5 ms·

Perhaps I'm a bit naive in my mid-20's, but I actually don't think that I'd hate working 15-20 hours a week (at a low-stress company) for the rest of my life. O

Perhaps I'm a bit naive in my mid-20's, but I actually don't think that I'd hate working 15-20 hours a week (at a low-stress company) for the rest of my life. Or at least until I was physically unable. I've recently been wondering if I should instead be trying to view life as a "sustainable marathon" rather than trying to cash out quickly (FIRE).

bboylen 5y ago
How easy is it to find these positions though
neogodless 5y ago
There's nothing particularly wrong with this mindset, but let's be explicit about your options: 1. Spend any extra money you make, knowing that you'll work 20 hours / week at least until social security arrives. If you start to hate work or having trouble finding work, you likely have very little to fall back on. Social security might not support your lifestyle, so expect a very pared back retirement late in life. 2. Spend a lot less than you make, but still spend amply to cover qualify of life and the things you enjoy and value. Invest the extra and have a cushion that covers unexpected job loss, periods of burnout, and the option to go long periods without any work at all if you have other interest you want to pursue. Be prepared for retirement now or when you're much older, but always having everything you need to cover the lifestyle you've designed. 3. Be miserable now, spending way less than you make, hating your job and hoping once you have a huge nest egg, you can make yourself happy! Some people think early retirement is #3 but it's really #2. And many people do #1 until they start to realize they don't love being tied to a job at 40 as much as they enjoyed it at 20. (And that spending lots of money doesn't always make up for the obligation to work as well as they hoped.)
- learnvella 5y ago
  why does spending way less than you make imply hating your job and being miserable? i dont think the idea of spending money as a primary mechanism for life happiness holds up. if you're a happy person internally it doesn't really matter if you use cheap hand towels at home or silk ones- it doesn't matter if you're eating filet mignon or chicken legs. > hoping once you have a huge nest egg, you can make yourself happy! this is a super uncharitable way of putting the ideas of fi. i would suggest the idea is more like "learn to view money as apart from happiness and recognize that the things that make you happy are more on the intrinsic side of things- self growth, real relationships with people near you, serving others and dont waste the time you have on earth by giving it to some corporation or other entitiy unless you want to"
  - neogodless 5y ago
    > why does spending way less than you make imply hating your job and being miserable? It doesn't! But some people believe that's their option. That you spend so little that you're miserable. And the job might only be something you endure to make money to someday retire. We agree. I just may not have communicated that I was being somewhat "extreme" to make the point that "early retirement" doesn't have to be that way. If you re-read my #2 you can kind of see that I'm getting to the same point as you.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
cko 5y ago
A 15-20 hours a week job sounds quite pleasant. I wouldn't mind working 3-4 hours a day. I would mind 8-10 hours though.
- ghaff 5y ago
  15-20 hrs/week though still at least implies that you're available 15-20 hours in a given week. For me, part-time would have to be fewer hours on average but also the ability to head off somewhere for a few weeks.
screye 5y ago
> I've recently been wondering if I should instead be trying to view life as a "sustainable marathon" rather than trying to cash out quickly (FIRE). Honestly, that isn't incompatible with FIRE. Being financially independent allows you to take the few months off needed to find that 20 hours a week / low stress job. In the community, retirement is viewed more as a 'freedom from compelled labor' than 'do nothing for the rest of your life'.
gedy 5y ago
No company I've every worked at would consider a part time role like this, especially for older, semi-retired person.

bboylen 5y ago

How easy is it to find these positions though

neogodless 5y ago

There's nothing particularly wrong with this mindset, but let's be explicit about your options: 1. Spend any extra money you make, knowing that you'll work 20 hours / week at least until social security arrives. If you start to hate work or having trouble finding work, you likely have very little to fall back on. Social security might not support your lifestyle, so expect a very pared back retirement late in life. 2. Spend a lot less than you make, but still spend amply to cover qualify of life and the things you enjoy and value. Invest the extra and have a cushion that covers unexpected job loss, periods of burnout, and the option to go long periods without any work at all if you have other interest you want to pursue. Be prepared for retirement now or when you're much older, but always having everything you need to cover the lifestyle you've designed. 3. Be miserable now, spending way less than you make, hating your job and hoping once you have a huge nest egg, you can make yourself happy! Some people think early retirement is #3 but it's really #2. And many people do #1 until they start to realize they don't love being tied to a job at 40 as much as they enjoyed it at 20. (And that spending lots of money doesn't always make up for the obligation to work as well as they hoped.)

learnvella 5y ago
why does spending way less than you make imply hating your job and being miserable? i dont think the idea of spending money as a primary mechanism for life happiness holds up. if you're a happy person internally it doesn't really matter if you use cheap hand towels at home or silk ones- it doesn't matter if you're eating filet mignon or chicken legs. > hoping once you have a huge nest egg, you can make yourself happy! this is a super uncharitable way of putting the ideas of fi. i would suggest the idea is more like "learn to view money as apart from happiness and recognize that the things that make you happy are more on the intrinsic side of things- self growth, real relationships with people near you, serving others and dont waste the time you have on earth by giving it to some corporation or other entitiy unless you want to"
- neogodless 5y ago
  > why does spending way less than you make imply hating your job and being miserable? It doesn't! But some people believe that's their option. That you spend so little that you're miserable. And the job might only be something you endure to make money to someday retire. We agree. I just may not have communicated that I was being somewhat "extreme" to make the point that "early retirement" doesn't have to be that way. If you re-read my #2 you can kind of see that I'm getting to the same point as you.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

cko 5y ago

A 15-20 hours a week job sounds quite pleasant. I wouldn't mind working 3-4 hours a day. I would mind 8-10 hours though.

ghaff 5y ago
15-20 hrs/week though still at least implies that you're available 15-20 hours in a given week. For me, part-time would have to be fewer hours on average but also the ability to head off somewhere for a few weeks.

screye 5y ago

> I've recently been wondering if I should instead be trying to view life as a "sustainable marathon" rather than trying to cash out quickly (FIRE). Honestly, that isn't incompatible with FIRE. Being financially independent allows you to take the few months off needed to find that 20 hours a week / low stress job. In the community, retirement is viewed more as a 'freedom from compelled labor' than 'do nothing for the rest of your life'.

gedy 5y ago

No company I've every worked at would consider a part time role like this, especially for older, semi-retired person.