Retirement Planning Part II

Dr. Marley.
I will never forget him.

He was one of the best professors at Georgia Southern. Not only did he give me a tip on an investment that has since been fruitful in both growth and income (BP, in case you're wondering), but he also said one of the most inspirational things, I think, without even meaning to be inspirational.

His classes were mostly graduate-level discussions and so much of the class was conversational with him, the teacher, and us, the students. In one of the discussions that the following statement was relevant to, he briefly said, "I'm actually retired- I'm just teaching this course for fun."
And he was telling the truth.

I spent the rest of that particular class wondering... what? How old is he? He doesn't have any gray hair, he always wears these spiffy suits, and he drives a Mercedes Benz.  How could he be retired?!?!

On his LinkedIn profile, he was involved in various very successful start ups and knows a lot about everything in a lot of different industries (which made him a very good teacher). So basically, he got in, made a bunch of cash, and he got out.

As I've said previously, he was an awesome teacher. Could it be that his "just doing this for fun" is what made him such a good teacher? Other teachers are so concerned with grades, the structure of how they calculate grades, and meeting deadlines. But even on the very first day, he was like "I just want you to learn something useful." A phrase that is ironically rarely ever said in school.

I think there have been other studies that show that when you're not dependent on income, you're way better at your job. You do your best because it's fun for you and you want to, not because you have to because if you don't, you won't be able to put food on your family and your house will be foreclosed on and you will die in a sewer.

I love the idea of getting to do what you're really passionate about without financial consequence.

And I happened across a hard-core early retirement blog this past week and have found truth in the following sentence:
"Saving is money spent on buying freedom." - J. L. Collins

Short term goals (1-4 weeks):
1. Increase exemption on W-4 from 0 to 1
2. Hang dry most clothes
3. Set the thermostat to 81 during the day
4. Cook 6/7 meals of the week at home
5. Say "no" to cable and Direct TV

Long term goals (6 - 12 months):
1. Buy a bike, exercise more, drive less
2. Put down principal on house (get mortgage insurance to 0)
3. Invest savings strategically
4. Lay up treasures in heaven, not on earth

Eventual goals (4-5 years):
1. Wake up without an alarm clock on some random Thursday morning and have coffee.
2. Do something I'm really passionate about without financial consequence

Lamps throw all types of shade,
TWS