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Introduction |
FIREI’ve given up paid work altogether. From October 2024, I will be living as a gentleman of leisure, so to speak. I am in a FIRE situation, i.e. "financial independence, retire early". I will receive the same amount of money as my salary in the form of capital gains, if I manage to get a 6% return on top of inflation. That shouldn't be difficult, as long as I don't do something stupid like overweight the Helsinki stock exchange. In fact, I'm going to be heavy on bonds because I'm expecting some sort of stock market crash. If one will come, I will have the liquidity to buy cheap stocks. I'm trying not to eat too much capital, and in time my pension will help with that. I would have eight years to go before retirement, and the decision is a risk in the sense that I’ll earn no pension for those years. But hey, am I sure I'll even live eight years? And what are those eight years without working hard worth to me? Especially now, while I still have some vitality left in me? The decision was also driven by the fact that I have a familial predisposition to Alzheimer's. Fortunately, treatments are being developed, but in the meantime it would be important, among other things, to get a good night's sleep, which is not really possible with shift work. There are several reasons why I might not get it, but I should live a little while I still can. My job was not a vocation for me, just something that paid my bills. My own projects are much more interesting, and they were dwindling, partly because I didn't have the time or energy to promote them because of work. A couple of them are such that they can sometimes even generate an income. A couple are such that, if successful, they would be of some benefit to humanity, when paid work was only slightly on the positive side. I can leave this world in better shape than where I found it. If I don't take a little risk now, I won’t be leaving my mark to the world. Now I can plan my daily routine exactly as I want. I plan to work on my projects for two hours at a time. In between sessions, I’ll do sports, naps, chores, etc. Perfect life style! Don’t offer me paid work, but if there were interesting, fun or non-profit projects with cool people and tools of my own choosing, I could consider programming games, making websites or writing. Now life is like this: When it used to be like this: “We have two lives; the second begins when we realise we only have one.” |  |