Retirement Question

[EarlyRetirementJoy]

Then maybe *he* should replace the word "retirement" with "financial independence."

Although I disagree that many of his case studies should be considered as either.

He's addressed this already on his blog over the years. Start here if you are so inclined, with the link from this "What Does Early Retirement Mean Anyway?" excerpt listed below:

Retirement is earning the privilege of being free to enjoy the balanced lifestyle of our dreams, without “working for a living” getting in the way too much. You don’t have to quit working altogether, you just have to feel secure enough to be choosy about your work, and your schedule.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/04/13/what-does-early-retirement-mean-anyway/

Just as you can't read one page of a book and presume to know what the entire book is about, so it goes with MMM's blog. His message is consistently one of reaching for financial freedom, whether one calls it freedom, financial independence or early retirement. I'm hard pressed to see how working to get there sooner rather than later would be perceived as a negative.

[JoeP]

OP: Sounds like your DH needs a few hobbies! I'm looking forward to expanding my current hobbies, possibly teaching them, picking up a couple recreational and personal development activities, and reading a lot. If there are any part time consulting gigs in my current field, I may entertain them, provided they don't interfere with my schedule!

[ua_guy]

He's really not - he's about extreme early financial independence, which then puts you in the drivers seat on whether to continue working or not, a very different scenario from having to work. Replace all references to 'retirement' in your post above with 'financial independence' and see what that does to the equation.

I'm with Bucky on this one.

MMM's version of financial independence without lottery winnings or Silicone Valley windfalls, as he calls it, is nothing other than resolving to be poor without debt for the rest of his life. There's no trickery in what he's doing. It's a platform that rides on good health and good luck while living a minimalist lifestyle. It's not exactly foolproof.

The OP sounds much farther along in their financial situation; this is a question whether DH should continue working until burnout, or downshift to a more enjoyable job where income may come and go. I agree with the advice to sit down and work out a plan. Watching my parents and everyone older than me retire, they too had a fear of "what are we going to do in retirement"? They all seemed to endure a 6-month or so transition period of shellshock, going from daily 9-5+ work, to not having a schedule or obligation at all. In that period they feared their finances and their assumptions about retirement, but every one of them eventually got into a groove. And now, they all love it and as posted above--how did they ever have time to work?

Sit down and figure out a plan; don't fear the possibility that idle time could bring.

[BuckyBadger]

He's addressed this already on his blog over the years. Start here if you are so inclined, with the link from this "What Does Early Retirement Mean Anyway?" excerpt listed below:

Retirement is earning the privilege of being free to enjoy the balanced lifestyle of our dreams, without “working for a living” getting in the way too much. You don’t have to quit working altogether, you just have to feel secure enough to be choosy about your work, and your schedule.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/04/13/what-does-early-retirement-mean-anyway/

Just as you can't read one page of a book and presume to know what the entire book is about, so it goes with MMM's blog. His message is consistently one of reaching for financial freedom, whether one calls it freedom, financial independence or early retirement. I'm hard pressed to see how working to get there sooner rather than later would be perceived as a negative.

I've read that post. I've actually read his blog quite extensively. I just vehemently disagree with a lot of what he has to say, and the manner in which he says it.

I do know what his "entire book" is about and I think he's wrong. It's not that working to get to financial independence sooner rather than later is a negative - it certainly isn't. But his version of it is astoundingly tunnel-visioned.

ua_guy said it perfectly, so I'll just quote him again:

MMM's version of financial independence without lottery winnings or Silicone Valley windfalls, as he calls it, is nothing other than resolving to be poor without debt for the rest of his life. There's no trickery in what he's doing. It's a platform that rides on good health and good luck while living a minimalist lifestyle. It's not exactly foolproof.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I think it's more the idea of retirement period. DH hasn't considered even what age he'd retire in the future. And in a way linking to other thread it is linked to our move.

Hobbies? He snowboards and bikes. I think he's so focused on work, kids, hobbies for us both have fallen to wayside. We kayak and camp as a family.

But I want to plan and talk about the what if. What if you lose a job or get burnt out. And it is linked to where we live because he's not thrilled either. He'd prefer a house with a yard, space, garage, area for kids to play. But we are making sacrifices because we aren't sure where we'll be in 2-3 years and because we know we don't want to afford more.

[jIM_Ohio]

I think it's more the idea of retirement period. DH hasn't considered even what age he'd retire in the future. And in a way linking to other thread it is linked to our move.

Hobbies? He snowboards and bikes. I think he's so focused on work, kids, hobbies for us both have fallen to wayside. We kayak and camp as a family.

But I want to plan and talk about the what if. What if you lose a job or get burnt out. And it is linked to where we live because he's not thrilled either. He'd prefer a house with a yard, space, garage, area for kids to play. But we are making sacrifices because we aren't sure where we'll be in 2-3 years and because we know we don't want to afford more.

Do you know his Meyers Briggs personality type, or yours?

Some personalities cannot handle "what if". Really.

I handle conditions well and marriage #1 failure can be traced to she thought conditions were bad and discussions like this were counter productive. Tread lightly.

The best way to plan for what ifs is to have a high cash position and high liquidity. That covers most of the worst case scenarios for a short amount of time.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

DH is INTJ. I think I'm E/INTJ. We're pretty similar usually. We've always assumed until recently we'd work until 55 and then retire like our parents. That we'd live below our means and retire with a LOT in the bank. It's part of our nature from what we learned. Live frugally and save a ton. I don't think either of us ever imagine retiring sooner. But now it could happen and I want to put it out there. But I'm not sure he's ready to even consider it.

[BuckyBadger]

DH is INTJ. I think I'm E/INTJ. We're pretty similar usually. We've always assumed until recently we'd work until 55 and then retire like our parents. That we'd live below our means and retire with a LOT in the bank. It's part of our nature from what we learned. Live frugally and save a ton. I don't think either of us ever imagine retiring sooner. But now it could happen and I want to put it out there. But I'm not sure he's ready to even consider it.

There's a long time between retiring at 35 (i.e. right now) and retiring at 55. I think it's reasonable to push that date up without pushing it up 20 years.

Maybe you could make a ton of sacrifices and scrape by and make it work right now. Maybe. Or maybe your husband could work for another 5-10 years (at a job that he loves) and make it work with a lot more comfort and security.

Retiring at 45 +/- a couple of years is still pretty freaking awesome. It's not like your only choices are RIGHT NOW or in 20 years.

[JoeP]

There is a wonderful 'primer' for retirement, "The Joy of Not Working" by Ernie Zelinski, that has a terrific exercise called the "Get A Life" tree. In that tree, he breaks life activities into four categories: 1) Activities I like to do now, 2) Activities I don't do now, but would like to, 3) Activities I used to like to do, and 4) Activities that will keep me physically fit.

The responder is charged with creating at least 50 activities for the tree. Initially many find it hard to get past 15 or so, but once the juices start flowing, most end up going way beyond 50. That list, once generated, is a fantastic start to building a new post-working life. Every activity on the tree has the potential to grow into a significant part of one's post-working life.

Noted! I like the idea of being forced to come up with 50 activities. I just came up with: bird watching, wood working, writing, golfing, soap making, cheese making, bread making, pastries, drawing, painting, coffee roasting...

I'm sure that if the OP and her DH went through a more formal exercise, they could both find lots of activities, and it may reduce the concern of not having much to do when they retire.