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Early-Retirement Update

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Re: Early-Retirement Update

#391

Post by inglor_cz »

Interesting. I am a writer who now makes enough money off writing to have relegated programming to a hobby status.

Reading his piece, my impression was that this guy can formulate his ideas fairly well, but his writing is horribly stretched and, at times, outright boring and bland. IDK if this can be fixed with enough practice. Maybe. Maybe he just does not have enough "internal energy" (for the lack of a better term) to spout some engaging prose spontaneously.

That could have been fine in the 19th century, when long and low energy novels were the norm, but contemporary standards and expectations are very different.

Accidentally, I feel that my writing flows better if I have something else to do, too. Maybe being retired just does not help you get things done.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#392

Post by enimodas »

hogFeast wrote: post #19
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…

I used to work in financial services. I wasn't client-facing but because I had experience with financial modelling so I got roped into these discussions...in my experience, everyone gets this wrong. Advisers get it less wrong but I have still seen comical errors from people who should know better. But most people significantly overstate future returns (particularly now), they significantly understate the effect that…

So what's a safe withdrawal rate then?

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#393

Post by [deleted] »

bobcostas55 wrote: post #265
joshuaissac wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wouldn't be surprised if he was very dismissive of his ex-wifes struggle to find meaning, or desire to go back to work. What you are saying is in direct contradiction with what he says in the article: > I encouraged her to explore her own life and find activities and goals that would help her feel better. I suggested therapy and offered to go with her. I was clear that if she wanted to go back to work I was eager…

It's pretty obvious that what she wanted was not for her to go back to work, but for _him_ to go back to work and earn more money.

[deleted]

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#394

Post by DanBC »

Gibbon1 wrote: post #94
DanBC wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US has this thing in some states called "certificates of need". People who support the US market driven healthcare will say that interferences like CoN distort the market and prevent it working properly.

I'm with Kenneth Arrow[1], markets for healthcare don't work, can never be made to work. [1] 'Uncertainty and the welfare economics of medical care - 1963'

I agree. In England we've seen a lot of waste and harm caused by our weird markets, and we're moving away from them.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#395

Post by sph »

xiphias2 wrote: post #387
GordonS wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not just FIRE people, but 99% of all retirees at any age end up doing nothing of note with their time. If you spend some years just chilling and and are actually happy, then sure, why not. But there are so many retired people who do nothing, and are not happy. For example, my mother, my mother and father in law, my other father in law, my grandmother - all retired, and all do absolutely nothing but watch TV and moa…

Aging is as big problem or probably even bigger, than having a job. I'm sure your grandmother wouldn't just watch TV if she looked and felt like a 20 year old girl. She would probably go party, hang out, get drunk, travel and socialize all the time. Chronic illnesses at any age suck as much as having aging as a chronic illness.

> go party, hang out, get drunk, travel and socialize all the time

This is the 20-something version of being idle. Minus the travel, which isn't a given.

Being 20 doesn't mean you want to do something productive or meaningful with your life. There's plenty 20 yo that party, socialise, get drunk and never amount to anything. The reason it's just a phase is that it's not all trust fund kids and most need money (a job) to live.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#396

Post by prower »

DubiousPusher wrote: post #218
GordonS wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not just FIRE people, but 99% of all retirees at any age end up doing nothing of note with their time. If you spend some years just chilling and and are actually happy, then sure, why not. But there are so many retired people who do nothing, and are not happy. For example, my mother, my mother and father in law, my other father in law, my grandmother - all retired, and all do absolutely nothing but watch TV and moa…

It makes perfect sense. It's very popular now to see everything as genetic. That is all our focus. We neglect how decades of being in the same environment with the same incentives wires the brain a certain way. When you spend all that time disciplining yourself to work (against your own will) and having little time to develop your own interests, you become hard wired to do what is necessary. When that necessity cease…

Totally agree,

I'd like only to add that, what many artists (and in general people who pursue their artistic passions) had, compared to the agerage workin-joe, is TIME.

The only way to understand your passions is by having time to observe your world, to reflect on people's actions, to contemplate nature. If you have to work (because you're the bread-winner and have 2 children already and an house to pay), your only glimmer of hope is to have already found your passion during your younger years.

Finally, your energy levels going on are never gonna be your current ones. Keep that in mind.

And I say that as a man who had a fair number of interests, never had time to really pursue them, and now has to to a work I hate and have no remaining passion at all.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#397

Post by pinkybanana »

lutorm wrote: post #233
pinkybanana wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In common language it doesn't. Many people who choose to work don't need the job to survive. I know ridiculously wealthy people who just keep working the usual way. No one says those people are retired. While retirement is cool, I think life goes better without thinking too much about it. Try to work at a job that doesn't suck ass, try to have hobbies and free time, focus on family etc, invest your savings, don't buy…

In common language it might not, but in this "FIRE" context, it most certainly does. Arguing that FIRE is misguided because "why would anyone want to sit on their ass for 30 years" is a strawman.

FIRE = Financial Independence, Retire Early. What you are talking about is the FI part, retirement is a different concept and means not working. In FIRE context retirement means exactly the same as it means commonly.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#398

Post by kozak »

silicon2401 wrote: post #381
tasuki wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, castle or farm? You can't just handwave this question away so easily! Would you hire people to take care of the castle or farm for you? I hear both are quite a lot of work! How exactly would you be spending your time, apart from making music?

excellent question, by f-you money I mean serious f-you money (we're daydreaming, after all), so my vision is a literal stone castle as well as a nice farm. ideally these would be maintainable just by myself so maybe a modest fort-like castle and tiny homestead farm. not necessarily a disney castle and hundreds of acres of corn. aside from the farm likely taking up all my time (for however long i'm able to sustain th…

But who will be cleaning toilets in the castle?

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#399

Post by xwdv »

hintymad wrote: post #63
jsdalton wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity where are you finding high returns on capital today? I just don’t see them. (As an engineer, conversely, I see very high returns on my labor.)

As an engineer, I see high capital gain from my labor by joining "blow-out" startups, as described by some article written by Wealthfront. Working for a blowing-out startup so far is the best choice for an engineer like me, who is not good at navigating dynamics of a large company nor good at investing nor interested in real estate as many fellow engineers are in Silicon Valley. I personally enjoy the following perks…

Working hard is not what engineers enjoy.

Engineers enjoy building architectures to minimize human effort while still producing maximal results. I try to solve problems as efficiently as possible to minimize the amount of work I have to do and minimize the amount of effort some future maintainer will have to do. This will allow a company to reach unlimited economies of scale as the limit of the amount of work required approaches zero.

Re: Early-Retirement Update

#400

Post by krenel »

tjs8rj wrote: post #324
beambot wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Elon Musk's life is at the opposite extremum of "floating through life." The man works 90+ hours per week, gambled his entire fortune on two risky hardware companies, serves as a prominent public figure, and destroyed many of his close personal relationships (e.g. remarried numerous times). He's having tremendous impact; I respect him like crazy & would happily back his endeavors... But I wouldn't wish for his lifest…

I’d be very surprised if Elon consistently works more than 60 hours a week, and pretty surprised if it was more than 50. It’d be a waste of his position and talent if he did. He has the capital and influence to have others do almost all other tasks, his main focus is likely to be on longer term strategy and thinking. He’s also a dad of 5 or so kids. His health is far more valuable than working 2 typical work weeks ev…

The book about him[1] explains how he is a workaholic . Not just by the worked hours, but the intensity of those, context switching between projects and attention to detail, pressure teams, etc...

I understand your point about "waste of his position" and that he could have a more balanced life, but as the books depicts him that's not the case. Nor it was when he was at PayPal or Zip2.

Good (audio) book, btw. I would recommend.

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25541028-elon-musk

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