Sunday, August 29, 2010

Are we crazy and too young to do this?

I read a blog recently by Freely Living Life on the topic How young is too young? It was an interesting take on why some people found it difficult to accept “younger” people engaging in what some think are things reserved for “older” “well to do” people. The belief is that in order to qualify for full timing as a lifestyle one had to be older, retired, and fairly well off financially… Their blog set about blasting this ideology and was followed with many comments that supported their thesis… I thought I would add my two cents in the form of a story instead of comments…

When we first decided that we were going to fulltime we did so sort of spontaneously but, we didn’t just stop everything and just do it! I had long planned the day we would “retire” and had picked the ripe “old” age of 55 to do so. I invested wisely and lived frugally so I could be come FIRE’d (financially independent - retired early) as was suggested on a forum I frequent (http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/). Here was a site that brought together similar people with the desire to get out of the rat race as early as possible. No one asked anyone how old they were or how well off they were but many offered their ages and finances anyhow. Thus, over time I learned to know who some of these people were through their avatars and came to discover that they were of all ages and of all economic classes. So to say one had to be old to retire was definitely not true and to say one had to be wealthy was also not true. Now I admit both of these topics are highly subjective.

FIRST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY When we celebrated our first wedding anniversary many years ago were we really any different then than we are now? Now even though we have made the decision to “retire” many years later we never made the decision that this meant we would never work again. Thus, retirement is may not be what we have actually chosen… it may merely be a form of living life fully…

Many years after our first wedding anniversary we have made the decision to fully live life… Are we smarter now than when we very young? Maybe, but inside we are still the same two people we were back then just with a little wisdom thrown in.. But even as we shared 2008 summerour plans with our friends and acquaintances we discovered similarities with what many other bloggers said they experienced. Were we crazy!!! Most focused on age… how could we do this at the age of fifty five which is really an indirect way of saying how can you afford to do so? This was pointed out in the blog How young is too young? when they said “…do not judge a person based on their age for you do not know what path they have already walked in life. This goes both ways.” and I might add the old adage…Don’t judge a book by it cover…

Many have commented that life is too short and that to let it pass you by without living it fully was the mistake many make… to wait for the big pension or the appropriate nest egg would likely cause one to just end up not “retiring” at all... Yes we do only have one shot at this and as The Gypsy G-Mas said in their comment... “There are so many people who don't follow their dreams because they believe they have to reach some magical age. By the time that age arrives they are no longer able to achieve those dreams or they have lost track of what those dreams are.”  I couldn’t agree with this statement more…

live life fully There are many out there that think we have lost our minds, that we will run out of money, that we have gone stark raving crazy and are madly insane… well all I really have to say to them is that I am going to give this a go and to not do so would leave me with lots of regrets…

live life fully…

9 comments:

  1. Great post! If all goes well, DH and I will be high 40s/low 50s when we hit the road. Some people may think we're crazy, but I think we're lucky! :) If we could, we would leave now! But we have to wait just a few more years.

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  2. Well said follow your dream and don't look back.

    Have a great week.

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  3. Yep, Kevin and I were pretty spontaneous. From the time we made the decision to fulltime and being on the road was just over 2 months. That was with selling the house, buying the RV and getting rid of all our stuff.

    We have now had to work again, but now it should only be for 6 months at a time and then travel for 6 months, not a bad deal.

    I would rather this, than the rat race and these are memories that can't be taken away and we will always have. No regrets!

    You're never too young!

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  4. I think it's great that you were able to plan for an early retirement and are going for it. Craig has always hated the word "plan." He wanted to retire about ten years or so ago when the company he worked for went under. But after spending a few months not getting much done on the house an wanting to spend at the same rate we had before, he realized it was not really possible. He went back to work part time as a consultant. At least it pays the bills and we have no debt besides a very small mortgage. He still refuses to hear about anything like a "plan," or "timeline." Bt he is working on the house every weekend and maybe someday we will be able to put it on the market.

    I have always admired people who can make a plan for the future and work towards it. Even if it has to change. A plan not realized is better than none at all.

    I HAVE a plan!

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  5. Thank you for including us in such an excellent post! We encourage you to follow through with your plans of living a different lifestyle. You will get a lot of people judging you along the way but all that matters in the end is your ultimate happiness.

    The picture of you two and your first wedding anniversary is so sweet! And the more recent picture of you two directly under shows that you are just as much in love today as you were back then. =)

    Take care and safe travels!

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  6. Thanks also for including us in your great post. You said it so well. There will always be those questioning your decisions, whether it is because they are truly doubtful it can be done or they are simply jealous. None of us has the magic answer. Are we too young? Will we find ourselves in the last years of our lives broke and wishing that we stayed in the working world longer? I highly doubt it, but I don't really know. All I know is that I'm willing to take a chance and find out. If I'm wrong then I'll figure it out at that time; but if I'm right, then what a story I hope to be able to tell!

    Thanks for sharing the pictures. They're great!

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  7. Plans are good...then we break those plans apart and make new ones. ;) We always write out plans in pencil because we usually end up erasing them and leaving the page blank and ready for the great unknown.

    Nice post.

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  8. Jessica... we too would leave now if we could
    Kenny And Angela's Adventure... thanks for your thoughts
    travelwithkevinandruth... sounds like you worked out the way to get the best of both worlds
    Merikay...funny i don't see myself as a planner but i guess i am... i do things a bit different as i may make a plan but i do so in order for me to become aware of all the outcomes so that the plan can take its own path... good luck with your plan
    Freely Living Life... i enjoy reading your blog thanks for your comments
    The Gypsy G-Mas...i like your outlook on your choice... right or wrong - it will always be right if you let it be so
    Margie M.... i have little doubt once we hit the road my days of planning will subside...

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  9. A friend of mine's mother had a stroke at the age of 70. Her husband had died a few years prior, and she said to her son, my friend, that getting old is hard. She told him before she died to live life with no regrets. Since then, he quit smoking, lost 60 pounds and now runs marathons.

    Why shouldn't life be interesting? And, what is the right way to live, anyway?

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