I was 57 years old sitting in my office working away during my lunch break and it hit me, I realized I had worked my entire life. I was very successful, focused, driven and by all accounts had achieved the American dream. But every memory I had was working 7 days a week, no vacation, trips, time off ever. That realization changed my life. Short story is I sold everything and retired in the Philippines. I came here 6 years ago with one suitcase and built a life that would be very difficult to obtain elsewhere. At sixty something I'm taking time to enjoy life for the first time. Iv'e also learned the less material things I have the happier life is. I have no regrets but so grateful for that life changing moment, we all have different paths to walk in life, this is mine and it's amazing! Take care, good luck and God bless.
I retired at 55. A friend, a classic type A entrepreneur still working 60 hour weeks at age 70, said what're you going to do all day? You're going to get bored. I said, no way! I've worked hard since I was 12 years old. I'm going to relax and enjoy the rest of my life. I moved to Mexico, involved myself in my little enclave's activities, gym workouts, pool volleyball, bridge, happy hour, etc. It took about 18 months before I had to admit I was bored. I had no mental challenges. So what did I do? I reinvented myself. I started doing financial credit and risk analysis a few hours a week on a consulting basis for a couple of my real estate investment partners. Now I enjoy the best of both worlds, I can immerse myself as much or as little as I want in either recreational or business activities and still have time to travel or just sit in the proverbial rocking chair watching the world go by.
That sounds like a plan. Most of the people are stuck in a world of believing no work is the perfect lifestyle, not for my husband. We still run an NGO, write books, run seminars and be a PhD student again. Life is full of possibilities ! The best part of it is: we don't need to surrender to people just because we wanna close a deal or so. Our time and our world, he retired at 53 and 10 years had passed and we are planning for second home now... Have been thinking about moving back to U.S. or Europe, but it seems like it doesn't make any sense now. Now we are in HK, enjoying the beach and bridge view where local bars & restaurants are just within walking distance.
I’m 38 and retired at 33, thanks to some pretty good investments I made over the years, so I basically live off dividends. I went back to university, then to film school to become a movie director (something I’m still trying to become great at), take all kinds of courses I find interesting. I volunteer as a teacher sometimes, I travel from time to time with my fiancé (and my dog sometimes) to some pretty wild destinations around the world (we recently bought a camper van) but I’m mostly content and grateful just with the simple life I live right now in a small village by the sea, with my fiancé, my dog and a huge garden :)
There are people who love working. I love my job, the people I work with, the office atmosphere. That is why even at 61 I haven't retired yet. Even my late dad, after he retired, still worked part-time because the hospital needed his expertise (he was a pathologist and attorney). And who says you can't travel even when you are working? I still travel because I have earned enough leave to do so.
For the majority of people (not your target audience, I realize) working means dedicating your physical presence and time to another person/company for a paycheck. It's a necessity not a choice. When working is a choice, there is freedom in that. It hits differently.
I think it’s people who work in corporations for most of their life, and that aren’t entrepreneurs that become disillusioned with working and look to diversify their lives to find more meaning. For an entrepreneur the experience is probably very different. However for the specialist types who generally only contribute as a cog in a larger machine it’s easy to become disillusioned in the work you do when you see the larger context (and people) in the organization you’re in. Sometimes financial independence (what some people call retirement) is what allows people to finally find an organization and role that suits them for the first time after a life time in souless corporations. Financial independence allows people to live life on their own terms. That aspect of “retirement” I think is very valuable. I think when most people say “retirement” what they really mean is financial independence and the ability to do the work they want on their terms without the typical financial constraints.
I think your comment was really insightful here. The 9-5 corporate job is the most mind numbing thing possible and that's why most people hate it. An entrepreneur is a totally different concept where many of them take the chance on their passion, hoping that it will reward them by providing a salary
I retired at 33 and I am currently 40.. I went to 58 countries and dabbled in many hobbies and moved so many places, started random side projects that never went anywhere.. but I tried them out.. I do agree that for some people retirement is difficult psychologically, but if you consider how many people are in "Bullshit Jobs", that are meaningless or have a useful job that they hate, I would rather stay retired. Not everyone is has motivated as Andrew, some of use need lots of free time to remain sane and want control over our time. Also, not everyone is entrepreneurial.. I don't believe you need to be productive all the time, even though society and other productive people will tell you that you have to.. Remember that the majority of people in the world don't get to self-actualize and are just working to survive.. I think there is no shame in just enjoying life, going hiking, sitting around and deep thinking, hiking every day, traveling.. its not a waste.. Everyone's life is different..
some people find a hobby that they can turn into a proper business. and they cant wrap their head around the concept that doing something you wanted to do anyways is just more enjoyable than "working". but I agree there is plenty of stuff to stay busy.
I don't go to work unless I like what I'm doing. When you enjoy what your doing; it doesn't seem like work at all. This video came at the same time I was reading your book pondering over exactly what you discussed.
Some people found their identify through work, I haven't like me at work is completely different from me outside of work. That's why I'm trying to retire ASAP so that I can be my true self 24/7.
What is retirement? Where you give up and die. I worked for someone else ( Big Brother ) for 22 years then I went to work for myself to support my hobby of flying then in 2002 my hobby turned into a fun job. I lease aircraft’s mostly for movies. Now I am apart of a corporate group that leases Business jets out like time shares.
Of course he doesn't want to retire. Most people are not working for themselve, doing what they love and being so well compensated for their labour. Just don't expect anyone working full-time in an middle-income country for around a median salary for an employer they don't particularly like to feel the same way.
100% when my folks “retired” to Florida they both ended up working part time. My pediatrician growing up worked until 80. I know my “retirement” will be doing something else not, not working.
I was 'laid off' for three weeks with a bad flu way back and thought I'd go out of my mind from boredom. You can only watch so much TV or listen to the radio while stuck in bed before you want to scream.
The more I talk with ppl the more I am finding who to listen to and who not to listen to. Everyone has relationship ideas and thinks they know what it takes yet their own relationships are not working. Everyone has ideas about money and most ppl are broke. People have ideas about health yet there are so many overweight ppl out there. Andrew is one of the few who I believe practices what he preaches. Pls keep your videos coming Andrew. Great job mate! Ppl ask me what am I going to do once I move to Serbia? I answer, which of 21 things do you want me to start with? As I teach in my Relationship Programs, if you are bored, then You are boring. All one needs is their mind
I never thought I would retire and at 72, I haven't. I told people that I considered my Social Security to be the government subsidizing the career that I always wanted rather than the one that was responsible for me to have. If left to my own devices, I will naturally learn, think and write. That is now what I am doing and between Social Security, Pensions and living in Tirana, Albania, I may do so without concern for my generated income. Someday, I may not be able to perform my second career, but until then, I do not plan on stopping. How much time do I dedicate to work? That is almost impossible to say because I am simply doing what I enjoy doing and I pretty much do it the whole time I am awake.
At age 75, my 10 years of retirement have been the best years of my life. I have so many fulfilling things to do that there aren't enough hours in the day to do all the things I love doing. It's all in what you bring to it.
Really soothing to hear this. I took a mini-retirement at age 33 and went backpacking to Asia for a year. One month into it I met another traveler and she told me 'I'm flying back to Europe next week, can't wait to be back in the office.' Couldn't understand back then, but 6 months later I was in the same mindset and came back early. Most valuable lesson ever, crossed out early retirement from my life goals and never thought about it again.
It's a personal thing. If you absolutely love your "job" and that is what keeps you engaged with "life" then work away. But if you love your "job" and became financially independent from that work but want to explore other aspects of "life" such as art, education, exploration, history or what ever then go for it. Many "high wealth" people are committed to keeping the financial engine running and That is what they love... Also I say, go for it.
I am 61 and retired from California now residing in Virginia. My pension is very comfortable but I still work why? Working presently I bring in $800 a week pure travel cash we love to travel a typical trip ground floor flight and place to stay $2100! I make that amount in three to four weeks. Then research where we want to go in the world most recently we went to Andorra 🇦🇩 incredible trip. As we travel we research could we live here someday we will find our place rest assured!
I thoroughly enjoy your channel, but must say that when people are retired and can't handle it and want to unretire, it's mainly because they didn't mentally prepare properly for retirement. A person in his 30s, whether he be an entrepreneur or employee, can't possibly know what it's like to be near 60 with hopes to retire at the same or better lifestyle as he had during the prime of his career. My definition of the American dream was always to retire before 60 while I was still young and healthy enough to explore other passions. As time passed and the value of our currency diminished, I learned that I could no longer do that in America.
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I make more money now in retirement than when I worked. I manage our personal portfolio and do it five days a week. Doesn't feel like work but it keeps me going. I never had time to manage money when I worked and I have discovered a new interest. I am not interested in doing if for anyone else just ourselves.
Totally get the Protestant outlook. (Those who don't work don't eat, and so forth.) Had planned to work until I was 80. Life threw me a curve ball. Having worked my butt off for decades for low income (even with some overtime) I wish I could afford to retire in some reasonable comfort, but regardless will have to. Working has destroyed my feet and everything else tied to the spine. Doubt I'll make it to the end of this year before body says 'that's it.' A life-time of frugal savings will not last long with Bidenflation in full swing. You were smart and blessed if be able to do work that did not consist 100% of hard labor. Health is everything.
Happiness for me is practicing half time, afternoons and wknds off. Still feel like I’m contributing and more comfortable spending on lifestyle than I would if I’m just living off retirement savings & Soc Sec.
I will "retire" in 4.5 years, when my son graduates High School. I have a couple business projects to start next year. I plan to develop by projects on into old age.
We shall see when Nomad Capitalist is in his sixties and his friends start to check out. He may change his mind. I just attended a friends funeral who passed away suddenly at 54. I would personally like to have 10 healthy years ( only 3650 days ) to spend not working and doing what I want every day. My mother said on her death bed at 65 that "time passed so quickly, it was so short".
Lot's of varying advice here, but one of the best pieces of advice I ever received when I was younger was to grow into retirement. One day (pre-retirement) I am doing 60% of the work I love and 40% of the retirement life and then one day you decide to do 40% of the work I love and 60% of the retirement life. I agree largely with what Andrew is saying, but my first thought is Andrew come talk to me when you are a 60YO. There are different stages of life. I've worked for companies, saved struggling companies, and created companies. They say that when you are passionate and own your own company you still work 70-80 hours/week. You just get get to pick which 70 hours.
I retired 20 years ago at 45. I was a software engineer in tech startups. It was nothing but fun and the money was great. So why retire? More freedom. Just because I "retired" didn't mean I stopped doing what I loved. I continued writing code and creating products. The difference was when I was working I was limited to what kinds of products I could invent to things that could make a lot of money. Nothing wrong with that when you need money. But once I had enough money I could create products that are fun for me to create and maybe has tiny markets without much potential for profit. Products that would never make any sense in a company where you're responsible for people making a living. Once the need to earn was over I could also drift into other things. I got addicted to gardening and building water garden. And every few years I'd flip a house doing all the work myself. The difference is I didn't have a deadline. I didn't have the stress of worrying about how much a flip would make. I could work slower, learn more, do better work. The journey really is the reward. It always was. And there are just plain more options. When working I had people depending on me. Once retired I could switch projects without harm to anyone. I could stop working on a software project and flip a house. This helped the software project because swinging a hammer gave me a lot of time to think about the software project, come up with different ideas. I didn't have that freedom when working. More freedom. Not everyone is wired to love "work". I love work, whether being paid or not being paid. But I get most people are not wired that way. There are many people who aren't really interested in really anything. Nothing drives them. They feel forced to work to survive.
This is kind of me, not interested in really anything haha.. I retired at 33 and am currently 40.. my father was an entrepreneur and a workaholic, I benefited from his hard work, will always be grateful. But for the people who retire the way I do, there is not a lot of purpose because I wasn't really anything, except a dabbler in random stuff before, and doing jobs I disliked..
When I get bored at work, I ask people what there thinking. ...because you have to be thi king about something.... and I get so annoyed when they answer "I try not to think"
Kudos! Totally agree with you, Andrew. As a millennial, I simply cannot understand why the boomers could fall in the trap of retirement. They complain that younger generations complain a lot, but look at them all pampered and ALSO complain about a lot, even more than millennials or genz and beyond. Sadly, many boomers, especially those born early 60's, will hardly find the life the dreamt of for the past 40 years ... and that is SO frustrating!
Part of it is work v work. Doing a boring or unpleasant job to pay bills is not very enjoyable. Doing something you really love is very fulfilling. I think early retirees might perhaps enjoy a lot of activities which do give back to the community, it's just that they're not doing it for money.
I like working. I have my own handyman business and have great and interesting clients, some I got to know really well. My clients have ranged from high up foreign government officials to actors, pimps, psychics, cool people in their 80's. I can drop it and go travelling and have for 3 months at a time, I come back and I'm busy again. I got into buying and fixing real estate and my house I live in now is worth around 2.1 million. I rent out some of it to international students and I find them to be friendly and it's good to know them. I hated having a 'job' and I only ever had one for a couple of years. I've also had my time as an artist and raised my daughter on my own. Her own daughters are successful at a young age working in the arts. Fuck to working for the man and then retiring to get fat wearing khaki shorts playing golf.
@9:57 my ex told me I squeaked when I walked and all I cared about was money. Mean while her whole paycheck went to bills and concerts, she had to work extra days for gas money to get to work.
Proud to stopped working at 51, all i do is charity since then, people concerned don't even need to know, i never had satifaction until now, working is slavery, voluntarly helping is a gift.
I used to think that I was against retirement. I was a property developer. I am now 57 and seriously considering retirement at 60. Retirement doesn’t have to mean a sedentary lifestyle. My retirement will be conservation, tramping, photography.
I know when I retire it won't really be retiring, rather it will be re-inventing. Couldn't agree more. I'm not certain what the next thing is but it will probably be back to film making, writing, and/or designing homes in Mexico. Give me a week on the beach with nothing to do and I'm bored to tears.
One of the most important mistakes people make is to do nothing in retirement. How can you bless others? Do you have a bucket list? Are you able to develop relationships? God describes Heaven as a place of fruitful labor. So in retirement, what kind of fruit are we going to produce?
I applaud what you do, but I'd be interested to know if Nomad Capitalist gives back to the community, eg, by way of supporting charities, etc. Some of the countries you profile, such as Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, etc have problems such as human trafficking, etc. Are you doing anything to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people in these societies (as a function of your successful business operations)? Thank you.
Interesting that white collar workers who work in offices don't necessarily want to retire. What about carpenters, bricklayers and other manual laborers . Retirement spells the end of damaging their bodies.
Some go into a different field. A realtor friend built houses for 28 years and bought real properties to rent out. He now works as a high end realtor (yes, he was a millionaire before even being a realtor) and he is also a contractor due to his experience. He still works and wants to work. He is just constantly on the go and he likes what he is doing.
Love your videos and respect whatever works for you but I can assure you my upcoming retirement will not suck. I've got 5 things im passionate about, fishing, investing, Bjj , music, and travel. If one doesn't have such interests outside work I can see how retirement might not be that great.
I do not mean for this to sound condescending ... I really don't ... but when I was your age, I could not imagine ever wanting to retire. But when I crossed the line over into age 60, suddenly I started becoming impatient for retirement day to arrive. It's not here yet but it's almost within my grasp! But, hey, diff'rent strokes, diff'rent folks. I once worked at a law firm where one of the named partners kept practicing law (and going to court) up to age 100. The only reason he continued working was because that's what he wanted to do. My only point is your mind may change on this subject as the gray hairs in your head increase in number. Or, your mind may not change even as your age gets into triple digits. So I guess my point is I actually have no point.
My grandfather retired early before retiring early was cool (he was 55). I saw him go from being productive, sharp, and active in his local community then downshifted to being isolated, overweight and unhealthy and generally unhappy and unfulfilled. Don’t do it. Aim for financial independence but never stop working. We were made to work.
I disagree. Specially if you're doing creative work, which is mentally demanding, you can only produce with quality up to a few hours/day. If your work is mostly execution on the other hand, and it doesn't put a huge load on your brain and body, you could put more hours. But that's also the type of work that pays less and will gradually be automated
For some this rings true, for others it does not. simple as that. for me there are a million things i can do, and depending on ones personal world views and spiritual/religious bent, there may be even more things to do. as i get into the last third or so of my life, the idea of being someone who adds to society and people rather than take is becoming more salient. even in a simple rec activity on a consistent basis one can be a positive force for self and for others. i am no where near retirement, and probably will be on the 80 year plan, but for some, the idea of burning life energy almost exclusively into "work" might be slightly narrow usage of the remaining tank of life left. "work" can mean many things, but i assume in this case it means a directed focus of energy and skill into a particular endeavor of which the end output is financial increase. perfectly noble, all good, but is only a part of the whole for some. sorry for the no "caps", shift key is not working suddenly.
Golly, you sound like my ex employer. He basically drove home the 'your a professional' idea. You work till the job gets done, you're sick when you're really sick, life and this job are tough and I'll reward you for that effort. In reality: compensation was adequate and job security was decent. Otherwise welcome to Business Bizarro world. Where business takes precedence over everything, and the artificial social structures of the company superimpose themselves on your civilian life. Daddy decides. The "I'll reward you" turns into you having a job. We went from being a very small company to a small company. When I started the transition from person to commodity, and a pro told me I had enough scratch to retire. I retired. My employer created a business model based on adequate employees providing a superior product. It worked. He wealthy. Everyone else is well . . . adequate. I've recently retired, and as my own boss I've upgraded myself from 'adequate' to 'superior', and surprisingly, I'm not want for things to do.
I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the multi-level marketing scene. Whether you've tried one of those businesses or know someone who has. Some of what you touched on here made me think of that for some reason.
Im late 40's and sold a 30m company and consider myself retired. No need to work or start more businesses. Have enough to live off of and see the world and do what I want. Absolutely zero shame in spending your days doing yoga, fishing, enjoying friends, traveling the world, doing jiu jitsu, enjoying friends and families journeys.
Thank you for justifying my retirement of doing whatever I want, even being lazy at 40.. but maybe if I had as much as you I would feel better in my retirement.. I retired with 3.6m at current market values.. Its enough to retire where I plan to live and how I spend, but feel like I need at least 10-15m.. but still not motivated to make more money haha..
@@bobjones6649 at 40 with 3.6m you can absolutely live your best life. Especially if you also have some rental incomes coming in or a spouse who works.
@@BJJandBS Thanks, No rental income, but dividends re-invest.. Thanks.. but the isolation is killing me.. when very few people are living the life you are there is few people to relate to.. I tried living in Bali, Chang Mai, Lisbon near digital nomads, but those people may say they are free but they are still slaves..The young and retired niche is very very small it seems.. I want to find a nice girl to travel with, but all seem to be preoccupied with work..
Why the rant? Who left your company? We live on unprecedented times in which people live by an entitled set of values. Work ethic like talent is no guaranteed. Sorry for your disappointment or set back. Everyone is replaceable even if it is not 100%. Relax, enjoy. Life is too short to be angry or upset about somelses choice or decision. Like anything else, replace and move on.
How man in his thirties can understand 50 or 60 years old? Living to work? No thank you. My advice is - do the same topic clip in 30 years time of course if you are still alive and not bancrupt.
