Retiring isn't about stopping working entirely if you want to continue working, its about knowing you could stop working at any time and be financially secure
@stuff4232, Yeah, I used to share this same belief. It seems like redefining "retirement" can be taken too far to an extreme to the point where it doesn't really mean anything. I do acknowledge though that retirement is not the absence of work - as people whom we consider retired are often working side jobs or doing other productive work as they deem necessary or have an interest in doing.
Live beneath your means while maximize your income but doing something you enjoy. If you do that for 20 years work should be optional at that point. I know 20 years seems like a lot, but if you’re enjoying what you’re doing and you’re becoming an expert/a master at what you do that can be extremely rewarding.
Good stuff, Jessica! I used to feel like a bit of a slacker because I wasn't willing to kill myself for a decade+ to try to hit FIRE at a young-ish age. Now, I 100% agree with your thoughts . . . I find a lot of value and purpose in my business. It wouldn't be healthy for me to not have that in my life in this chapter. But, this year I've been focusing on being more productive with the time and energy I spend in my business so I have more time to do other things. I've been tracking my hours since the beginning of the year and, so far, I've been averaging 20 hours/week. . . and still making a solid income. That's a great time ratio for me. And, I enjoy challenging myself. It's an interesting challenge to see how much I can back off of work hours, while improving productivity and keeping revenue up, rather than just challenging myself to try to make more money than I did last year/month/etc and not thinking about how much time those extra dollars are costing me. -Kari
I like that shift a lot. Having more time these days means so much more to me as well than making as much money as possible. Out of curiosity, do you have a target number of hours per week that you’d like to work and still earn a decent income, or is it more of just see how little you can work while maintaining your income?
@@Fioneers My original goal for the year was to hit my gross revenue goal while averaging no more than 25 hrs/wk. So far, my revenue is keeping pace with my annual goal and I'm averaging 5 hr/wk less than my time goal. 🙂
I worked a dangerous and demanding job as Federal Law Enforcement Agent for 25 long years. Retiring early at 57 was not an option for me; they kick us out of the door on our 57th birthday. That being said, I am happy to be retired! I am busier now than when I worked 😁
Honestly more people need to talk about this. I achieved this with good financial success by about 29, and i went into a depression immediately after because i lost my purpose in life for a while. We all need a purpose and humans were built to work and help others. I don’t think humans are meant to retire and sit around and do nothing.
Thanks, and I’m sorry to hear that. Have you been able to rediscover some sort of purpose since then, or is this something you are still working on? If you have made progress, I know others would love to hear what’s worked for you.
@@Fioneers i did find purpose again!! It took a few months, but i focused more on my business and also picked up a full time job working for someone else. Now in life my goal is to never retire, and i recognize the stress of work beats the stress of not knowing what to do any day of the week. Work helps us get out of bed those days where you really don’t feel like it. It’s kind of like the gym, once you go you feel better, but staying inside and laying around always makes you feel worthless at the end of the day. That’s how i felt not working because i had enough passive income.
With regard to #1, few people who discuss FIRE discuss volunteer work. Yet this is what retirees all over the place and through the ages have actually done, for the very reasons you describe. I discovered the joys of volunteering just before I retired and it quickly became my goal to be a full-time volunteer. To work for purpose, not for pay.
@@Fioneers I work for American Red Cross year-round, this is local disaster relief, usually house fires. I also do seasonal work with North Country Trails, we build and maintain hiking trails for the local public. And I work for Team Rubicon doing national disaster relief after hurricanes, floods, storms; we cut up fallen trees, tarp roofs, and muck out flooded houses, mostly for people who don't have insurance. These are persistent volunteer opportunities, not just a once-per-annum event, and they require technical training to some degree. National volunteer organizations use donor funds to cover volunteer expenses, so there is minimal drain on the budget if you have to travel to do meaningful work.
You can plan to retire early AND enjoy life. I enjoy life just fine. I go to concerts and basically do whatever I want outside of extremely expensive vacations. I want to retire at 60. FIRE is far too crazy. I'm not going to live like I'm poor so that I can retire at 40 lol. But I can be a bit more frugal and retire 5-10 years early and still enjoy my life.
I'm retiring at 63, so a couple years early. But I don't really care for the FIRE movement. I prefer a little more balance between present and future in my life. For me the better route was choosing a career and path through that career that let me save for the future while still being able to live for the present. It helps that neither my wife nor I are that interested in material things. We have a nice house and nice cars, but they are "ordinary". We take vacations, we buy things that are important to us. Everyone has their own goals though, I can't say FIRE is wrong, it's just not for us.
Sounds like you have found a nice balance. Congrats on retiring a couple years early! Do you have any big plans for once you retire? Also, out of curiosity, Have you heard of Slow FI? Theres nothing wrong with not feeling like FIRE isn’t for you, but Slow FI might be more your speed.
@@Fioneers I've got a variety of ideas, not sure which, if any, will be what I follow. I've got a friend that created a non-profit for doing free auto repair for folk in need, I may do something there if there's an area I can help out. I'd also like to get back to silversmithing - I did that when I was younger and enjoyed it but didn't want to do it as a career. And I've got a few other things as well. No, not familiar with Slow FI.
@@Fioneers I read up a bit on it. Slow FI is pretty much what I did, or was planning on doing, though I didn't know it by name. A few years ago I'd planned on cutting back to part time work. But some key people left that company and it wasn't a good place to work anymore, so I followed those people to their new company. I've been working full time but, well, they aren't very organized so all my old tricks were new again. The work's been pretty easy so I've stayed full time. But even so it's time. My last day is in early June.
1) Go to hot yoga 5 days a week. 2) Read more, join a book group or two. 3) Spend more time on Board Game Arena, and join a game group or four. 4) Cook more. 5) Visit the coffee shop more frequently. 6) Smoke Weed; no more drug testing.
I work an extremely stressful 60+ hour a week job early retirement is perfect for someone like me. I have no interest in moving to another company to earn significantly less money than I earn now only to still work long hours and be stressed 😩. Wish I had rich relatives who could gift me money so I can early retire 😂 but unfortunately the reality is I’ll probably be working until I’m old cause I don’t have enough money for early retirement.
Working a stressful job with long hours is not fun. We’ve both been there and it takes a toll. Do you think it’s possible to find a job that pays you the same or more without the long hours? I know if so many people who have reduced their hours while maintaining their income, so I have to believe anything is possible.
Thanks! Yes, I think the reasons to avoid early retirement also apply to retirement. I think the important thing is better stating our goals and redefining our view of retirement. Lastly, I had to google this term to understand what you meant. Thanks for the feedback.
Learn more about semi-retirement: th-cam.com/video/jOsyCSUrqvU/w-d-xo.html
Retiring isn't about stopping working entirely if you want to continue working, its about knowing you could stop working at any time and be financially secure
my guy, if you're working that's not retiring. You can't just change the definition of retirement.
I agree that redefining the word retirement would be helpful and that it shouldn't be the full absence of work.
@stuff4232, Yeah, I used to share this same belief. It seems like redefining "retirement" can be taken too far to an extreme to the point where it doesn't really mean anything. I do acknowledge though that retirement is not the absence of work - as people whom we consider retired are often working side jobs or doing other productive work as they deem necessary or have an interest in doing.
@@stuff4232 Its not work if you're doing what you enjoy and it happens to make money
Live beneath your means while maximize your income but doing something you enjoy. If you do that for 20 years work should be optional at that point. I know 20 years seems like a lot, but if you’re enjoying what you’re doing and you’re becoming an expert/a master at what you do that can be extremely rewarding.
Thanks, I needed this word today...I'm livin' the dream in a manageable job with many weeks off and margin to travel and be with the people I love.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you have a job with plenty of time off and ability to travel. So you have any trips planned for the future?
Good stuff, Jessica! I used to feel like a bit of a slacker because I wasn't willing to kill myself for a decade+ to try to hit FIRE at a young-ish age. Now, I 100% agree with your thoughts . . . I find a lot of value and purpose in my business. It wouldn't be healthy for me to not have that in my life in this chapter. But, this year I've been focusing on being more productive with the time and energy I spend in my business so I have more time to do other things. I've been tracking my hours since the beginning of the year and, so far, I've been averaging 20 hours/week. . . and still making a solid income. That's a great time ratio for me. And, I enjoy challenging myself. It's an interesting challenge to see how much I can back off of work hours, while improving productivity and keeping revenue up, rather than just challenging myself to try to make more money than I did last year/month/etc and not thinking about how much time those extra dollars are costing me. -Kari
I like that shift a lot. Having more time these days means so much more to me as well than making as much money as possible. Out of curiosity, do you have a target number of hours per week that you’d like to work and still earn a decent income, or is it more of just see how little you can work while maintaining your income?
@@Fioneers My original goal for the year was to hit my gross revenue goal while averaging no more than 25 hrs/wk. So far, my revenue is keeping pace with my annual goal and I'm averaging 5 hr/wk less than my time goal. 🙂
Amazing 🤩 so excited for you!
I am working 4 hours a day. Ofcourse I am an independent practicing professional and hence less stressful job❤❤
I work for 4 hours a day. My job is not that stressful.
I worked a dangerous and demanding job as Federal Law Enforcement Agent for 25 long years. Retiring early at 57 was not an option for me; they kick us out of the door on our 57th birthday. That being said, I am happy to be retired! I am busier now than when I worked 😁
Wow! It sounds like it ended up working out in the end, and am glad you are staying busy. How are you spending your time in retirement?
@@Fioneers I work at my wife's women's clothing boutique 3-4 days per week 😃
Nice! 👍 such an opportunity to be able to work with your partner.
Retired Early 3 years ago. Not overrated.
I’m glad to hear it’s going well for you. How are you spending your time? And do you mind sharing if you had a difficult transition at all?
Ha!
Super. Nice and meaningful video ❤
Thank you so much 😊
Great ideas!
Thank you! 😊
Honestly more people need to talk about this. I achieved this with good financial success by about 29, and i went into a depression immediately after because i lost my purpose in life for a while. We all need a purpose and humans were built to work and help others. I don’t think humans are meant to retire and sit around and do nothing.
Thanks, and I’m sorry to hear that. Have you been able to rediscover some sort of purpose since then, or is this something you are still working on? If you have made progress, I know others would love to hear what’s worked for you.
@@Fioneers i did find purpose again!! It took a few months, but i focused more on my business and also picked up a full time job working for someone else. Now in life my goal is to never retire, and i recognize the stress of work beats the stress of not knowing what to do any day of the week. Work helps us get out of bed those days where you really don’t feel like it. It’s kind of like the gym, once you go you feel better, but staying inside and laying around always makes you feel worthless at the end of the day. That’s how i felt not working because i had enough passive income.
With regard to #1, few people who discuss FIRE discuss volunteer work. Yet this is what retirees all over the place and through the ages have actually done, for the very reasons you describe. I discovered the joys of volunteering just before I retired and it quickly became my goal to be a full-time volunteer. To work for purpose, not for pay.
Such a good point! Sounds like a great video topic for the future too. What type of volunteer work have you done in retirement?
@@Fioneers I work for American Red Cross year-round, this is local disaster relief, usually house fires. I also do seasonal work with North Country Trails, we build and maintain hiking trails for the local public. And I work for Team Rubicon doing national disaster relief after hurricanes, floods, storms; we cut up fallen trees, tarp roofs, and muck out flooded houses, mostly for people who don't have insurance. These are persistent volunteer opportunities, not just a once-per-annum event, and they require technical training to some degree. National volunteer organizations use donor funds to cover volunteer expenses, so there is minimal drain on the budget if you have to travel to do meaningful work.
That sounds like really meaningful work!
You can plan to retire early AND enjoy life.
I enjoy life just fine. I go to concerts and basically do whatever I want outside of extremely expensive vacations.
I want to retire at 60. FIRE is far too crazy. I'm not going to live like I'm poor so that I can retire at 40 lol. But I can be a bit more frugal and retire 5-10 years early and still enjoy my life.
You absolutely can. I’m glad to hear you are enjoying life and are finding a balance in life 👍
I'm retiring at 63, so a couple years early. But I don't really care for the FIRE movement. I prefer a little more balance between present and future in my life. For me the better route was choosing a career and path through that career that let me save for the future while still being able to live for the present. It helps that neither my wife nor I are that interested in material things. We have a nice house and nice cars, but they are "ordinary". We take vacations, we buy things that are important to us. Everyone has their own goals though, I can't say FIRE is wrong, it's just not for us.
Sounds like you have found a nice balance. Congrats on retiring a couple years early! Do you have any big plans for once you retire?
Also, out of curiosity, Have you heard of Slow FI? Theres nothing wrong with not feeling like FIRE isn’t for you, but Slow FI might be more your speed.
@@Fioneers I've got a variety of ideas, not sure which, if any, will be what I follow. I've got a friend that created a non-profit for doing free auto repair for folk in need, I may do something there if there's an area I can help out. I'd also like to get back to silversmithing - I did that when I was younger and enjoyed it but didn't want to do it as a career. And I've got a few other things as well. No, not familiar with Slow FI.
@@Fioneers I read up a bit on it. Slow FI is pretty much what I did, or was planning on doing, though I didn't know it by name. A few years ago I'd planned on cutting back to part time work. But some key people left that company and it wasn't a good place to work anymore, so I followed those people to their new company. I've been working full time but, well, they aren't very organized so all my old tricks were new again. The work's been pretty easy so I've stayed full time. But even so it's time. My last day is in early June.
Awesome 👏 that’s so exciting and silversmithing sounds like a great hobby 👍
I still love the idea of early retirement because of the freedom, though what to do with all that free time presents challenges.
What would you do with more freedom? Do you have a short list yet?
1) Go to hot yoga 5 days a week.
2) Read more, join a book group or two.
3) Spend more time on Board Game Arena, and join a game group or four.
4) Cook more.
5) Visit the coffee shop more frequently.
6) Smoke Weed; no more drug testing.
Sounds like a great list 👍 we also enjoy board games but haven’t tried BGA yet.
@@Fioneers Travel, spend more time with friends, more time with hobbies, explore and most importantly NOT be on someone else's schedule.
@coreyburke3493That last one can be so liberating, speaking from someone who is self employed. What hobbies would you spend more time on?
I work an extremely stressful 60+ hour a week job early retirement is perfect for someone like me. I have no interest in moving to another company to earn significantly less money than I earn now only to still work long hours and be stressed 😩. Wish I had rich relatives who could gift me money so I can early retire 😂 but unfortunately the reality is I’ll probably be working until I’m old cause I don’t have enough money for early retirement.
Working a stressful job with long hours is not fun. We’ve both been there and it takes a toll. Do you think it’s possible to find a job that pays you the same or more without the long hours? I know if so many people who have reduced their hours while maintaining their income, so I have to believe anything is possible.
I'm pretty sure we're related.
Good info. Most of what you defined as alternative to retirement IS retirement. Also, aggressive levels of vocal fry.
Thanks! Yes, I think the reasons to avoid early retirement also apply to retirement. I think the important thing is better stating our goals and redefining our view of retirement. Lastly, I had to google this term to understand what you meant. Thanks for the feedback.
@@Fioneers This video was super informative as usual, Jess, so thanks! Also, I think your voice is fine just the way it is.
Thank you ❤️
Yea i didn’t notice at all about the voice.