Is Separating Wants from Needs a Key to Financial Freedom?

[corn18]

can you stop working and survive?

Yes. But I do not simply wish to survive.

[97guns]

then keep working and enslaving yourself until you have enough to break the chains

most people will not retire until they are "allowed" to by means of their 401K/IRA/pension retirement accounts, these vehicles dictate when you can retire

[corn18]

I grow so weary of those that refer to working as enslaving. Did it ever once enter your brain that some people enjoy their work? And that not working would be more enslaving than working? I reject your reality and substitute my own.

[97guns]

enjoy your work, thats the biggest cop out there is, try feeling what its like to be retired, thats enjoyable. you have no one to answer to, no deadlines, no quotas, time to wake up/go to bed, no boss.

it does not matter what you do, im 100% certain there is someone at work that you absolutely can not stand and there is a task that you hate doing, everything can not be tulips and daisies especially at work

[corn18]

Good for you. I'll bet your life is perfect.

[corn18]

I'm sure Warren Buffet considers himself a slave. Why does any billionaire work? I guess by your hypothesis, it's because they are a slave. No way they could enjoy it and would rather work than retire.

[97guns]

keep stewing on it, youll come up with something better

[rennigade]

I show up to work...I work for approx 1.5 to 2 hours per day...do whatever I want for the other 6 hours...and get paid for 8. If I can keep this routine up I plan on "working" till approx 55ish. Id gladly give up a few hours each day.

I do have to agree/disagree about people who work that they are slaves. There's a lot of people my wife works with in the government who have no other life but work. Thats all they know, thats all they like to do...and a lot of them do not need a paycheck coming in. They could retire as we speak. I view them as slaves but from their point of view they're not...they're just doing what they know/like. Its really up to the individual. A lot of people need/love the drama that comes with working a 9 to 5 job believe it or not.

Unless you live off the grid...we're all bitches/slaves to the man. We all have to fork out money in the form of taxes to uncle sam...and or deal with the laws/regulations that are put in place. Either way someone is telling us all what to do.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

97guns, do you consider yourself retired? I ask because I recall you talking about managing the rentals you own.

[97guns]

i do consider myself retired, i do not manage my properties

total time "working" for this year is less than 1 hour, purely phone calls with the
property manager and any contractors, its something i enjoy

[jpham540]

There are too many things I want right now, but I am also shooting for financial freedom. $15,000 a year in expense seems to low for me anyways. I would probably need at least $40,000+ a year for expense. I want to do more traveling in the future so right now am investing my money and letting it grow. Hopefully I can retire or take a break and travel around the world in the next 5- 10 years. As for as my budget goes it seem to be doing great and that’s thanks to my career decision so it have helped me reach some of my financial milestone.

[Retired To Win]

The relentless pursuit of getting everyone to think your way. Not everyone wants to live on $15,000 a year. Works for you. Happy for you. Will you ever acknowledge that your way is A way and not THE way?

My original post is not about living on $15,000 a year or on any other specific amount of money. It is also not about living barebones, never spending any money on anything but basic needs.

My original post is about the importance of knowing the difference between one's personal real needs (for example, a vehicle) and one's optional wants (for example, driving a Ferrari). It is about the freedom of action and new life options that one gains from acting on that knowledge, and not hardwiring into one's monthly "nut" the cost of discretionary wants (such as the monthly loan payment on the Ferrari).

Just rent the Ferrari for a day now and then (with discretionary money, of course) and give yourself the good treat of driving it without the bad trick of owning it.

[JoeP]

Some people spend a lot of time and money chasing what they are told are the trophies of success: big house, luxury car, big TVs. It takes a special kind of perspective to categorize those as needs, and I applaud RTW's pursuit in that area. However, some people do find enjoyment in those wants.

So it is really a case of "to each his or her own."

[Retired To Win]

I grow so weary of those that refer to working as enslaving. Did it ever once enter your brain that some people enjoy their work? And that not working would be more enslaving than working? I reject your reality and substitute my own.

When one becomes financially free, one is free to stop working OR to keep working. Financial freedom does not obligate one to quit one's job. But what financial freedom does do is to make work an option. Financial freedom gives you... well, the freedom to walk away at a moment's notice from a bad job situation or from one that has turned bad. To me that is absolutely priceless, when I consider the real life possibilities of worsening commuting, surprise new bad supervisors, company relocations, escalated job stress, and so on.

And I should think that the option to leave one's job has got to be not just priceless but possibly even lifesaving to all of those people that DO NOT enjoy their work (and there are a lot of those people).

[corn18]

When one becomes financially free, one is free to stop working OR to keep working. Financial freedom does not obligate one to quit one's job. But what financial freedom does do is to make work an option. Financial freedom gives you... well, the freedom to walk away at a moment's notice from a bad job situation or from one that has turned bad. To me that is absolutely priceless, when I consider the real life possibilities of worsening commuting, surprise new bad supervisors, company relocations, escalated job stress, and so on.

And I should think that the option to leave one's job has got to be not just priceless but possibly even lifesaving to all of those people that DO NOT enjoy their work (and there are a lot of those people).

Concur.