Live for today or (try to) retire early?

[ixannaxi]

Recently all receipts and expenditures were added up regarding Porsche and they amount to a small fortune.

so i've been trying to figure out how to balance the enthusiast's itch with fiscal responsibility.

he says: live for today for we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow and i want to enjoy life now instead of when i'm old and my body parts fall off (wasted life)

she says: let's save more early on so that we can retire sooner and then have the income flow to support our family AND fun

less fun now and early retirement? more fun now and late retirement? anything else? (and i use the term retirement to mean independently wealthy)

(i know this isn't a unique situation - just wanting to see how other people view this situation or perhaps justify it or perhaps resolve it or .....)

[Sonic dB]

How bout this one... take a job that pays over $100K but wants you to move into an area that you dont want to move to + you have to put up with micromanagement... and put up with corporate games.

but hey...you can save that extra money for retirement.

or

Stay where you are in a community that you love and look for a job that will pay decently (but probably less than $100K) and then just be happy... but have less nice things and do not save for the future.

[Bill Douglas]

It's a hard one to figure out. The trouble is you go hard at it now and do the right investments, then at a later stage your plans change (or upgrade) and you still never have enough to do what you want, and keep on working until it kills YOU. Then your wife thinks, "Huh, all this money I might as well spend it on a two year holiday in Europe and meet some nice man while I'm there".

[ixannaxi]

so the question is what makes you happier? more money but crappy job ... less money and good job/location ... ??living paycheck to paycheck?? no "safety net" but doing something you love... balance? or is that something that's too obscure to reach?

[WOODPIE]

You didn't originally mention anything about employment options, but I guess that it just naturally enters into the equation. I can't tell by your profile, but I'd guess you are at a point in your life where life-style choices will have a major effect on your end-game. I'm on the other end of things, closer to the end than the beginning, and I'll admit regretting some of the choices I made early on. Contrary to what you might think, body parts don't fall off, and if you maintain a sharp and youthful wit, life is as enjoyable, or even more so, in the august years as it was early on. I'd enjoy mine even more if I didn't have to work to make ends meet.

So, from me you will get:

Enjoy your Porsche on a greatly reduced budget. It's just a car, after all.

Kiss as much as$ as you can comfortably stomach, but never acquire a taste for it. Invest or save or do whatever is financially prudent with all your as$-kissing profits.

Tell your husband/wife and family you love them every day.

Ed

[Rob McKibbon]

What kind of car do you drive that it's so expensive?

About your question; my 2 cents....

"Harmony" is the secret to life. Harmony comes from living a balanced life for a period of time. Harmony won't ensure the good times or prevent the bad times; it will just allow you to deal with them better.

Balance in life takes work; hard work. You must balance your life into many pieces of pie that will form spokes to your wheel of harmony. A piece of pie missing, is like taking two spokes out of the wheel. Some wheels only have 4 pies, others a dozen.

The main pies of your harmony wheel could be:

1. Family
2. Career
3. Health
4. Spiritual
5. Intellect

Some may have Country service, Self, Hobbies, Vacations, Social Events, Music, Extended Family, etc. You custom design it. Knowing what you want in life is really the hard part; once you know, then you just work towards it for the rest of your life.

No one should exist without a dream.

I am a Christian man who spends more time with his family than anyone I know, I love my wife more each day, I'm a successful businessman with daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and long term goals that I'm constantly achieving. I have developed a daily reading habit to inspire me intellectually constantly and I'm healthy and athletic. I take life seriously because I love it!

When you work at balancing your life, your wheel will roll easier as time goes by (*years) and as time goes by, you will develop harmony in your life. Harmony will allow you to stay closer to happiness and satisfaction more than anything else.

My balance wheel must have a "Porsche" pie, because it's part of me. The only regret I have about owning my car, is that I didn't do it sooner.

(trust me, this is a real "summary" and the knowledge available is vast, so become a student of life)

I'm on the right..... (I also live in one of the nicest places in Canada)

[Sonic dB]

Wow...great posts here. Its good to know that Im not alone in my daily struggles.

Rob, beautiful post and thoughts. Your family looks very happy.

Woodpie... nicely put. I may quote you on that someday.

[turbo6bar]

Each person is different. I think it's more important to find your balance. Living paycheck to paycheck is silly, and so is saving every penny.

I strive to be happy. You don't need lots of money to be happy. I am self-employed, and my income is still less than I'd make working for a company. However, I am happier now than I've ever been in my life.

A couple phrases I use to maintain focus:
Live your life so you have no regrets.
Find something you love to do, and you'll never work a day in your life.
Perseverence: There is no substitute for hard work.

The quotes are to motivate action, pirmarily work action. It's easier to motivate play than work, ya know.

Personally, I expect no pension or retirement from the government, and my financial goals are plannned accordingly. I hope to be semi-retired by age 35.

Good luck,
Jürgen

[DonDavis]

Wow! Some great responses. I agree with Jurgen and Rob.

I'll add....
To NOT plan and invest for the future is foolish and setting yourself up for a VERY rough time later. Without a long term financial plan that includes saving for retirement, a person is just plain being irresponsible. I too, do not include anything the Gov't "promises" for my retirement in my planning. If I get something at that time, great. if not? No problem, I've planned accordingly.

Live like no one else now, so later, you can live like no one else.

Ok, I stole that line, but I like it.

[ixannaxi]

very insightful pelicanites here! thanks and kudos to you all!

a little background, we both grew up in "working" class families, paid for our own schooling with student loans and jobs, and now we work for other people. we could have more in savings were it not for the $$$ spent on Porsche and Porsche related stuff - but that's purely looking at the numbers and does not account for the friends we have made, the fun we have had, the memories we have created.

and to clarify what he said: "What I was saying is that we shouldn't live like paupers just to retire a few years earlier..."

[Schrup]

Originally posted by Sonic dB


or

Stay where you are in a community that you love and look for a job that will pay decently (but probably less than $100K) and then just be happy... but have less nice things and do not save for the future.

I have taken this route & am completely satisfied. I am counting on that goverment retirement because I work for them, but have other investments besides my pension. I made a drastic lifestyle change about 7 years ago that started with the desire to stop partying. That decision has taken me down a spiritaul path that has been more fullfilling than I ever could have imagined. I have learned that it is the journey not the destination that matters.
I have a wonderful, assertive, & supportive wife. A couple of years ago I put myself in a position to rescue my then 13 year old daughter from a perilous situation & still have custody of her. My wife & I have created a loving, nurturing,& stable enviorment for her, even if she doesn't appreciate it yet. I have a beautiful 5 month old son whom I adore & can't say enough about. I live in what I consider to be the nicest area of town & have my dream job with a 10 minute commute. I savor everyday & try not to sweat the small stuff. My car is just the icing on the cake.