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I think the principle of living frugally and investing what you earn is admirable. To my eye it isn’t particularly innovative, but rather articulates a strategy

I think the principle of living frugally and investing what you earn is admirable. To my eye it isn’t particularly innovative, but rather articulates a strategy, a set of values that many people have either lost touch with or not been exposed to. You can live on investments alone, and they probably don’t need to be as much as you think. However, I associate those ideas in the US with northeast upper-middle class culture ... which also tends to have a “Puritan work ethic” ... that work is good in itself. This notion that work isn’t intrinsically valuable or worthwhile is interesting. I wonder if any of the people doing this end up being surprised to find that they miss working, years later. I was just sitting in a plane thing about this ... I mean, you’re going to die no matter what. You are going to have suffering and pain, almost certainly in your life. Is not-working going to save you from that? I totally get it is someone is an aspiring screenwriter or what have you, but what if your idea of the good life is “hanging out?” Will you get bored and depressed with all this time on your hands?

derekp7 7y ago
A big part of it is not needing to work. There is a lot of security in knowing that you can just walk away from a bad situation, and take your time getting another job. Also, people who retire early don't just sit around watching TV all day, many of them actually start up something on the side. For example, Mr. Money Mustache is a blogger, which happens to generate income. The difference is that you don't work for income, you work to give yourself something to do. Some people hang out their hat as a DJ, or do some teaching, but they also take enough time to travel or do other hobby type tasks that they wouldn't have time for otherwise with a 9-5.
RickJWagner 7y ago
I have a great respect for my mother. She worked hard (as a nurse) and raised 8 kids. When I talked to her about retirement (she retired at 67) she suggested not retiring too early-- it's too easy to get bored.
twiceaday 7y ago
> Will you get bored and depressed with all this time on your hands? Don't you think it's much more natural to ask the opposite question? About the impact of exchanging all of your good years in order to generate revenue for your boss? About the prevalent 40 hour / week, 48 weeks / year job contracts people rarely question? About being forced to cram your life only into evenings and weekends? About the blinders this puts onto your personal development? Oh but you get money so you can sit in traffic in a nicer vehicle, that's nice. You can fly further away during your measly, rushed two week vacations, that's nice.

derekp7 7y ago

A big part of it is not needing to work. There is a lot of security in knowing that you can just walk away from a bad situation, and take your time getting another job. Also, people who retire early don't just sit around watching TV all day, many of them actually start up something on the side. For example, Mr. Money Mustache is a blogger, which happens to generate income. The difference is that you don't work for income, you work to give yourself something to do. Some people hang out their hat as a DJ, or do some teaching, but they also take enough time to travel or do other hobby type tasks that they wouldn't have time for otherwise with a 9-5.

RickJWagner 7y ago

I have a great respect for my mother. She worked hard (as a nurse) and raised 8 kids. When I talked to her about retirement (she retired at 67) she suggested not retiring too early-- it's too easy to get bored.

twiceaday 7y ago

> Will you get bored and depressed with all this time on your hands? Don't you think it's much more natural to ask the opposite question? About the impact of exchanging all of your good years in order to generate revenue for your boss? About the prevalent 40 hour / week, 48 weeks / year job contracts people rarely question? About being forced to cram your life only into evenings and weekends? About the blinders this puts onto your personal development? Oh but you get money so you can sit in traffic in a nicer vehicle, that's nice. You can fly further away during your measly, rushed two week vacations, that's nice.