Comments on: The First Step, is Understanding that “Working” Isn’t a Bad Thing

By: Liz @ Splurging on Freedom

Liz @ Splurging on Freedom — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 05:13:29 +0000

In reply to Ann.

Hi Ann, I’m so glad you like this post! Thank you for the insight on Larry Kotlikoff as well, I found that to be very interesting, and I completely agree with you. Not everyone would be able to afford the kind of education that he received. Not everyone would be able to find such high-paying jobs. And not everyone would be able to rise through the ranks and eventually call the shots. A great many of us would be stuck in less well-paying jobs and wouldn’t have much opportunity for climbing the ladder. In which case, would it even be worthwhile to stick it out in the workforce, being miserable every single day of our lives?

That’s why I want to write posts about encouraging people to follow their dreams, once they have a good cushion of savings or don’t have to rely on a corporate job. We only have one life, it’s up to us to live our very best lives.

I’m not from the US, but where I come from, the government does subsidise healthcare to ensure that it’s affordable for everyone. I also plan on getting my own health insurance in the near future, which I believe would cost me only $50 a month for the premium, because I’m only 25 this year. I’ve never heard of anyone paying $30,000 for an insurance premium – that is an insane amount of money! It’s terrible how you guys are trapped in your corporate jobs just because of the health insurance. I hope they iron out these issues soon. (I hope I answered your questions about healthcare adequately. I’m not too familiar with health insurance and healthcare because it’s not something I think about much. I definitely would have to soon though!)

By: Ann

Ann — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 21:14:28 +0000

Hi Liz, this is a great post. Larry Kotlikoff, a professor who has a column on Social Security questions, used to advise readers that in order to delay taking SS they should just keep working, forget retirement! I found this attitude to be remarkably privileged. It’s myopic for someone with a well-paid job where he can call all the shots to say Hey, why would you want to leave the workforce? It shows that he didn’t understand about all the things you have mentioned in your posts: the drudgery of waking up early, hauling yourself to the office (when the work could have been done remotely but Oh, we don’t allow that here), etc. In his case, he didn’t mean the same thing you mean, which I think is to encourage people to think about what they might want to do once they don’t have to earn money by working for someone else.

Do you happen to live in a country that has universal healthcare? Those of us who had the misfortune of being born in the US often work at corporate jobs because those jobs supply decent, affordable health insurance. I think there are a lot of us who would give up their corporate job if health insurance were not an issue. I recently read an article about a couple who do not yet qualify for Medicare, but who are in their 60’s. Due to the high deductible in their insurance, they are out-of-pocket $55,000 per year before their insurance kicks in (I’m guessing at least $30,000 of that is just the insurance premium).

By: Liz @ Splurging on Freedom

Liz @ Splurging on Freedom — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 13:31:46 +0000

In reply to 5am Joel. I'm so glad to hear that you've come to that realisation, and that you enjoy your work! It must have taken a lot of time and effort to get to where you are today, being good at what you do. I hope you fulfill all your wildest dreams after FI :)

By: 5am Joel

5am Joel — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 06:02:20 +0000

Love this. I definitely fell into the trap of idealizing ‘retirement’. But soon after leaving my job, I realized work isn’t the enemy. I like work. I like HARD work. I’m good at it! I’m good at a lot of things. I want to do more after FI, not less!