Financial freedom, early retirement, low material desires, no consumption, and a minimalist life. Do you think this is good?

We are in this situation now, early retirement, I am 45 years old this year. Because my health is not good, I don’t want to work as hard as I did when I was young. We are living a simple life now. I have been traveling around in a second-hand RV for the past two years. The monthly expenses are only three to four thousand.

Regarding financial expenses, we are relatively self-disciplined, which can also be said to be frugal and stingy. No matter how much our income is, our monthly expenses are very stable, around three to four thousand yuan, even when we travel.

Many people around me cannot understand how we can spend so little money. In fact, the quality of life is not bad. Our characteristic is that we don’t spend money on face. Never buy luxury goods or high-end cosmetics. It’s okay if the clothes are comfortable and fit well.

Retiring early is also to make up for it. I have been working hard for more than 20 years and almost never took a break. Retiring early can give you enough time to do the things you like to do, such as living in an RV, traveling, and doing self-media. Nowadays, I spend a lot of my free time on self-media every day, posting pictures, texts and videos. My income is almost negligible, but I like this.

I feel that people should be considered very happy if they can reach the point where they don’t work for money, but for fun. Our husband and wife have very similar personalities, and we both prefer this simple life. We also want to set an example so that our daughter can live a life that is not tiring or stressful like ours.

Of course not everyone is like us, otherwise the economy will go backwards. Minimalist life should be suitable for people over 50 years old. After working hard for half a life, start enjoying life as soon as possible.

This kind of money can only be said to be enough money for retirement, but it cannot be called financial freedom.

I feel good and have been practicing a simple life for a long time.

I have no financial freedom and will retire on time at the age of sixty. In addition to meeting his own daily needs, the pension also needs to support his elderly mother and subsidize the family (mainly books and toys needed by his grandson). Low material desires, low consumption, live a simple life, eat light food; work at sunrise and rest at sunset; love nature and advocate frugality.

Eat: one egg, one carton of milk, two pieces of fruit, half a pound of whole grains, two pounds of various vegetables, two to three ounces of chicken, duck, and fish every day. No other seasonings are needed except oil, salt, ginger, onion and garlic. I'm from Sichuan, but I don't eat spicy food, let alone smoke or drink.

Wear: Pure cotton is best. Clothes worth more than 200 yuan are luxurious enough.

Accommodation: I live in a small town in the western suburbs of Chengdu, very close to Dujiangyan. A house of 100 square meters is fully functional.

Travel: Daily subway, bus, bicycle and walking; for long distance travel, take airplane, economy class or train. I don’t like the so-called “tourism” with huge crowds of people, but I want to live in the south in winter.

Concept of money: If you don’t bring it in life, you won’t take it with you in death; excess is useless, just use enough.

Concept of happiness: health, happiness, contentment, gratitude to society, and kindness to others.

Outlook on life: Continuous self-improvement and virtue.

World view: Take things as they come and go with the flow.

At the age of thirty-six, I also retired early.

When I was 33 years old, when the company was listed on the New OTC Market and the Growth Enterprise Market, I had this idea after selling the shares.

This is based on the fact that the economy should be very independent. Anyway, as long as I don’t gamble, my cash will be enough for my family of five to spend for a lifetime.

There are three houses in China and four houses abroad.

Semi-retirement plan.

Later, when I got married and had children, it was complete.

There are also two trading companies, both of which have professional managers. The trading directors also have their own business capabilities. They only use my platform, and the profit is also 7:3, they are 7:3, and I am 3:3. All my previous clients were given to them. We have three most stable clients. Every year when we are on vacation, or I go to the United States to play golf with each other.

, Kraft's, Sensient's, Abbott's.

In China, they don’t come to me either.

The only one who is still working is the head of the China Department of a semi-governmental chamber of commerce abroad.

There are only five meetings a year. Connect with the Petersburg Economic Forum. It only took one day to go to Boao. Work less than 80 days a year.

Then there is plenty of time, which is consistent with semi-retirement.

Here comes the painful point.

The first three years of semi-retirement were really boring and I didn’t know what to do. Watching my wife and sisters busy around, sometimes I get bored too.

Only raising fish, raising dogs, playing Lego, and writing calligraphy. (Basically stay at home), read news online, play Zhihu, occasionally criticize keyboard warriors, and criticize friends’ new cars and watches. The only thing that can basically be done is in the study room.

I don’t have any social activities, I don’t drink much, I only drink red wine and whiskey occasionally, and two cigars a week. No partying at all. No mahjong, no playing cards. Smoking a hookah in the garden is more about form than content.

The number of WeChat friends increased from 300 at work to 30 selected ones now.

Three mobile phone numbers, basically no one can find me. The only way to find me is by looking for my wife and my brother (a college classmate and assistant).

The only time this is possible is when family members are traveling.

I am still willing to do travel planning, this kind of work that I didn’t like at all before.

ps:

Things have gotten better recently. As soon as the epidemic broke out, my nephew came to live in my house and I took online classes with him every day. . Tell your daughter a story.

Summary

The suggestion is that no matter how rich and free you are, don’t retire like this before the age of forty-five.

Parents are in trouble. It is not good for the elders to see their daughter-in-law busy here and there and their son taking a break.

They always suggested that I become a teacher or something part-time.

It’s okay for my wife to be under little pressure, but she’s under a lot of pressure. For example, her design drafts haven’t been very easy to sell recently, and she has a lot of backlog of clothes? The weather is not good for outdoor shooting!

Even if it’s empty, it means I’m relaxed and asked me to pack it for her! Make a ppt!

They are tired. You are the most leisurely person in the family. Whatever you do is right.

Changes in oneself. From a very busy person to a person who can direct the whole family at will. The gap is huge. It's still a trivial matter.

When you are semi-retired, you should at least have a cafe. This is the kind of place where you have something to do every day to pass the time. Even if it’s just a few friends drinking tea at a fixed time, that’s fine. It doesn’t matter if you don’t make money.

In fact, whether to retire early mainly depends on whether you love the career you are engaged in. If you don't love it, you won't want to do it for a day.

During the year of the bank’s major reform, I myself took the initiative to withdraw internally many times! The leader talked to me 6 times, but I still persisted.

First, because my family’s finances are a bit tight, although my husband is an official, I am the person in charge of the corporate business department of a bank. Both of them are clean and have only one child, but they are unable to study abroad, forcing me to go to work;

Secondly, although I am not disgusted with the profession yet, the pressure is indeed high, the income is low, and I am under the supervision of others. . I put all my energy into my work. In 2000, my monthly salary was only more than 2,000 yuan. If I wanted to be greedy, there were many opportunities, but I couldn't cross my bottom line. Even if I was promoted to vice president, my salary at that time would not be much more than mine? Now the annual salary is several hundred thousand;

Thirdly, most of the female leaders in banks have retired to the second line when they are over 50 years old and do nothing. Even if they have a not low annual salary now, I personally think it is a waste of life!

Based on the above, we firmly demand early withdrawal! After going to sea, I started all over again. After hard work, I basically achieved financial freedom.

You are not retired yet, work when you want to work, and enjoy life when you don’t want to work! I don’t agree with minimalist life!

Fight when you should struggle, and enjoy when you should enjoy. Minimalism is meaningless

I am 40 years old this year. I finished all my work before the Spring Festival, rented a farmhouse in a small village outside the North Sixth Ring Road, and started my rural life.

How much money does it take to be financially free? Most middle-aged people who have worked hard in the city can basically calculate it according to my standards: the cost of living in rural areas.

In the countryside, you don’t need to wear a fancy suit, bring a Rolex, or buy abalone and lobster, as long as you have a heart to return to nature.

The prerequisite for being able to do this is that you have let go of your pursuit of fame and fortune, especially your desire for material things, and you have figured out why you are alive.

This kind of life is not the last resort. For a person like me who is a bit idealistic and impulsive, this is an ideal that has always been out of reach: bathing in the sunshine every morning, The open kitchen of the sunroom with the roof covered with grape branches, leaves and roses makes breakfast facing the colorful courtyard. After breakfast, we feed the chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, cats and sheep. We also raise some fish in the fish pond in the yard. I want to eat myself. Catch two and make an aquaponics system. When I have nothing to do, I will sit barefoot on the lounge chair listening to music and soaking up the sun. If I want to exercise, I will eat the organic vegetables and peonies, peonies and roses in the yard. On the weekend, we invited friends from both families over for a drink. After drinking too much, we chatted about the vast world. After drinking too much, we fell asleep. The men lived in the same room and the women lived in the same room. Before leaving, they brought some fresh organic vegetables picked in the yard. Go to the mountain to find some stone tree roots. If you have an idea, make a stone bonsai. If you don't have an idea, just look at it in a daze. There is an oven in the yard. If you are hungry, you can roast a lamb. When you are free, you can bake bread. Study the cooking and taste of a hundred kinds of chicken, try to cook all kinds of duck, there is only one kind of goose, stew it in an iron pot. In the summer evenings, you should be able to cook kebabs with cold beer on the roof, and in the winter, you should be able to stew bones in the sunshine in the sunroom.

Is there no pursuit in rural life? As long as you think about it, there are challenges everywhere: water circulation in the yard, garbage recycling, and ecological livability are no small challenges. Rainwater is collected, domestic water is filtered, the water for watering vegetables must be fish pond water, and artificial rainfall is required in the yard every day in summer. Domestic waste must be fermented to make organic fertilizer. The sunroom cannot be hot in summer, and mosquitoes cannot bite legs in the yard at night. Landscape lights are all solar-powered, and a yard is a closed ecological circle. Too idealistic? I'm trying various solutions. If I can't score one solution, I'll try all the solutions. This is another kind of rural life and attitude towards life, which is worth my efforts.

Some people say that rural areas with money are pure land, and rural areas without money are pure land. I really beg to differ. Those who have money may become industrial waste in the countryside. At most, they can move urban scenes to the countryside. Those who have no money may not be able to work neatly and in style. If everything is measured by money, how can there be art and beauty? ? In the eyes of some people, soil is filth, while in the eyes of others it is a source of nutrition. The difference between the two lies in perspective and perception. The Loess Plateau is full of soil. Is there any beauty in it?

How much does such a life cost per month? Well. . . . . Maybe it’s not as much as the price of a meal when you’re sitting in a spotless marble hotel with a handful of dishes on plates of different shapes, or even less than the price of the person sitting across from you who can’t see what’s on his feet. What kind of shoes do you have and how much does that shoe cost?

Hahaha, I feel like this question is talking about me. I am 41 years old and have not worked for a few years. Because I have diabetes and my body cannot bear the fatigue, so I do cross-border work at home. The monthly income varies from 5,000 to 12,000. The income is not high, and I want to be free and stress-free.

My wife and I own two houses, a car, and a small house for rent. We have no loan pressure and our monthly expenses are only about 2,000. Because of diabetes, my wife controls my diet very strictly. She also has bad teeth, so she rarely eats or drinks out. Our usual hobbies are to study food at home, she watches TV dramas, and occasionally goes out for self-driving trips. This is basically what we spend on.

So far, I think it’s pretty good. In the end, one’s life must be lived for oneself. After all, there are only a few people who stand out, and most people’s lives are very ordinary. Whether you want to take chicken blood or drink chicken soup is your choice. All I want is not to argue with others or get angry with others in my life. This is what ordinary people are like.

I am a minimalist with very low material desires. Not counting rent, my living expenses do not exceed 1,000 yuan. When I was working in Wuxi, my monthly salary was 2,500 yuan, and I was able to save 3 yuan a year. 10,000, since food, clothing, and accommodation are provided by my employer, so I only need to pack one suitcase for my luggage all year round. I am now 33 years old, and all my clothes cost less than RMB 300. I only need two sets of clothes every season. The advantage of this kind of life is that I have a lot of time to do the things I like. When I have a break, I can take the bus to go around, and I can spend a day in a bookstore. I feel happy easily.

But when I got married, my partner was not a minimalist, and I couldn’t change my wife’s living habits. In order for my children and my wife to have a good life in the future, I should be a good husband and father. Due responsibility, and to enable me to live a carefree life in advance, I started financial management and investment. I now start a business and open a cake shop. The money I earn will be invested in real estate. After five years of hard work, I now have passive income. It is 100,000 per year. My goal is to achieve a passive annual income of 200,000 before the age of 40, retire early, buy an RV to travel around, rent a house in the countryside, and enjoy rural life.

On the other hand, some of my friends think that when they are young, they travel, buy luxury goods, and buy cars. These things will only depreciate. Many people find that when they get older and their earning power decreases, they find that the struggle is worth it. I have saved almost nothing and wasted my youth.

So believe me, minimalist living and reasonable financial investment will definitely make you happy for a long time and live a very relaxed life.

I am in this situation now, and I have already retired myself.

I am 56 years old and have 48 months to officially retire. He resigned from a listed company years ago and is idle at home. Now it can be said to be a low-level financial freedom, with a passive income of hundreds of thousands a year. My personal consumption desire is not very high. I feel that the money is enough for the old couple to live on. In addition, the work is not comfortable, so I retired early. But I have to pay pension insurance for another four years, and I don’t have much money. It’s only tens of thousands of yuan for four years.

Desires are endless and life has a limit. Live in the moment and enjoy life.

Financial freedom means early retirement, low material desires and no consumption, and a minimalist life. Do you think this is good?

Chunqiuer whispered: Okay! Very good!

No matter where the subject is now, no matter his age, no matter whether he is male or female. Now I feel like I have achieved financial freedom. Moreover, the material needs are not high and if one can live a minimalist life, then one can retire early. The retirement mentioned here is relative retirement, although you no longer have to go to work on time. But the human brain cannot retire, and the body cannot retire.

On September 10, 2019, 55-year-old Jack Ma announced his retirement. Jack Ma must have achieved financial freedom. Although Jack Ma does not work for Alibaba and is not involved in Alibaba's management, he does not live a life of seclusion in the countryside. He still often participates in various public welfare affairs. For example, during the Wuhan epidemic, Jack Ma personally donated 100 million Yuan to fight against coronavirus pneumonia.

Chunqiuer’s Whispers: The questioner’s financial freedom and retirement are relative. Why do you say this? Let’s talk about it from several aspects.

1. Achieving financial freedom

1. Financial freedom means that the subject should have a house to live in and a certain amount of savings to support daily expenses.

2. The subject does not have to go to work. Previous investments include renting out shop floor space, renting out certain real estate, regular interest income from banks, dividend income from financial management and shareholding, etc.

3. Have intellectual property rights, such as patent rights, copyrights of published books, etc.

4. Someone in the family may provide financial support to the subject. He does not have to go out to work or do anything, and he can also have financial security so that he can live the life he wants.

2. Low material desires and no consumption

1. Low material desires. The subject of the question does not have high material needs, but this does not mean that there are no material needs.

Although some materials can be saved, such as clothes and commonly used daily necessities, they can be recycled. Try not to buy new ones, but some necessities such as underwear, socks, etc., and some daily necessities are irreplaceable and there is a need to buy new ones. The only thing you can do is make the best use of them and use them for as long as possible.

2. I think it is absolutely impossible not to consume. Food, vegetables, fruits, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, water, electricity, communications, Internet, gas, etc. that we eat every day. This is the minimum basic consumption for human life. The money will always have to be spent.

3. The subject may find a paradise with beautiful mountains and green waters, where he can eat and drink and be self-sufficient. Grow your own food, vegetables, and fruit trees. Raise your own chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, etc., generate your own electricity, and burn the straw from crops. This can only be said to consume as little as possible. Is it okay not to buy a generator? Is it okay not to buy simple daily necessities that are basic to daily life, such as pots, bowls, ladles and basins? Is it okay not to buy toilet paper and lighters?

3. Minimalist life

1. A minimalist life can control one's own desires and is not influenced by the complex interpersonal relationships of the world. It has a strong resistance to the temptation of the world. The ability to seduce. Live a simple Buddhist life with no desires or desires. Minimalism is not nothing, but another kind of wise possession. Minimalist life is a kind of wisdom in life. It is to make life easier, more efficient and more valuable.

2. Live a minimalist life, but cannot completely decouple from society. Integrate into society, participate in some public welfare activities, volunteer in orphanages and nursing homes, and help the weak, which will also create a kind of spiritual opposite. The satisfaction of simple life!

Summary:

Chunqiu'er's murmur: After careful consideration, the subject has achieved financial freedom and decided to retire early and live the minimalist life he longed for. This is a no-brainer and a wonderful choice. Not everyone has the courage to give up the colorful and rich life of flowers and live a minimalist life of one tea, one meal, one porridge and one dish. Follow your heart, follow your feelings, and live as comfortably as you feel. To achieve your life goals, you will also be a strong person in life.

I live in my own world and do whatever I want. I don’t have high requirements for material things. I just need enough clothes to wear and a full stomach. Of course, dietary fiber is balanced. Usually I burn it myself. Some time ago, a friend encouraged me to start a micro-business. I scoffed at this. Everyone in my circle of friends is a good friend or relative. I don't quite agree with this kind of behavior of first seeking out acquaintances to make money. My friends say that I am backward in thinking. I just don’t want to be so radical. I just do what I like quietly and buy what I can afford. I don’t want to make money all the time. Is he not enterprising or mediocre? I am a mortal, ordinary and simple is what I pursue. What I am pursuing is financial freedom and early retirement [face covering]