afterFI/RE Life after FI/RE
← Explore posts shelves

Posts

Explore turning points, everyday joys and unexpected challenges after financial independence or retirement, with the date and original source for each account.

Age
Wealth
Years
Posts
11–20 of 31 posts

He spends little. His retirement is anything but simple.

2022 · Year 12

“Most of the stuff I enjoy is free or nearly free.”

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

Life at the time

  • Hiked, played games and paid veterinary bills after rescuing a cat.
  • Kept an animal sanctuary as a future ambition, not an operating project.

How it felt

  • Enjoyed inexpensive pastimes despite having substantial resources. “Most of the stuff I enjoy is free or nearly free.”
  • Saw continued low spending as a matter of temperament, not deprivation. “I'm also just frugal by nature.”
SimplicityPurposeOutdoors
u/AccidentalFI/RE
Read original postreddit.com

Leaving protected their health. Feeling safe took longer.

2022

“I don't want to act like I have it all sorted out yet.”

u/togaman12Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Left work because of health before reaching the preferred financial cushion.
  • Slow-traveled, cooked and walked, with family offering a place to stay during visits.

How it felt

  • Was cautious about treating a few good months as proof of permanent security. “I don't want to act like I have it all sorted out yet.”
  • Still felt fortunate about the early experience. “so far my "retirement" seems very blessed.”
TravelSimplicityFreedom
u/togaman12
Read original postreddit.com

A lean Quebec life made room for writing

Nov 2021 · Year 0.5

“I choose to live below my means, and to find happiness in simplicity.”

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

Life at the time

  • Learned French, exercised and caught up on games and books.
  • Experimented with plants, an aquarium, sourdough and writing.

How it felt

  • Enjoyed the city’s atmosphere and regained time. “find happiness in simplicity”
  • Found satisfaction in deliberately living below available means. “infinite time”
SimplicityCreativity
u/Night_Runner
Read original postreddit.com

She could fund a free life. Parenthood still demanded almost everything.

Nov 2021

“Instead of lifestyle inflation which doesn’t bring me extra happiness, I’d rather spend it on friends.”

FIRECrackerRead original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Kept everyday spending restrained despite a larger portfolio.
  • Preferred directing extra money toward friends and experiences.

How it felt

  • Still enjoyed optimizing expenses. “Optimizing is Fun for me”
  • Saw little appeal in accumulating possessions instead of supporting relationships. “I’d rather spend it on friends.”
SimplicityMoneyFriends
FI/RECracker
Read original postmillennial-revolution.com

A small contract bridge gave way to a lighter nomadic life

Jun 2021Recalled in 2023

“pushed me out of the “one more year syndrome””

ESI Millionaire 187Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • He left full-time employment but retained a small contract.
  • Relocation from Singapore required packing and downsizing.

How it felt

  • Separation from family during COVID helped end his hesitation. “one more year syndrome”
  • He discovered he needed fewer possessions. “how little”
TravelSimplicityWork
ESI Millionaire 187
Read original postesimoney.com

Owning more places can mean having less free time

May 2021Interview snapshot · published 2021-07

“the work involved with taking care of all these assets is tremendous”

ESI Millionaire 267Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Retired while her husband still worked, she handled cooking, cleaning and upkeep across a home and vacation properties.

How it felt

  • She found the maintenance burden substantial and questioned whether they could use everything they owned. “the work involved with taking care of all these assets is tremendous”
HomeSimplicityPartners
ESI Millionaire 267
Read original postesimoney.com

She quit her career. Years later, she quit performing retirement.

Mar 2021

“I’ve learned to care a lot less about the approval of others, and I don’t think that’ll ever go back.”

Tanja Hester · Our Next LifeRead original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Wrote another book and established a garden during pandemic isolation.
  • Went without planned travel and ordinary contact with friends and family.

How it felt

  • Became more focused on seeing loved ones than on going somewhere new. “I can’t wait until I can hug my dad.”
  • Felt less need for other people’s approval. “I’ve learned to care a lot less about the approval of others”
FamilyFriendsSimplicity
Tanja Hester · Our Next Life
Read original postournextlife.com

Small pleasures made the first weeks rich. Years later, home still competed with adventure.

Jan 2021

“I can feel my stress levels slowly unravelling at the very thought.”

Frogdancer JonesRead original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Gardened, read and quilted during the early weeks of retirement.
  • Looked forward to overseas travel while enjoying familiar activities at home.

How it felt

  • Did not experience inexpensive hobbies as deprivation. “Having frugal things to do isn’t a deprivation.”
  • Could feel work-related stress easing gradually. “I can feel my stress levels slowly unravelling”
SimplicityRecoverySlowing down
Frogdancer Jones
Read original postburningdesireforfire.com

A modest side hustle supplies a reason for the day

Jan 2021Interview snapshot · published 2021-05

“It’s pretty easy for us to find happiness in just being together and enjoying simple things.”

ESI Millionaire 251Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • In semi-retirement, he kept a side hustle that provided some income and a daily purpose, while enjoying a simple life with his wife.

How it felt

  • He described an excellent balance and happiness in their time together. “enjoying simple things”
PurposeSimplicityWork
ESI Millionaire 251
Read original postesimoney.com

A flooded first home did not undo the appeal of quiet retirement

Nov 2020 · Year 1

“It’s been a crazy year, I’ve experienced a lot of things I’ve not done before, but overall, I’m very happy with my current lifestyle and have no desire to change it anytime soon.”

u/jasta85Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Fills time with digital entertainment, small projects and afternoon naps.
  • Plays a weekly online role-playing campaign while in-person activities are shut.

How it felt

  • Enjoys being alone most of the time and reports no boredom. “living a boring, relaxing life”
  • Wants a relaxing life and has no wish to change it now. “no desire to change it anytime soon”
HomeSimplicity
u/jasta85
Read original postreddit.com

Privacy & analytics

AfterFire uses Google Analytics only if you accept. It helps us understand visits, referral sources, pages and chapters people open, filter use, and clicks to original sources.

After acceptance, Google receives page titles and addresses without query strings, content and chapter IDs, filter names (not selected values or search terms), campaign source/medium/name tags from shared links, original-source domains, referring sites, approximate location and browser/device information. Analytics cookies distinguish browsers and visits. Campaign labels are stored in this tab only after acceptance and expire after 30 minutes without activity. We do not enable advertising personalization or Google Signals, or send your name, email address or account identifier to Analytics.

Declining sends no Analytics data to Google. Accepting starts with the page currently open; we do not replay earlier browsing. Withdrawing consent stops tracking, clears this site's Analytics cookies and reloads the page. It does not delete measurements already received by Google.

We remember your choice on this browser for up to six months. Detailed Analytics data is retained for up to 14 months; aggregated reports can remain longer. Site hosting still processes requests needed to serve these pages.

Read Google's privacy policy and how Google uses information from sites.