Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Early-Retirement Update

livingafi.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 443 posts

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#21

Post by criddell »

seibelj wrote: post #3

I "retired" for a month, first two weeks I was so bored just exercising and consuming content, then got kind of depressed, and wound up making plans to start a new business. Then I took a new role at a startup and went back to the grind. I came to the conclusion I just can't stop working. If it isn't for a company then I'd probably start a non-profit and build a new thing that is more idealistic. My dad was the same…

> I was so bored just exercising and consuming content

Is that all you wanted to do? I'm pretty sure if I could afford to be retired it would be a long, long time before I got bored. Yes I would exercise more and catch up on TV and movies that I've missed over the years, but I also have a lot of hobbies that I would like to work on. There are local organizations I would like to volunteer for. There are lots of classes I would want to take or audit. I'd visit friends and family I haven't seen in years.

I might even be like your dad and find a job that I enjoy doing. That's a whole different thing than working because you have to.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#22

Post by boplicity »

In my early twenties, I had a business mostly on autopilot that let me work maybe an hour a day. I mostly spent my time writing poetry, hiking, making friends, etc. It was great. It was not sustainable, but it was perfect for a twenty something exploring the joys and freedoms of youth.

Now, I work much harder, have kids, and responsibilities. That being said, I know the work I do is meaningful, and serves many people. We have significant savings. Though living in a big city means we can't retire early. That's beside the point though: I motivate myself to work because it is meaningful. The same with kids: I don't do things because I enjoy them, I do them in the service of my kids and my family. Reading the story in the OP, I get the sense that the OP hasn't made that transition to thinking about work in terms of serving others. A happy life is not a life of retirement, its a life of meaning. What was meaningful once (aiming for retirement), loses its meaning once it has been attained. You have to keep moving forward. This is not about "Keeping Up," but about stepping outside of oneself, and learning to put others ahead, even if it requires personal suffering. (Something parents of young children know very well.)

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#23

Post by varispeed »

This is something I cannot understand. Why would you want to retire so early? I think that would impact my mental health negatively. I just love to work and I couldn't care less about FI. I mean it's nice to have money, but this will sound cliche it will not buy you happiness. However, it is certainly better to cry in a luxury apartment than under a bridge to your dog.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#24

Post by Pandabob »

He mentions MRIs costing 2-3k€ a pop. That seems really expensive. I’m guessing this is US? Doesn’t competition push down the price of these operations? We’ve got private clinics in Finland offering MRIs from ~230€ without any subsidies (AFAIK).

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#25

Post by xwdv »

hintymad wrote: post #20

My take-away is that what really matters is not financial independence (it's nonetheless really nice), but independence. And the real independence comes from continued ability to work, being able to choose the job that one enjoys, and the freedom of choosing how to spend one's time. Freedom of choosing how to spend one's time is probably the hardest to achieve.

No, financial independence is what matters in a world where returns on capital will greatly outperform returns on labor.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#26

Post by neogodless »

sidlls wrote: post #9

I always get a kick out of people who think they’re financially independent with such a small stash. Outside some regions with relatively extreme living conditions (e.g. undeveloped and underdeveloped countries), the amount he retired with was never going to be enough to sustain even minor shocks and last the rest of his life. He had a minor shock (breakup) and a major shock (health condition) and realized this error…

Even with the minor and major shocks in his life, he ended up with 20% more money than he started with. The main reason he wants more money now is that he wants to share it with his new partner, and enjoy some lifestyle inflation.

So I don't think it makes sense to extrapolate "leanFIRE cannot sustain minor shocks" from his circumstances." It certainly cannot sustain a certain level of lifestyle inflation, or (more generically) big enough changes to your expense sheet.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#27

Post by dominotw »

boplicity wrote: post #22

In my early twenties, I had a business mostly on autopilot that let me work maybe an hour a day. I mostly spent my time writing poetry, hiking, making friends, etc. It was great. It was not sustainable, but it was perfect for a twenty something exploring the joys and freedoms of youth. Now, I work much harder, have kids, and responsibilities. That being said, I know the work I do is meaningful, and serves many people…

> A happy life is not a life of retirement, its a life of meaning. What was meaningful once (aiming for retirement), loses its meaning once it has been attained. You have to keep moving forward.

you figured out the meaning of life for everyone?

maybe you are rationalizing your own lack of freedom from work and responsibility as "serving others" and secret to happiness. Which is fine but its a bit weird to say that applies to everyone and ppl who aren't doing have just not made that "transition" to a life of meaning.

I am glad You figured out formula of happiness for your life don't you think everyone else has the same freedom to figure out their own path and formula. Why do you think everyone should follow your universal formula.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#28

Post by mypalmike »

jacquesm wrote: post #12
sidlls wrote: post #9

I always get a kick out of people who think they’re financially independent with such a small stash. Outside some regions with relatively extreme living conditions (e.g. undeveloped and underdeveloped countries), the amount he retired with was never going to be enough to sustain even minor shocks and last the rest of his life. He had a minor shock (breakup) and a major shock (health condition) and realized this error…

Especially not in the USA when the least of a health issue can eat up your savings in a couple of short months unless you have extremely good health coverage, which only the rich (who don't actually need it ...) have.

It's not perfect, but maximum annual out-of-pocket for an individual ACA plan is $8550, plus premiums. If that's your entire savings, you were certainly not FI.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#29

Post by jdavis703 »

jacquesm wrote: post #12
sidlls wrote: post #9

I always get a kick out of people who think they’re financially independent with such a small stash. Outside some regions with relatively extreme living conditions (e.g. undeveloped and underdeveloped countries), the amount he retired with was never going to be enough to sustain even minor shocks and last the rest of his life. He had a minor shock (breakup) and a major shock (health condition) and realized this error…

Especially not in the USA when the least of a health issue can eat up your savings in a couple of short months unless you have extremely good health coverage, which only the rich (who don't actually need it ...) have.

Not sure what the definition of rich here is, but people in the 10% of income earners most definitely still need health insurance and suffer from illness. For example, my psych meds would be $1500 a month without insurance. Even on a software engineer salary, that’s quite a hit.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#30

Post by CogitoCogito »

Pandabob wrote: post #24

He mentions MRIs costing 2-3k€ a pop. That seems really expensive. I’m guessing this is US? Doesn’t competition push down the price of these operations? We’ve got private clinics in Finland offering MRIs from ~230€ without any subsidies (AFAIK).

The US healthcare system isn’t really a very good model of market competition.
Post reply on HN