PBS: How these penny-pinchers retired in their 30s

[Ultralight]

MMM is on here. Cool little video from Peebz!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyF40JydVNU

[Packratona!]

Thanks for posting! Nice one!

[Gardnr]

Retire: someone who has retired from active working. leave one's job and cease to work, typically upon reaching the normal age for leaving employment.leave one's job and cease to work.

It's interesting how many people are 'retired' but continue the effort of earning money. I don't think of that as retired. IE: MMM puts many hours into his blog and it's a source of income. It's not passive income: earnings derived from a rental property, limited partnership or other enterprise in which a person is not actively involved

Do you think retired means one still works for income? Curious about perceptions.

[Teacher Terry]

He rarely posts on his blog anymore. I am retired yet 6 years ago I was asked to teach a online college course and I love it. Probably work 10/hours a week and I do it for fun.

[Simplemind]

I work, but not for money. A paying job has too many restrictions on space and time.

[bae]

I retired in my 30s.

[flowerseverywhere]

Everyone is different. I retired early 50’s from full time work. Since then I have done some things for money, like teaching quilting or being on call for several years working as a fill in with developmentally disabled kids, and a lot of volunteering. There is no right way. Once you can meet your basic needs without working it is up to you how much of a savings pad you want and what you want to do.

One thing is for sure, I don’t want to be a crabby old person watching TV and complaining about everything.

If you don’t have to work a 40+ hour job a week at a soul sucking job, there is a whole new meaning to life. Even continuing ina job, knowing that at any time you can quit is exhilarating. Certainly there are good uses for the money if you have extra. Some people continue following their passions of art, music, local politics, community service or just having beautiful flower and vegetable gardens and reading a few books a week. Some people babysit their grandkids. Volunteer for churches, in schools and libraries, fire departments, and local animal rescues. The difference is you have a choice. Much good can be done in this world by those that have a gift of free time.

[Teacher Terry]

I actually don’t have a boss or anyone telling me what to do. They are totally hands off unless you need something. So it doesn’t feel like working at all. As long as your student ratings are good you have a job. If consistently more than 50% of the students were unhappy that would change.

[catherine]

Cool video! And that's exactly my car that's shown! The white 2007 Prius is a clone of mine, but I bought mine new, and it only has 120,000 miles on it. I've been driving it more lately because I'm now in a more rural location, but I try to keep the miles low.

[Tradd]

My choir directors - married couple - both retired from full time work in the last couple of years. The husband is a CPA. He does tax returns for private individuals and some small companies, as well as helping out other CPAs with some overflow. He does this from his home office. The wife was a legal secretary for the same attorney in a Chicago firm for more than 20 years. The attorney is now in his 80s, but still works a good bit. Someone took over my friend’s position, but she also still does work from home perhaps 40 hours a month, as well as helping out when someone is on vacation, etc.

This part time work will cover their expenses for several months at a time, so they don’t have to touch their investments. They did very well saving. They’ve done a few 3-4 week long domestic road trips and a couple of 2 week overseas trips. They have a paid off home and vehicles, and a 35 something daughter with Asperger’s who lives with them (drives, but difficult time holding a job).

[SteveinMN]

Do you think retired means one still works for income? Curious about perceptions.
There's nothing wrong with others paying (or bartering with) you for a skill you have. You do have to be comfortable with that arrangement. Often I'll do something for free because we're not talking large sums of money lost and that way I maintain control over my availability/time commitment.

I think the definition of retirement has changed over the past couple of decades. Back when most people lived to only to their 60s or maybe 70s, retirement typically meant being old enough to do little more than rest or do non-strenuous activities. Now people are retiring in their 50s and most can expect another 20-30 years of activity before having to slow down. That's a lot of time to kill and really can put some pressure on retirement savings. So doing something different or concentrating on a subset of your previous career makes sense and, apparently, seems like a good idea to many people.

DW plans to retire in the next two years and wants to start her own business doing a subset of what she does now (the part of her job she finds the most interesting and rewarding). Her goal is to occupy some hours (the hours not spent with me or family or hobbies) and make enough money for traveling and luxuries, so it won't be a 40-hour-a-week slog. It may not even be a 20-hour-a-week deal. I'll be the back office (billing, IT, etc.). We'll learn more as she gets into it. We'll be barely 60; plenty of time left to enjoy life.

[catherine]

I also agree that "retired" doesn't have to mean you never work. I'm thinking about our friend, a fire fighter, who retired from the fire department at age 45 and then took up masonry as a second career. That's fairly common for people in that type of public service.

[bicyclist]

I find it inspiring that many people have found a way to use their time meaningfully! They are making a difference for others too. We need more people who are pursuing their passions.

[Ultralight]

I find it inspiring that many people have found a way to use their time meaningfully! They are making a difference for others too. We need more people who are pursuing their passions.

I absolutely agree!

I have been thinking a lot lately about meaning in life. I really enjoy learning about how others construct a meaningful life for themselves -- especially in the simpler ways.