Longer hours, shorter life
- Thread starter Ayahuasca
- Start date
Would you do your job for free?
Do you plan to retire? Would you prefer that date to be set by you? Or someone else set it to a date you may never make it to? Or be too late to enjoy while healthy?
Would you prefer to work 3 days a week and have a 4 day weekend every week for mini breaks? Or have a regular mid week day off for exercise or other personal recreational activities?
Would you like to have the fall back where if you job made a unreasonable request or went through a aggressive restructure you could just turn to the pass and say "thanks, but no thanks?"
FIRE doesn't need to be aggressive to your lifestyle. It doesn't need to mean retiring when you're 40, it could just be buying a few extra years. It doesn't need you to be in a horrific job that you hate either. For some lucky few, it may not require any saving during your working life at all (those who sold businesses or lottery winners who invest their winnings rather then buy expensive cars and houses).
I'm self employed with two young children either at school or at home so most of these questions are not relevent. For example, I doubt Ill ever really retire, I'll just slow down a bit later on. Being a carpenter means I have a job for life that I can organise myself. Mid week activities are not an option due to time restrictions. It's all work, eat, sleep repeat.
Oh I'm not doubting the value of compound interest. I'm trying to put away a decent amount each month for this reason.
It's just any pension statement I've ever seen with the 'estimated fund size at retirement' is based on growth figures of 1/2.5/4% low/med/high growth (or thereabouts) nowhere near 10%
That is because these high return funds are high risk. If it crashes the year before retirement then good luck. This is why as you get closer to retirement you will typically move to lower risk funds but the the interest is lower. Some of the figures quoted in this thread are pie in the sky IMO.
This is exactly it, isn't it? The working week flies by and before you know it, it is the weekend. And you blink and you are back at work on Monday.
FIRE is also seeing beyond your current situation and allowing you to have options later on. You have young kids now, so you can't get away during the week. But in 20 years time they would hopeful have moved out, or can run the house in your absence. It is also an insurance policy, how good do you think you'll be if you have a work place accident and can't do manual labour any more?
A lot of it depends on risk tolerance, and obviously luck. Someone invested in Fundsmith as an example over the last 10 years will have seen a 440% growth...
I agree, I wasn't complaining but more talking about living in the moment and not having a huge amount of time for much else. Yes in 20 years I'll have more time but I intend to spend it working doing what I enjoy with the added bonus of earning great money and enjoying the weekends with the wife
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A short poem I found about the topic of over working:
'wagie jealous of the neet, wagie breaks his back to eat, while wagie toils and slaves away, the neet will happily steal his pay'.
'wagie jealous of the neet, wagie breaks his back to eat, while wagie toils and slaves away, the neet will happily steal his pay'.
This is my issue at the moment the job i was made redundant from was 4 on 4 off 3 on 3 off rotating nice big weekends
now its 4.5 days but at least short term its going to 5 days 8am to 5pm
so Sat is great but Sunday although also good is always the day before work.
mortgage free so not even sure why im doing it ,going to ask for a 3 day week or find that elsewhere.
the other thing is making the most of the evenings instead of giving in to tiredness and sleeping at 9.30pm i should go for a walk from work (work in Padstow) note to self sentence
Three days is where it's at, I work Mon / Wed / Sat 4am-11am and done. Suits me and covers my living expenses.
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I suppose another question to think about, although it's one of those silly thoughts you have while going to sleep at night...
Would you rather have no money worries but only live for 40 years before you die or
Struggle to pay the bills and just manage to scrape by but you would live till over 100?
Would you rather have no money worries but only live for 40 years before you die or
Struggle to pay the bills and just manage to scrape by but you would live till over 100?
Depends on what your health is like getting closer to 100?
I’ve had family members live until 99 but they were unhappy from about the age of 80 because everything is just a struggle.
80 or so will do me, I'd consider myself lucky to get there, but I don't intend to linger.
Reading in the news today about a couple of radio / tv presenters, one died at 42, another at 65 after short illnesses.
One of the reasons I never intended to spend every waking hour at work, time is much more important.
I've known a few people die just as they were getting to retirement age after spending 50 years working. Nope, not for me thank you.
Reading in the news today about a couple of radio / tv presenters, one died at 42, another at 65 after short illnesses.
One of the reasons I never intended to spend every waking hour at work, time is much more important.
I've known a few people die just as they were getting to retirement age after spending 50 years working. Nope, not for me thank you.
That sounds ok ,i reckon my bare bones costs per month are £200 (yes a month) plus food and fuel ,apart from watching the money build up i dont know why ive stuck a year out tbh ,think i do need the human contact as opposed to doing no work so 3 days would be the sweet spot
Yeah - not an uncommon story at director level where my dad works - they've had a few spend the last few years up to retirement buying a nice place to retire to, planning to travel the world, etc. but relatively short time into retirement gone.
One retired early December IIRC my parents dropped off a Christmas card but got no response at the door, found dead 1-2 days later.
How are they dieing though I don't get it. You don't just die from retiring despite being 80.