afterFI/RE Life after FI/RE
People
Selected life timeline 2022—2025

Three years to stop needing a productive outcome

This married retiree initially carried a strong urge to build and succeed into life after work. Three years later, health, relaxed lunches and playful experiments had become enough, and abandoning a repetitive project felt compatible with freedom.

Finances
Net worth at retirement2022 · Household
Not established

Departure balance not disclosed in reviewed passages.

Source
Reported net worth2025-10-27 · Household
$7,000,000

Reported at three-year update, not departure.

Source
Posts2
2022At departure
Post 01Recalled in 2025

Freedom still needed a result

“When I first retired, I still had that major drive to be productive and build something.”

u/buttrichmonRead original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Carried a build-something mindset into retirement.
  • Approached new pursuits with the habit of trying to do them exceptionally well.

How it felt

  • Still felt a strong drive to be productive. “major drive to be productive”
  • Assumed that drive would continue. “I thought I would always need to stay driven”
Slowing downFreedom
u/buttrichmon (opens in a new tab)
Notes

Explicit retrospective in dated source; year approximate from stated elapsed years.

Opening retrospective and author habit/drive replies

Editorial summaries with short, attributed quotations. The original contains the full story.

2025Year 3
Post 02

Health and play can be enough

“I still agree, but I was positively surprised to find I can feel truly free and not be driven by accomplishing successful stuff anymore.”

u/buttrichmonRead original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Spends mornings on quiet time, stretching and exercise before lunch with his wife.
  • Dropped a repetitive AI project while keeping games, friends and small experiments.

How it felt

  • Feels freer without needing each interest to succeed. “I don't even need a mission”
  • Is surprised that the pressure to accomplish has eased. “feel truly free”
Slowing downFreedom
u/buttrichmon (opens in a new tab)
Notes

Dated publication describing current life.

Main post and morning-routine comment

Dated publication describing current life.

Editorial summaries with short, attributed quotations. The original contains the full story.

See how these posts compare with other people’s experiences.

Research

Last checked Sep 2026. The accounts are self-reported. This timeline follows selected accounts, including recollections where labeled; it is not a complete archive.

  • Public self-report; no independently verified finances or later developments.
  • Selected public self-reports, not a complete archive or independent verification of finances.

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