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Early Retirement (2006)

philip.greenspun.com

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Re: Early Retirement (2006)

#11

Post by flowerlad »

showerst wrote: post #8
flowerlad wrote: post #2

How much money can a Silicon Valley software engineer expect to have at retirement? This article says $7 million: https://www.wealthmeta.com/blog/being-a-doctor-vs-being-a-so... Here's the back-of-the-envelope calculation: Annual salary: $250K (it is much higher at FAANG). Assume 25% tax (effective, not marginal), which leaves us with $187.5K, which is about $15K per month. Assume $5000 in monthly expenses, which lea…

Those numbers are pretty optimistic for expenses if you live somewhere expensive, ever plan to get into a long term relationship and/or have kids, or ever plan to make a down payment on a house. I think your tax calculation is way low too, but haven't done the math.

Who needs to spend more than $5000 per month, not including mortgage?

Re: Early Retirement (2006)

#12

Post by gfiorav »

I had a version of this realization early in my life. I wanted to be a musician. I thought that school and other things in life were a burden and that once I was devoted to music, I'd be happy and full.

I got my dream by 18 years old. When music became my work I hated it.

Made me think differently about life.

Re: Early Retirement (2006)

#13

Post by pugworthy »

A tangent comment, but his website is such a fun throwback. I remember finding the Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing (https://philip.greenspun.com/panda/) when it was first put up. What an amazing eye opener for me at the time to what the internet would/could be. Plus I loved his napkin-style diagrams and interspersed photos.

Re: Early Retirement (2006)

#14

Post by JKCalhoun »

I was hoping to find some nuggets of wisdom in this blog post but came up empty I'm afraid.

I kept busy writing games, doing art, making things from wood before my career/family, I see no reason why I will not again when retired.

As I do have a family (and nearly an empty nest now) I have become quite comfortable not having much of a "social life". I still want friends, still need the occasional connection, but it is not nearly as central to my life as it was when I was younger.

No, I expect I will do just fine as a retiree.

(Maybe I should add, I still have managed to squeeze in projects this whole time in my off hours even while holding down a job + family. I know there are plenty of unmotivated people and so maybe I was not the target of the post.)

Re: Early Retirement (2006)

#15

Post by dagw »

MattGaiser wrote: post #7
awb wrote: post #3

> Retirement forces you to stop thinking that it is your job that holds you back. For most people the depressing truth is that they aren't that organized, disciplined, or motivated. Maybe, but I don’t know anyone who’s less happy being retired. They might not be living their retirement fantasy, but the pressure and stress of having to work is gone.

Both my grandfathers have repeatedly tried to retire and within 3 weeks went back to work until in the case of one his boss changed and in the case of the other, at 77 he is still working. For many their work is very core to their identity and without it, they have little to do.

I think easing out of work is important. My dad 'retired' at 67 and instantly got hired back as a consultant on an hourly basis. He then spent the next 3 or so years slowly cutting down his hours until he was only working ~20-30% at which point he felt ready quit.

Re: Early Retirement (2006)

#16

Post by rwilson4 »

flowerlad wrote: post #11
showerst wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those numbers are pretty optimistic for expenses if you live somewhere expensive, ever plan to get into a long term relationship and/or have kids, or ever plan to make a down payment on a house. I think your tax calculation is way low too, but haven't done the math.

Who needs to spend more than $5000 per month, not including mortgage?

People with kids. My daughter's preschool is more expensive than my college was!

Re: Early Retirement (2006)

#17

Post by giantg2 »

MattGaiser wrote: post #5

> How much work does the average college student get done? Almost none. Yet the same person, injected into a corporate bureaucracy, becomes a reasonably effective worker. Why? Most people have terrible time management skills. This limitation is of no consequence in public school. The school tells you where to sit and what to do and when, at least for six hours per day. This limitation is of no consequence at most job…

I agree, but it depends on what you consider work.

The author in your quote is implying that in public school you get a lot of work done. I don't think this is necessarily true. Unless, we are counting sitting in school for 6 hours each day as work. If we measure work as simple attendance and adherence to a schedule, then it seems that work and school are similar (ie sit in a class lecture v sit in a meeting, with very brief amounts of work in between). But this has nothing to do with output, which most of us would consider a necessary product of work.

Re: Early Retirement (2006)

#18

Post by bloaf »

showerst wrote: post #8
flowerlad wrote: post #2

How much money can a Silicon Valley software engineer expect to have at retirement? This article says $7 million: https://www.wealthmeta.com/blog/being-a-doctor-vs-being-a-so... Here's the back-of-the-envelope calculation: Annual salary: $250K (it is much higher at FAANG). Assume 25% tax (effective, not marginal), which leaves us with $187.5K, which is about $15K per month. Assume $5000 in monthly expenses, which lea…

Those numbers are pretty optimistic for expenses if you live somewhere expensive, ever plan to get into a long term relationship and/or have kids, or ever plan to make a down payment on a house. I think your tax calculation is way low too, but haven't done the math.

If you do a little algebra and make some simple assumptions, it turns out that "years of work required for retirement" is a function of your savings ratio only, that is savings/take-home pay.

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-si...

Re: Early Retirement (2006)

#19

Post by showerst »

flowerlad wrote: post #11
showerst wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those numbers are pretty optimistic for expenses if you live somewhere expensive, ever plan to get into a long term relationship and/or have kids, or ever plan to make a down payment on a house. I think your tax calculation is way low too, but haven't done the math.

Who needs to spend more than $5000 per month, not including mortgage?

You don't start out with a mortgage, unless have some unusual circumstances.

Re: Early Retirement (2006)

#20

Post by coldcode »

awb wrote: post #3

> Retirement forces you to stop thinking that it is your job that holds you back. For most people the depressing truth is that they aren't that organized, disciplined, or motivated. Maybe, but I don’t know anyone who’s less happy being retired. They might not be living their retirement fantasy, but the pressure and stress of having to work is gone.

I retired at age 62.5, tired of working long hours and high stress as a lead programmer in a huge company. Now I write code all day I want to write. Much more fun. I miss being involved in the (non FAANG) companies business, but I don't miss the hours, stress, frustration or exec indecision at all.
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