That’s basically what most of the frugality folks are trying to do. They stress financial independence more than retiring early. The more excess money you have the more freedom you have: freedom from stress, from worry, from being obligated to work a job you hate for a boss you despise.
Also a million bucks is more than enough for a frugal person to comfortably semi-retire imo. 4% rule gives you 40k a year at a low tax rate (capital gains and dividend taxes should be minimal at 40k/year). Pick up a part time job making ten bucks an hour and that’s another 10k. That’s more than a lot of these frugality people are living on currently, even after you drop 500 bucks a month on Obamacare.
On the flip side I work with a guy who’s probably 65, has worked for the university for 40+ years. I asked him why he doesn’t just retire on 100% (or close) of his salary for life - which has been available to him since 30 years of service I think.
He said this is his family and it’s all he knows. Which I don’t know if that’s sad or sweet. But the weird thing is he does budgeting and mostly works by himself - based on directives from the big boss who works a mile away on campus. He rarely interacts with anyone from what I’ve seen. I guess whatever works for him.
I knew someone who did so well in his banking job he retired at 37 to play poker online and spend more time with his young kids.
Sounds like a great plan, right?
Wrong.
His wife divorced him because she no longer had the same status as before, then BF happened and he stopped wining at poker, while his attempts to win his wife back by reluctantly going back into the banking sector failed because employers didn’t understand why he’d leave a job that was paying £400k pa (his money-grubbing wife wouldn’t take him back on a normal salary).
I’ve been watching YouTube, but yeah, some of the people just look like models. I’m like “really? really? this incredibly beautiful 21 year old woman is living in a van on the streets by herself?” Some of the people seem real though. I don’t know any of these newfangled vanlyfe people, but my M-in-Law’s 2nd husband (who I knew well) lived in a step van for 8 years, two guys who worked with me lived on little boats, and a friend of mine lives in an airstream trailer (right on the beach in the central coast and loves it). They could all pass as having real homes. And after watching a bunch of those videos I’m just seeing vans and such everywhere that are likely stealth camping. Obviously near the beach is going to be prime for such people - and I’m not talking about the huge numbers of destitute people living in broken down RVs and cars filled with trash. (like Venice or all over LA)
I quit my job to play poker and raise children. It actually went fine except I grew to hate poker. I spent a ton of time with my kids when they were little. I went broke in solar, not poker.
I suspect a lot of couple’s relationships are based on a certain set of circumstances (IE - he makes a lot, or they don’t see each other that often, or she has most of the alone time with the kids, etc.) - and once you change those variables the relationship doesn’t work anymore.
