I get the feeling that some people think that way.
Well, I don't think so.
I am sharing something from my FB wall here and you are welcome to eavesdrop.
AK says...
I am enjoying life now and doing stuff that I didn't have enough time to do before.
I was disciplined and thoughtful so that I can be less disciplined and thoughtful as I enjoy an early retirement.
Don't ask:
"When you have to stop working, can you afford to?"
Ask instead:
"If you want to stop working, can you afford to?
Reader says...
That make sense and was my motivation and is my justification nowadays.
But to probe more if you are ok to share, what criteria is used to decide how you spend your time on stuff you like?
Eg for me, there are issues of still contributing, being useful, example for kids etc.
AK says...
I don't have a framework.
I just do what I fancy doing each day.
MMORPG, gardening, aquarium keeping, family, friends, blog related activities, reading, watching documentaries, anime, K-drama, doing some physical exercises etc.
There isn't any routine per se.
More of this one day and more of that another day?
Maybe, even doing mostly one thing some days?
If I want to, yes.
I am like a cook in a Chinese zhi char (cooked food) store, agak agak (estimate) the amount of this and that in the cooking.
Nothing exact.
Everything is by feel.
Happy (and yummy enough to eat) can already lah.
I have left behind the prescriptive world of responsibility and routine which demanded that I made regular and meaningful contributions to the establishment and clients (in ever more difficult conditions).
Not only do I not want to ever go back, I don't want a retirement life that even remotely feels like that.
AK the escapist!
AK doesn't want to be reminded of work.
AK is lazy but he really has good reason to be.
OK, if I had to take care of kids (or old folks), I can imagine that my life would partially, more or less, be run according to their needs and there could be a routine of sorts imposed on me.
I don't know about kids but the time will come when I would have to take care of the old folks at home.
It is something that is probably inevitable.
It is a responsibility that I accept.
Other than that, for now, free from chains, I am enjoying a life that is anything but structured.
Financial freedom is not the same as freedom in retirement.
In retirement, even in doing the things I enjoy, there isn't any structure per se.
This really is freedom.
Yes, AK is so utterly irresponsible!
AK is a bad role model!
Bad AK! Bad AK!
Related post:
Average income workers can be rich.
AK,
ReplyDeleteLOL!
I see you have been practicing:
Hungry, eat; thirsty, drink; tired, rest.
We used to do these when we were babies and young... We do what comes naturally in play :)
Before we went to school and learn about "artificial" and "precision" structures :(
Lazy is euphemism for "Why stand when you can sit. And why sit when you can lie donw?"
Confucius and Martin Luther acolytes would frown on you!
But hippies and Taoist will embrace you ;)
I guess it balanced out?
Everything you said below is an exact depiction of how I view and live my life after I voluntarily self-retired a few years ago. I liken it to a prisoner who is finally freed after spending his entire adult life in jail. That was how I felt the day I walked out from my workplace for the last time.
ReplyDeleteMany people couldn't and still can't understand why I did it. Conversely, I still can't fathom why they still haven't done it.
Quote:
I was disciplined and thoughtful so that I can be less disciplined and thoughtful as I enjoy an early retirement.
I don't have a framework.
I just do what I fancy doing each day.
There isn't any routine per se.
More of this one day and more of that another day?
Maybe, even doing mostly one thing some days?
If I want to, yes.
I have left behind the prescriptive world of responsibility and routine which demanded that I made regular and meaningful contributions to the establishment and clients (in ever more difficult conditions).
Not only do I not want to ever go back, I don't want a retirement life that even remotely feels like that.
AK the escapist!
AK doesn't want to be reminded of work.
…free from chains, I am enjoying a life that is anything but structured.
Unquote.
I am retired like AK not because I have to but because I want to. This is the state of aspiration that everyone should have. If you have achieved financial freedom and still wants to work then by all means carry on doing it until you decide otherwise. I have friends that are fabulously rich but enjoys working so much that they will probably die on the job. I envy them, those who enjoys working in a corporate environment. On the other hand I am lazy like AK. I like an unstructured life in retirement. I wake up in the morning and decide what I fancy doing. These days after retirement have been the happiest of my life. Different strokes for different people.
ReplyDeleteHi SMOL,
ReplyDeleteYou always get to the heart of the matter with such precision.
If your ending question is rhetorical, then, I believe you have cracked it.
Balance or not? Who cares? ;p
Hi Laurence,
ReplyDeleteWell, we are all made differently.
We should be relieved that not everybody is like us.
We need the majority of the population not to be like us or else the economy is in trouble.
I know.
Bad AK! Bad AK!
Hi TG,
ReplyDeleteAh, a kindred spirit!
"If you enjoy working, why retire?"
I said this to someone quite recently too.
For sure, different strokes for different folks. :)
Hi AK,
ReplyDeleteWith proper financial planning & investments, what do you think is the earliest age a 25yo can reach retirement?
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteSuch lifestyle suits my preference. Personally, I feel that there is nothing wrong with one who desire to continue working after achieving financial freedom. The feeling of working is absolutely different as the individual works because he/she want to do so. If things do not work out well, he/she can choose to jump ship and move on to another employer. It is the matter of having the initative of bargaining power to do so without the fear of retrenchment.
Ben
Hi Daphne,
ReplyDeleteThat is too general a question.
I really cannot tell you.
I can only share my own story here:
http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.com/2014/06/to-retire-by-age-45-start-with-plan.html
Hi Ben,
ReplyDeleteWhen we work because we want not and not because we need to, the feeling is very different. ;)
I have been reading your blog quietly. Just let you know agar-agar is jelly agak-agak is estimate. Saw two times today in your blog.
ReplyDeleteHi AK, recommend by a friend to your blog. I am 55 years old, lose my job 10 years ago and doing small business since then. Something strike me this year to look into so call investment. I follow the simple rules in doing things, High gain, high risk. Low gain, low risk. Was looking into SSB and T- bills, hoping these will generate some decent returns for my next 10 years. Beside these, I was looking at STI ETF and REITS, are these stable type of inveestment ? Kindly advise
ReplyDeleteHi GG,
ReplyDeleteAlamak. I agar agar and got agak agak wrong?
Er, I mean I agak agak and got agak agak wrong!
Kamsiah you plenty plenty. ;p
Hi FG,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my blog. :)
Your question is similar to what another reader in his 50s asked me and you will find my reply in this blog:
http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2016/08/52-year-old-lost-200k-and-unsure-about.html
All investments come with some degree of volatility.
Go and see what the STI was like during recessions.
Go and see what some REITs were trading at during the financial crisis.
If you are looking for stability, you won't find them investments.
You might also want to read this blog:
http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2017/07/financial-security-in-singapore-plain.html
Reader says...
ReplyDeletetime vs money
Got time then save the money
Want the time then spend the money
AK says...
I now anyhow spend time and money.... :(
Bad AK! Bad AK! :p
Hi AK,
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the current moment. Everyone years to be in your position but most are unable to do so due to financial commitments.
Ben
Hi Ben,
ReplyDeleteAll of us will have financial commitments.
Some are forced upon us and we don't have a choice.
Where we have a choice, choose carefully.
Bad choices could shackle us and prevent us from being financially free.
For example:
http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-happy-marriage-is-worth-waiting-for.html
Bad AK! Bad AK!
Reader says...
ReplyDeleteReally rarely see your posts liao.
Can maybe at least share your NW adventures?
Maybe convert to gaming blog 😆
AK says...
LOL. Too lazy to start another blog. 😛
But I am working hard to hit next milestone in NW. 😉
“I had a considerable passion to get rich, not because I wanted Ferraris – I wanted the independence (to play Neverwinter). I desperately wanted it.”
Sounds familiar?
Kidding!
Bad AK! Bad AK!