6 ms·

For me, rich is someone who does not need to work. Someone who can retire at any given moment.

ptmcc 6y ago
The irony being many people get to that position by being workaholics that can’t stop. I could conceivably retire if I moved to a low cost area, but I enjoy my lifestyle so will keep at it a bit longer.
- rumanator 6y ago
  > I could conceivably retire if I moved to a low cost area, but I enjoy my lifestyle so will keep at it a bit longer. I am in a similar position but what keeps me from thinking about early retirement is not knowing what will be my financial needs in the future, and I'm concerned that I might not be fully aware of the role that luck played in getting a cushy life.
- tluyben2 6y ago
  I guess key here is ‘can retire’. Personally I like working and cannot see myself retiring, ever, but I could’ve for quite a while already. I just have 100 ideas a day I want to build and have had that for well over 30 years now; why would I stop? Not to mention that almost everyone who I know who retired (rich or not) is bored and depressed...
  - ptmcc 6y ago
    Retirement doesn't have to mean sitting around doing nothing. It's the freedom of not needing the steady income of employment, and the freedom to do whatever you want. Like work on those 100 ideas a day.
    - tluyben2 6y ago
      Exactly; strangely enough that is not quite how many people treat it. Well at least many I see.
mfalcon 6y ago
When I was in my twenties, I used to think about getting enough money in order to retire young. Then I realized that I actually enjoy working and I don't see myself sitting on my ass doing nothing. What I want is enough money to say no to work I don't really like, enough money for allowing me to choose what to do with more liberty.
- ptmcc 6y ago
  Why do so many people view "retirement" as sitting on your ass doing nothing? It is a weird cultural stereotype, perhaps perpetuated to glorify work culture. This is probably why the term "financial independence" was coined, to break away from this misconception. Retirement/financial independence is not needing the paycheck anymore. It's owning all of your time to use how you want. There are plenty of "retired" people that don't sit around on their ass all day. They've retired from the full time rat race but are very much active, doing what they want to do. It might even still sometimes look like "work", but it is on their terms.
  - mfalcon 6y ago
    Yes, "sitting on your ass" was not the best way to describe what I wanted to say. I don't want to use all my time to do only what I want, I also want to make something valuable for other people.
    - kyawzazaw 6y ago
      "FIRE" people do something valuable too, totally up to their choice. I think a good example would be like ashton kutcher creating thorn.
      - mfalcon 6y ago
        Sure but what's the path that ends with FIRE? If you're lucky you can maybe work on things you like, earn a good amount of money and then have enough to be financially independent. But if you have to slog at boring jobs for a lot of years in order to accumulate that big pile of money allowing you to become FI you'll have to consider if it's worth it. Maybe after being FI you'll keep working but you'll have the privilege to choose only jobs or projects aligned with your needs and desires. If that's the case: is it worth it the years and years working at boring jobs? do you really need to be FI if you'll keep working after? I'm not against having money on the bank, my approach is having enough to live several years without income, allowing me to reject things I really don't want. But I don't want to spend years just trying projects with no results, I want to do things valuable for other people and getting money in exchange is the way to be sure you're actually doing it.
muzani 6y ago
Honestly I never saw the appeal in this. I call it the Disney princess effect - most of them are rich enough to not work, but they end up lost and drafted into things that are bigger than themselves. They end up working harder than anyone. Maybe a rich person is someone who has enough that their priority is not personal wealth. Also under that definition, developing nations are richer than developed nations, as developed nations have earlier retirement ages, shorter working hours, less debt, and more financial security.
- dkdk8283 6y ago
  It has to do with options. When you have fuck you money you have the option of refusing to do anything you disagree with.
throws55432 6y ago
In that case, a monk, a survivalist, or even a homeless person are rich.

The irony being many people get to that position by being workaholics that can’t stop. I could conceivably retire if I moved to a low cost area, but I enjoy my lifestyle so will keep at it a bit longer.

rumanator 6y ago
> I could conceivably retire if I moved to a low cost area, but I enjoy my lifestyle so will keep at it a bit longer. I am in a similar position but what keeps me from thinking about early retirement is not knowing what will be my financial needs in the future, and I'm concerned that I might not be fully aware of the role that luck played in getting a cushy life.
tluyben2 6y ago
I guess key here is ‘can retire’. Personally I like working and cannot see myself retiring, ever, but I could’ve for quite a while already. I just have 100 ideas a day I want to build and have had that for well over 30 years now; why would I stop? Not to mention that almost everyone who I know who retired (rich or not) is bored and depressed...
- ptmcc 6y ago
  Retirement doesn't have to mean sitting around doing nothing. It's the freedom of not needing the steady income of employment, and the freedom to do whatever you want. Like work on those 100 ideas a day.
  - tluyben2 6y ago
    Exactly; strangely enough that is not quite how many people treat it. Well at least many I see.

mfalcon 6y ago

When I was in my twenties, I used to think about getting enough money in order to retire young. Then I realized that I actually enjoy working and I don't see myself sitting on my ass doing nothing. What I want is enough money to say no to work I don't really like, enough money for allowing me to choose what to do with more liberty.

ptmcc 6y ago
Why do so many people view "retirement" as sitting on your ass doing nothing? It is a weird cultural stereotype, perhaps perpetuated to glorify work culture. This is probably why the term "financial independence" was coined, to break away from this misconception. Retirement/financial independence is not needing the paycheck anymore. It's owning all of your time to use how you want. There are plenty of "retired" people that don't sit around on their ass all day. They've retired from the full time rat race but are very much active, doing what they want to do. It might even still sometimes look like "work", but it is on their terms.
- mfalcon 6y ago
  Yes, "sitting on your ass" was not the best way to describe what I wanted to say. I don't want to use all my time to do only what I want, I also want to make something valuable for other people.
  - kyawzazaw 6y ago
    "FIRE" people do something valuable too, totally up to their choice. I think a good example would be like ashton kutcher creating thorn.
    - mfalcon 6y ago
      Sure but what's the path that ends with FIRE? If you're lucky you can maybe work on things you like, earn a good amount of money and then have enough to be financially independent. But if you have to slog at boring jobs for a lot of years in order to accumulate that big pile of money allowing you to become FI you'll have to consider if it's worth it. Maybe after being FI you'll keep working but you'll have the privilege to choose only jobs or projects aligned with your needs and desires. If that's the case: is it worth it the years and years working at boring jobs? do you really need to be FI if you'll keep working after? I'm not against having money on the bank, my approach is having enough to live several years without income, allowing me to reject things I really don't want. But I don't want to spend years just trying projects with no results, I want to do things valuable for other people and getting money in exchange is the way to be sure you're actually doing it.

muzani 6y ago

Honestly I never saw the appeal in this. I call it the Disney princess effect - most of them are rich enough to not work, but they end up lost and drafted into things that are bigger than themselves. They end up working harder than anyone. Maybe a rich person is someone who has enough that their priority is not personal wealth. Also under that definition, developing nations are richer than developed nations, as developed nations have earlier retirement ages, shorter working hours, less debt, and more financial security.

dkdk8283 6y ago
It has to do with options. When you have fuck you money you have the option of refusing to do anything you disagree with.

throws55432 6y ago

In that case, a monk, a survivalist, or even a homeless person are rich.