Don’t Succumb To OMYS

omysI’ve written about acronyms a couple times before:

YOLO.

LBYM.

Now we have OMYS: One More Year Syndrome.

What Is One More Year Syndrome?

I define one more year syndrome as an affliction where one continues to work past the point of it being necessary in the pursuit of more money.

Said another way, someone receiving $20,000 in annual passive income with, say, $19,000 in annual expenses would be financially independent. They don’t really have to march into a job and deal with office politics and wage slavery any longer. They’re free to enjoy their time, no longer needing to trade it away for money.

But this person might choose to stay at their job, continuing to build passive income well past the point of expenses so as to increase their buffer, or margin of safety.

Now, I’m not saying this is a bad idea. It’s definitely nice to have a healthy spread between your passive income and expenses, especially if your expenses vary substantially from month to month or you plan to increase expenditures for one reason or another once you retire early.

But if there’s a decent spread already, you have some liquid capital in case of emergencies, and you have hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in assets working for you, yet you continue to keep working, then you are suffering from OMYS.

If someone is financially independent, or close enough to it to take the leap into the great unknown of freedom, why would someone choose to continue working?

A great question, right? But there’s no real easy answer here.

Fear

I think fear is the biggest risk factor when we’re talking about OMYS. If you fear the unknown it’s easy to just stick to what you’re already doing.

“What if the stock market crashes?”

“What if I get sick?”

“What if one or more of the companies I’m invested in cut their dividends?”

“What if I wanna spend more money?”

“What if…”

The thing is this: Life is full of uncertainties. You can plan all day long and still end up with surprises. You can’t quantitatively analyze life. Which is what makes it fun, right?

Risk is everywhere. As an investor, I know this firsthand. And more money can certainly reduce risk. But at what point do you just start living?

Time Is All We Have

Look, time is it. Once you’re out of time, you’re out of life. Time is the most valuable commodity we have, and yet people trade it away so cheaply.

Remember that when you finally find yourself at the end of the yellow brick road, yet want to keep walking in circles. Money is great, but time is far, far more valuable.

If I were a doctor trying to prescribe a medication to alleviate OMYS, it would be this question:

If you were told you only had one month left to live, how much would you pay for another year? Two more years? What about five?

Would a year of life be worth $250,000? What about $500,000? Or all the money you have? After all, once you’re dead that’s it. If you fear the unknown of life without work, you will probably fear the afterlife even more.

I’ll tell you if I were able to extend my life by another year or longer when facing down the prospect of sure death it would be worth any amount of money in the world. Life is beautiful. Time is everything. And I certainly don’t want to die.

So when framed like that, why would you continue to slog off to work for another year or two or three for $50,000 per year or whatever you’re making? It doesn’t really matter what you’re making because those years once passed are gone forever.

Your Worst-Case Scenario

What’s the worst that can possibly happen if you decide to retire early and live off of passive income?

You might miscalculate your expenses, or maybe your passive income doesn’t grow as expected. Maybe the very same day as your last day at work you find out two companies you’re a shareholder in decide to cut or eliminate their dividends.

Oh, no. The world is ending!

Or is it?

I view financial events like this as unlikely. But even if there’s a miscalculation, it isn’t the end of the world.

  • You can always go back to full-time work. Jobs won’t magically disappear off the face of the planet if you need to make more money later.
  • It’s also possible to supplement your passive income with some type of active income. In fact, it’s extremely unlikely that someone possessing the ingenuity to retire extremely early in life will just loaf around and never make another dime for their entire life.
  • A full-time 9-5 (or 7:30-6, like I worked) isn’t the only way to make money. Be creative. Monetize a hobby. Sell stuff on craigslist. Rent a room in your home.

But I find the odds of someone who calculated their moves correctly enough to get to a situation where they’re so financially solvent that they can retire early to somehow end up in a position where they have to go back to work involuntarily very low. However, even if you do have to go back to work, how is that any worse than just staying at work?

Furthermore, proper diversification of a portfolio means one is somewhat insulated from experiencing dramatic income loss even in the face of a dividend cut or two.

I actually view the psychological effects of no longer working a full-time job as a bigger risk than any potential financial pitfalls. For instance, I quit my full-time (and then some) job in the auto industry back in May to pursue writing. I’m truly happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life. There isn’t a synonym for the word happy that truly describes how elated I’ve been with this decision; however, there are potential drawbacks to becoming financially independent (or no longer working at a conventional day job) early in life:

  • You lose that connection with society. I’m a pretty hardcore introvert, so this doesn’t really bother me. But I can see how extroverts might miss the camaraderie at their job. It’s tough to find others that are free during normal working hours, so this can be a bummer if you’re looking for daytime chats or someone to hang out with while you stroll downtown. It can be lonely. I think the biggest counter to this would be to get your significant other on board as early as possible so they can retire early with you. I’m currently working on this myself.
  • Your old routines are gone. I’m not real big on routines. I find them limiting and robotic. However, I can see the benefits of them. They keep you productive and on task. You have a sense of time passing and it keeps you from losing touch. I’ve not really found a regular “routine” per se since moving from full-time work to writing, but I do generally have certain times of day that I write, eat, work out, etc. I’m not strict with it, but having a rough sketch of my day in my head allows my time to flow pretty nicely. But I find old routines very easy to replace with new ones, if you crave routine. However, I also find unstructured free time to be extremely underrated and especially wonderful.
  • You may face resentment. I’ve already discussed my personal experience with this, but becoming a person of lesiure at 40 or 45 years old will almost certainly incite jealousy and/or resentment among those close to you. Be prepared for that.

And bigger setbacks can certainly occur that you might not foresee. But this is true whether you work or not. You could become extremely sick; but you could become sick whether you work or not. And who’s more prepared to deal with a massive sickness – someone who relies on their job to get by or someone who has hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets in liquid assets?

I always laugh at the “You could get hit by a bus!” argument. This was actually very close to being mentioned by an expert that was brought on to discuss my strategy/plan when I was featured on Today. As if someone who isn’t retired early is somehow immune from getting hit by a bus?

Furthermore, if it’s a matter of living more now vs. living more later, what is living? What is important to you? I’ve already decided I’m not delaying gratification, but have you? Moreover, if you get hit by a bus and die, does it really matter if you were saving 40% of your net income or 0%? Does it matter if other people thought you were “living” or not? All that really matters is that you’re happy.

The Time Value Of Time

We all know about the time value of money, right? It’s the concept where the same amount of money is thought to be worth more today than at a later date due to the earning power of that money.

But what about the time value of time? After all, a year of my life is worth more to me today than in 20 years from now for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, tomorrow isn’t promised. I have no idea if I’m going to be alive 20 years from now. I don’t even know if I’m going to wake up tomorrow (I’m keeping my fingers crossed). Therefore, time is worth much more now than in a future that may not occur.

Furthermore, I’m very healthy right now. I don’t know if I will be when I’m 60 or 70 years old. I might get hit by that mystical bus! Therefore, I want to enjoy my time while I’m at my physical peak. Many of the activities I enjoy are free, but have physical aspects to them. I enjoy exercising, taking a stroll down the beach, or exploring new areas. Even mundane daily tasks are much easier when you’re feeling physically great. So I want to make the most of my life while I’m able to.

No Regrets

I look at my own situation. I could have easily kept grinding away at the car dealership, collecting my $50,000+ annual income. Maybe I could have found another dealership willing to pay me even more. I may have given up hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential income by leaving that job behind to write.

But I have no regrets whatsoever.

I didn’t enjoy the work. I found it incredibly stressful. If you can work at something you truly enjoy and get paid for it, then that’s certainly a wonderful position to be in. And I have basically found myself there. I now concentrate fully on writing, and it’s a true blessing. Even if I don’t make as much money at it as I could have if I would have stayed in the auto business, it doesn’t really matter. And that’s because not only am I much happier, but I now have much more time. Or perhaps I’m happier because I have more time?

When deciding whether or not to take this opportunity on, I asked myself just one question: Will I regret not trying it out?

And the answer was yes. So I quit and haven’t looked back since.

Similarly so, I think that’s the big question you’ll want to ask yourself when passive income exceeds expenses, and you’re facing down early retirement. Will you regret not spending your time elsewhere? Will you regret not knowing what could have been? If today were your last day on Earth, are you spending it how you want to?

I often remind myself of the great quote by Paul Tsongas, who retired from the Senate after learning he had cancer:

Nobody on his deathbed ever said, “I wish I had spent more time at the office.”

Conclusion

I’ve already faced my own quasi version of OMYS. I could have kept on working at the car dealership, making my comfy salary, in a routine that was very much the status quo. Or I could have entered the unknown and taken on the opportunity of a lifetime, writing for a living and pursuing my passions. I chose the latter, even though I may have left some money on the table. And that’s simply because time is worth far more than money.

Equally so, once I have enough passive income to cover my expenses I’ll be using that dividend income to pay for my lifestyle rather than needlessly continuing to accumulate assets. I believe my dividend income, once it gets to that point where I can claim financial independence, will increase faster than my spending habits anyway, building a larger buffer/margin of safety as I grow older.

After all, money can always be made. Time cannot. 

If you find yourself in a job that you absolutely love and would probably do for free, then that’s a different scenario altogether. If you get paid to have fun and pursue a passion, then more power to you. However, I find that situation quite rare. Most jobs are a drag, and One More Year Syndrome is extremely dangerous if you let it overcome you with fear.

I challenge you to conquer OMYS by simply letting go of fear. Say goodbye to that job that you’ve been saving so aggressively to escape and embrace your new life of freedom. You worked hard. Enjoy it.

There’s no point in being the richest guy in the cemetery. Once you have enough money to live your life without having to go out and work for more, then you have enough. After all, enough is enough.

Life life with no regrets. You’ll never regret the time you didn’t spend down at the office, but you may very well regret the time you didn’t spend with those you love the most or doing the things you most enjoy.

How about you? Are you dealing with OMYS? Think you will in the future? Have tips to overcome it? 

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Similar Posts

140 Comments

  1. I think it’s easier for you “younger” guys to do this than those of us that are slightly older. I know I would not really want to be looking for a new job at 45/50, esp depending on which industry one is in. I applaud those that can make the move, esp those that have worked on non “work” income. I know you are working your tail off, but wouldn’t consider it a job per se and that’s awesome.

    Our personal situation is different and everyone’s will be. We have a child in school and as someone who attended 7 different schools in 3 different states growing up, I’d like for my son to not have to go through that.

  2. Great article Jason, you have outdone yourself my friend! Your story is truly inspiring how far you have come so far, and the best part is that you are still young enough to do anything in life. Your writing has transformed miraculously. Awesome work.

    Sweet favicon btw

    Take care,

  3. This is a very nice article, very timely. What you pointed out, “you can make money but not time”, is the reason why we decided to pull the trigger this year. The prospect of enduring one more year of BS at the 9-5, and all it entails, was enough to convince us that we were ready. Sure, it would have been comforting to continue building our passive income to an extra 5-10K per year, but that sense of security was simply not worth it. We realized that the options given to us by our current passive income are more than enough to provide us with our needs and some wants, which will certainly be the case as we do some slow travel in cheap countries around the world.

    Besides, as you point out, we can always work a little side gig here and there to produce a little more income in the rare case where our wants get out of control. We plan to use the energy that we would have put toward a soul crushing job into making our budget work.

  4. DM,

    After reading this article it has got me thinking about “The Decision” to unplug. I am certainly glad that I won’t have to make this choice for another three or so years. I think fear is the biggest variable for me. Since I will be 46 in three years, I want to make sure that FI is a one-way trip not a round trip back into the workforce at say age 60. I would like to think that worst case scenario if I felt that I didn’t have enough income for the long haul, I would probably resort to side hustles or part time jobs well in advance of any financial difficulties.

    MDP

  5. DH,

    Yeah, I don’t think it’s easy to re-enter the workforce at any age after a long break. Not only does a big gap in the resume require some…creative…explanation, but it sucks to have that freedom taken away from you.

    But like I said in the post, I find it highly unlikely that someone diligent and disciplined enough to retire early in life will become financially unglued after the trigger is pulled. Furthermore, part-time jobs can be a lot of fun with less responsibility, which can help the bottom line too. I just think the old model of one 9-5 till 65 is kind of outdated, and there’s nothing wrong with cobbling a few different income sources together. And that’s regardless of your age.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Best regards.

  6. Jason,

    I like your article a lot. You cannot make more time. I an make money, but as a wage slave, I trade time for money. I try to rectify this by putting this money to work for me in Dividend Growth Stocks.

    I believe I am suffering from the condition you state. In fact, I could possibly retire today. But I guess I want all my ducks to be in order. I want to have multiple lines of defense to protect me in case I am totally wrong.

    I totally agree with you on getting your significant other on board. I hope she comes to MI with you. Or, can you get back to FL with her? I mean family is great, but maybe you can spend 10 months in FL and 2 months in MI. You can’t spend all the time with Family all the time – as people get older, they move on to different things.

  7. DV,

    Thanks for noticing the favicon! 🙂

    I tried setting one up when I first made the move to WP earlier this year, but had a lot of difficulty. I read a post over at Kapitalust about setting up a favicon quite easily, and that worked really well. It was a bit more difficult than that due to the Genesis theme, but I eventually figured it out after about 30 minutes of screwing with it earlier today.

    Appreciate the compliments on the writing. I feel like now that I have a lot more time on my hands I’m able to explore ideas a bit more in-depth now. I’m really excited about that!

    Keep up the great work over there. And thanks for stopping by.

    Best wishes.

  8. Spoonman,

    I really envy your guts, as your situation really speaks to what I’m talking about here. You stared OMYS down and stuck your middle finger in the air. I love it! 🙂

    Anxious to continue seeing how early retirement treats you with all of your new adventures. And you make a great point there in regards to the value of time and how you can use some of your new spare time to figure out how to cut expenses in some areas, rather than deal with a 9-5 longer than necessary.

    You’re on the other side, bud. Enjoy! 🙂

    Cheers.

  9. MDP,

    Absolutely. I highly doubt anyone financially successful enough to unplug in their 40s will somehow end up in a soup line. Just doesn’t make sense.

    And I hear you on not wanting to re-enter the workforce. Neither do I. But I guess, if it came right down to it, I’d rather have 5-10 years of freedom and say I did it, than just work way more than I had to, never to have those years back again.

    Furthermore, there’s Social Security awaiting you down the road, which will kick in and supercharge your income once you’re older. And by then the dividend income will have had years and years to build a spread between income and expenses. I think the odds of having to get a job at 60 because you miscalculated are quite low. Just my take on it. 🙂

    Thanks for dropping in.

    Best wishes!

  10. DGI,

    Exactly. Trading time for money, in my opinion, is a horrible trade. One is worth far, far more than the other. And the quicker you can get out of that disadvantageous arrangement, the better. 🙂

    As far as the significant other goes, I’ll just spill the beans right now and let you know I’m going back to FL. I have a post coming up in a few days about that, but I’ll be leaving very soon. It was a wonderful summer/fall up here in Michigan…and I guess I thought deep down inside that she might want to follow me up here. But she loves Florida, and I can’t blame her. It’s not like I’m going back kicking and screaming to a tropical paradise with no state income taxes. After all, I could have moved ANYWHERE back in 2009, and specifically chose that area. And like you said, I can always come up and visit in the summers when the weather is great and everyone is outdoors. My girlfriend is a teacher, so she has summers off too.

    I hope you find your antidote to OMYS. I think, as you would probably agree, that the dividend income will organically build an increasing spread between income and expenses, thus increasing your margin of safety as you age. Plus, it’s unlikely that you’ll never make another dollar from some type of active work for the rest of your life. And you’ll have Social Security waiting for you when you’re much older and perhaps start spending more on healthcare.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Cheers.

  11. Hi DM,

    I’m definitely on your side here, and while I’m not there yet, I’m definitely wondering–at what point will I quit working? My wife and I need about $30,000 to sustain our current lifestyle. Our estimates have us reaching that point in about eight years, depending on life circumstances — somewhere between the time we turn 35 and the time we turn 40. Numbers-wise, I think we can swing it at 35, but I keep finding myself leaning toward 40–what if something goes wrong?

    But I think the key is to follow your own example–financial independence doesn’t mean I can’t work anymore. It means I can work on my own time, on my own passions.

    I LOVE board games. I would love to be a board game designer/publisher. And that’s the key for me: there’s no reason I can’t pursue that goal (or ANY goal) after achieving full-time freedom, and boosting our income even a little will allow us to continually increase our margin of safety on a financially independent life.

    $30,000 a year and 2,080 more productive hours in the day can do wonders 😉

    Thanks,
    Charles

  12. Charles,

    “$30,000 a year and 2,080 more productive hours in the day can do wonders”

    Hell yeah, it can. Although, I wish we had that many hours in a day! 🙂

    You touched on a great point there. Once you’re FI, you can literally do anything, regardless of its income potential. You could give that board game idea a good go because you don’t care about the money. You’d be doing it for the love of it only, which means there is no failure. And I kind of realized that when I made the move from doing what I was doing in the auto business to writing – how much could I possibly fail? Was I going to be homeless? Starving? Dead? No. If it didn’t work out, I’d just get a job at another dealership. That’s the thing with modern day first world countries. The safety net is so high that it’s almost crazy that more people don’t jump into the unknown and take a little risk.

    Best wishes!

  13. DM,

    You always hit it home at the heart with these based articles. I think I know in my heart, I always think – okay, I can stick this out one more year and I do it for my co-workers, clients and peers. But really – do I need to go through all of this stress and work to earn a few dollars? Probably not. I agree that letting go, to pursue unknown and go through life with uncertainty, is what makes life, well LIFE. Also – being placed into uncomfortable situations is what also causes our minds to be more creative and in a way – expand.

    For instance – I was going to grad school with few dollars to my name. I knew I wanted to go and with little debt. I therefore began writing, doing odd jobs, selling items online/elsewhere, cleaning out my possessions and learning to invest. If I didn’t choose to do something that would have placed me into a very difficult/unknown/uncertain situation – I wouldn’t have grown/matured/expanded my mind quite like I did during that time frame. I truly mean that and feel that those were leaps and bounds in my financial literacy & adulthood growth years.

    I agree then, DM, with your OMYS. It’s true, it’s real. Lifestyle inflation obviously pays a part to individuals mindsets – oh – one more year until I “hope” to get that raise so I can afford to “buy” a (insert possession that I probably don’t need here). I know I am mean and am blunt about it. Phew, sorry, some built up frustrations here haha.

    Regardless – It’s real and we all should take time for ourselves and think about our situations in our lives. I definitely understand if you have a family or are dealt with very difficult situations in your life. I can definitely understand and feel those reasons. I like the article and thanks for placing it out DM.

    -Lanny

  14. “Although, I wish we had that many hours in a day! :)”

    Sigh, you and me both! Still, even if those 2,080 hours were spread out over a whole, I don’t know, year, I’d still take ’em ;-).

    “And I kind of realized that when I made the move from doing what I was doing in the auto business to writing – how much could I possibly fail?”

    I don’t see much failure in your future, DM. Looking forward to seeing what else you make happen with all your extra time!

  15. Oh my God, I have over a decade to go, and I already feel it coming on! It’s the constant second guessing: “are my calculations correct?”, “what if my expenses spike?”, “what if there’s an emergency?” That just keeps me pushing my annual income requirements higher and higher and higher. Sometimes, you just need to just shut up, sit down, and calm down! It’s not as bad as we can make it.

  16. OMYS may be an issue in the future… the thing it when we are talking like 16-20 years down the road alot can change. Plan on having kids, there will be college, so will we help with that? Who knows? I think once the debts are cleared out and we have a solid financial footing I will be more game for trying new jobs, not necessarily full time, but try to find that job I would truly enjoy. I don’t hate work, I like being productive, but I DON’T like being locked at a desk for basically an entire day. I really find that I have a lack of time now and need to work on prioritizing. But I probably could do a 1/2 time job for a LONG time without any burnout, especially if it is something I would enjoy doing!

  17. Well said, Jason. I have now surpassed 6 decades of life. Hard to believe. For the last year or so, I have debated with myself as to how much longer I should work. And yup, moments of OMYS came into play. I finally concluded that I only have so much life in me. Who knows how long that is? I decided that I didn’t want to spend more of the life I have left sitting in an office every weekday, all day long.

    I have what I consider to be an awesome job. Still, there comes the time when even an awesome job just isn’t worth it any more. So, it’s off to retirement I go in a little over a month. It’s going to be weird, but to be able to do what I want with my time is going to be wonderful, too. Here’s to no more OMYS!

    Steve

  18. ive been omys for 15 years I love what I do for a living our house has been paid for decades When they kick me out I will retire Im a old guy, to you and your reader what you are doing works my investment income is greater than my salary thanks to KO,NJR,GIS,PG,GAS,and a boat load of others I enjoy your blog

  19. Ah yes, the often thought about “end point” in any working situation. I think for so many people in the early FI world, turning off that natural drive is tough. Without that drive, early FI wouldn’t be possible, nor would any of us be successful. Look at some of those who are blogging, but continue to generate income from various activities, not out of need, but pure desire. MMM is a prime example of this. His blog is certainly not being done solely for altruistic reasons, yet he has not need for the income it produces. It is just a by product of him pursuing something he enjoys.

    Ultimately, if working makes you happy, and you are in a position to stop, than there is no reason to stop. However if you have other passions or hobbies, pursue those and by all means, your post is really a heck of nudge in getting over the hump to follow one’s heart. In the end, FI is about freedom. The freedom to choose to do anything, work or not. I certainly don’t begrudge those that desire to continue working, long after they “need” too. Nor do I begrudge those who have made the leap out of the working world and into one that is filled with other personal pursuits.

    Keep on cranking out stuff like this Jason, you are an inspiration to us all.

  20. Jason – Excellent article. I counsel many new professionals and graduates, and believe that if one finds his or her passion, they have found success. How do you know your passion can be determined if you freely work overtime to do the job. Time is the only commodity which is not renewable. Here is a reality check. Take your age and divide by average lifespan of 78 and you get a numerical representation. I am 54, so 54/78 is 69 or 31 percent of natural life left to achieve my life goals. Don’t live an unfilled life! Best of luck.

  21. You can probably count me among the guilty (more like 2-3 yrs)… not in the sense that I’ve changed my mind or moved the retirement target once I reached it, just that I have a target that’s on the high end for margin of safety. If I had to make it work tomorrow I’m pretty confident I could, but its not in my nature to cut things close. I suppose you might call it fear but to me its just more of the same conservative behavior that got me to the point where its even a possibility.

    Definitely some food for thought,.. I wonder how much of this “syndrome” is related to the fact that reaching a point where you no longer NEED a job really changes your attitude and makes that job a lot less stressful and a lot more enjoyable ?

  22. DM,

    I wish I could leave my job right now. Currently, there are more people from foreign countries were I work than my own country. It makes it difficult to communicate when you have to. Some of the foreigners at my work I would prefer not to be around. On top of that, people get some kind of sick joy out of trying to piss certain people off. There are also foreigners at my work that I have no problem with at all. The latter never complain about anything.

    A vast majority of people do not like their jobs and it shows. But they do not want to be proactive in trying to set themselves up to leave that job. I started a few years ago by waking up one morning and saying “I do not want to live like this anymore”. So I took action and starting investing and my life gets less stressful each passing month. How can anyone not like passive income? I know I sure do

  23. Lanny,

    Absolutely! It’s in our greatest challenges in life that we grow the most. I’m extremely grateful that I started all of this a few years ago, as I’ve learned, changed, and grown as a person so much in that time frame. It’s just been an amazing journey, and pushing myself to the limit at times in terms of living on less and learning as much as I could really taught me what I’m capable of. And that was something I was recently touching on in my recent post about living extremely frugally at the beginning of a journey.

    Appreciate you stopping by. I hope you and Bert keep things rolling over there. You guys are both doing great! 🙂

    Best wishes.

  24. DD,

    Congrats on starting your site over there! 🙂

    I couldn’t agree more with you. Sometimes when it’s all said and done, we just need to take a leap of faith.

    I’m an extremely analytical person by nature. And I suppose that makes me good at analyzing companies and investing in stocks. But it can sometimes be a bit limiting in terms of living life, because there is always this part of my brain that’s analyzing odds and trying to make sure they’re in my favor. However, life needs to be lived.

    Nothing wrong with building a bit of a buffer, but I think when the passive income is enough to pay for expenses it’s time to take control of your life and own your own time.

    Best of luck with the blog and your journey. You’re in an awesome spot for your age. You’ll probably be FI by the time you get to be my age.

    Cheers!

  25. Kipp,

    Life definitely changes, and we have to roll with the punches. I certainly didn’t anticipate leaving my job in the auto industry to write, but I think that ultimately it’s all about flexibility and freedom. Money buys you freedom, and freedom can be used for anything. Raising a family, travel, reading, watching movies, whatever. It’s about actively choosing and enjoying what you’re doing every single day.

    I just fear for those that actively choose to continue working even though they’re not really enjoying it only for the sake of more money. And that’s why I wrote this post. 🙂

    I read your recent article over there and it sounds like your days could use a little extra time, my friend. I hope you continue to march towards freedom and pluck it from the tree when it’s ripe!

    Best regards.

  26. Steve,

    Cheers to your retirement, my friend. That’s fantastic.

    I agree that even a “good” job reaches a point where it’s time to do other things. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I like to explore new things every few years. Will I still want to write in 10 years? I have no idea, which is why I continue to save and invest. It’s all about options and flexibility.

    I mean I love working out. Would I want to march down to the gym at 7:30 and work out until 6 at night? Definitely not. I like working at my own pace and on my own schedule, and FI allows you to do what you want, when you want. Enjoy it!! 🙂

    Best wishes.

  27. quentin,

    Sounds like you’re in a great spot there. I don’t know if there’s anything in this world that I could do and enjoy for decades on end because I’m just too fickle, but I give you props for doing what you love and socking away a ton of money. That’s the way to do it. 🙂

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Take care.

  28. W2R,

    Appreciate the support. Glad you found some inspiration from it. 🙂

    You hit the nail on the head there. It’s about freedom, choice, flexibility. It’s about doing what you want, when you want. Maybe that’s what you already do for a living, but I suspect for most people it isn’t. And maybe you love what you do now, but that might stop one day. Financial independence is independence from anyone and anything. You can support yourself with no cares in the world, which totally opens up an entire world of opportunity for you.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  29. Keith,

    That’s a great equation there. I’ve got about 59% of my life left, and I can tell you that it’s going to be the greatest damn 59% ever. 🙂

    I have actually always planned for a short life. Because even if I die at, say, 65, becoming financially independent by 40 means I’ll still have 25 years of complete freedom. But an average lifespan would be tremendous! Once you get to the point where average is wonderful, you’re doing pretty great. Another way to look at it is the average lifestyle here in the USA is substantially better than the average lifestyle in India. Average can be very good.

    Take care.

  30. pacer45,

    We’re all wired differently. Some of us are just more naturally cautious than others. I can say that it wasn’t easy to give up those commission checks from the dealership that could be as high as $4,000. But I also knew I’d regret not knowing what more freedom felt like. I craved it in a way that far overshadowed my craving for those checks. That’s just me.

    But you have an interesting point there about work becoming perhaps easier once you’re in a great financial spot. I noticed that as well, but more in the way that the job became slightly less soul-sucking. But I didn’t really enjoy my job. I was there for the money. If you’d do your job for free, then that’s an entirely different situation altogether.

    I hope you find your door with the “Exit” sign above it here soon to discover what else life might have in store for you. 🙂

    Best regards.

  31. IP,

    I hear you, my friend. I didn’t really have a communication problem like you seem to have, but I did notice that some people seemed to have kind of “gotten off” on causing drama or headaches for other people. I honestly don’t get it.

    I think most jobs by nature aren’t all that bad, but the environments can make them a lot worse. The great thing about financial independence is that you can create your own environment anytime you feel like it. And that kind of freedom is something that’s not worth trading for any paycheck in the world. 🙂

    Best regards.

  32. Hello Mantra, and thanks for a great post again! Your writing is truly inspiring.

    I love my job and will continue working there for more years – it is meaningful and interesting in many ways. But of course there are also many days that feel just like grinding. And the overall condition that someone else is setting your agenda… I want to be In charge. If I ever reach FI I could choose to go to work with the idea that this is voluntary, a “hobby” even. 😉

  33. Guilty as charged!

    I was thinking about my (distant) retirement the other day, and I thought to myself, “what if I kept working past 40?” or “how much more would i have if I continued to plow money into my portfolio and witness the effects of compounding until I was 65? 70? 80?”

    I was actually a bit horrified of how easy it was to start down that path of what-if’s, and as I approach 40 years, I know it’s only going to be more tempting to give in to OMYS.

  34. Jason,

    Great write-up, as always!

    Even though I’m still far away from my OMYS date, I fear I’ll be one of the people who continues to work for another year, and another, and another, … just to feel more safe. The weird thing is that I know that doesn’t make any sense. But who knows, maybe i’ll love my job and don’t mind going to the office every day!

    A big factor for a lot of people who suffer from OMYS is the fact that they have people who depend on them. I can see why someone who has three children to raise is a lot more hesitant to quit his ‘secure’ full-time job and according income than a single guy in his thirties. For those people the question “how much would you pay for one more year?” could really help put things in perspective, like you said.

    I truly hope you can get your significant other on board!
    NMW

  35. I’m with you on the having children and being hesitant. I know that I am hesitant to quit anything. Although I have some rental income, that could change if a storm hit my area- anyone remember Katrina. Then, I might have a bunch of just enough damaged houses to cost me a ton of money and not cover the deductible. Also, it is possible that nobody would be around to rent them if I was to fix the issues. All the while, the parish and the insurance company will be calling for their yearly payments- it happened in 2005 and for about 2.5 years after. Then, heaven help me if a few dividends get cut. Yeah, it is possible for me to just quit working and be FI, but if the right issues creep up, I would rather keep working for a while even if it was just part time- by the way, I hate my job as a landscaper. My kids are the most important thing to me, and I do not want to short change them by not considering the worst case scenario because I have seen it before.

    Now, if it was just me to think about, I might have quit years ago. I have always wanted to see the world, but I must play the cards I have. I see all of my son’s football games and practices and all of his karate classes (2nd degree Black belt) and my daughter’s gymnastics and theater. We are very engaged in their lives, and that is what keeps me going and makes me happy at the moment.

    Keep cranking,

    Robert the DividendDreamer

  36. DM,
    This subject is familiar to me because I see it in my office every day. A surprisingly large number of my coworkers have previously retired, but came back to work in a different capacity. Yesterday, someone mentioned one woman who actually retired THREE times, and keeps coming back. Part of this is because I work with some government employees who retire from that workforce but come back as contractors. So they have a pension of some kind, then if they can get a contractor salary on top of that. Just one more year turns into a decade.

    I attribute their decision to come back to two things. First, some of them genuinely miss the people. For some, the office is a social outlet, and if they weren’t working, they wouldn’t have much interaction with others. Hard to imagine myself, but not everyone is like me. Second, the money. For people that waited until later in life to start saving for retirement (a majority of people, right?), getting that salary on top of the pension is too alluring. Plus they simply didn’t have a plan and can’t retire yet based on current expenses. They still have a big mortgage, car payments, and sometimes paying for college. The job for them is easy so they don’t mind giving up their time. Some of it may be fear as well, and not valuing their time the same as others.

    -RBD

  37. Thanks Jason! Yes, a couple more hours each day would do the trick! Why don’t we have 26 hour days?

    I forgot the mention, I am a little surprised that you called yourself an introvert. I know I am a bit of one, and my wife is more so than I am, but you were quite open and talkative when we met!

    Speaking of meeting up, you planning on going to Art Prize? If so send me an e-mail or text.

  38. You bring up a great point in OMYS. I think phasing out certain aspects of your job/life will put you in the right position. Our plan is during the last year we will only live off of 1 income which will be similar to living off of our passive income, this plan will also create a a rather large emergency fund. It’s a work in progress towards as we get closer it becomes more real.

  39. Mantra,

    Another fine article. I am definitely beholden to my day job, and will be for a while. I wish more people viewed life the way you do, because time is the ultimate resource. Yes, its nice to do some crazy things when you are young, but time is limited and there are few good reasons to spend the majority of your life toiling away.

    I hate to use a line from a movie here, but I think the writer(s) of Fight Club put it into very fine words: “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.”

    Good luck in your continuing quest of freedom!

    – D. Gremlin

  40. Sensim,

    Hey, if you find your work meaningful, enjoyable, interesting, and challenging, then that’s great.

    Perhaps you could start your own business once you’re financially independent. And maybe in the same field you’re in now, since you already have experience/expertise there. That way you could solve the agenda conundrum. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by! Appreciate the support.

    Best regards.

  41. Seraph,

    I wish you luck with your decision there.

    I think it’s basically just a money trap. There’s certainly plenty of opportunities out in the world to grow and challenge oneself as a person besides just the job we work at, but there’s a comfort zone there. And of course there’s money.

    I mean I could easily save up millions and millions of dollars by just living like I do now and saving and saving until I was near death. But I realized I don’t care about being the richest guy in the cemetery. Furthermore, even at millions and millions of dollars there will probably be someone buried somewhere else in that cemetery with more money than me. I instead choose to look around at other people much less fortunate than myself and realize how fortunate I really am. 🙂

    Don’t give in!

    Cheers.

  42. NMW,

    Well, you may end up really enjoying what you do for a living. Just make sure that if you decide to continue working past the point of necessity it’s because you’d go in for free. If you still look forward to the paycheck, then I would suggest taking a hard look in the mirror.

    I don’t necessarily agree it’s a family thing or an age thing, however. Money is money, regardless of your status or age. If you make enough passive income to support yourself and all of your obligations, then that’s it. Besides, I’d much rather be able to SPEND MORE TIME with my children than slog off to work and not see them just because I thought it was somehow “my responsibility”. That’s exactly the line of thinking I try to get people thinking about.

    I look at a guy like MMM, who with a child and a wife decided to quit his job. He had enough. And enough is enough, regardless of your family situation. 🙂

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  43. Robert,

    “I know that I am hesitant to quit anything. Although I have some rental income, that could change if a storm hit my area- anyone remember Katrina.”

    Or you could lose your job. Or you could get sick. Or a meteor could strike Earth…. 🙂

    Best wishes.

  44. RBD,

    Yeah, I agree the social aspect is probably a big thing. I don’t really notice it myself, but I’m sure others miss that daily interaction. However, I guess maybe I would just rather interact more with those in my personal life rather than co-workers. Unless you just happen to have really wonderful co-workers. I’ve always found workplaces full of drama, rumors, and childlike behavior. So I was glad to be gone from something like that.

    But money is really at the heart of it. We all read the studies that show that people just don’t plan for retirement and enter old age in debt. So it’s tough to truly retire when you just don’t have enough. But that’s quite a contrast to those who do have enough. And enough is enough. I simply hope that those with enough can take a leap of faith. I know it was certainly difficult for me to know that I was giving up a lot of money by quitting my job, but it would have been even more difficult to stay knowing there was a whole world of opportunity out there. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best regards.

  45. Kipp,

    Well, I’m pretty excited about all of this. I suppose you could compare it to, say, a gamer that loves to sit indoors and video game all day. Might be an introvert, but get that person around other gamers and they open right up. 🙂

    Put me in a bar or big social setting and I’m no good.

    I won’t be able to make it to ArtPrize, but I did go to GR last weekend with my sister to get a preview at the GRAM. Really amazing stuff there. And we avoided the crowds. It was awesome.

    Best regards!

  46. Steven,

    That’s a great plan there. Easing into it makes you a lot more comfortable. It’s not necessary to jump into FI head first; one can drop part of the income, or ease into it via part-time work. A lot of options!

    Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you’ve got a solid idea there.

    Take care!

  47. Gremlin,

    That’s a great quote there. I think it’s incredibly apt. Maybe we all need to be soap salesmen. 🙂

    Appreciate the support. I do hope some readers found some value and inspiration in what I’m writing here.

    Best wishes.

  48. The is a topic I’ve thought a great deal about over the past few years. My life situation is a little different – I’m 47 years old with a wife and 2 kids. There is definitely more caution when you have the added responsibility for others, but you’re right about time not being unlimited.

    For me a few things have kept me on the OMY path. The first is that your salary generally increases over time, making the walk-away factor greater. But the main reason is fear. For some reason fear of the unknown always seems so great.

    Finally, having a good plan as you did is critical. For many, being so busy with life keeps us from dedicating time to creating our exit strategy.

    Thanks for the reminder!

    .

  49. I hate when people put off things like, Imma start going to the gym 1st of the month or in the new year, or start taking classes next year, or look for a new job next summer. Then when u see those people sometime later they still puttin the same stuff off. If you wanna do something do it now!!!!!!!! Retirement takes more planning and its more tied to fear and complacency. People are scared of change and that why so many put things off.

  50. Jason,

    At what passive income level would you consider yourself financially independent? For example, the blog “$25,000 Dividends” puts the number at 25 grand. How about you?

  51. My only question to you is would you make the same choice if you were making 100K instead of 50K? How about 150K? 250K? I agree with your sentiment in general but how much you make can certainly affect your decision to quit or stay another year. Sure, at some point you’ll save so much money that staying even one more year is pointless, but I’m interested in what you would do in your situation where you were not FI just yet if you were making much more money at your day job.

  52. Well said!! Time is something that you can not take back. You start to realize this as you get older. I was just having this conversation with a friend of mine. I became a freelancer about 10 years ago. Best choice I ever made. I realized that my time and sanity was much more important then trying to make more money. It’s all about quality of life.

  53. Great post. When it comes down to it you need to ask yourself if your time is worth more than getting the salary for one more year. Furthermore, is your life balanced? If you’re working like a mull for additional 1 year then I’d say quitting is better.

  54. Insourcelife-

    I think this depends on your savings rate. If you’re making 250k, but spending 240k/year, then you have no choice but to keep working for your boss. If you’re making 250k/year, but can save 220k of it, then it depends on how much of a spread you really want between your investment income and your 30k worth of expenses.

    The reality, though, is that the average person making 250k per year would not save the 220k/year- they’ll instead buy themselves a new BMW(or Ferrari), new million(or multi-million) dollar house, new beach house, expensive vacations, new Armani suits, new Coach purses, Jewelry etc. At 240k of annual expenses, they would need $6.8million in investments in order to have 240k in dividends(assuming a 3.5% dividend yield). If they’re only able to save 10k/year, how can they reach that $6.8million mark without working until they’re 70? In a way, all that spending is really enslaving them.

  55. DM, I understand your points. From another perspective, I like to come to work even if I am FI 🙂 I wonder what you would do if some company hires you to do exactly what you are doing now. Would you still continue on your own or would you take that “dream” job? Thanks.

  56. The spread I believe I would want to attain is the amount of what my “e-fund” would be. So if I think that my emergency fund should be 5k. I would want enough passive income to cover my expenses by 5k. So 20k expenses, 25k passive income.

    Two parts to this:
    1) in good times, I would like to continue to be able to reinvest the excess…and hopefully grow myself into a more fruitful situation.
    2) In bad times, a large buffer for things like dividend cuts, bankruptcies, high cost of living, etc.

    I may revise this as a gain more net worth to a percentage, say 10%, 20% buffer on expenses.

    Sure it would be great to retire with expenses covered, but how nice would it be to watch your financial security continue to massively, passively grow as you age? Awesome, imo.

  57. Jason-Excellent article. You write with passion. I can’t wait for the next one. You are dispensing some good financial points. Please keep it up.

  58. Love this post. Ive actually embarked on a similar path. No regrets. I am certain that my future will be bright but most importantly, that I will be doing what I love (which I already am) and that alone is priceless.
    Thanks for sharing your story!

  59. “After all, money can always be made. Time cannot. ”

    You haven’t seen my delorean, once I get that baby up to 88mph with 1.21 gigawatts….. oh wait, that doesn’t make me younger that just takes me to a different point in time.

    The one thing that concerns me the most about the future is health issues racking up. My parents are healthy people, don’t smoke, not overweight, not drinkers, no real vices that I would say that could contribute to health issues. But my dad had a heart attack and is on lots of meds, my mom became a diabetic and her body just doesn’t process vitamin B12 when she eats it. Their annual medical expenses are high just to get the meds they need, that’s the main factor that I will consider when I get close to the OMYS. My families medical history.

    But who knows what our healthcare system will look like that far down the road.

  60. I feel sorry for anyone who would be resentful of someone who quit their job to pursue a passion/hobby. To me, if you’re feeling jealous or resentful that means things aren’t so great on your own end of things. I can understand the fascination but jealousy is lame.

  61. Too many great quotes to live by in this article. All hold true and should make everyone think about their own lives and what they ultimately hold to be most valuable. I have commented on many articles you wrote in the past about living life in balance. Enjoying your time, not be fearful, travel and have life experiences over the “one more year” syndrome. And like you, it’s far better to forgo tens of thousands in extra income that makes you miserable and better to be infinitely happier with less. This article highlights many great points about how we ask the “what if” question too often and fear making drastic life changes. I’m sure many will have something to think about and reflect upon their own lives after reading this. Thanks for sharing.

  62. Good read. I’m one of those, perhaps rare, that loves his career. I was fortunate to land my dream gig after moving up through other avenues first, so I’m here to stay until retirement at 50 or a little after. I do agree, if you are in a job that is severely lacking in areas, such as no retirement, matching 401k, or just generally horrible, it’s time to move on and find something you enjoy. Time is precious!

  63. Great read. I particularly like the concept of “time value of time” and agree totally. If one makes it to old age, there is a likelihood of being less mobile, not able/permitted to drive and generally not up to the challenge of moving countries. So I’m not waiting and doing it now. The mindset has moved from headline income, to net cash-flow, and from having stuff to enjoying life every day. And as you cannot take money with you, there will come a point in the inevitable glide path to death where one can happily spend the capital!

  64. It simply a question of choice. I’m currently paid to do something that I enjoy a lot. What is funny is that I’m really week paid for it, so let the fun continue !

    I also have some projects that unfortunately required money to be realized. It is true that if going to work was painful, the decision to continue to work to get a project realized will be questionable. Fortunately, it is not my case.

    In fact, there is date already established as being my last day of work at my current job. This is directly link with my project, so at a point of time, it will be one or the other.

  65. “Your Money or Your Life” one of my faves, changed my life!
    From that book I learned this: Your Money = Your Life Energy
    Once you have enough, choose freedom to do as you like.
    Nothing to fear but fear itself!
    Great article Jason!

  66. I agree with you that generally the more money people make the more they spend because they inflate their lifestyles dollar for dollar. However, my question was about those people that remain frugal even as they make more and more money. Specifically I was wondering what would happen if the car dealership where DM worked decided to double or triple his salary (not likely, I know). Would he still quit or stay OMY keeping his expenses low and funneling 50-100K extra into dividend paying stocks?

  67. Jason,

    Thank you for another insightful article. My only thoughts on OMYS is to have PURPOSE.

    I would encourage everyone to answer this simple question. “Who are you?”
    A lot of people would simply answer what their profession is…Doctor, lawyer, accountant, car dealer service rep, stay at home mom, etc.

    If your only answer to who you are is your profession, I believe you will have trouble in redefining yourself in your move to FI and away from work.

    I can define myself as a Husband, an accountant, a follower of Christ, an Aikidoist, a bicycle enthusiast, a kayaker, a gardener, a father, grandfather, and a son.

    I know for me that idle time is not good for me, I get depressed when I am out of work. So I know that when I retire, that I must have a plan and a structure as to “Who am I going to be?, and “What am I going to do with my life, what will be my new purpose?”

    Jason, I am glad you have found your purpose and mission and enjoyment in life. Writing, investing, becoming a husband and father.

  68. Few people enjoy their work but most feel an obligation to keep working till they hit retirement to make sure they receive all the benefits of a full pension which you don’t receive if you throw in the towel early. But it’s like the monkey with his fist in the coconut — you’re trapped by your own greed. If you’ve got enough money, I can’t understand anyone continuing work unless they loved what they were doing more than all the other stuff they *could* be doing.

  69. I “retired” a month ago at the age of 47, sold everything and moved to Portugal with my wife and two boys. I gave up a lot of salary, in the six figure range. But I have rental and dividend income to live on comfortably, not extravagantly, and I get to be a daily part of my boys’ lives as I watch them turn into men. My wife and I put in 5 years of planning to make this happen, and we got a little lucky with some investments. Life is too short. Just do it!

  70. Nice post Jason. Even though my blog says that my goal is to retire in 13 years, I am constantly looking at ways to shorten that timeframe. Early retirement is all about how much you value your time over the potential money would could be making. Love that you stated how MONEY CAN ALWAYS BE MADE, TIME CANNOT.

    Right now, I think I may be about to retire in 8-10 years, albeit not the same type of retirement I would have if I stay another 13 years as originally planned, but that is 3-5 years of my life I would have to live life as I please. You simply can’t put a price on that!

    Cheers to not succumbing to OMYS! 🙂 AFFJ

  71. Ditto on this. I am constantly trying to figure out how to retire early (or switch to a hobby I get enough income to support my family). I believe the office grind is actually shortening my life so if I don’t get out soon…

  72. Mantra,

    Great Post. A lot of people say they love their jobs, but would they do it for free? Working for free is true love. Anything less than that means it is worth going to their job in exchange for compensation. Which is much different. I am in the second category.

    I like my job and the 6 figure income is provides me, but I wouldn’t show up again if they did not pay me. The problem I have is I like my job enough to want to do it in some capacity, but I don’t like having to do it the 40+ hours a week for 48 weeks a year.

    For me the problem is there is a huge gap between spending your whole life doing something you don’t love versus not working in that field. I need to find something in between where I can work at what I like/love but at the pace and intensity that suits me. I have a lot of savings and could live off it partially ( i am 39), but in my line of work there aren’t part-time jobs.

    Any recommendations? BTW good timing moving back to Florida, last winter was horrible here. I live in Chicago and I know Michigan was about the same.

    Peter

  73. envisionhappy,

    I agree. Fear is incredibly powerful, but also incredibly limiting. But I also can’t personally speak from experience about being married with children. My significant other and I have plans to get married, and she has a son. But I don’t think that would change anything. If I could sustain us through passive income I would look at that the same as being able to sustain our lifestyle through W-2 income. Money is money. And enough is enough.

    Appreciate you stopping by. I hope you found some value in the post! 🙂

    Cheers.

  74. A-G,

    Yeah, I hear you there. And it’s unfortunate when those things that are being put off are activities or decisions that can substantally positively impact our lives.

    Preach it, brother! 🙂

    Take care.

  75. ST,

    Great question. I’ve been targeting about $20,000/year in dividend income. I believe that would cover all my expenses and then some, based on what I’m spending now. And I also believe that, if necessary, I could still trim a little fat and here. My spending will actually decrease fairly substantially by FI. My student loan payments will be gone and my $300 “car payment” is just an amortization of an all-cash car purchase.

    I hope that helps. 🙂

    Take care!

  76. insourcelife,

    I think you may have missed the essence of the article, my friend.

    You could extrapolate your numbers to any salary figure. $1 million per year. $1 billion per year. Etc. If I was making $250k/year instead of my $50k I would have quit even sooner, because I would have been able to save and invest even more money. In fact, I’d already be financially independent, regardless of my writing ventures. So my answer is that, no, money would not affect the decision. Enough is enough.

    It seems like you’re equating time with money, when I equate time with life. Time is worth far more than money, and to keep exchanging your valuable and dwindling time for more money once you already have enough is exactly what I’m recommending against.

    See here:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2014/05/enough-is-enough-you-can-always-make-more-money-but-you-cannot-make-more-time/

    And here:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2014/04/whats-the-bigger-sacrifice-living-below-your-means-or-working-for-most-of-your-life/

    Best regards!

  77. Forager,

    That’s fantastic there. It sounds like you found a fantastic balance between life, time, happiness, and money. And that’s really what I’m after. Financial independence is, in my opinion, the best way to achieve it. But I’m certainly enjoying walking down the yellow brick road a lot more these days after my decision to pursue writing on a full-time basis.

    It’s really all about being happy. If you love your job and you’d do it for free, then more power to you. But I think that’s probably pretty rare, and more often people are working mostly for the money.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  78. Nguyen,

    Hmm, that’s a good question.

    If I had a dream job opportunity right now before I’m financially independent, I would be all over it. But I’ve basically already found my own dream job in what I do now. Furthermore, having your own schedule (to a degree) is wonderful.

    But my answer would be no if we’re talking about 10-15 years from now when my passive income can already sustain my lifestyle. I would pass on that. I plan to continue writing, and perhaps expand on some of my work with a book once I’m FI. But taking a job just wouldn’t make sense to me. Too much life out there to explore. 🙂

    Cheers!

  79. Dan,

    That sounds like a pretty good plan there. And as I stated in the article, I agree that chasing after a healthy spread between passive income and expenses is an admirable goal and makes sense. However, “healthy spread” will naturally vary from person to person. I think 10-15% is reasonable, but some might want a little more.

    However, growing dividends should naturally allow you to watch your financial security grow as you age. If inflation stays at around 2-3% (as the Fed intends) and your dividend income grows above that level, then your margin of safety, or spread, would be growing anyway.

    But I hear you. Keep up the great work!

    Best regards.

  80. I don’t think at the moment I have any OMYS problems, but I have one more week, or perhaps month problems for sure. Always have a few things that I need or ought to do but I’m either too tired from work or just want to spend time doing other things. Sigh, one of these weekends, or maybe this one!

    On a side note, by delaying retirement to increase income you would be able to keep on investing every month if your income is high enough above your expenses. Which would make for a good reason/side hobby to keep writing about and research additional companies 🙂 What would be the fun if you could research good companies but never have the capital to buy them?!

  81. Philip,

    Thank you very, very much. I appreciate the kind words. I believe in what I’m writing about with all my heart and soul, so it’s a pleasure for me to share these concepts. 🙂

    Please stick around!

    Best regards.

  82. Mabel,

    That’s fantastic. You’re living the dream right there, to be able to do what you love. Congratulations. May you prosper at your new venture! 🙂

    Best regards.

  83. Zee,

    Haha. I need to take a ride in your delorean. 🙂

    I hear you on the healthcare uncertainties. And I’m sorry to hear about your parents’ health concerns. Always unfortunate.

    Life unfortunately can’t be quantified away, and one can only plan for the worst while hoping for the best. I wrote an article a while back explaining why I’m not particularly worried about healthcare expenses in (early) retirement. First and foremost, it looks like stress itself is a major contributor to many health issues. And I believe eliminating a stressful and time consuming full-time job will go a long way to reducing stress in my life, while also opening up more time for exercising and relaxing. In addition, I think my passive income will grow at an exponentially faster rate than my expenses, creating an ever-widening spread between income and expenses, which means by the time I’m an old man I’ll have a sufficient supply of excess income which would/could come in handy if I have unforeseen medical issues.

    Obviously, we can’t predict the future. But I think an early retirement can still be planned effectively enough to negate much of the risk associated with healthcare expenses. We’ll see! 🙂

    Best regards.

  84. Dan,

    I agree. I think resentment comes from a place of inner insecurity, which is a shame. All we can do is live our lives to the best of our abilities, and seek our own happiness and enrichment. Leading by example will hopefully inspire others to seek the same. 🙂

    Cheers!

  85. DivHut,

    Thanks for the great comment. I genuinely appreciate the support and kind words there.

    I’m doing my best to share these ideas and concepts which may cause others to question their own beliefs on life, time, money, and happiness. Once you discover the marginal utility of money, and realize that more money doesn’t really buy more happiness once you reach a base level, life becomes a lot easier. 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best wishes.

  86. SAD,

    That’s fantastic. I think you’re probably in a rare position, but a wonderful one as well. It’s great to get paid to do something you truly love and find a lot of personal value in. If you’d do it for free if you had to then you’re doing what you love. 🙂

    However, there’s a lot I love in life. I love exercising. I love writing. I love managing investments. But I think that if I were forced to go into an office for 40-50 hours per week, every week, I’d love these things a lot less. But being financially independent allows me to pursue all of these passions on my own schedule, to varying degrees. I quite enjoy that.

    Keep up the great work!

    Take care.

  87. Darryl,

    Sounds like you’ve figured out what you want out of life, and you’re chasing after it right now. Congratulations! 🙂

    I agree with you. The point of financial independence is to eventually enjoy that freedom. To save 40-70% of your net income for the rest of your life while toiling away to the end is, in my view, a horrible proposition. Where’s the value?

    I plan to enjoy the fruits of my labor quite early in life because you just don’t know what will happen down the road.

    Enjoy your fruits as well! 🙂

    Best wishes.

  88. Hemgi,

    Hey, if you’re in a position you thoroughly enjoy and you’re paid well then let the good times roll. But I’m glad to hear you have an exit plan in mind. As long as you don’t fear the unknown, then I’d say you should do well with the transition to FI. 🙂

    Take care!

  89. late bloomer,

    I agree. YMOYL changed my life as well. That was the first book I read when I decided to start changing my life. I’ll always hold it in high regard.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Cheers.

  90. The Aiki Trader,

    Absolutely. Couldn’t agree more.

    I wrote an article a long time ago about this phenomenon:

    https://www.dividendmantra.com/2013/02/who-are-you/

    If you lack an identity outside of your profession I think you’re going to be in for a hard time.

    Thanks for adding that. It sounds like you know who you are, but just need to explore some of those activities a bit more. I’ve found that the things I did before I quit my full-time job naturally expand a bit in regards to how much time I spend on them. So I write more. I investigate more potential investments. Etc. You might find the same with bicycling, kayaking, etc. 🙂

    And I’m glad I’ve found my purpose as well. I realized I had a far different purpose in life than just being a service advisor. Although, I don’t plan on having children, but I am excited to spend the rest of my life with my partner, Claudia.

    Cheers!

  91. Myles,

    Absolutely. It’s like ice cream. I love to eat a bowl. Give me two, and I might still enjoy it. But give me 10 bowls of ice cream and I’ll only end up sick. Greed can trap people who think more money will buy them more happiness, which just isn’t true.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Take care.

  92. Second Half,

    AWESOME! 🙂

    You’re the living embodiment of what I’m talking about here. That’s fantastic. I hope you enjoy your leap of faith into the unknown. Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.

    Thanks for adding that. Congratulations on your success!!

    Best wishes.

  93. AFFJ,

    I hope you can get there before your 13-year time frame. That would be fantastic.

    Sounds like you’ve got the right idea in mind, which means it’s unlikely you’ll succumb to OMYS. I wish you continued good fortune as you and your family march down that path. 🙂

    Best wishes!

  94. DFG,

    “I believe the office grind is actually shortening my life so if I don’t get out soon…”

    I can’t speak to your personal situation, but stress is definitely a silent killer. I feel like a completely different person after leaving the auto industry. I wish you luck exiting that stressful environment ASAP! 🙂

    Cheers.

  95. Peter,

    I agree! Doing something for free and doing it for any type of compensation is very, very different. I love writing, and I didn’t make much or any money from it for a long time. But I did it for the love of it. That’s very different from my work in the auto industry. I did that SOLELY for the money.

    If you could potentially live off of your income, why not try it? Are you afraid only of losing the six-figure income? If so, is fear holding you back? Do you have any interests outside of your job? Who are you? What do you enjoy? What would you love to do, if money weren’t an issue? I think if you start to answer these questions you’ll find yourself gravitating toward what you really want to do. I wish you luck! 🙂

    And I hear you on the weather. I read that this winter is supposed to be just as bad. Not fun!!

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Take care.

  96. Wisp,

    I hear you. We all have things we procrastinate on. I’m definitely “next week” when it comes to cleaning. 🙂

    Well, delaying retirement and continuing to work will indeed allow you more capital to buy more stocks. But once you have a portfolio that is large enough to spit out enough dividend income for you to live without working it makes no sense to me to continue working just to buy more stocks. At that point, I think one might have to question why they’re accumulating stocks in the first place. Is it just for the thrill of buying them and researching, or is it to actually live off of the passive income they can generate.

    Cheers!

  97. DivHut,

    I read that a while back actually. There’s a lot of research out there that continues to discuss this phenomenon, yet people continue to work and chase more money anyway. It’s a shame.

    Cheers!

  98. Thanks for your perspective! I see where you’re coming from but I guess my approach is a bit different. I want to become FI first and then make a leap into doing something that I really enjoy, whatever that may be as I haven’t found that just yet. The quickest way to get to FI is by keeping my current job which combines high income with a great life/work balance – a combination that’s difficult to find and very important to me now that we have a 2 year old running around. I don’t mind my job but I know it’s not what I’d want to do 10 years from now. If all goes well, I’ll be in a really good position to make that switch within the next 5-10 years. We shall see I guess!

  99. DM,

    I’ll wait until your follow up post to say more, but for now: congratulations. It’s always hard to tell what will make you happy, bit it’s usually a lot easier to know WHO makes you happy.

  100. DM,

    I have to agree with this acronym. There is a good chance I will suffer from this for awhile to make sure once I make the call I will be able to do it for good if needed. I might work part time or do something I enjoy, but if it is not fulfilling and I can make it without working then I will have to say have a nice day and spend my time elsewhere.

  101. DM,

    It’s been an interesting week in the market Jason, not sure if you’ve been seeing the crazy swings (wish Friday correlated with the rest of the week). I hope you, Bert and I have some capital ready in our holster to unleash here soon.

    I bet it’s been an amazing journey. You have pushed yourself to the limit. How do you feel about your car by the way? Do you know how many miles per month/week you’ve been on the road? Curious to see the amount you do vs me and see where I can tweak things. Thanks DM, talk soon.

    -Lanny

  102. Saw your note about Florida up above… congratulations! 🙂

    Also, think about yourself once you reach FI… do you think you’ll actually stop writing/inspiring others? My guess is not. As the “Early Retirement Police” often say, aren’t you still working, while others would say, he is just pursuing his passion. Too often the label ‘work’ gets applied to things that others might be entirely passionate about. A chef, who loves to cook, a writer, who loves to write, an investor, who loves to invest, etc.

    Well, enough philosophical stuff for the morning, enjoy your weekend!

  103. Charles,

    Thanks! I agree. Tough to always know whether the decisions we make in real time will make us happiest, but it’s usually quite easy to notice who in our life makes us the most happy. It’s unfortunate my eyes weren’t more open a few months ago, but we live, grow, and learn as we go. I’m just lucky I have an extremely understanding and wonderful partner! 🙂

    Cheers.

  104. SWAN,

    Have a nice day, indeed! 🙂

    And how much better of a day could you have then knowing that you’re sailing off into the sunset free as a bird?

    I’ve written about it extensively in the past, but it’s really about being flexible and having options. Knowing that you don’t necessarily have to roll into the office every day takes a lot of stress off you, which can make the finish line a lot easier to cross. Furthermore, it can make it easy to coast past that finish line a bit to build up a margin of safety. But continuing to work well past the point of necessity if you don’t truly enjoy it just for the sake of building an ever-larger portfolio is, in my opinion, a bad move.

    Best wishes!

  105. Lanny,

    Always an interesting time to be an investor. For me, it’s all exciting an interesting…whether the market is up or down. 🙂

    I’m not sure how much I drive in regards to mileage per week, but I’ve been driving WAY more than usual up in Michigan. Back in Florida I barely drove at all, and I’m looking forward to getting back to that situation. If I had to put a good guess together, I’d say I drive about 700 miles per month down there, on average. The occasional road trip will skew that upward a bit, but I’d say no more than 1,000 miles per month over the long haul. Looking forward to that again, as that means less than two tanks of fuel per month.

    Hope you’re having a great weekend over there!

    Best regards.

  106. W2R,

    Thanks! I’m looking forward to putting a post together on that probably tomorrow. I’m incredibly lucky I have such an understanding and supportive partner. She’s an incredible woman. She knows that I felt guilty about leaving my family behind back at 27 to pursue a better life. And I suppose I always carried that guilt with me. “What if I would have stayed?” “What memories did I leave behind?” “Will my niece grow up not knowing me?” But my focus has been incorrectly placed on the family I left behind, and not the family I built. And while I grew up in Michigan, my true home is now in Florida. I guess I just didn’t see the reality of it. But we live and learn.

    Yeah, I hear you on the IRP. I think part of it is a problem with the modern-day definition of the word “retirement”, where you no longer retire from a field of work where you must fulfill a quota of hours or work in exchange for enough money to sustain yourself so that you can pursue leisure, passions, and hobbies. Retirement as the media would have you believe is being old and playing golf. But it’s not about not pursuing passions that may pay you. It’s about doing what you want, regardless of whether or not it pays at all. A writer who loves to write will do it regardless of the money; I blogged for quite a while without any pay at all. Likewise, I want to do it because I want to do it, not because I have to do it. Big difference there. So while I’ll most likely continue to write and inspire well after I’m financially independent, I’ll be doing it on my terms.

    Having a great weekend over here. I hope you are as well! Thanks for stopping by.

    Best wishes.

  107. I wonder if you don’t miss the social interaction because you are living with family and having ample face-to-face communication with folks as a result. For example, would things be different if that wasn’t the case. Just a thought!

  108. W2R,

    Actually, that’s not really the case. They all have regular day jobs, so I mainly see them when they’re not at work. It’s just like any other family. My significant other, Claudia, works in the education field. So she’s gone all day, and I’ll see her in the afternoon, just like before. So I still have minimal human interaction during the day time, which, again, doesn’t really bother me. If it’s a choice between minimal human interaction during the daytime hours (9-5) and plenty of interaction during that time that involves competing, workplace rumors, the usual hierarchy that involves kissing up to management, pretending to like others you don’t really like, working with clients that aren’t particularly friendly, etc., then I guess I’ll take the former. 🙂

    Of course, not every work place is like that. Some people really like their co-workers. And some people are natural extroverts. But I’ve had quite a few jobs in my life and never really ran into a workplace that was particularly harmonious or so wonderful to be around that I’d be there even if I didn’t have to be.

    Cheers!

  109. Jason, another great article! You value time just as much as I do, since it is truly the most precious commodity! Too many people focus on the money, giving no thought to how their jobs are affecting their lives. And then to compound that, they spend most, if not all of the money they hold so dear. Go figure.The beauty of life is that there is no one size fits all answer. Congrats on your decision, I know it couldn’t have been easy.

    – HMB

  110. Jason, I guess I am just one of these people. I could stay home and not work but I still work… 🙂 Although I try to choose only projects I like or work with customers who close to my house. If I work just part time on projects I like, it’s actually enjoyable. It’s always nice to have an extra income plus I know I am very good in my profession, so I like to help people as long as they value and appreciate my input.

  111. Good for you Jason! A lot of people might get tore up inside if they decided that a decision they made wasn’t the right one. There is often a tendency to want our choices to have some element of permanence, however that permanence doesn’t bode will for the growth that naturally occurs (hopefully) as we live our lives and let our experiences shape our destines. Kudos my friend!

    I’m sure you will cover it in the upcoming post, but I’ll ask anyway. Are you still planning on writing full time or do you have other ideas? I hope whatever it is the writing continues to be a big part of it.

    All the best,
    The Stoic

  112. HMB,

    Thanks for stopping by. I agree people often value time and money disproportionately, and then wonder why, in old age, they have neither time nor money. It’s a shame, but such is life. I’m just doing my best to inspire others and spread the word that time is by far more valuable than money, especially once you have enough money to get by.

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Cheers!

  113. Happy,

    If you’re truly happy with your work and you derive a lot of value from it, then that’s great. My beef with OMYS is really targeted at those that are so obsessed with accumulating assets and building a buffer between income and expenses that they continue to work far past the point of reason.

    I appreciate conservatism, but there’s a point where it’s really unreasonable. Your income should organically grow all by itself, even as your spending increases due to inflation. That buffer will expand and expand with no work on your part. Time cannot be made, but money can. If you find a need to make a little more in the future there’s plenty of ways to do that. But fearing a workplace exit due to finances even though you have more than enough passive income to pay for expenses is just about as bad as those who work for the rest of their lives because they live paycheck to paycheck. What’s the point of building assets if you’re never going to live off of them and improve your life by increasing freedom? Working for the rest of your life is still working for the rest of your life, regardless of how much money you have in the bank. Time waits for no one.

    Best regards!

  114. Mike,

    Thanks so much!

    I agree; there is no real permanence in life. Life is actually rather quite impermanent. Thus, every day is a gift. And it’s also an opportunity to make sure you’re on the right path. I thought I made a solid choice by spending more time with family, but I made a huge mistake by overestimating just how far apart Claudia and I were in regards to life, money, happiness, and the future. We’re closer than I thought, which is wonderful. 🙂

    Oh, I still plan on writing. Nothing is changing in regards to how I work, only the location from where I do it. I’m looking forward to finishing things where they started, and I’ll be going over that a bit more in the very near future.

    Thanks as always for the support. I hope all is well over there!

    Best wishes.

  115. Love the exercise about how much you would pay for extra time. Time certainly is limited and there’s no getting it back. Great post.

  116. Great thought provoking article as usual!

    I don’t think OMYS is too bad…i see it as just postponing your plans!

    Chances are if you retire early, lots of people will know about it – your friends, family, ex-colleagues.

    There would undoubtedly be a certain amount of shame perhaps, or feeling of foolishness if someone were to have to return to full-time work after retiring early. After taking a break from working, whilst jobs won’t magically disappear, the job that you used to do may have moved on and may require training. As someone’s already mentioned, perhaps it’s different for younger folk becoming FI and whilst it’s not impossible for ‘old dogs’ to learn new tricks, it is just more difficult and employers may be more biased against taking on an older person who’s been out of the job market.

    I have a feeling that I will suffer from OMYS – I believe I will reach my target but upon reaching it, I will look at the social aspect, ie friends and family all too busy working to be around and I could end up continuing to work. The difference will be that working would now be my choice.

    Of course, if I no longer enjoyed my job, then it would also be my choice to stop working.

  117. weenie,

    Well, it’s hard to really come up with any one-size-fits-all solution, as some people enjoy what they do. However, I believe most people don’t truly enjoy what they do. Of course, some people have a hard time identifying themselves with anything outside of what they do, which I think is a shame. People should be more than their job.

    I don’t think it’s necessary to go back to what you were doing before you engaged in FI if things don’t work out. Generally speaking, if you were close enough to FI to give it a try that’s because you were saving substantial portions of your income. So you don’t need to go back to a job where you’re making a big income anymore. You just need enough to get by. No need to save 50-70% of your net income anymore; you just need to bridge a gap you didn’t know you had. However, I’ll restate that I find this scenario highly unlikely, unless there was some kind of unforeseen event or lifestyle change. And the margin of safety should build over time.

    I do hope you don’t suffer from OMYS when the time comes. Just because your friends and family are working doesn’t mean you have to. I personally don’t rely on others to make me happy. I’m just fine enjoying the rewards of my free time, even if others don’t have the foresight/vision necessary to have more free time of their own.

    Best wishes!

  118. I love to live frugal and it’s so hard to explain to people sometimes that the reason is not because I love money, it’s because it don’t. Early retirement is for people who don’t love money. It’s for people who love life. They love adventure, they love their family, they love their free time– they do not love money. Putting enough money away to do that can be hard and make you seem like a greedy scrooge– it doesn’t mean that you are one.

  119. wondrouslyweird,

    That’s one of the best comments I’ve ever had here. Great insight there. I agree completely. This lifestyle is definitely not out love for money; it’s out of love for time. It just so happens that money buys time, so we save as much money as we can to buy as much time as possible. Money is a tool, and it can buy just about anything. Whether you use it to buy a McMansion or freedom is up to you.

    But I also don’t love money. I play the game I play because it’s the best way I know possible to buy my freedom.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best wishes.

  120. I just try to work to get ahead. I will sacrifice now to be done sooner. I did that in college and finished 4 years in 2 to get out and start earning instead of sitting in a classroom. The only issue now is I have a job that I really enjoy so I don’t mind going to work and the pay is excellent. I call it a retirement job because of the flexibility and pay. It doesn’t make me want to hurry and quit. It fits all my desires. I’d still like to retire early, but it isn’t too big of rush since life is pretty darn good. All I am looking to do is be happy and I’m already there.

  121. Lance,

    Well, this journey to FI is all about happiness. But there’s nobody saying you have to be miserable on your way there. It’s quite possible to be happy now while you save for the future as well. I know I’m certainly in such a wonderful position, as I’m writing full-time and quite enjoying my journey. However, that doesn’t mean the end goal isn’t worthwhile. Life can change, and I want the flexibility to do whatever I want. Furthermore, there’s no way to tell what will happen in 5, 10, or 20 years. Being financially ready for any situation in life is really a fantastic spot to be in.

    Best regards.

  122. I’ve always been a planner, not a doer. I’m personally worried about OMYS because my personality says, “We can make this plan better. We can optimize this. We can make this margin safer. We can….” and it never lends itself into actually putting a plan into action. I’m saving, I’m on the track…. but I’m unsure what will happen when I get to the last stop. Will I just sit on the train and keep riding for one more year. AH!

    WE#1

  123. WE#1,

    I think you would be served well by really figuring out what it is you want to do with your time. How do you identify yourself? Who are you? What do you enjoy doing? If money weren’t a concern, how would you spend your time?

    I bet if you take the time to really figure out what you want out of life (besides all the optimizing and saving) you’ll end up a lot closer to true freedom.

    Best regards!

  124. Jason – Congrats for leaving your job!!!! I haven’t visited your site in almost a year so I’m just now reading about it. I knew you could do it & make even better money if you focused on building an online business around your blog. So I’m happy for you that you took the plunge. I’m just curious – are you already retired & living off of your dividends or already making enough to maintain your current lifestyle? Either way, good for you! Way to go, Jason!

    Emma

  125. Emma,

    Thanks for the kind words! I really appreciate it. The support has been really incredible. I’m fortunate to be in this position, and I’m making the most of it! 🙂

    We’ll see where things from here. I’m doing well with freelance writing, and that’s definitely making up the bulk of my income right now. I’m not financially independent or “retired” yet because my dividend income doesn’t fully cover my expenses (I’m about 33% or so of the way there), but I’ve just simply replaced my dealership income with writing income. So everything is the same. I’m still trying to save half of my net income and I continue to put those savings to work every month. Life is good!

    I hope you stay in touch. And I hope your journey is going very well over there.

    Best regards.

Leave a Reply