Retired Early with Over $4 Million, But Not Enjoying It!

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[CliveBirse]

The whole point of wealth for me is freedom. My magic number in my mind is 5 million needed at 65 to not worry about anything. Am i better off investing a good portion of my income into stocks or saving my earnings to achieve this goal?

[ericmendels]

I think the people that should be worried are those of us who are retiring with less than a million. I have only 650k in my Roth and I don't know how to grow it.

[Azel]

Coast FIRE at 35... now I do the job I want when I want with who I want. Retirement is not sitting on your behind and doing nothing. Retirement is being free of the obligation to work, but you should certainly keep being productive and contribute to society. The whole point of wealth for me is freedom.

[melvinbarnes]

Speak for yourself dude. 48, retired and I'm not doing shit and I feel good as hell about it.

[cherylbroadenax]

If they r dissatisfied, then go back to work. Problem solved.

[shawnnevalainen]

Trouble transitioning is a retirement issue, not a FIRE issue, and it's not a FIRE rule that you have to sit around aimlessly.

[Sondan]

This isn't the problem of the FIRE movement, it is the problem of the individual. If you aren't enjoying your life, it doesn't matter if you have $100k or $10 million. These two sounds like idiots. (And I don't do the FIRE method but just a little common sense can see where the real problem is.)

[stevegolacks]

My neighbors always gave me flack about the older (but stil cool) cars i drove, and that I kept the AC and Heat in our home at an efficient temperature. Then, not even a decade later, they are all SO CONFUSED looking over at me, as they leave their home at 7am for some good ol fashioned white knuckle driving/gridlock traffic/work day, and i am on my patio sipping coffee in my pajamas. They couldnt even focus 10 years into the future, let alone 40 like most people need to do to retire.

Never Never Never listen to the noise around you. Keep going on your own path, and ignore others who have very different goals.

[cato]

I retired early and I’m loving Only a moron could regret it.

[retiredandcrusty]

Ken is insufferable. Hears one story about a couple who FIREd and immediately disregards an entire movement

[talleyman]

This is such a boomer take from Ken (as usual). I love how he implies scarcity mindset is exclusive to early retirees, as if a lot of regular workers aren't constantly in fear of losing their jobs at a moment's notice because some schmuck in management didn't like them or whatever.

FIRE is about making day-to-day work/jobs an option, not a requirement. If you are too scared to spend some money or don't have any hobbies to fill your time, that is a personal problem, not an indictment of the entire idea.

[brittanyd]

We hit coastFI last year and I quit to homeschool, and my husband switched to his dream job and only works 109 days a year. We have plenty of fun and don't worry about money in general. FIRE doesn't have to be all about deprivation and penny pinching. For us it's about the freedom to make the best choices for our family.

[BlackMuslimConservative]

Horrible take Ken. Lots of people have jobs, work environments or schedules which aren't enjoyable. There is plenty that a person can do that is meaningful without it being considered a job. A person can 'work' as a volunteer, mentor, or at a part-time job in their retirement.

[Redwood]

I am an active Navy captain and have been investing for a few years. I have reached a point where I could benefit from financial advice to improve my $160, 000 portfolio, which seems to be stagnant, and to maximize the return on my investments.

[stevegolacks]

"I dont think retired is all its cracked up to

What listeners need to realize is that statement is coming from a VERY well paid man, doing a job that most would consider "fun". Now, if Ken was say, swinging a sledge hammer on the highway in the Florida sun as a construction worker, would he say the same statement? Doubt it.

ALWAYS ALWAYS consider WHO your advice is coming from. People like Ken benefit from people working and paying into the tax system because its keeps the roads maintained, schools updated, parks clean, and crime down. So yes, he wants you to work until your bitter end.

[austinduke]

The best host to ever talk about retirement was Chris Hogan who said "Retirement isn't an age or an action. It's a financial situation". If you've made it to FIRE status all that means is that you have broken away from the economic need to trade your time and labor for money (and specifically in the case of FIRE you've done that at a young age). If you've reached this status, you can leave your job. You don't have to leave your job but you can and your lifestyle won't have to change as a result but you don't have to. Dave Ramsey is a retiree that spends his free time running Ramsey Solutions.

[philipgerry]

They could easily choose an interesting part time job, or work for themselves part time to supplement their income and allow their investments to double in 8 years.

[joeplem]

I consider myself "semi retired " aka working part-time at 42 years old. Absolutely pisses my folks off even though I have zero debt of any kind or wife and kids to support but they have the old school mentality "you can enjoy life when you retire at 65" 😒

[linuxsurfer]

I'm truly surprised at the Ramsey take on this. FIRE is basically accelerated baby steps. The only real issue I see is if you work yourself into bad health to the extreme on the FIRE journey. Other than that, this couple can always go back to work - I don't see an issue here with the fact that they did FIRE.

[JonSnowsGhost]

They want you to stay in the hamster wheel. One story from 2 people saying that they regret FIRE doesn’t mean we shouldn’t all achieve FIRE. You have to have a plan for retirement the same way you you had a plan to reach retirement.