beefybake Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 1 hour ago, Shandon Par said: Simple advice from a 40 something is that the peak time to be a human is probably 17-40. If you spend these years not going out (when you could afford to), not travelling, and not throwing yourself into what life has to offer then you’re missing out. These experiences simply are not the same as an older person. I could probably be sitting as a millionaire but I’d still be 44. My muscles would still be on their way out. I’d still be going grey, I’d still be lacking the energy I had even 10 years ago. Depriving yourself on the basis that things will be better when.. is a real recipe for mental anguish. Sorry to use a boxing analogy but so often you hear fighters who achieve their goal yet inside feel flat and empty and can’t understand why they feel flat. That maybe shows how today is as important as tomorrow. All the money and freedom in the world doesn’t make up for things like loss and heartbreak. There is a cultishness to this FIRE as you’re following a path that can lead to you missing out on so much of what life has to offer. Crack on by all means but you may hit a point where you realised you’ve wasted the best years of your life. The gist of the two blogs that I mentioned, and the book, is very much of doing what you enjoy, and find fulfilling in life. You're not losing anything. The emphasis is on making yourself more aware of whether your spending money on stuff that you really don't need, or trying to impress others , or just simply overmuch instant gratification. The result is mostly that you end up with a surprising amount of what is generally in our consumer society called disposable monies. I just prefer to call it discretionary money. Which can be used to invest more than the 5 - 10% that most people who do save consider to be good. The two blogs have cost me nothing. The book... was indeed available at my local library, but there was a bit of a queue, so I spent £10 on a new one. Yes, no one's perfect. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 13 minutes ago, Satoshi said: Good post, and I agree with all but the last sentence. I do all the things you describe above, you don't have to be a monk to want to pursue FIRE. Go and have fun, travel, experience everything you can. The research is clear that experiences provide much more long lasting happiness than the initial buzz you get from purchasing a new ikea table (or whatever). So I max out the former, and try to avoid the latter. If you're in your 40s and have to work 70 hours a week to fund your lifestyle I would suggest you are wasting the best years of your life (when you have young family). Not suggesting this applies to people on this thread, but it's incredibly common in the corporate world. And the best time to be alive is a teenager, everything you feel is much more potent (positive and negative). Fascinating how our brains evolve to become more stable and boring. I sold a business a couple of years back and thought I’d take it easier. Ended up working longer hours now than before! It’s easier to have time off though and I can go away for a few days without having to plan for it or worrying about dealing with work stuff. The work is more rewarding too and I can listen to books and podcasts all day. The mortgage will still be paid before I’m 50. I’d wanted to put the feet up at 40 but school fees and an addiction to fast cars probably cost me half a million! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 1 minute ago, beefybake said: The gist of the two blogs that I mentioned, and the book, is very much of doing what you enjoy, and find fulfilling in life. You're not losing anything. The emphasis is on making yourself more aware of whether your spending money on stuff that you really don't need, or trying to impress others , or just simply overmuch instant gratification. The result is mostly that you end up with a surprising amount of what is generally in our consumer society called disposable monies. I just prefer to call it discretionary money. Which can be used to invest more than the 5 - 10% that most people who do save consider to be good. The two blogs have cost me nothing. The book... was indeed available at my local library, but there was a bit of a queue, so I spent £10 on a new one. Yes, no one's perfect. There’s a good bit of P&B teasing going on and what you suggest sounds eminently sensible. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 1 hour ago, Shandon Par said: I sold a business a couple of years back and thought I’d take it easier. Ended up working longer hours now than before! It’s easier to have time off though and I can go away for a few days without having to plan for it or worrying about dealing with work stuff. The work is more rewarding too and I can listen to books and podcasts all day. The mortgage will still be paid before I’m 50. I’d wanted to put the feet up at 40 but school fees and an addiction to fast cars probably cost me half a million! What an advert for Napier. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 1 hour ago, Shandon Par said: I sold a business a couple of years back and thought I’d take it easier. Ended up working longer hours now than before! It’s easier to have time off though and I can go away for a few days without having to plan for it or worrying about dealing with work stuff. The work is more rewarding too and I can listen to books and podcasts all day. The mortgage will still be paid before I’m 50. I’d wanted to put the feet up at 40 but school fees and an addiction to fast cars probably cost me half a million! School fees? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 4 minutes ago, Granny Danger said: School fees? Aye, they charged for time he wasted while he was there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 38 minutes ago, Granny Danger said: School fees? Yes, my kid went to a St Trinians-type place. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 34 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said: Aye, they charged for time he wasted while he was there. They knocked my school down after I left. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Steele Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 2 minutes ago, Shandon Par said: They knocked my school down after I left a chemistry experiment unattended. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 6 minutes ago, Shandon Par said: Yes, my kid went to a St Trinians-type place. The common people not good enough, eh? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 4 minutes ago, Shandon Par said: They knocked my school down after I left. My primary burned down while I was there...twice. It's also been knocked down and rebuilt as well. One of the fires started in the guinea pig's hutch. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 3 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said: My primary burned down while I was there...twice. It's also been knocked down and rebuilt as well. One of the fires started in the guinea pig's hutch. Thoughts and prayers. Hope the guinea pig is okay. My dad and me were driving home one night (we lived in the sticks ) and were overtaken by some fire engines. My mum was meant to be on a diet but burned the kitchen down with the chip pan when she tried to sneak in some crispy pancakes. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florentine_Pogen Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 3 minutes ago, Shandon Par said: Thoughts and prayers. Hope the guinea pig is okay. My dad and me were driving home one night (we lived in the sticks ) and were overtaken by some fire engines. My mum was meant to be on a diet but burned the kitchen down with the chip pan when she tried to sneak in some crispy pancakes. Genetics, eh ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 2 minutes ago, Florentine_Pogen said: Genetics, eh ? My daughter face-planted in Tesco car park the other day after some sort of leap onto a trolley. I’ve had the snip though so won’t be able to pollute the gene pool any more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 19 minutes ago, Granny Danger said: The common people not good enough, eh? She’s going to a commoner school here in Fife for 6th year. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 2 minutes ago, Shandon Par said: She’s going to a commoner school here in Fife for 6th year. Oh, oh. There’s ‘common’ then there’s ‘Fife common’. I feel sorry for her now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Just now, Granny Danger said: Oh, oh. There’s ‘common’ then there’s ‘Fife common’. I feel sorry for her now. She wants to go to uni in Dundee so this is a sort of test run for urban/gritty life after spending her life so far at tea parties at her friends’ castles etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 (edited) 38 minutes ago, Shandon Par said: She wants to go to uni in Dundee so this is a sort of test run for urban/gritty life after spending her life so far at tea parties at her friends’ castles etc. She can get a ST for Tannadice while she’s there. ETA Lower Eddie Thomson for added grittiness. Edited March 16, 2022 by Granny Danger 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 9 hours ago, oaksoft said: I make a few posts on this thread and all of a sudden I'm getting adverts everywhere for Fire Retardant Products and Services. Apparently I'm in the market for fire blankets and smoke detectors. You’re a marked man now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satoshi Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 19 hours ago, Shandon Par said: I sold a business a couple of years back and thought I’d take it easier. Ended up working longer hours now than before! It’s easier to have time off though and I can go away for a few days without having to plan for it or worrying about dealing with work stuff. The work is more rewarding too and I can listen to books and podcasts all day. The mortgage will still be paid before I’m 50. I’d wanted to put the feet up at 40 but school fees and an addiction to fast cars probably cost me half a million! Yeah, it's interesting that lots of people who do retire early quite quickly go into some other line of work (but one at a style and pace they enjoy). It's the same reason some lottery winners stay in work, some people enjoy it or like having the structure in place. Some people will work till they drop. And all are perfeclty fine, with FIRE you can make your choice earlier, but no choice at that point is right or wrong. The school fees is an interesting one too, my personal choice would always be staying by the beach somewhere warm and cheap but this doesn't usually align with great schooling. I do hope there will be a democratisation in education with everyone getting access to top notch video link teaching, but that will probably come too late and I'll have to bite the bullet on private school or staying near a good public school (the latter can be more expensive!). The other side of FIRE that I've not touched on is that saving for your retirement may not be totally necessary now, but it's entirely feasible that state support for the elderly either weakens or disappears in our lifetime. If you are solely, or predominantly, relying on a state pension you run the risk of penury, staying with your kids and selling your cam videos of oldonlyfans (you may choose to do the last one anyway). Hope it doesn't come to fruition, but it's a risk. Old people are pretty much the most important electoral group in any country which is probably why it hasn't happened yet. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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