CleanLines Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 My friend's mom just died recently and passed on about $400,000 of cash as an inheritance to my friend. Couple that with a pension he has and investing that 400k in a stock/bond index fund with a 4% withdrawal, that easily covers his monthly expenses so he doesn't have to work. I asked him what it felt like and he said he was happy because it gave him the freedom to do what he wanted to do, not feel like he was chained to a job. So maybe money does buy happiness in that respect. What about you guys? Know anybody who doesn't need to work because they can live off interest? Are they happy? I'm curious to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Do I know anybody like that? :lol: NO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveVY Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Financial independence is relative and philosophical. Do I know people who don't need to work, yes. But with few exceptions they still do work. The appeal of not working, I believe, is over rated. We need to be productive and contributing to society. Productivity and contribution is NOT necessarily and directly economic in nature but we all are part of our eco system and the laws of nature show that what ever isn't contributing will continually atrophy until it no longer exists. "Financial independence" is pretty rare. We have assumptions built in that can change very quickly and are dependent on humanity. Dependency on social security, dependency on an employer pension fund, dependency on the stock markets, dependency on our country's fiscal responsibility, dependency on the money managers that control the 401k funds we have... What would happen to retirement plans if inflation kicked in just a few percent? Look at European governments and their debt and the struggle they have. Financial independence is a mirage IMO. This is part of why I plan to never fully retire. I know people who fully retired and are now in a tough financial place because the past few years the financial market conditions changed too much - they now need more money but now their job skills are out of date and they cannot re-enter the work force in a financially meaningful way and are finding it very difficult to make the decisions to downsize to a life style they haven't experienced in 50 years. If they didn't already have white hair they would be getting the white hair now. Maybe my grandfather influenced my thinking. My grandfather retired in his 40s and after 6 months of retirement and pursuing his favorite hobby, golf, went back to work and vowed to never retire again. He didn't quit going into the office until just a few months before he died in his late 80s. I plan to scale back on working at some point but never plan to fully quit working. Want to keep my mind and body utilized and keep the job skills relevant. It is a great place to strive to be, to have no debts and to live well below our income, it does greatly reduce stress. "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04silverado Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Dave Ramsey. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjoeaull Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 I do know people like that. It doesn't buy happiness but does relieve everyday stresses that we all know. On that same token it can create new unthought of stresses that $ can create. Hence why some people like to keep it to themselves. Imagine if a person comes to your door and has an illness for example, and wants your help financially. Do you help? If so what about the next person, and so on. Saying no with the knowledge of the fact that you probably could help is hard. Not to mention not knowing if people are your friend for who you are or the $. I'm sure keeping everyone grounded within your inner circle could also create new challenges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjoeaull Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 But there is always that saying. You never see a depressed person riding a jet ski! Or something to that effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 I know plenty of people that don't need to work. Like others said, money doesn't buy happiness - it can however, rent it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAYBEN Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 I know plenty of people that don't need to work. Like others said, money doesn't buy happiness - it can however, rent it! I'd like to prove them wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleanLines Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Financial independence is relative and philosophical. Do I know people who don't need to work, yes. But with few exceptions they still do work. The appeal of not working, I believe, is over rated. We need to be productive and contributing to society. Productivity and contribution is NOT necessarily and directly economic in nature but we all are part of our eco system and the laws of nature show that what ever isn't contributing will continually atrophy until it no longer exists. "Financial independence" is pretty rare. We have assumptions built in that can change very quickly and are dependent on humanity. Dependency on social security, dependency on an employer pension fund, dependency on the stock markets, dependency on our country's fiscal responsibility, dependency on the money managers that control the 401k funds we have... What would happen to retirement plans if inflation kicked in just a few percent? Look at European governments and their debt and the struggle they have. Financial independence is a mirage IMO. This is part of why I plan to never fully retire. I know people who fully retired and are now in a tough financial place because the past few years the financial market conditions changed too much - they now need more money but now their job skills are out of date and they cannot re-enter the work force in a financially meaningful way and are finding it very difficult to make the decisions to downsize to a life style they haven't experienced in 50 years. If they didn't already have white hair they would be getting the white hair now. Maybe my grandfather influenced my thinking. My grandfather retired in his 40s and after 6 months of retirement and pursuing his favorite hobby, golf, went back to work and vowed to never retire again. He didn't quit going into the office until just a few months before he died in his late 80s. I plan to scale back on working at some point but never plan to fully quit working. Want to keep my mind and body utilized and keep the job skills relevant. It is a great place to strive to be, to have no debts and to live well below our income, it does greatly reduce stress. "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another" Damn nice response! As crazy as it sounds to the everyday person, I think you're right. Not working is overrated. It may be glorious for a little while, but not good for the long haul as your grandfather experienced. This actually makes me a little less envious of my friend. Curious to see what his experience would. Thanks for a great post and I think I'm going to continue to work with maybe a few months of real retirement sprinkled throughout my later years to balance it all. It's so funny how things are opposite of what we would expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleanLines Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 I do know people like that. It doesn't buy happiness but does relieve everyday stresses that we all know. On that same token it can create new unthought of stresses that $ can create. Hence why some people like to keep it to themselves. Imagine if a person comes to your door and has an illness for example, and wants your help financially. Do you help? If so what about the next person, and so on. Saying no with the knowledge of the fact that you probably could help is hard. Not to mention not knowing if people are your friend for who you are or the $. I'm sure keeping everyone grounded within your inner circle could also create new challenges. Good point! It's funny you mention this because I was thinking, if I ever get sick and need money, maybe my friend can loan me it. I know, I know, it makes me a bad person but that thought has crossed my mind in the "backup" file, so if I thought of it, I'm sure others will think of it too. If I ever become FI, then I will definitely keep it to myself and not show it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CleanLines Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 But there is always that saying. You never see a depressed person riding a jet ski! Or something to that effect. lol! I think that was Tosh who said that. But we can't stay on a jetski forever right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChargerMatt Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I remember talking about this at work. Most people said they wouldn't keep a job. Me? I'd keep working like nothing changed. I remember when I took a week off from work last finals week. Even during the cramming and late night studying I was going out of my ****ing mind! It's so boring not having something to do every day. Not only that, but I like the empowerment that comes with doing my job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70'sChevyGirl Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Well I know its not me but I do know a few people that are financially well off. Some people go nuts when they inherit alot of money. My cousins for one instance. They all received over 2 Mil. One cousin built herself a 7000 sq ft home with a fireplace in 8 of the rooms. It is just her and her two kids. Why does she need something like that?? After 3 years...the bank took it! I don't really know what happened to one of my cousins because they had already owned their own business and I recently heard that the bank was taking it. WTH?? Another cousin was a heroin addict and no one has seen her in years. Tough to say what ever happened to her. Nobody knows. The only smart cousin I have apparently...took all her money and moved to AZ- far away from all her siblings. She and her husband do not work anymore and are both retired at a very young age. They are loving it. Anyway...I will never be rich. I like to buy anything I want-cash. If I don't like something that doesn't make me happy I change it. Being rich to me is being happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewy Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 $400,000 would literally last me 4 years at my current spend so I don't consider that "wealth". I don't think anyone can really call themselves "independently wealthy" unless they have millions of dollars, but then again it's all relative. If you can live on 30g's a year and have 2 million bucks, that will last you what? 66 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golf for Life Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Yes, I am but don't tell anyone. This is just between us Adams devotees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChargerMatt Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 $400,000 would literally last me 4 years at my current spend so I don't consider that "wealth". I don't think anyone can really call themselves "independently wealthy" unless they have millions of dollars, but then again it's all relative. If you can live on 30g's a year and have 2 million bucks, that will last you what? 66 years? What the OP was making a point of is that he is living off the interest accumulating off of the $400,000. Even $2 million at 1% would still be 20k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewy Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 What the OP was making a point of is that he is living off the interest accumulating off of the $400,000. Even $2 million at 1% would still be 20k Well then my guess is he lives VERY economically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GXPaycheck Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Staying out of debt is the best thing, no matter how much you have. Makes life a lot easier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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