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A thing the FIRE community misses: The felt sense of Agency is VERY different between a) still making some income, feeling like your hand is still somewhat on

A thing the FIRE community misses: The felt sense of Agency is VERY different between a) still making some income, feeling like your hand is still somewhat on the wheel and b) sitting in the back seat, with nothing to do but continually recalculating if / how long your nest egg will last (this quickly turns pathological) I believe the slow build up of stress in B) is unmitigable (probably goes against our species’ DNA). Doubly so if you’ve attached lots of self-worth to making B) happen. And if the author reads this comment: you need to get over yourself if you want to become a ‘writer’, I don’t know if there is an equivalent term for aspiring writers, but you are firmly in the equivalent “wantreprenuer” category. Be bold, fail, then learn, then fail some more. Don’t surround yourself with other wantreprenuers and blame them. Suck it up buttercup.

neogodless 5y ago
> A thing the FIRE community misses Do they? I mean, no doubt individuals might miss this. I don't think "the community" misses this. Lots of people are very aware of how agency plays into life satisfaction. In fact, being compelled to work for someone and do what their boss tells them to do severely impedes their agency. And a lot of post-FIRE reports are that money is much less of a concern than it ever was while working. Because once you are completely behind the wheel of your life, you often find work you really enjoy, that also happens to add some extra money to that nest egg. Most reports I've read indicate that money has actually grown while they were "retired." Even LivingAFi reports this: > I still have an amazing stash of money. I mean, I was able to take close to five straight years off work and still have more than I started with, inflation-adjusted He later explains going back to work in more detail: > My fiancé is a librarian and she doesn’t make a ton of money. This drastically changes the early-retirement numbers for the two of us. > Anyway — bottom line is that my own asset sheet funds the lion’s share of our future together. > Additionally, I’m spending more than that 30K/yr I had estimated back in 2015. I’m at 40K now and we’ll be at 55K together I think, once we consolidate assets and buy a home.
mitjak 5y ago
> sitting in the back seat, with nothing to do but continually recalculating if / how long your nest egg will last this problem doesn't exist if you correctly math out your existence to guarantee survival. having the ability to choose how to spend your time is the definition of agency.
- double0jimb0 5y ago
  You missed my point. Said another way, "mathing out correctly your existence to guarantee survival" generates a type stress no one warns you about. Consider yourself now warned. Twice.

neogodless 5y ago

> A thing the FIRE community misses Do they? I mean, no doubt individuals might miss this. I don't think "the community" misses this. Lots of people are very aware of how agency plays into life satisfaction. In fact, being compelled to work for someone and do what their boss tells them to do severely impedes their agency. And a lot of post-FIRE reports are that money is much less of a concern than it ever was while working. Because once you are completely behind the wheel of your life, you often find work you really enjoy, that also happens to add some extra money to that nest egg. Most reports I've read indicate that money has actually grown while they were "retired." Even LivingAFi reports this: > I still have an amazing stash of money. I mean, I was able to take close to five straight years off work and still have more than I started with, inflation-adjusted He later explains going back to work in more detail: > My fiancé is a librarian and she doesn’t make a ton of money. This drastically changes the early-retirement numbers for the two of us. > Anyway — bottom line is that my own asset sheet funds the lion’s share of our future together. > Additionally, I’m spending more than that 30K/yr I had estimated back in 2015. I’m at 40K now and we’ll be at 55K together I think, once we consolidate assets and buy a home.

mitjak 5y ago

> sitting in the back seat, with nothing to do but continually recalculating if / how long your nest egg will last this problem doesn't exist if you correctly math out your existence to guarantee survival. having the ability to choose how to spend your time is the definition of agency.

double0jimb0 5y ago
You missed my point. Said another way, "mathing out correctly your existence to guarantee survival" generates a type stress no one warns you about. Consider yourself now warned. Twice.