Don’t Wait for Early Retirement to Start Living

When I was 21 and fresh out of college, I got a job working as a credit analyst at a bank. One of my bosses at the bank was a 45 year-old guy named Jim.

I don’t think that I’m exaggerating when I say that Jim had it all in life. He had a good job, a beautiful house on a lake, and a great family. He was also a great person, even to a new bank employee like me.

As a beginning distance runner, the thing that intrigued me the most about Jim were his many athletic feats. People around the office would always talk about Jim getting up early to go barefoot water skiing or about all of the training that he was doing for his upcoming Ironman triathlon.

This guy was legit!

However, about a year after I met him, Jim came down with a rare, life-threatening disease. Even though he fought a hard battle, Jim ended up passing away within the year.

Again, this was one of the strongest, smartest, and most well-liked people that I knew. He just wasn’t any match for the disease that took him down.

His life

Based on what I knew about Jim, he didn’t postpone having fun just to get ahead at the bank. He worked hard, but he also appeared to have a life that was well lived. Although his life was cut short, it was still a life that he could be proud of.

But what if he didn’t live that type of life? What if he put off having a family just so he could work more at the bank? What if he didn’t participate in triathlons just because the equipment was too expensive to buy? What if he focused so much on saving money that he ended up neglecting what was truly important in life?

Could Jim have retired early?

I suppose that if Jim knew about the FIRE movement, then he probably could have retired by the time that I met him.

But would his life have been better if he put off living just to save money and retire early?

Make a life

Just to be clear, I don’t feel like Jim or anyone else gains a lot in their lives just by buying stuff. And I’m definitely not suggesting that you run out and buy a boat or a house on the lake tomorrow.

But I am suggesting that you shouldn’t wait for something to end before you enjoy your life.

Never sacrifice a portion of your life just so you’ll be financially secure later.

Even though I like my job, I plan on retiring from it in 9 years when I turn 50. And I applaud you if you also plan to retire early. Just don’t sacrifice your 20s and 30s for that dream of an early retirement.

If you want to travel, save up for it and do it now. Don’t wait until that ambiguous time of “when I retire” or “when the kids are out of the house.” Figure out how you can do it now and then go and make it happen!

If you hate your job, then why do you keep doing it? Don’t quit today, but figure out a way that you can transition to something that you will like a little bit more.

If you don’t like the place that you live, then look into moving. Maybe your next place will cost a little bit more. But your life shouldn’t just rotate around money.

Find activities that you love to do. Then go and do them!

Maybe this will cost you a bit more money than you spend now. It may even delay your dream of early retirement for a few years. But remember that your goal in life should be to do things that make you happy, not just things that make you wealthy.

Be smart about the “how”

Again, our goal in life is not just to pile up the biggest stack of money. Instead, happiness, good friends, a loving family, and satisfaction are some of the main things that we should strive for. However, we can still be smart in our methods.

If we think that we want a bigger house, then maybe we should get one. But before we do that, we should look at why we want to buy a bigger house. Maybe we just need a room to play music in? Instead of doubling the size of our house, we could put up a small music shed in the backyard. This could satisfy our need for a music room in a more creative and cost effective fashion.

If we want to travel more, then maybe we should. But maybe we just want more adventure in our lives. We can probably find this just by looking within our local area. You really don’t need to travel far to find adventure! If you end up deciding that you do want to travel, then maybe you can find ways to lower the cost of your travel while still getting the satisfaction of a great trip.

Your retirement

There will be times when you feel like you need the promise of something better before you can even face the upcoming day at work. So it is OK to look forward to retirement and freedom from having to go to work everyday.

Just make sure that you never wish your life away.

You can count down to retirement, just like you would count down to an exciting vacation or holiday. But never sacrifice having an enjoyable and purposeful life now, just for the possibility of an early retirement in the future.

Let us know what brings enjoyment and purpose to your life by checking out the comments below.

And thanks for reading!

~Nathan

Let’s keep living a great life … with the help of money. So what’s next?

• You can travel for free by using rewards credit cards.
• You can get motivated and get out of debt.
• You can check out the next post or the previous post and continue to learn.

But no matter what you decide to do, let’s leave the ordinary behind and take action today!