This thread is in contrast to the following one:
Financial Independence Retire Early [F.I.R.E]It's not that I want to make a competition between the two threads, far from it, but I have long thought that even if the time comes when I accumulate so much wealth that I can retire, even before the ordinary retirement age, I don't plan to do so. I will first quote part of what I said in that thread:
I am not attracted to this movement, and in 5 to 10 years at the most I will be able to quit my job, or spend a year traveling around the world if I want to. Some FIRE stories are of a sub-human stinginess to reach the goal of financial freedom, and then when they get it they still find it hard to spend the money. Also, having no obligations, lots of free time and little to do ends up with some people dying from overdoses or things like that. Those who don't take that route end up going back to work, but in something that they want, that motivates them and being their own boss. Marc Cuban would be an example.
I would also like to say that I'm not pretending this is an idea that I invented. I'm sure I've heard it from several public figures, one of whom was Dave Ramsey.
If you were retired, would you mind very much doing a job like participating in a paid signature campaign of the forum? I wouldn't, and even less if it's one of those that doesn't have a weekly minimum.
If we think about physical jobs and people going through hardships to do them, like miners during the industrial revolution, then we will surely want to retire as soon as possible. But today there are many jobs that can be done with a computer. And if you have accumulated enough money to retire, you can also make a small investment to start a project that motivates you. That is why I say that I plan, one way or another, never to retire, at least as long as my cognitive abilities allow me to do so.
What about you guys?
For some people in the FIRE movement, it is not about retiring necessarily, it is about the freedom to choose. If you are financially independent it means you no longer rely on a job to pay your bills like a mortgage or food every month. That gives you the ability to choose to go to work, or choose to quit if something better comes along. Plenty of people in the FIRE movement are quite happy to stay employed in some form, but because they can support themselves it's possible to pick a job that they actually like doing, maybe with worse pay, over one that they despise. The world is expensive and it can take a while until you reach this stage in life, but it is definitely possible to have a great life and follow this mantra.