I’ve been thinking a lot about whether to strive foremost for early retirement, or find the work that I’d love to dedicate my life to. The two are by no means mutually exclusive, since an engineer can love their job so much that they’d do it long after they need the income it generates. Or someone who loves their work can learn to save most of their wages, and thereby become financially independent. In truth, the best approach probably draws a little on each of these philosophies.
For a quick overview, early retirement has been promoted very successfully by people like Mr. Money Mustache and Early Retirement Extreme. Such people claim that you should am to retire by age 35 or so (or after about 10 years of working for people ages 30 and older), and reach that goal by saving roughly 50-75% of your income each year. It doesn’t deal so much with enjoying your work, or discovering your passion, but with ways of maximizing your savings rate and minimizing the amount you need to live on. Usually, the only career recommendation is to become a nurse, engineer, welder, or plumber since these jobs usually pay well immediately out of school (or require minimal schooling relative to the income they offer).
There’s a lot to be said for having work you’re passionate about, though, that you would do even if money weren’t a factor. In fact, if you can cultivate such a sense of purpose in your job, you’ll never “work” a day in your life! You won’t have the same flexibility as an “early retiree,” but flexibility isn’t everything.
If I had to choose just one of these, I’d probably opt for the “meaningful work” option. True, if I became a plumber, I could make a lot more money than I do as an early-stage entrepreneur, and if I kept doing it, I could reasonably save up enough to retire within 10 years. At that point, I could do anything I wanted. Who knows, after all, what my values will be then? Perhaps I’ll want to spend all my time parenting, and feel glad to be rid of work.
But I don’t love plumbing. I think even if I could learn to be happy with that choice, it would bother me miss out on the chance to contribute to the world in a way that aligns with my interests and philosophy (which is very important to me). And if I don’t go for it now, I might not get another chance. I can always get a job as a plumber though.
Instead, I’d like to help people better align their money with their priorities, and lead them to a philosophy where they get much more out of life. There are a lot of ways of doing this, but almost all of them involve creating my own business in one form or another. My dream business would be a radical financial planning shop that breaks from the standardized (read: mediocre) suggestion that people save a mere 10% of their income, and wait until age 65 to enjoy the freedom to do what they really want. Besides offering in-depth counseling, and bolder investment decisions, it would provide a way to capitalize on my writing. By educating investors, encouraging good financial behavior, and inspiring people to strive for a more excellent life, I could really do some good in the world.
That’s where this blog is headed.