I thought this was an interesting and good read from 20 years ago, written by someone who retired early after working in software:
https://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/early-retirement/
I first read this a while ago but it just came back up the other day. Some things that stood out in particular:
- The idea that "once you're retired, your only job is to be happy" as sort of a dangerous trap was interesting. Also the point that much of your life will continue to be boring/mundane/you'll still have chores to do, but there might be pressure to feel like you should be happy all the time because you're retired
- His advice against working with non-profits is also interesting. Wonder how much that's changed in 20 years. I definitely think the section on teaching probably doesn't apply as much…
- Giving kids $1 for every $X they earn is an interesting approach to passing along money to children
Some early retirement advice from 2006
byu/elementninety3 infinancialindependence
Posted by elementninety3
3 Comments
I knew you were talking about this blog. Seemed out of reach when I was in my 20s, but now here we are.
I really resonate with the idea of charitable work as the best way to find purpose in retirement. Those of us who have retired are in the best position possible to make a positive change in the world and it feels good to do good.
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It seems a bit cynical on the non-profit bit. Not necessarily incorrect, but definitely incomplete. Having worked with a lot of non-profits, the phrase that stuck with me is “non-profit is nothing but a tax status”. I think it’s telling that he’s referencing higher education administrators as the source of his cynicism. There’s a meaningful distinction between a “non profit” like a university or the NFL, as opposed to a “charitable organization”.
If you can’t find a local or regional charitable org that is desperate for the time, effort and skill you could provide without placing additional financial burden on them, that’s a skill issue.