4 ms·

> I feel like if I reached the FIRE point, I would continue to work, but entirely on my own terms, not as an employee of somebody else. I'm right there with yo

> I feel like if I reached the FIRE point, I would continue to work, but entirely on my own terms, not as an employee of somebody else. I'm right there with you - this is my number one goal for FIRE, is basically to not have to put up with anyone else's idiosyncrasies but my own. The only way I could see that changing is if I see a group of people worth working with, or a project worthwhile enough to work with other people, or I would feel an obligation to be a mentor to others.

SmellTheGlove 6y ago
Careful with FIRE though. Don't fully sacrifice living with the goal of doing it later. I realize I'm not old by any stretch, but I'm at 40 next year. I've definitely made some sub-optimal decisions with money, but the experiences were mostly worth it. My retirement goal is to be able to do it by the time my kid is out of college - 14 years from now, unless she's smart and does the 5th year I never did. Anyhow, I digress, but I'm glad we traveled, ate, bought a house, sold a house, moved around a bit, etc. because even as income continues upward (along with some wealth if that's what you want to call our tech equity comp), life still gets harder in non-financial areas. I'm convinced the worst thing we do to our kids is shove them through school and stick them behind a desk the day they're done. I didn't break into tech until my mid 30s, but for the folks who came out of college doing this, you have a legitimate shot to be set before you turn 40. That said, if I could rewind, I'd happily push my own retirement goals back a few more years in exchange for a financially secure year off in my 20's or early 30's.
- btkramer9 6y ago
  What would you do in your financially secure year off in your 20's or 30's?
  - ghaff 6y ago
    Not the parent, but I would have primarily traveled. Might have hiked the AT or something like that. That said, although I didn't take extended time off, I did always max out my vacation time and took month-long trips to places like Nepal.
  - aaronax 6y ago
    I bought a sailboat and lived on it while traveling up and down the east coast of the USA, and Bahamas. Lots of learning and character development.
  - SmellTheGlove 6y ago
    I'd travel. I mean, we travel now, but not way off the beaten path. And we're mostly working around the school calendar (I'm ok being a little looser with that than my wife is). I'd also spend some time learning something that doesn't translate to money - get better at golf, work on my skating, etc. I'd also do enough nothing to be ready to go back to work by the end of it!
  - npsimons 6y ago
    Triple Crown of Hiking.
- breckinloggins 6y ago
  Counterpoint: I sacrificed a lot of my 30s to become debt-free. 40 now and pretty close to FIRE (well I don't know about the retiring part, but the FI part is almost there). It was totally worth it. In the end, it's a personal decision. I do agree that if you find the majority of weeks to be acutely miserable, then you should honestly ask yourself if you're giving up too much present for an uncertain future.
  - SmellTheGlove 6y ago
    I did as well, and we've remained debt free for a while. We're now in that cash poor phase since I seem to love pre-IPO companies :) Was it worth it? To some degree, but at the same time there are some big things on the list that we will probably have to defer for a while now that we have a school-aged child, a pet, etc. All I can say is, do some of those things, and don't fixate too badly on sacrificing everything to retire early. Family, friends, relationships matter, and so on.
- npsimons 6y ago
  Oh, trust me, I've definitely drank deeply of the pleasures of life and plan to continue down that road, just on a smaller scale. Seven course meal with wine pairings at Chez TJ in Mountain View when I did my Google on-site interview was definitely worth it. I'm also in my early 40's. I've been working nearly 20 years, I'm just looking at another 10 years in this job, and I don't think I can take it. The being stuck behind a desk for a majority of my waking hours during my 20's and 30's definitely resonates, and despite my passion for software, I (relatively) recently re-learned just how good physical exertion feels. So yeah, I cut back on a number of things to reduce my monthly burn rate, but I'm not suffering by any means. If anything, I'm happier now with less, and seriously considering if I need to continue working, or maybe I can coastFIRE. The possibility has not escaped me that maybe it's just not the right job for me, and perhaps I'd be better off consulting or even trying micropreneurship, but on a more relaxed schedule. I do wish that when I was laid off in 2001 (my early 20's) I had hiked the PCT instead of trying to start a consulting business. Burned through my savings, and I probably would have just as much money at the end of the PCT through-hike, and definitely been happier.

SmellTheGlove 6y ago

Careful with FIRE though. Don't fully sacrifice living with the goal of doing it later. I realize I'm not old by any stretch, but I'm at 40 next year. I've definitely made some sub-optimal decisions with money, but the experiences were mostly worth it. My retirement goal is to be able to do it by the time my kid is out of college - 14 years from now, unless she's smart and does the 5th year I never did. Anyhow, I digress, but I'm glad we traveled, ate, bought a house, sold a house, moved around a bit, etc. because even as income continues upward (along with some wealth if that's what you want to call our tech equity comp), life still gets harder in non-financial areas. I'm convinced the worst thing we do to our kids is shove them through school and stick them behind a desk the day they're done. I didn't break into tech until my mid 30s, but for the folks who came out of college doing this, you have a legitimate shot to be set before you turn 40. That said, if I could rewind, I'd happily push my own retirement goals back a few more years in exchange for a financially secure year off in my 20's or early 30's.

btkramer9 6y ago
What would you do in your financially secure year off in your 20's or 30's?
- ghaff 6y ago
  Not the parent, but I would have primarily traveled. Might have hiked the AT or something like that. That said, although I didn't take extended time off, I did always max out my vacation time and took month-long trips to places like Nepal.
- aaronax 6y ago
  I bought a sailboat and lived on it while traveling up and down the east coast of the USA, and Bahamas. Lots of learning and character development.
- SmellTheGlove 6y ago
  I'd travel. I mean, we travel now, but not way off the beaten path. And we're mostly working around the school calendar (I'm ok being a little looser with that than my wife is). I'd also spend some time learning something that doesn't translate to money - get better at golf, work on my skating, etc. I'd also do enough nothing to be ready to go back to work by the end of it!
- npsimons 6y ago
  Triple Crown of Hiking.
breckinloggins 6y ago
Counterpoint: I sacrificed a lot of my 30s to become debt-free. 40 now and pretty close to FIRE (well I don't know about the retiring part, but the FI part is almost there). It was totally worth it. In the end, it's a personal decision. I do agree that if you find the majority of weeks to be acutely miserable, then you should honestly ask yourself if you're giving up too much present for an uncertain future.
- SmellTheGlove 6y ago
  I did as well, and we've remained debt free for a while. We're now in that cash poor phase since I seem to love pre-IPO companies :) Was it worth it? To some degree, but at the same time there are some big things on the list that we will probably have to defer for a while now that we have a school-aged child, a pet, etc. All I can say is, do some of those things, and don't fixate too badly on sacrificing everything to retire early. Family, friends, relationships matter, and so on.
npsimons 6y ago
Oh, trust me, I've definitely drank deeply of the pleasures of life and plan to continue down that road, just on a smaller scale. Seven course meal with wine pairings at Chez TJ in Mountain View when I did my Google on-site interview was definitely worth it. I'm also in my early 40's. I've been working nearly 20 years, I'm just looking at another 10 years in this job, and I don't think I can take it. The being stuck behind a desk for a majority of my waking hours during my 20's and 30's definitely resonates, and despite my passion for software, I (relatively) recently re-learned just how good physical exertion feels. So yeah, I cut back on a number of things to reduce my monthly burn rate, but I'm not suffering by any means. If anything, I'm happier now with less, and seriously considering if I need to continue working, or maybe I can coastFIRE. The possibility has not escaped me that maybe it's just not the right job for me, and perhaps I'd be better off consulting or even trying micropreneurship, but on a more relaxed schedule. I do wish that when I was laid off in 2001 (my early 20's) I had hiked the PCT instead of trying to start a consulting business. Burned through my savings, and I probably would have just as much money at the end of the PCT through-hike, and definitely been happier.