Living Frugally to Retire By 40? Mental Illness or Smart ?

[Brianharvey]

"Retirement" is mostly a goal from those who are locked into a job they don't like... "hating it daily, looking forward to the end". I guess if you were a miner working every day below ground or a janitor swabbing municipal building floor for a living, retirement would be a desirable goal. Not the same for everybody.

Correct.
Most people dream of winning the lottery so that they can quit their jobs and never have to work again.
If you look at facebook on a Monday Morning, all you see are hundreds of friends statuses complaining about how they have to wait a whole 5 days until they can enjoy being alive again, and the working week is finished.
Some people are lucky enough to have jobs they like; A concept completely alien to most people.

 

[Scataphagos]

Do they get dumber than him? Maybe Hulk Hogan.

The list of examples is long.

 

[Ditch]

Tyson made what, $300 Million in the ring and still went broke... even owing the IRS $millions?

Tyson is not a smart guy, but it's still a shame he didn't do better with his money... should have had an adviser like me.

300 mil? Unbelievable. Another interesting one is Ozzy Osbourne, that guy was dead broke when he left Black Sabbath. Made it back thanks to his wife, who kept him in check.

 

[Scataphagos]

300 mil? Unbelievable. Another interesting one is Ozzy Osbourne, that guy was dead broke when he left Black Sabbath. Made it back thanks to his wife, who kept him in check.

I often see women on TV whom I think "I'd like to have as a friend and neighbor". Sharon Osbourn is one.

 

[luisHK]

That's all Tyson needed to pursue a more succesful post pro boxing career, Scato as an adviser...
But agree with many of the points made here, early retirement as a goal is suspicious and I read about the same surveys Ditch mention, which make sense
It's unlikely someone who makes enough money to retire by 40 does so, if he can keep on using those skills, at least in related fields, which obviously is more difficult to sportsmen, for whom age is most important, than to most other entrepreneurs.
Beeing the best throwing a ball is not an obvious skill to start other businesses, whereas if you are one of the best at manufacturing or wholesaling those balls, it doesn't matter much your arm is not strong anymore, the skills needed should still be most exploitable

 

[Scataphagos]

"... Most people dream of winning the lottery so that they can quit their jobs and never have to work again.

Sadly lots (most?) big lotto winners end up blowing it all, too. Seems we are not wired to effectively cope with riches "showered upon us quickly".

(I asked the wife... "what if we won $100 Million in the lotto... What would we do with it? She said, "I'd give some to my parents, some to my brother, replace the blacktop driveway with concrete and re-stucco the house". Beyond that, I don't know.)

 

[globalarbtrader]

Interesting stat... About "the number of children you have/don't have" and whether or not you get divorced.

Having numerous kids and getting divorced(s) wreaks havoc on your likelihood of lifetime financial success.

having to agree with Clacy here as another suburban Dad....is it safe to assume you are not married with children?

Not a safe assumption. I'm married with 3 kids.

If your partner doesn't share your priorities, then you've got a problem. You certainly are going to find it hard if you want to retire early and she wants to keep spending money.

In an extreme situation it could end up in divorce. Mind you working long hours for a long time also isn't great for your marriage. Another vote from me that getting divorced isn't a great financial move.

I'd say it's much better to hang out with people wealthier than you, it will bring motivation to do better.

Perhaps to be more precise you should hang out with people who have similar consumption levels. They could be as wealthy as you, or wealthier, or poorer. But if you hang out with people who spend a lot more money than you, you'll be unhappy (or you might not be, but your wife will). Theres some interesting research around this. Even if you know that you're actually wealthier, even if the other guys has zero net worth because he's spending his entire paycheque, its difficult to be happy when the other guy has a nice car and you don't.

I recall a study that was conducted on professional violin players. They found that what separated the absolute top from the "midfield"was not sheer talent, but the number of hours they put in for practice and study. The top players put in twice as much time as their less succesful colleagues. It obviously pays to do what you love. Those looking for early retirement are the least likely to achieve it. My take on this story is that the guy is unhappy in his present career or doesn't like to work at all.

I think there is some truth in that. I certainly didn't look for early retirement. I really enjoyed my job. It was office politics and management BS that made me leave. It just happened that by that point I had enough to stop. Now I do the stuff I enjoyed, but not the other stuff. Don't have to deal with idiots eithier (or at least on ET one can press ignore and not have to listen to them).

I guess if I had just been doing it for the money I would have wanted to do something completely different now, not even vaguely finance related. Another guy who retired last year, he just rides bikes now. That would bore me.

 

[Scataphagos]

300 mil? Unbelievable. Another interesting one is Ozzy Osbourne, that guy was dead broke when he left Black Sabbath. Made it back thanks to his wife, who kept him in check.

It's sad. His entourage bled him dry like the fatted calf. He was oblivious and didn't know any better.

 

[Scataphagos]

Not a safe assumption. I'm married with 3 kids.

If your partner doesn't share your priorities, then you've got a problem. You certainly are going to find it hard if you want to retire early and she wants to keep spending money.

In an extreme situation it could end up in divorce. Mind you working long hours for a long time also isn't great for your marriage. Another vote from me that getting divorced isn't a great financial move.



Perhaps to be more precise you should hang out with people who have similar consumption levels. They could be as wealthy as you, or wealthier, or poorer. But if you hang out with people who spend a lot more money than you, you'll be unhappy (or you might not be, but your wife will). Theres some interesting research around this. Even if you know that you're actually wealthier, even if the other guys has zero net worth because he's spending his entire paycheque, its difficult to be happy when the other guy has a nice car and you don't.



I think there is some truth in that. I certainly didn't look for early retirement. I really enjoyed my job. It was office politics and management BS that made me leave. It just happened that by that point I had enough to stop. Now I do the stuff I enjoyed, but not the other stuff. Don't have to deal with idiots eithier (or at least on ET one can press ignore and not have to listen to them).

I guess if I had just been doing it for the money I would have wanted to do something completely different now, not even vaguely finance related. Another guy who retired last year, he just rides bikes now. That would bore me.

Wow! So many "issues" here, I wouldn't know where to start.

 

[TimtheEnchanter]

Whatever floats your boat, man....I do think this is a weird way to look at the world but we are all different what make you happy may make me bored...I think he will be quite wealthy he he keeps up with this but you never know...he may become a hoarder and lose all enjoyment of hos money. (like so many crazy people.)

I recently read a blog by a guy in his 20's, a dividend investor, who decided to live like a pauper eating peanut butter sandwiches and investing almost all of his income into dividend stocks so he can be "financially free" by 40 years old.
These habits of living poorly will be hard to break no matter how much money the guy accumulates. Visions of the rich old miser come to mind.

The guy is giving up his prime for money, while others give up money for their prime.

any thoughts?