Live today and ignore tomorrow

It is easy to give individual example to make a point. However, all the individual examples in the world do not alter basic general truths. Most people don't get hit by a bus. That's the general truth we're talking about here.

The type of expats you are talking about seagal2 are exactly what I am warning against here. They did not plan for life after the partying ended. They have nothing to look forward to in life and face endless days of the same pathetic behaviour.

I'm sorry to hear about your medical condition Seagal2. I cannot agree with you however that your money ain't doin' you any good. I'd rather be rich and ill than poor and ill. I think you probably agree.

It is also easy to take a general truth and try to treat it as an absolute majortraveller. Playing it safe may be dull and boring but no one said (certainly not me) that anyone should play it safe all the time. You are suggesting that living today AND planning for tomorrow is not possible at the same time. That it is an either/or decision. That is not the general truth.

Some people might treat it as an either/or and play it safe as you say. Some might ignore the future and live only for today. But others (including myself) may well take risks and enjoy life today while at the SAME TIME planning for later on in life. So the general truth is that you have at least 3 choices in this regard.

Don't assume everyone just goes to work every day OR packs in their job and hits the road. Some of us have done both thorughout our lives. I spent perhaps 5 years in total between the ages of 18 and 35 on the road. The other years in between I spent developing and maintaining a reasonable career path and living the typical western lifestyle of spending more than I earned. At 35 I decided I didn't want to nor was it reasonable to expect I could continue doing that forever more. So I spent the next 7 years earning enough to not have to work forever more. Then I became a full-time 'gentleman of leisure.'

I doubt you would find anyone who knows me who would say my life has ever been dull or boring. Or that I have played it safe and never taken any risks.

"So I spent the next 7 years earning enough to not have to work forever more. Then I became a full-time 'gentleman of leisure.'

"

Awfully clever of you, Resurgam.

Care to share how you managed to do it?

Was it legal?

Did it mean having to become a constant traveller as an escape?

There is no secret to early retirement Meddler nor does it require doing anything illegal. I suppose it does take a reasonable amount of intelligence along with a reasonably good income to begin with. Those 2 requirements probably rule out 75% of the population of course.

Another poster once gave a good analogy in this regard. Brad Pitt goes back to his little home town and gets together with 2 old high school buddies. He suggests they head over to a local bar and each pick up 4 women. For Brad Pitt it will be easy but how likely is it that his 2 buddies will do as well? In other words it might have been easy for me but that doesn't mean it will be easy for someone else. But then, I never said it would be.

For Brad Pitt all it took was some talent, some looks and being in the right place at the right time and grabbing the opportunity. For me all it took was spending less than I earned and investing it wisely. The answer is simple really if you have the talent to start with and the ability to recognize the opportunity. Nothing I could tell you would give you either if you don't already have them.

I guess I should eat my heart out, eh?

Ha ha ha ha ha!

So, you retired Resurgam before you turned fifty. And you expect not to get hit by a bus or die young so the money you earned in seven years should last you what, thirty? How does that work Resurgam? You invested your money any smarter then the zillion of others who also invested their money wisely? It's amazing how many of those same smart investers who spend a lot longer then seven years doing so have to return to work beyond the age of 65.

Don't be too surprized if your investments don't last you that long and you end up having to go back to work with being out of the job market for a long time. You might find yourself unemployed, unemployable and broke. You are taking just as big a chance as anybody else out there who didn't save for seven years and expect that money to see them out.

Wonder how many, banged on the door, as the Ark cast off?

Why do people insist on making assumptions and writing about things they have no knowledge of?

Look majortraveller. I retired 21 years ago. I'm not broke yet. In fact I have more capital now than I did when I retired. Where would you get the idea that if you knew how to invest money wisely enough to retire on the income from it, that you would suddenly no longer have that ability? I earn more now than I ever did. I just don't work for it.

There are the dreamers, the doers and the downers. Which one are you? Your attitude more than anything will determine whether you succeed or fail. And if you love your life's work, what's wrong with working all your life?

"What's important in life is not how many breaths we get to take but the moments that take our breath away." Jacques Cousteau

I'd like to weigh in on this with my opinion. I taught school for 32 years. During that time I managed to live on 3/4 of a teacher's salary. This wasn't easy but I did it and raised two kids to boot.

With my savings I took five years off--sabbaticals while I was working. During that time off I travelled, studied and taught overseas, which for me was like a working holiday. I retired when I was 55--took the bone they threw me in the way of a reduced pension and headed overseas to teach again. I used every cent I made overseas to cover my travel expenses.

Now I am living on my teacher's pension and interest from the savings that I managed to put aside when I was working. I am substitute teaching to agument my income and to save money to travel. Next year the tentative plan is to teach overseas again or maybe in the far north and use the extra money to travel.

I don;t think it's a question of one or the other--workaholic or slacker. It is possible to make a little income that will expand a pension and enable one to travel. For me, teaching and travelling is a good combination.

getting the mix right for the individual is what counts. This forum is just ideas and concepts. No one is right or wrong. What suits me will not suit LIVING etc..but I dio agree with the above poster.