FIRE? Retire early? Frugal?

[Queen K]

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/201811 ... ades-early

Living on less early on in life.
Who has the goal to retire early?

[jimmy4321]

I'm running out of decades to fix this, Lol
I like the idea, freedom is great but i'd probably get in trouble without being on some mission.

[vegas1500]

I do..........way to many friends passed away in the last 5 years. I want to enjoy some retirement. Hopefully another 4 years and thats it. Will still "do something" but it wont be stressful . Id rather a longer retirement with less than the opposite.

[dirtybiker]

I never set retirement as a goal. I had always thought living now
was more important than a plan for later.

I never put any thought into it and generally had a plan to do what I do,
till I dropped.
Many in my Industry do.

Not really my smartest plan, but no plan has always been my plan.

Now with unforeseen issues I may not be able to continue to work,
in an industry that has no post-work pensions, it poses a serious issue.

My goal now is to attempt to educate my kidlet into adopting a hybrid
of FIRE, not so much to aim for retirement but, just to have bases covered
so as to not get stuck in unforeseen, unfortunate circumstance.

Like supporting dear old Dad !! Hahahaha !!

[Queen K]

Dear old Dad is one of a handful of extremely talented writers could-be published authors here on Castanet. Hobojo and a a few others are right up there.

DB, you have the ability.

[dirtybiker]

A self help book ?

1162 pages with nothing but lines for the purchaser to write on.

$34.95 US, available at Mosaic books mid 2019.

I'll have a signing upon release at $7.00 a head.

[dirtybiker]

Observation, when not working, with very little fixed income,
I always seem to have more 'disposable' income.

When my oldest brother took a forced early retirement, he also noted that
his spending freedoms opened up.
No longer needing to work, just to be able to afford to work.

Far less commuter costs, meal, clothing, personal equipment costs, etc.
More time to devote to smarter shopping and at home meal preparation.
Far less impulse spending. Everything wears out or requires replacing and
maintenance at longer intervals.

Sum: Costs of not working are drastically reduced.

[Catsumi]

You are wise beyond your years DB. Most of us worked too hard and too long in order to purchase items not needed, just "wanted"

[TreeGuy]

Mrs. Tree & I live a frugal life. We use YNAB, an extremely useful budgeting tool. First rule of it is to give every penny a job. If you follow that rule your money won't disappear into thin air.

Our frugal life style paid off when I had my accident. I ended up on a reduced income by Worksafe but yet our finances never skipped a beat. We have lots of equity in our home, no debt beyond our mortgage and we have savings. Life is pretty good.

ETA: We live a pretty stress free life and never have to argue about our finances.

[Grandan]

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20181101-fire-the-movement-to-live-frugally-and-retire-decades-early

Living on less early on in life.
Who has the goal to retire early?

I retired early. Well, I stopped working full time at age 47 to work on my personal project and had enough money to tide me over but, in order to make this work it is necessary for the spouse to buy in as well and sadly that is not the case here.
I see money spent on stuff and then thrown away or given away when it does not provide the buzz that the purchase did.
Every time I saved up money to do some thing that I wanted I saw it given as gifts (loans) to any one of our 4 kids or some of the grandchildren.
I bought a house long before I bought a car and continued to bike to work while my wife shuttled the kids to music lessons in our old car that never seemed to be good enough.
Factor in some bad investments a few impulse buys and the principal evaporates quickly.
The constant pressure to upgrade electronics, the need for a phone that gets used once a month at best and an endless list of trips and such and it is a recipe for savings depletion.
Some people can only live frugally if the money supply is shut off, if they have it, they spend it. Very few have the discipline
to not spend.
I have had the same cheap chop saw for more than 30 years. I use it constantly. I see the boys buy expensive chop saws that
get used for one project and then sit rotting in the corner.
I see stuff thrown out that could be sold for good money because of either ignorance or stupidity.
I have enough examples to write a book.

[Bsuds]

I was given (forced) retirement at 55. The Company I had worked at for 32 years decided they were downsizing.

I did better than most as I got a very generous cheque but my pension was reduced by a fair amount.

My Wife had a good paying job and we had invested well so we never looked back.

I did work part time at a couple of places while she was still working but as soon as she retired that was it for that.

We are living as good as or better than most I think, and enjoying our retirement.

[Lady tehMa]

Barring a lotto win, we won't be retiring early. Some bad investments coupled with stretches without work have left us with our chins at the water level. Being frugal helps - we've not gone under yet. We've not ever gone on vacation to an exotic locale, either. Not Mexico, even. No boat/motorhome/toys. But we don't need fancy vacations or the latest doodad to be happy. My vice is books; they take me away for much less than a vacation in real life would. Husband's vice is media; movies (not in the theatre though, too expensive!) and internet. Kids are still at home, they find helping us defray costs much cheaper than moving out and paying for everything on their own. They will leave the nest though, sooner or later.

[Mark1111]

I gave my retirement notice on Dec 1, this year. I will walk away without a backward glance in 2 months. To what has yet to be determined in the long run but I am under 60, and while I do leave this rat race worse for wear from when I jumped into it decades ago my doc hasn’t completely written me off yet so it’s a win as far as I am concerned. Most people I tell this to tell me I am retiring too young. More their perception of my earning potential than my age and I get that...in fact it kind of a trap if you let it get you. But some people need to give their head a shake; retirement doesn’t mean you do nothing. It can be an opportunity to hit the rest button. When I look at what I have scheduled for the next year I will probably be busier than I have ever been. That seems weird to some but retirement looks different for everyone.

Moment of truth for me about 10 years ago…a hospice nurse I was having a conversation with at some work social told me something that resonated. Very loudly. Every person she consoled in their dying days said they should have had more fun. Not one said they wished they had worked harder. Or longer.
If I were to get the big C diagnosis in 3 years or 5 or 20 years from now am I going to wish I had spent the last years working so my kids inherit even more money? Hummmmnnn…nope.

[t76turbo]

Just what really is retirement?

If you have worked for yourself most of one’s life, does one just somehow quit?

I’m in my mid 40’s. Bought my 1st house in my early 20’s. Lived fairly frugal, no real vacations that cost big $. Mostly camping / fishing with the kids. Worked my a$$ off and never bought what I couldn’t pay outright for. Love working with my hands and on cars. Don’t eat out or smoke but enjoy the occasional drink at home or with friends. Just not out in pubs or restaurants racking up huge bills.

Do everything myself, google helps a lot. Be much further ahead but the ex took a chunk. Watched my friends blow money like it grew on trees. Partying, cars, vacations and women. Some made crazy money at jobs I would drool about, now don’t have a pot to p*ss in. Easy come, easy go I believe the sayen goes.

I don’t think I’ll ever retire. Don’t know how I guess. What I do know is I’ll help my kids like my parents did with me. Just no handouts, only a hand up. Have a nice nest egg now as house is paid off, rental property almost and a commercial building within 10 years. Every extra dollar pays down debt. Never owned a “new car” have a few nice ones tho.

Work hard and smart and live within your means, is what I tell my kids. I used to want it all, now just want to be with my family. Work, life, balance and every now and then still enjoy my craft dinner but I use the fancy hot source now!

[Queen K]

Careful turbo, some lady here might set her hat for you

And wouldn't you know it, that is how I did it. Only I let the rental go, to this day I debate that move.

Going into stores to buy new stuff is like a shock to me. Sometimes a toxic shock.

I have 11 years to work yet if I keep to my present job, that'd be 37 years of what I do if I retire at 64.
I do recall a line in a book I read once, "I knew I had to write if I wanted to quit being a teacher."
I may just take that one to heart and try writing my lifes experiences.
Only everyone here has read the book already, one post at a time. There's no money in that.