I've got "30 and out" at my union factory, so I'll retire at 56 which isn't so bad. Course, I'll lose my health insurance but it's free til then 🤷‍♂️

I don’t live for retirement like a lot of American culture has historically taught us to do. I work to live first and that means, as much as I can within my means, taking the time and investment to have experiences while I can. Too many people in my life have died before getting to retire without having done anything with their lives because they were so focused on having enough money to retire with that it’s not a regret I’m willing to risk.

I am taking reasonable steps toward financial security as I age, but it’s a secondary concern to living for now. If I die in a gutter, I’ll do it knowing I’ve lived the best life I could.

I slack. Oh boy do I slack. I'd work so harder if I thought I would actually get something for it. In fact, when I started my latest job, I was doing just that, because it seemed this company was different, and it's something I'm naturally good at. Got commended by my boss about how much I was doing, how quickly I was learning, how in a year I had already surpassed the next most recent hire that had been there for 2 years... Then time came for my review, and it was a "meets expectations". Like wtf do I have to do to exceed expectations? Then not long after, they started denying me time off, saying I had taken too much. Supposedly we had unlimited PTO, of which I had taken 2 weeks so far that year (1 week in March, the rest just single days here and there), and my request was for a week in July... Anywho long story short, I've pretty much figured out exactly how much I have to fake being busy to not get negative attention, and I do that. I milk cases for all they're worth. And I'm still getting more done than half my colleagues. I hate it, but it pays decently, so I have a hard time throwing it away for something that might be more fulfilling, but doesn't pay as well...

the ideal way would be to build up passive income and/or outwaging your living costs by double or triple, but god knows how hard that is.

Existential dread. I am not here to be a wage slave but I can't figure out how to get out. I just drink a lot

There are better options for those who find a way.

Sir, “Retired” is the opposite of “Start”.

I'm half done. I've kept up my health and I'm trying to improve it even more. When I hit 65 I won't be too old to do much.

But the real question should be what are you waiting until retirement to do and why not do it sooner?

The answer is: do a job you like and do the things you like. I’m due to retire in ten years and won’t be doing so. I won’t work as much but I will work

It’s easier in some countries than others. But the key is not wasting time on things that you feel pressured to do because of societal norms or because you’re too lazy to do anything different.

I keep finding myself trying to imagine how to make enough money so my mom doesn't have to do this.

I hate it. I started learning about FIRE, Financial Independence, Retire Early. The great part is that you can do what you want, you just have to match your spending to your income.

I hope for a better system for my kids' friends. (My kids will have me guiding them.)

Don't think. Just work.

Die with Zero by Bill Perkins has some interesting takes on this.

Here's a hot take. Do what you want when you are young. Find a way. I spent my 20's moving around, having shitty but fun jobs. I travelled. Saw all kinds of places and met all sorts of people. It wasn't easy and sometimes it wasn't fun. I found myself homeless even several times. I still wouldn't change any of it. I found a wonderful partner and we moved together for a while before settling and having kids.

In my early 40s I was diagnosed with a really rare cancer that paralyzed me from the chest down for a year prior to surgery and left lasting disabilities following. Now in my 50's with declining health I am so glad I lived. It means I don't have a lot of things others have but I've never cared much for the Jones' anyway. If Cancer taught me anything it's fuck society and their expectations. Do you. Find a way. Be happy.

I've been thinking about this since middle school (when I was thinking about what was waiting for me after school, which I wasn't much a fan of either) and I just distract myself by doing things I enjoy. If it occupies my mind too much, I take a hit of copium and tell myself that maybe I'll get lucky and strike it rich somehow to let me retire early.

Eventually you get to the point where you age-out of joy. I mean, sure, you try to throw yourself into your work, try to squeeze some semblance of satisfaction out of that dried raisin of a career. But it’s never the same as it used to be. It’s hollow, just like you, and you hate all of it. But what else are you gonna do? So you do your time and go home and stare at the wall; you have no desire to watch tv because it’s all the same bullshit you’ve seen for years. When you do watch tv, usually with your spouse who is little more than a grumpy roommate now. The tv screen is transparent, and you see nothing but the studs in the wall. The family mills about, completely clueless to the misery you are living. Sure you laugh, but it’s without the twinkle in your eye that you once had. You tend to spend a lot more time in the bathroom staring at yourself in the mirror, telling yourself you want to blow your brains out, but never do. Sometimes you cry in isolation. Most of the time you are numb and you sit there in silence. Otherwise, you pretend to do stuff until nightfall. Finally. You down some sleeping pills, go to bed early, doom-scroll for a few hours until the meds kick in. Lights out. You wake a few hours later, before the rest of the fucking world it seems, muttering the word “fuck”. Not with the frolicking fun connotation of youth, but in utter despair that you awoke at all. Again. So you drag yourself to that mirror, brushing your teeth, put on that hollow smile and start the day over. repeat. And again. And again.

I’m sorry, what was the question?

Times are tough, but here's what's worked for me so far:

1. Spend less than you make
2. Keep a budget
3. Keep debts to a minimum
4. If you live with your parents, try to save as much as you can
5. Have an end goal

Depending on your circumstances, you might only have to work for 20 years, and if you do what you love, it won't feel like work.

Yeah I’m doing whatever I want as long as there’s still some life left in this body. Opted for a career that gets me to live all over the world, decided very early on that I’ll never have kids, and live my life to the fullest.

Accidentally I’m also really good at what I do and got people pay me big time to live where I want to be. About to move to my 10th country on the third continent.