and would come to work even if I won lottery which I do not play , but I would not judge those who do retire early.
If it makes them happy, and they are not living off social assistance, they should go for it. And, by the way, most of the mortals can make much bigger impact through unpaid work then their job. Take for example stay-at-home moms and dads or those volunteering to feed the hungry and heal the sick. They can make more difference in one year than I can managing my company for 30 years. I retired in at age 45 and it was the BEST thing to happen to me in my life. I hated the commute, even 2 or 3 days a week, so I had to make that zero days a week. I will never change my mind.
I have health insurance and upped my car insurance limits last year. I have not lost touch with local friends and family. In fact, being retired has made it easier to get together with them with my added availability. I am childfree so I never wanted to have kids of my own. Wold you ever ask a similar question to someone who wants to start a family? I intend to retire around My father got his first heart attack at 51 and totally bit the dust at 58, his father before him died at 43, and so on.
So I figure I might last til about maybe 68 if I am lucky. As for giving back to the community or doing something great: My life with the School District has been working with the Poor!!! Working class people at least know their place and know how to behave!! The poor should be forced to work to do something for their money!! THEY are my charity!! They are at least appreciative of getting things for free!! Thanks for stopping by.
Have a read of this post: I thought I would work until 40, but found the love of the internet as an X Factor which allowed me to accelerate my early retirement by 6 years. Here is a 1 year old passive income report which shows what I live off. Way late here, but nobody else has said it.
Turns out both are just people! I know a lot of rich, male jerks myself. My wife is awesome and at least as thrifty as me. We are achieving FI together right about now actually and both enjoy our careers and plan to keep working in some reduced capacity. What an amazingly negative article.
And so wrong on all of the over-generalized points. Most friends of which I still have a rich network are impressed with how much younger my stress-diminished Me is. And this family issue? Who is likely maybe a few rare ones to retire so early as to make child-bearing an issue? My wife and I are totally savoring the extra time we have with grandchildren. What a sad approach to life, whether you are retired or not. I wouldnt worry about it so much.
My position was eliminated two years ago must have been a sub-optimal performer. I eat healthier, get more exercise, more rest, feel much better and more relaxed. It would have to be something really interesting though.