Early retirement

Of course I agree, it is a change, and chane takes effort... that's obvious

But if it takes A LOT OF EFFORT to fill your life & days without needing to turn up to work out of financial need, tells me we are a bunch of lifeless beings

- what else does it suggest to you ?

Actually, it tells me school and society trains us to be workers. Obviously very successfully.
 
Actually, it tells me school and society trains us to be workers. Obviously very successfully.

And results in us needing to feel enslavened to debt to be happy in our lives, in jobs we probably don;t like, otherwise we find it reallly really hard to live our lives happily....... sounds a bit sad to me
 
Indeed. University, schools etc all enforce the mindset that we have to be 'promoted', do a 'good job' for others etc. Get better educated to get a higher salary (as if!)
 
Indeed. University, schools etc all enforce the mindset that we have to be 'promoted', do a 'good job' for others etc. Get better educated to get a higher salary (as if!)

Aaron,

That's a bit off topic.

But is that wrong ? Can a highschool drop-out who can't read or count get a better job than someone qualified to do a higher high paying job ?

Some CEO's suggests going to school is not a bad idea either - are they wrong ? coudl they have got the jobs they did without passing school and having the qualaifciations to go into the jobs leading up to them ?

But we were discussing retiring and I thought if waht Alex says is true, we are a sad bunch of people (who think we are better than the rest of the world in oih so many ways).

Put it this way, if I had the choice, I would take it, I don't even see the supposed "problem" that Alex raised, so what, you deal with it like you deal with anything else in life today, it's not like life is blisffully perfect today and you're gonna upset it, if it ws, you wouldn't be thiknning of retiring in any way shape or form anyway - just like you deal with getting up when you dont want to after the first snooze on the alarm on Monday morning now... I can't see the "bigger burden".
 
(although they might have to work hard, not buy any fishing boats, and avoid the drug-fuelled week-long prostitute+booze binges allegedly common among the fly-in fly-out workforce.)

Again, I am laughing my a$$ off.

You guys should start a comedy routine to generate some cashflow!
 
And results in us needing to feel enslavened to debt to be happy in our lives, in jobs we probably don;t like, otherwise we find it reallly really hard to live our lives happily....... sounds a bit sad to me

Interesting.
maybe we need to work as hard at our 'hobbies' as we do our jobs! I plan to continue to work on the farm, not because I have to, but because I enjoy it. Though it does ring true to what you say above, jaycee!
 
Aaron,

That's a bit off topic.

But is that wrong ? Can a highschool drop-out who can't read or count get a better job than someone qualified to do a higher high paying job ?

Some CEO's suggests going to school is not a bad idea either - are they wrong ? coudl they have got the jobs they did without passing school and having the qualaifciations to go into the jobs leading up to them ?

But we were discussing retiring and I thought if waht Alex says is true, we are a sad bunch of people (who think we are better than the rest of the world in oih so many ways).

Put it this way, if I had the choice, I would take it, I don't even see the supposed "problem" that Alex raised, so what, you deal with it like you deal with anything else in life today, it's not like life is blisffully perfect today and you're gonna upset it, if it ws, you wouldn't be thiknning of retiring in any way shape or form anyway - just like you deal with getting up when you dont want to after the first snooze on the alarm on Monday morning now... I can't see the "bigger burden".

I know it was a little off-topic. Point is the previous poster was talking about how we are trained to be enslaved to debt - which is linked to our education system about 'getting a job' etc. Not saying it is wrong, just saying that is what it is.
 
I'm with Jaycee on this one. Working for The Man can be rewarding - even acceptably satisfying - but can it ever replace having the freedom and dignity of working for yourself?

That's the issue here that I think a lot of self-employed people are possibly overlooking.

While business life's just as tough - or most likely even more tough - being self-employed, it's just got to be a lot more enjoyable overall.

That's why I think getting to the point of Not Working For The Man is such a priority for people like me.

I like working. I really do get a kick out of it. But doing it under someone else's rules (or, more commonly, with their random interference) is simply not a fulfilling way to work.

Being your own boss must offer a more enjoyable lifestyle, surely?
 
A year and a half into working for myself I couldnt even contemplate going back. Don't miss company politics, pointless performance reviews, and irrational managers. Now if only I could get rid of demanding customers life would be perfect!

Jason
 
I'm with Jaycee on this one. Working for The Man can be rewarding - even acceptably satisfying - but can it ever replace having the freedom and dignity of working for yourself?

That's the issue here that I think a lot of self-employed people are possibly overlooking.

While business life's just as tough - or most likely even more tough - being self-employed, it's just got to be a lot more enjoyable overall.

That's why I think getting to the point of Not Working For The Man is such a priority for people like me.

I like working. I really do get a kick out of it. But doing it under someone else's rules (or, more commonly, with their random interference) is simply not a fulfilling way to work.

Being your own boss must offer a more enjoyable lifestyle, surely?

It's definitely more enjoyable. Do what I want, when I want to. Have meetings for 10 minutes rather than long, drawn out 2 hour marathons from people who want to get their 2 cents in to show how intelligent they are...

Of course it is more difficult to get the money in but it's worth it
 
'Retiring' temporarily is one thing. Retiring 'forever', quite another.

It actually takes a lot of effort to fill your day if you don't have the structure of a job or business.


Like a hand being pulled out of a bucket of water, it doesn't take long for things to fill the void....to the point you wouldn't even notice where the hand originally was.


I've found retiring forever is just a concept anyway. Most Australians are so incredibly wealthy, they could easily pull the pin if they haven't (a) hocked themselves up to the eyeballs, or (b) got a life partner who's a complete spendthrift.
 
I could possibly 'retire' right now, 4 years into investing. But I would not want to do that. In my experience, we find that we just keep looking at more and more, we want a really nice house, not just a mediocre one. Why stop working when you could retire with much more than you currently have at 30 years of age? I can take what I call 'mini retirements' but thats just optional, I have continued to work because I'd like a much better life for my Family. Not just a mediocre one.


The simple answer to that question is the simple truth that whatever you do to occupy your time when 'retired' generates way more cashflow than when you were working.


It was a very scary proposition to leave the comfort of the paypacket and 'discover life' without it....now the activities performed generate multiple paypackets and the prospect of not doing those to return to a paypacket seems illogical now.


It hits home when you catch up for lunch with former work colleagues, and they all "have to" scurry back to work for fear of upsetting their boss. Doesn't matter about their rank in the organisation...they all act the same. It's been 4 years since leaving them, and they all still act the same and they all depend totally on the paypacket. They have no plan of escape, and will surely be there when I drop in to visit in 20 years time.
 
The simple answer to that question is the simple truth that whatever you do to occupy your time when 'retired' generates way more cashflow than when you were working.


It was a very scary proposition to leave the comfort of the paypacket and 'discover life' without it....now the activities performed generate multiple paypackets and the prospect of not doing those to return to a paypacket seems illogical now.


It hits home when you catch up for lunch with former work colleagues, and they all "have to" scurry back to work for fear of upsetting their boss. Doesn't matter about their rank in the organisation...they all act the same. It's been 4 years since leaving them, and they all still act the same and they all depend totally on the paypacket. They have no plan of escape, and will surely be there when I drop in to visit in 20 years time.

Amen to that. I was forced out of the paypacket regime but I am so thankful in the end.
 
I don't like sounding negative but I can see a couple of problems in your strategy...

You've stated you'll use a cashbond to overcome serviceability issues. I presume you'd need to borrow against your equity to purchase the cashbond. This could be a bit difficult if you've run out of serviceability. It could be managed and timed (borrow the money for the cashbond prior to running out of serviceability), but you may find it difficult to find lenders who'll recognise a cashbond as contributing to your serviceability long term. What happens after five years when the bond expires? Lenders are starting to think longer term these days...

Assuming you do get to the point where you've got lots of equity, it's almost impossible to borrow money without suitable income streams. If you're negative or neutrally geared, lenders simply won't allow you to borrow against your equity any more. If your employment history shows you're ducking in and out of jobs whenever you want to borrow more, lenders probably won't want to talk to you either.

The Cashbond strategy and Living Off Equity strategy were developed under very different economic, lendin
g and regulatory conditions to what we face today. They are still valid for a very narrow group of investors but if you're in this group you probably don't need these strategies, you just use them to give your investments a boost.

Here's an alternate strategy to consider...

Buy property, add value, get good rental returns and create equity. You probably will hit a road block at some point, but this can be a good time to take stock of what you're doing.

If you've bought well, eventually rents and incomes increase and you'll get through the roadblock. Look at alternate stategies like commercial properties or even equities markets to help. Educate yourself.

With time and good decisions, eventually you'll find yourself with a lot of equity. Reconsider your strategy. You might be better off to sell some properties, pay the capital gains taxes and pay down debt. This might enable you to live very comfortably off the rent from the remaining properties.

Consider selling properties and moving the moeny into tax advantaged structures such as insurance bonds and superannuation. Put it into asset classes which may not have as much capital growth, but better income yields.

In the meantime keep educating yourself and do your due dilligence well.
This strategy is one that resonates with me Peter. If you are a high payg income earner then things start to become painful when you get the positive gear income kick in. I am currently looking at going down to 3day weeks from Nov in order to transition.
 
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