Obviously, one of the first things people do, when they ‘retire’ is to take a vacation.
I just returned from a wonderful trip to Massachusetts to visit my family. We surprised my aunt and uncle with a surprise party. The best part was seeing all of my extended family and childhood friends.
Upon returning, I noticed that my bird feeder was empty!!! I immediately dreaded the site of seeing dead birds strewn all over my yard from a lack of food.
Fortunately, there were none. Phew!
This episode reminded me of the amazing knack us humans have for living within a variable of our means. Extreme cases aside, feast or famine, most of us will tend to curb or expand our spending to accommodate fluctuations in our income.
When times are good, we tend to spend and when times are bad, we pull in the reigns….but all in all, we seem to still live paycheck to paycheck. This is true at almost any income level. I’ve had all kinds of friends tell me that they would never be able to retire early. It’s been about an equal split between high-income friends and low-income friends. The high income friends just have shinier things as they tell me that they could never retire early.
When I started my journey, my total debt far exceeded my annual income, I was one of those folks who had spent a bit beyond my means. (…and that didn’t even include my mortgage)
However, since learning how to budget, save, and invest, I can now live a much more predictable lifestyle. (…and predictable does not equal boring)
The birds in my neighborhood may have had to find another source of food, and it may have sucked for a bit of time, but they apparently survived. Who knows, there may have been a smart little cardinal who stashed away some seeds knowing that I occasionally slack on my bird feeding duty.
I’ll be digging into this idea a bit more in upcoming posts, feel free to add your thoughts!
Phil you are exactly right! It reminds me of books, the millionaire next door and “the end of thrift in America”. Americans are addicted to materialism and spending. Is your car paid off? Great, what about your house? When the tough times invariably come, people only too late realize they would have been wiser to have a less flashy car and a smaller house and both PIF. It’s never too late to change course! =)
I’ll be posting about some of the books that led me to where I am today, but you are right. However, I also think it is possible to have a lot of fun while you’re getting to a point of financial freedom. My life was not on pause while I paid down my debt and cleared my mortgage. I had a lot of fun; I also made a ton of mistakes.
The car payment is a funny one for me. I have friends that don’t consider a car payment to be debt. If you have a car payment(or a mortgage payment) you are in debt. It is very clear to me.
Hi Phil, I just left an IT career too. Am currently stumbling over using the word ‘retired’. Will be interested to read what you write here. Rather than having a focus on financial issues (though those are important), I’m intrigued by how people decide to redefine themselves, refocus their energies outside of the corporate, 8-5 world.
Great question! I ‘retired’ because of the things I want to do! If you haven’t thought about what you will do, it could be very boring.
I love the name of this site, because it allows us to discuss the things you mention. I will be very busy in this next chapter, but the business will be backed with my passion.
Agreed! I have many things to do and feel busier than I did when I was working full time. I laugh when people ask if I’m bored yet…and am puzzled when some then tell me that I will be soon.
Glad to hear the birds survived! I always thought retirement was when you were supposed to pay MORE attention to the birds, not ignore them!
LOL – Correct you are! My bird feeder is now full and I’m planning a trip to see all kinds of bald eagles. I can’t wait!
Congratulations! What a great post! A friend said to me once: “I work so we can go on vacation.” and it just hit me, what a crazy way to live. I will be “retiring” with you very soon!
Awesome! I know you’re a writer, so please let me know if you’d ever like to contribute!