I hate the fact that I am a middle aged boring person. ;)

[cavemanmoron]

LMAO

I am more than Middle Aged, and sometimes boring.

I retired in October 2013 after 35+ years.

Sometimes my life might seem boring, but I am a much happier person now.

Hope you are Happy too.

 

[MtnMan]

Retired at 55, over a decade ago, and loving it still.

 

[lxskllr]

I'm neither happy nor sad. Well, summer makes me sad, but hopefully it'll be a good fall and winter this year. I'm happy when it's dark, and the air stings my skin. Oh, and work kind of sucks sometimes. I find myself doing more stupid shit than I used to, and stupid shit isn't fun.

 

[Humpy]

Embrace it!

Sit on the porch in the morning and drink coffee, walk slow through the grocery store, tell long boring stories to people, give no fucks.

 

[FelixDeCat]

I 'retired' in 2008 then realized I needed money to retire. Been working ever since.

 

[Xcobra]

Super happy here ever since I left my public accounting job over a year ago to travel! I'm 30

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Super happy here ever since I left my public accounting job over a year ago to travel! I'm 30

Do both! Consult clients on public accounting and travel to see the clients

 

[BoomerD]

I got "retired" by the docs in 2003 after I got hurt at work. At first, I hated it...I was used to working 60+ hours per week...and making pretty decent money. . . BUT, nowadays, I've learned to relax and do nothing if I want...or to do yard work, garden, travel in the RV, (travelling whenever we want is the best part for us) and just kicking back and watching the world go by.

 

[Mai72]

Hmm...

There is a book that changed my life called "The 4 Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferris. Tim is a genius. In the book, he questions the "work until you're too old then retire to do anything" strategy that most people are conditioned with. Why work your best years away only to be too old to do anything? He mentions mini retirements throughout your lifespan, and leveraging the US dollar in countries like Brazil or SE Asia.

I live in a resort town. Many people here have summer businesses and from mid Oct-late April they are pretty much retired. That's 6-7 months of no work. That's a nice life and many are young. I know a few guys in their early 30s who travel to places like Thailand Vietnam for the winter. They live like kings.

 

[darkswordsman17]

If only hate that fuels far too many people in the world fit your use. Hell if just a few certain world leaders decided they had enough and retired and became relative nobodies, that alone would markedly improve things.

 

[OverVolt]

You worked you made money you didn't do drugs. Congrats!

The only thing most people think is "interesting" about themselves is constantly needing people to bail them out of their own problems.

People who can take care of themselves are saints. Its seemingly a rarity these days. I'd grab a beer with ya!

 

[shortylickens]

I've been miserable since kindergarten.

So, please go to heck.


GO TO HECK!

 

[Feneant2]

The idea of work is so ingrained in people we can't get out of it. I tell my wife we should take 2-3 months off a year and she gets all outraged because god forbid, we'd lose some salary and have to tighten our belts. But so much of the money we bring in is set aside to retire with anyways so it's not like we're spending it. What's the point in saving every penny when there's no guarantee you'll even live to spend them.

I think people would be smarter in taking off a quarter of the year and working later than working 40-80s hours a week on the hopes you'll be able to retire at 60. I'm lucky that my retirement date is 55 but even so when we see our financial planner I have her calculate based on retiring at 50 because I don't want to become one of those poor saps who gets cancer and dies 2-3 years before they retire!

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Sometimes my life might seem boring, but I am a much happier person now.

I'm middle aged. 47. Hope to retire at some point but not unhappy with the work I do. Guess I got lucky there. Really not sure what I would do with all the free time.

 

[ultimatebob]

I've hit middle age (40), and I'm starting to realize that I've wasted a large part of my life doing pointless crap just to get a relatively small paycheck.

Something tells me that I'm "doing it wrong", but I'm not quite sure how to fix it at this point.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

The idea of work is so ingrained in people we can't get out of it. I tell my wife we should take 2-3 months off a year and she gets all outraged because god forbid, we'd lose some salary and have to tighten our belts. But so much of the money we bring in is set aside to retire with anyways so it's not like we're spending it. What's the point in saving every penny when there's no guarantee you'll even live to spend them.

I think people would be smarter in taking off a quarter of the year and working later than working 40-80s hours a week on the hopes you'll be able to retire at 60. I'm lucky that my retirement date is 55 but even so when we see our financial planner I have her calculate based on retiring at 50 because I don't want to become one of those poor saps who gets cancer and dies 2-3 years before they retire!

The problem is society has a problem with taking off a quarter of the year. All of the below are possibilities:
1) Punishment from your employer, reduced salary, reduced position, etc...
2) Fired from your employer (the most likely if they don't approve of your absence).
3) As an added bonus, you would now have a gap in your employment that you have to explain in your next job interview.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's ridiculous and stupid, but that's our society in a nut shell for ya.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

You worked you made money you didn't do drugs. Congrats!

The only thing most people think is "interesting" about themselves is constantly needing people to bail them out of their own problems.

People who can take care of themselves are saints. Its seemingly a rarity these days. I'd grab a beer with ya!

QFT. Jesus fuck I can't stand the fact that I know so many people that can't stand on their own 2 feet.

MIL is a perfect example, always has some bullshit task that is supposedly too hard for her, so it gets dumped on us. Oh, your car isn't working and you want a new one? Guess you should start doing research and find a new one or get it fixed. Nope, just keeps living blissfully until it falls apart and then yells "Help me!"

Or right now she needs a new job and wants us to help. The fuck do you expect? I don't know what job you want, I can't apply for you, and I certainly can't impersonate you in an interview.

The fuck happened to people doing their own due diligence? Instead they just like to procrastinate into infinity and hope that the issues solve themselves magically. 75% of her day is sleeping, scrolling through facebook and being on the phone with a friend. Boy oh boy, what a swell life.

If you were in my area I'd buy you a beer as well just for being on the right side of things.

 

[highland145]

I've hit middle age (40), and I'm starting to realize that I've wasted a large part of my life doing pointless crap just to get a relatively small paycheck.

Something tells me that I'm "doing it wrong", but I'm not quite sure how to fix it at this point.

Yep been there done that. Quit my stable paying job and opened my own loan company. Your financial ducks have to be in a row 1st. I didn't get paid for 1.5 years so we lived on the wife's $30K income.

 

[Cappuccino]

i am 14 i am basically retired cuz my mom and pappa looks after me so im gud. lyfe is gud

 

[ultimatebob]

QFT. Jesus fuck I can't stand the fact that I know so many people that can't stand on their own 2 feet.

MIL is a perfect example, always has some bullshit task that is supposedly too hard for her, so it gets dumped on us. Oh, your car isn't working and you want a new one? Guess you should start doing research and find a new one or get it fixed. Nope, just keeps living blissfully until it falls apart and then yells "Help me!"

Or right now she needs a new job and wants us to help. The fuck do you expect? I don't know what job you want, I can't apply for you, and I certainly can't impersonate you in an interview.

The fuck happened to people doing their own due diligence? Instead they just like to procrastinate into infinity and hope that the issues solve themselves magically. 75% of her day is sleeping, scrolling through facebook and being on the phone with a friend. Boy oh boy, what a swell life.

If you were in my area I'd buy you a beer as well just for being on the right side of things.

The problem with this "ignore the problem until it solves itself" approach is that it usually works for the person using it. At some point, the parent/boss/spouse will get sick of waiting and do the task themselves and/or assign it to someone else to do.

Think about that the next time you volunteer to pick up someone else's slack. You just might be making the problem worse.

Your MIL, for example, might actually learn the importance of car maintenance if she has to take a bus for a few weeks. Sure, it will be tough to get the rest of the family on board with this plan, but it's probably worth it in the long run.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

The problem with this "ignore the problem until it solves itself" approach is that it usually works for the person using it. At some point, the parent/boss/spouse will get sick of waiting and do the task themselves and/or assign it to someone else to do.

Think about that the next time you volunteer to pick up someone else's slack. You just might be making the problem worse.

Your MIL, for example, might actually learn the importance of car maintenance if she has to take a bus for a few weeks. Sure, it will be tough to get the rest of the family on board with this plan, but it's probably worth it in the long run.

I totally understand, and ultimately it boils down to simply loving that person. Believe me, I have 0 love for the MIL. However she did raise and shelter my wife growing up, so there is an obvious guilty feeling for my wife if she doesn't bail her out.

As far as the ideas, there is little to no public transportation where I live, so not much we can do there. If she can't get to her job she can't work. If she can't work she can't pay off the apartment. If she can't pay off the apartment she is going to get evicted. If she gets evicted someone is going to have to move all her shit somewhere and she will have to live elsewhere (or under a bridge) You see how this just snowballs?

It's this fucking notion from them of "I raised a pinky today, I worked so hard!" Their definition of that is "I applied for one job online today. I'm a hard worker!" In reality, your ass should have a spreadsheet of 50+ jobs that you applied for daily, and 20+ that you made phone calls to follow-up on your application status until the task is done. But that's people who are ACTUALLY independent and understand what needs to be done instead of letting shit snowball.

 

[brianmanahan]

i can't wait to retire man

 

[shortylickens]

The problem with this "ignore the problem until it solves itself" approach is that it usually works for the person using it. At some point, the parent/boss/spouse will get sick of waiting and do the task themselves and/or assign it to someone else to do.

I have met MANY people who take this approach to life. Its irritating. Especially when its on the job and I get tasked to deal with the problems.
It happened a surprising amount in the Navy, and a little too much at my last 2 civilian jobs. Also happened in the boy scouts, and at my shooting club, and in the neighborhood.

 

[ponyo]

Can't complain. I have my health and family. Work is sometimes stressful but I pretty much run the show so I get far more than what I put in. I'm luckier than most; I'm looking forward to eventual retirement but I'm going to milk my current gig as long as possible.

 

[Muse]

Well, when I was around 25 I figured that "happiness is for pigs." That's what a friend of mine said in characterizing my attitude. I figured that passion is where it's at, not "happiness." Happiness is too close to complacency. It's sufficient to be thrilled with your life. There are moments when I feel pleased, even euphoric, but most of the time I work toward improving my life, am engaged in activities to achieve my goals, which are open-ended and in some degree unfathomable. My emotions vary a lot, they can be all over the place, but that's part and parcel of all the goings-on.

Ideas, often specific quotations that have appealed to me, are part of my mental life and this one comes to mind sometimes:

Man was made for joy and woe. When this we rightly know, safely through the world we go. - William Blake