Why Retire
Why retire? You will hear this question all the time when you start talking about retirement. People will come out of the woodwork asking you all kinds of stupid…
Where to Retire
Where to retire is a fascinating topic. I love to read the stories of places people retire to and the different ways they do it. There are all those top…
Retirement Activities
I get a little irritated when I read stories of how your retirement activities will bore you in retirement and that you are better off working as long as possible….
Why We Love Pensions
Pensions is kind of a funny word. It is defined as – A sum of money paid regularly as a retirement benefit or by way of patronage. A sum of…
Increase Your Savings the Easy Way
Retirement and life, in general, are pretty difficult without any savings. Trying to accumulate a pile of money or even a modest nest egg is so difficult. Do you personally…
How My Retirement Hobbies Will Make Money
Am I wishing too much when I say that my retirement hobbies will make me money? I don’t think so. I think…I know…I have many skills and talents that I…
Unconventional Retirement Planning
Retirement Planning. How are you going to retire when you do not have that giant nest egg that they are always talking about? That minimum of $1,000,000 which they say…
How to “Feel” Retired Right Now
How can you feel retired now? Not sitting in front of the TV all day and all night sort of way that will be your ultimate fate. Not in the…
Is A Frugal Retirement Possible?
Frugal retirement. You are going to have to get used to the idea. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing. You have probably been frugal your whole life. If…
Get Out of Debt
Your life and your retirement plans will be put on hold unless you get out of debt. Debt holds you back. It is like a sword hanging over your head…
Aren’t you sick of hearing these statements?
- You need health insurance so have to keep working.
- You can’t quit working until you pay off your mortgage.
- You need to keep paying your bills.
- You have to make sure your family is taken care of.
- The purpose of life is to work and work and work some more.
- You are supposed to love your work and be thankful you have a job.
- Everyone knows that we all are living longer and staying healthier longer just so we can work more.
I reject all that terrible advice.
Look at this table below showing how soon you will die the longer you delay taking your retirement. The first time I saw this table I was shocked. The next time I studied it I started making plans for my early retirement. I need time to have a life. I think you do too.
If you look closely at the table above you will see that, on average, if you retire at age 55 you will live until you are 84. If you delay your retirement until age 65 you will be dead in a year, or at 66.
I hope you will agree with me that your life and your happiness are the most important thing to you. Not health insurance. Not your big mortgage. Not your bills. Not your family. Not your job. Not the lie that says you are going to live longer and not get sick in your old age.
Especially not that. Most of us are going to get sick and die much, much younger than we think. Death is coming for us all.
You Matter
You need to get to your reason of why to retire as soon as possible. Get those wrong ideas out of your head so you can start thinking about what you really want.
Do you really need a reason why to retire? You wouldn’t think so. But It looks like we are being pushed, pulled, and prodded into working longer and longer. It seems the headlines are filled with stories about people living longer and staying healthier until old age. We are told there is not enough money for older people and the only solution is for everyone to just keep working.
But is any of that true?
Is it true that we are living longer and remaining healthy?
Look around at the older people you know, especially your older blood relatives. Do they seem healthier? Are they even alive? Did they live to see 90 and if they did, were they living a quality life of enjoyment and contentment, free from major health issues?
Or are they strapped to machines and on multiple prescriptions? Are they old, tired, slow, with poor eyesight, and not able to do much except watch whatever inexpensive TV they can afford?
You are planning on working until you are at least 65 or maybe 68 to get a few more earning years in. Maybe some of you are thinking 70 or even 75. After all, you have been told your entire life that you should like your work and be happy to have a job. You have that big mortgage to pay off and you don’t want to be a burden on your kids or society, do you?
I have heard all this and am sick of it.
My answer to all this is no. I am going to find a way to retire as soon as possible and in the process of that I am going to enjoy my life like I am retired already.
That is the vision I have for my life and for this website.
I am not going to continue to be pushed into things I don’t want to do. I have spent the better part of my life going along with what others wanted and I do not have anything to show for it
I am going to live the rest of my life on my terms, doing what I want. I am not going to blindly obey some outside authority and work until I drop.
I have a lot of things I want to do, a lot of places to see, and a lot of experiences to try. I need time to do all those things. The time that I do not have is because I am stuck working 5 days a week for 40 hours.
That is too much of your life to lose. You have no idea how many days you have left in spite of what “they” say. You have to live your life like it is going to end sooner rather than later.
If you live healthy and happy for decades more, that would be glorious. But the reality is you probably won’t.
Most men rarely live past 75. A very large percentage do not see 70. If they do, they are not well.
How can you take those long vacations if you are too sick?
Women tend to live a little longer, but not that much more. A year or two does not really seem like that much of a life.
And what I want the most is plenty of free time to do those things. And I want to be able to do those things when I am young enough to do them. I will always enjoy them. It is just the problem of being able to do those things.
I believe that your life purpose is to be happy. I don’t believe you are only here to serve others. I believe you are here to take care of your needs and in the process of making yourself happy you are going to affect lots of people in a positive way.
Others will benefit from you going about the business of living happily. But that is a side benefit.
What you need to create more happiness in your life is more time to do what makes you happy.
Retiring early will give you that time.
What you need is time to pursue those things that make you happy.
You need to start to focus on your needs, your happiness, and what you need to do to retire as soon as possible and enjoy your life along the way.
We are going to discuss inspiration, motivation, dreams, goals, and visions.
Plus, we will find some specific actionable items to move you closer to your dreams.
I think that I am like a lot of you. You are in your 40s or 50s and you have worked hard and long hours chasing a dream that isn’t really yours. You kept thinking that if you just work more you will get what you want. But it still eludes you.
You keep hearing that people are living longer and longer and that we will be healthy long into old age. So we will have to keep working longer so we don’t run out of money.
But why?
Why can’t you retire as soon as possible and start doing what you want?
I am trying to get past all the negative garbage out there saying how long I have to work. I am trying to get past the guilt of feeling the need to take care of everyone else, except me. I am trying to have a life.
That’s what I want for my life isn’t that what you want too?
I always thought that I couldn’t enjoy my life because of a lack of money. But it was really a lack of time. If you truly get this, you will realize that in order to have the great life you want, you need an enormous amount of free time. You need many hours a day. You need many days off. You need years. This is your life. You need to retire as soon as possible and you need to get some retirement-type living in your life now.