When someone learns that I want to retire early I get a variety of reactions. The most common one is actually indifference 🙂 , which works for me. The second most common reaction involves asking why I’m waiting for a far off goal instead of pursuing other options to change my life NOW. This came up a lot at the beginning of my journey when retirement was 10 years away. My friends and family seemed confused as to why I would reach for something so far in the future instead of changing my work to be closer to what I want immediately. Totally fair critique! Let’s explore my reasoning.
A Caveat On ‘Productivity’
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not planning to retire “to” something. The activities I enjoy are not ‘productive’ in the traditional way early retirees talk about a lot of their hobbies. Compared to productive people in the FIRE community, it seems like what I enjoy doing can mostly be described as consuming instead of creating. I love to watch great films, read captivating novels, eat delicious food, take beautiful pictures, curate my life through writing, go on long walks with friends, and spend time with the people I love. I don’t think any of that could be described as a type of ‘work’ (though come at me Internet Retirement Police!)
In that vein, I’ve never felt the urge to be ‘productive.’ I’ve never WANTED to work. I work to feed myself. To be honest I can’t think of any type of job I would enjoy. To some degree they all involve someone else’s agenda, politics and other nonsense I don’t want to deal with. I don’t want any job so I’m trying to find the lowest common denominator that will make me happiest on the way to and through early retirement.
On And Off Work
There are three main options that I’ve been presented in opposition to working a full-time job for 9 years and then retiring fully with nothing even resembling work lined up. The first one is on and off work. A few of my previous colleagues would do this in ad agencies, mostly in the creative department. Instead of accepting full-time positions at a company, they would do freelance or contract work for a certain amount of time. On the surface that sounds lovely – I get bored easily and prefer to have variety in my work. But after pulling back a layer, I realized that this kind of life would actually increase my general stress level instead of decreasing it for one reason: Constant Interviews.
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve had 6 jobs in 7 years. I am no stranger to interviewing. If I had to guess, I’ve probably been on close to 100 interviews in my life so far. It’s an incredibly stressful process for me that I don’t enjoy. One reason is that it’s kind of like sales: you don’t know where your next lead will come from. I’ve gone from several companies telling me they’ll hire me to all of them coming back and saying never mind in the same week. So I went from thinking I was about to have several offers to having no prospects at all in a matter of days. That kind of uncertainty gives me whiplash.
So if I were to freelance or contract for a company for a certain number of months, that might help give me variety and help me know that I wouldn’t be there forever, but the downside is that in addition to actually doing the job, I would also be interviewing that entire time to line up my next gig. So basically I would be doing two jobs at all times, which overall would increase my stress level over a regular full-time job. Even if I said I’d do six months on and six months off, those six months ‘off’ would be filled with looking for my next job so it wouldn’t truly be ‘off’. Interview processes for me are filled with a massive amount of time investment for researching and a lot of anxiety. That’s not the kind of balance I want. I would rather just power through and be able to do truly ‘nothing.’
Part-Time Work
The next option presented is usually part-time work in a less stressful field that I’m passionate about and enjoy, instead of my stressful full-time job that I don’t. This is a tricky one because I’ve thought about it a lot and can’t think of a less stressful job that I would enjoy enough to take the pay cut it entails. Taking such a job would elongate my time to retirement considerably and while people claim having less stress would make that longer time frame more enjoyable, I keep coming back to just wanting to get my work career over with ASAP.
I’m also not sure a part-time position would be less stressful overall. It’s possible that the much lower pay would stress me out. I would have to watch my budget even more closely than I already do and probably have to cut back on spontaneous travel like the $770 plane ticket to Singapore I randomly bought this year. Overall the trade-offs don’t seem worth it to me. I’d rather keep trucking.
Entrepreneurship
And now for the most common suggestion: going out on my own. Here’s something I can’t recall anyone else saying: I don’t want to be an entrepreneur. I don’t want to be my own boss and be responsible for if I get a paycheck or not. Even the thought of it makes me cringe. It’s similar to sales like I mentioned before – you don’t know where your next client or job will come from. You’re constantly selling and pitching and striving. You don’t know where your next dollar will come from so you pursue all possible opportunities. That sounds incredibly stressful to me – more so than my current job. At least at my job, I generally know what I have to do to succeed and it’s not up to the universe.
Another reason I’m not interested in entrepreneurship is that it has a high chance of failure, which would stress me out even more. I experienced the possibility of failure through watching my Mom try to break out on her own numerous times and failing every time. She worked incredibly hard and nothing came from any of her businesses, except less money in her wallet.
So I don’t want to be an entrepreneur. I would rather know how much money I’ll make each month and know it’s coming in no matter what. I’d rather know how to complete my job well instead of constantly striving.
Why I Pursue FIRE
So there you have it: I’ve thought about other possible options and concluded that I want to pursue FIRE instead. None of the above options would allow me to have the life I want: a life where I can travel at will and not be chained to anything or anyone.
I’m fine continuing my full-time job, raking in the dough and retiring after 9 years of work. Through all of my job hopping, I have found the cushiest position I could. This is the best it’s going to get it seems so I’m going to buckle down and race towards the finish line. Less than 2 years to go!
How about you? Have you considered another path instead of FIRE?
Soooo with you on the entrepreneur stuff. I have never wanted to be an entrepreneur, and of my friends who’ve pursued that path it seems like their entire personality changes to fit the mold of constantly trying to sell something to survive. Not my cuppa tea. Unless you count writing as entrepreneurship, but I think it probably falls more in the “contractual” category.
Right?! Glad to know I’m not the only one. I haven’t seen someone’s personality change from it personally, but that’s a great point. I can imagine it takes over every aspect of your life – including your personality. It kind of has to.
Not that I know enough to put labels on things 🙂 , but freelance writing does seem to be more in that category and if you had for example a staff of writers and were trying to get clients for them is more ‘entrepreneurship’ in my mind…but who knows? Labels are weird. Thank you for stopping by!
There is nothing wrong with the activities you listed that you want to do in early retirement! They sound lovely! Don’t let anyone tell you or make you feel guilty about your “productivity” level in ER. I mean the reason you want to ER is to have your freedom, right? Don’t give a FIRE what other people think. PS I think writing is plenty productive!!!
Thank you! I definitely don’t feel guilty about it 🙂 , but wanted to show another perspective since a lot of FIRE bloggers seem to have a million things going on after retirement and say “early retirement isn’t about sitting on a beach” while for me – it basically is 🙂 . And you’re completely right – it’s all about freedom to do what I want and I will be a slug if I feel like it! And uh oh – if writing is productive I’ve accidentally slipped to the dark side. Noooo!!!! 😉
What I like about this post is how you’ve considered the options and really thought about what’s right for you. That might change over time… but I think you’ll figure it out and do really well.
All the best
TEA
That’s so lovely to hear – thank you! And yes I definitely can’t speak for Future Me, but this is where I stand right now. Thanks so much for stopping by!
I am glad you shared your thought process on pursuing FIRE. I am the same way as you; I have no desire to work when I leave my job. I thought about part time but I don’t think it gives me the flexibility I want either. If I want to travel the world, working 4 hours a day is not going to allow that. And if I can come to some part-time agreement of 1 month on, 1 month off, I am going to dread coming back to work after that month off. So the easiest solution is to just not work. And starting my own business? No thank you!
Glad to hear someone else feels this way too! Yes to everything you said. Absolutely. The nature of my work (and I imagine yours in finance even more so) doesn’t allow me the freedom I want even if I cut back on hours. Better to just plow through!
Hey, it’s your retirement and you get to decide how you spend it! I’m likely still going to work when we hit financial independence, but I don’t expect that my wife will. She’ll likely work on her art, maybe take up gardening. I do like the idea of having time to watch movies. I tried to work my way through the AFI 100 list once. I didn’t make it very far.
Yes indeed! And that’s great – what kind of work will you do? Still construction or something else? Your wife sounds more my speed 🙂 . Art and gardening need to be added to my list! I’ve also tried to get through the AFI 100 list and failed. I think I need to have a specific ‘movie time’ every other day or something with a schedule and then just DO IT. I’ve added that as a plan for retirement and will let you know how it goes!
Yep, I’m with you in not having any interest in the entrepreneurship route. And as far as lower paid, part time work, that’s all I was able to find to supplement my internship while I’m South Carolina, and it was absolutely no less stressful than my most stressed at my career job (and I’d say now I’m considerably less stressed than that). Thanks for sharing this – I know I’m coming at FIRE from a very different perspective, but this makes a heck of a lot of sense for you.
Great to know you’re with me on entrepreneurship and my assumption about part-time work isn’t completely off. Do you mind me asking how it was just as stressful? I’m just curious. And glad you think it makes sense!
Before I realized I can reach FIRE through saving and investments, I thought the only way was to become an entrepreneur and earn enough to retire early. Although I enjoyed the entrepreneur route (in addition to having a full time job at a company), I never generated enough income to actually quit my job. This meant I was busier than ever. I have now come to the conclusion that I no longer want to trade my time and labor for money. So I don’t want to work for a company nor start my own business. I want to be free and have time to pursue the things I enjoy doing.
Wow – that sounds wild. Good for you having that kind of drive. I can barely keep up with my full time job + recovering from a full time job.
“I have now come to the conclusion that I no longer want to trade my time and labor for money. ” Very well put. I’m completely with you. There are only so many hours in the day. I’ve much rather have my investments be making me money while I sleep 🙂 . Thank you for stopping by!
Loved this! I feel the same that I prefer to retire first instead of going for a less painful option. I feel like I’m already doing work I enjoy enough but it really doesn’t give the day to day freedom I envision. I feel after I’m FI I might hop a bit between jobs if I get bored though, but definitely get too stressed about the instability to make that my life before “retiring”
Totally. I’m trying to “rip the band-aid off” (I can’t think of a better analogy right now, but it seems apt). That’s awesome you’re doing work you enjoy! What kind of freedom do you want exactly? I’m just curious to hear other perspectives. I want to not be tied to a desk and computer for set hours a day, not have to be available at the last minute for meetings or work that’s due “in 1 hour AHHH!” Traditional work doesn’t seem to align with time or location freedom.
What makes you think you’ll get bored enough to get other jobs? Will they be in a different field than what you do now? And yes the instability of that kind of life pre-retirement makes me shiver. Several of my friends that do it are constantly telling me how worried they are about money on top of everything else they’re doing. It doesn’t seem worth it to me. Thank you for stopping by!
i have to say that i totally relate to all of this. my favorite activities aren’t “productive” either and this here job at the present pays enough to save and invest well and it doesn’t suck. my hobbies include drinking good wine with friends and cooking good food but i don’t want to make a “job” out of those either. my path is more like your mom’s. work in science and get tired or company b.s. save like crazy after age 35 and hit a big number by 50.
as for that part-time thing you might find this useful: mrs. me lost her 22 year cushy job about 18 months ago. we skated on unemployment for 6 months and would be just fine on my income. she still likes some little luxuries in life and kinda just likes to work some while i’m at work. her 1st part-time job ended up involving some evenings and many saturdays for hardly any money. she just gave notice there after about 9 months because if you’re giving up those hours it better be for a lot of money. she just started working for an entrepreneur in the arts and we can see how it goes without needing the money, which is nice. if it sucks she can stop. that’s the thing about the way you’re doing it and having enough money to try things that might find future you.
That’s awesome to hear! It’s great to know I’m not alone in loving ‘unproductive’ things – and drinking good wine with friends needs to be added to my list! Super cool that you and my Mom have a similar path! Super cool that the Mrs. has that flexibility (and recognizes she likes little luxuries and wants to work while you’re away). I’m very excited to have that kind of freedom. Thank you for stopping by!
I love this post as I can really relate to it – I too plan to do stuff like watch films, read novels but also play video games, something which I stopped doing as work was getting in the way. And I’ll have more lie-ins in bed! Oh, I’ll do a bit of travelling too but I’ll be spending most of my time at home doing the things I love.
I don’t plan to do any paid work, certainly don’t want to turn any of my hobbies into money-making ventures, as that would just suck all the joy out of what I think hobbies are all about – doing stuff cos it’s fun and enjoyable. I don’t want to turn my blog into a business so will continue to do it for long as I feel like writing – perhaps when I retire, I might write about how I’m surviving on my investments etc. Or not! I’m sure people will be interested in my successes/failures.
Running my own business and being an entrepreneur? Absolutely not, sounds like harder work than working for somebody else and I don’t mind doing that. At least if you have a crappy boss, you can go get another job.
Oh yeah – video games! I need to add that to my list too! Those really do fall by the wayside with work. Oooh and sleep late yesss! I’m with you. Great to hear from a like-minded soul!
That’s a great perspective on hobbies and one I obviously share. I’ve tried to “follow my passion” and turn something I actually enjoy into my job, but it’s always failed mostly because you’re exactly right: it sucks the joy out of it. As for your blog, I’d love to hear about your life in retirement when you get there! There are so few blogs that are already over the hurdle we need more and your perspective is a unique one.
Riight?! Entrepreneurship really is harder work without even the expectation that it will pay off. No thank you! And yes – if you have a crappy boss you can get another job, if you ARE your crappy boss you have bigger problems 🙂 . Thank you for stopping by!
What I like about this post is that you have clearly given the options available to you a lot of thought and landed on an outcome that reflects your most cherished values. More people would benefit from this kind of deep reflection. Good on you for knowing exactly what you do and don’t want, and unapologetically moving in that direction. You go girl!
Thank you!!! That’s so nice to hear. Also great to know my overthinking tendencies have finally come in handy! Thank you for stopping by.
Great post and I totally respect your choices, well thought out:)
For my part, I can’t imagine not doing anything productive at all but I do want to have a lot of time to do all the things you mentioned.
My one goal is the freedom to do whatever I want whenever I want , no labels. I am ready to try it all and that’s the beauty of being FI (even if my latest post covers everything it’s not:)) cheers
Thank you! Awesome you want to be productive – it usually seems like my position is a unique one among our community 🙂 . Freedom is so key – you’re right. Thank you for stopping by!
Good stuff, I like the way you’ve thought through this.
I love to watch great films, read captivating novels, eat delicious food, take beautiful pictures, curate my life through writing, go on long walks with friends, and spend time with the people I love.
You said your fun stuff is consuming and not creating but I would offer that taking pictures and writing are creating. Granted, you don’t have to try to sell them or side-hustle them in any way, but they’re still creative endeavors. I kind of think everyone HAS to have a creative endeavor of some sort or their bran will just atrophy.
And I went part time and am in semi-FIRE status, but I’ve already reached my FI number and am way passed it. Your point is valid, going part time might stress you out more due to the lack of income, but for me being already FI it’s been amazing. I get to keep the stimulus of a job I don’t love, but also don’t hate, along with the healthcare etc. And since I’m already FI the fact that my income is cut in half doesn’t really bother me. I have time to focus on my creative endeavors, which is the main point.
Thank you! And fair critique – I guess photography and writing do create something – even if it’s not money 🙂 . It’s interesting you saw everyone has to have a creative outlet because I don’t think my Mom does…or maybe I need to expand my definition of creative. She walks, reads, watches TV and plans trips. Maybe travel hacking is her outlet.
That’s awesome that part-time is going so well for you! I can imagine being past your FI number would help a lot with the pay cut. It’s wonderful you have time to focus on what matters to you! I’m a little jealous. Maybe I should re-think my stances above 😉 . Thanks for stopping by!
I like how you go through what options you’ve thought through. It’s always puzzled me why getting a job that may not be your passion but pays a decent salary until you’re FI isn’t a good option. Of course, if you can find something that intersects your passion, even better. But that’s not always possible.
The only time I disagree is if staying in a toxic work environment or a job that’s affecting your health if you have over two years to go. It’s not really for me to disagree though, that’s a personal choice. But since it’s so different than what I think, I’m curious to understand why.
Thank you! And yes unfortunately I haven’t been able to even think of a passion that would pay well. Maybe I’ll get that inspiration down the road.
I’m totally with you. I won’t tolerate a toxic environment. I quit my first job ever with $5,000 in the bank because it was toxic and I refused to take it anymore. Through all my job hopping I’ve found a really sweet gig at my current company and plan to stay until retirement. For me the people I work with (boss, colleagues, clients) are what makes or breaks a place and these people are absolutely wonderful. I wouldn’t stay if it was negatively effecting me. Every job I’ve had is pretty stressful at times, but that’s the nature of the marketing business and client service in general. Thank you for providing your opinion! It’s great to hear different viewpoints!
Running towards something in FI doesn’t have to generate income! It’s really about running towards a purpose. Whether you’re working or FI.
Thank you for sharing your perspective! I would love to just putter around in the garden all day and work on my stitching in my retirement. I am also totally open to being one of those people that visit hospitals to hold the babies. That would be divine!
That sounds like a lovely day! And I didn’t know you can visit hospitals to hold babies! Learning something new over here.
So true.
That’s what I also answer to people who tell me “why don’t you work part time? Why don’t you join a startup?”
No way. It’s either the whole package or nothing.
In contrast with you though, I think I can monetize some of my passions, at least I’d be coding/writing/teaching/acting for fun and… you never know… So I might unplug myself before 100% FI
Right?! I envy people that can compartmentalize their work and life. I can’t, so any work I do would mentally infiltrate my actual life and not give me the future I want. The location requirement of always being in the same city doesn’t help either.
That’s awesome you can monetize your hobbies! I’m jealous! Though maybe I’ll discover some of mine bring in money down the line – or I find new hobbies. Who knows! That’s super exciting that you might pull the plug before 100% FI! After reading all your plans I say doooo it 🙂
I feel much the same as you. While I haven’t written (maybe I should), I have mentally gone through the list of alternatives as well… admittedly I’m not quite as decided on FIRE… I mean it’s the default. But I too would not choose entrepreneurship…I don’t have that bone in my body.
I was watching The Great Escapers… and it confirmed that sentiment…while leaving your stable 9 to 5 to pursue a business in a nice sunny country sounds good in theory… i don’t want to leave my steady paycheck to go work hard to open a restaruant/ b&b or surf shop… ugh… how is that better…working outdoors is still working… smh.
So, I’m glad I’m not alone in this. Hmm…can’t figure out how you’re getting to $500k in 9 years though!
I’d love to read that post if you write it! And good to hear I’m not alone on my dislike on entrepreneurship. Most people look at me like I’m crazy when I say that. Completely agree that working outside or in a different environment is still working. I enjoy that of all the stresses in my life knowing how much I’m making next month is not one of them. As for $500K I’m saving $68K a year now so that’s how 🙂 . I’ve been meaning to pull together all my net worth numbers from the last few years on my The Numbers page. They’re on my site, but in different posts. Thank you for stopping by!
I’m so with you for all of your reasons. I feel the same way about all 3. I’m older than you. I wish the FI movement had been around when I was younger. I’ve always been a saver, but if this info had been out when I was in my early 20s, my FI timeline would definitely have been accelerated.
That’s so nice to hear! And yeah we’re extremely lucky these days that the idea is so rampant (or so it seems to me – random people I know send me FIRE articles whenever it’s in the news) and that the internet lets us spread our ideas and build a community so quickly. Well I’m glad you found the path even if it wasn’t in your early 20s 🙂 . And thank you for stopping by!
I had to laugh out loud when you said “I work to feed myself”. Sometimes, it’s just as simple as that. Now what if someone paid you to play Sims? Think it would ruin the game?
Yeeeeah lol. Gotta keep that honesty. As for Sims that depends – I feel like they’d make me write things about the Sims, play certain story lines or do other weird stuff like a weird job that can make anything unfun. Now if they literally let me do whatever I want and paid me I’d be down…though also worried that they were studying me for a psych experiment lol…
I’ve just discovered your blog and am enjoying reading through everything.
I’m so with you on the reasons to full-on retire instead of something half-way. Like you, I can’t imagine a job that I’d enjoy so much I want to do it forever (except maybe something so low-key it would basically be volunteering, like working at an animal shelter – and even then I wouldn’t want to commit to doing it all week or all year!). In the past I’ve had a few months off work, and I felt I couldn’t really embrace the time off, as I ‘should be thinking about getting the next job’.
The only way I’m going to be happy is by knowing I can do whatever I want with my day! I have worried that it’s just lazy to want to spend my time watching new films or reading, and that everyone in the FIRE community are such go-getters – I’m glad to know that it’s totally acceptable to look forward to a retirement that looks like this! 😉
Through EVERYTHING?! Wow you’re ambitious. And Welcome! That’s interesting you mentioned an animal shelter – my sister-in-law worked at one and it was actually incredibly stressful since if you don’t act immediately (even after hours) an animal could be basically put down if they don’t find someone to care for them quickly. I never even thought about that – I thought it would be puppy snuggles 24/7! I would hope that’s not at all the case for a volunteer, but still helps put things in perspective for me.
I’m totally with you on “I should be thinking about getting the next job” while taking time off – ugh our silly human brains 🙂 ! First of all, I don’t see watching films or reading as lazy AT ALL. I might even argue it’s ‘productive’ – you’re expanding your mind and knowledge with both. I do see a lot of go-getters out there, but I’m trying to buck the trend. Totally excited to do a lot of ‘nothing’ in retirement.
I relate so much to this blog post. I don’t think there is any job that I would enjoy doing every day. Having freedom to do anything I want, anytime I want without stress is something that can only be achieved through FIRE — so that’s my goal. Thanks for summarizing your thoughts so well!
Yup – same page 🙂 . And thank you!