[Impavida]

This isn't a "what would you spend your lotto winnings on" type of thread.

The situation is this: you're in your late-thirties or early-forties, you've achieved your financial goals, you are generating enough income to live comfortably without working, you've bought all the toys your heart desires, you've done a big chunk of the travel thing, so what's next?

What do you do to fill your days?

 

[Stephen]

I'd find work doing something I love, ideally that makes a difference, and that I could do from home.

 

[Phoenix0]

Work as an entrepreneur or philanthropist (not sure if I used the right word there >_>) and generate even more money and try to change the world as much as I can for the better.

 

[L]

Create my "Wammy's house for gifted children". Then die peacefully hoping that they are going on with my wishes and that they change the world for the better in various ways. Whether through a successful art studio, being a teacher, or even a politician. So long as they are successful at it and help teach other people life lessons through their work.

 

[NullPointerException]

Same thing I'm doing now, i.e. doing open source projects, reading (mostly math and computer science), boardgaming (anyone here likes Ora et Labora, Tigris and Euphrates, Eclipse?), invest money on things that matter in the long run (like nanotech, space tech, computer AI, energy tech), and watching TV shows + movies on Netflix/torrent.

But, realistically, I don't think there are many people who can retire in their late 30s or early 40s-- at least not in the US. You can't even take money out of your 401k until 55-ish without penalty. I guess it's very possible IF you and your spouse are both working professionals with no kid and live a modest lifestyle. Using just a rough estimate, given the crappy performance of the stock+bond market (say 5% average annually) and inflation of 3% annually, you probably want at least X / 0.02 at retirement start, where X is the annual income you want on the year you retire.

 

[Impavida]

But, realistically, I don't think there are many people who can retire in their late 30s or early 40s-- at least not in the US. You can't even take money out of your 401k until 55-ish without penalty. I guess it's very possible IF you and your spouse are both working professionals with no kid and live a modest lifestyle. Using just a rough estimate, given the crappy performance of the stock+bond market (say 5% average annually) and inflation of 3% annually, you probably want at least X / 0.02 at retirement start, where X is the annual income you want on the year you retire.

I agree it's not easy, but it's very possible.

Properly managed, it's entirely possible to live comfortably off only a $200K principal investment with a 2.5% return per month. That's a very reasonable return to generate even in today's market conditions.

Anyway, I was just curious what others would do. It has always been a goal of mine to retire young, but I wonder more and more these days what I would actually do with all that freedom. I would probably have to keep working just for something to do!!

 

[MegaTuxRacer]

Declaw a bynch of cats and put them in a room made entirely of curved surfaces of the same plastic used in McDonald's playplaces. Endless entertainment right there.

 

[NullPointerException]

Properly managed, it's entirely possible to live comfortably off only a $200K principal investment with a 2.5% return per month. That's a very reasonable return to generate even in today's market conditions.

2.5% return per month is ridiculously high. That's about 34% annually. Assuming inflation is 3%, this means that if you put in $100k today, then in 10 years, you'll have about $1.5 million in 2012-dollars. In 20 years, you'll have about $23.8 million in 2012-dollars.

 

[Murnando]

A fun topic about "what would you do with lots of spare time" just turned into a discussion about finances and economic inflation rates.

Only on the NT forums.

 

[Impavida]

2.5% return per month is ridiculously high. That's about 34% annually. Assuming inflation is 3%, this means that if you put in $100k today, then in 10 years, you'll have about $1.5 million in 2012-dollars. In 20 years, you'll have about $23.8 million in 2012-dollars.

If your investment strategy is "buy and hope" then 2.5% a month is almost impossible. If you use other investment strategies, the sky is the limit.

There are dozens of stocks that pay out 8-15% per year in dividends alone, not accounting for capital gains. Heck, I can name one company that's currently paying out over 16% per year in dividends.

Actively trading in options can easily net you double digit returns on a single trade. I've been told trading in futures, forex and commodities will net you equally good (if not better) returns, but I haven't looked into any of those strategies myself.

There are plenty of ways to easily return 2.5% per month.

 

[NullPointerException]

A fun topic about "what would you do with lots of spare time" just turned into a discussion about finances and economic inflation rates.

Only on the NT forums.

Are you implying that discussion on personal finance is not fun? It seems more interesting than a discussion on how people spend their spare time. Perhaps personal finance is more interesting if you think about it like a boardgame, where the world is the game, and everyone has his/her own utility functions (aka values, goals, etc) that he/she tries to maximize. Money is just credits that can help you maximize your utility function. The way you invest it, spend it, etc roughly estimates your priorities in life. So, knowing the way you use money provides a lot of information about you.

 

[wiarumas]

I would redefine my (financial) goals.

Continue working, possibly switching careers, start my own business, start making riskier investments with a safe amount of my portfolio, etc.

The flaw in this question is that it assumes my goals are static. I prefer to keep them changing and always 5, 10, 20 years out. Never really achievable since they keep adapting to changing circumstance.

 

[KneeSeekerArrow]

Move to a new country, build a large, isolated mansion and live like a recluse.

 

[CosmicJalapeno]

Well if I am financially secure I would vagabond it up, go from state to state, hit up canada, south america (i wanna see the salt flats so bad) europe, asia, and africa last. I always wondered what life be like as a traveling homeless man with money. I know you said we already traveled but screw your rules in my fantasy I didn't.

 

[Polo]

Well, shit. If I've already traveled....

I think I would probably start taking a lot of classes in things that I never knew how to do. Like architecture courses, mathematics, business. Then I would start building places. Dwellings probably, or maybe a library/bookstore, or even a small theatre - but always something kind of quirky. Trying to get adults to let their imagination run wild. I would really want to find a way to help other people start businesses. The obligatory novel writing would happen, I like to pretend. Photography, books, clothes, various arts and crafts. Maybe by this time I can also start exercising like I should.

 

[snail]

This isn't a "what would you spend your lotto winnings on" type of thread.

The situation is this: you're in your late-thirties or early-forties, you've achieved your financial goals, you are generating enough income to live comfortably without working, you've bought all the toys your heart desires, you've done a big chunk of the travel thing, so what's next?

What do you do to fill your days?

I would draw whatever I felt like and give my drawings to whomever I chose. I would volunteer for charitable causes that interest me. I would play my musical instruments as often as I wanted. I would sew interesting things. I would expand my creative potential by learning to work with a greater variety of tools.

That's close to what I already do.

 

[hylogenesis]

I think if I ever achieved that much, it'd be a miracle. Should it happen, though? I would simply read as many books as I could stuff into my head--excluding authors like...Stephanie Meyer or Nicholas Sparks. I suppose when I'm not reading, I can spend the extra time hating these crappy authors...that sounds about right...or...OR I could read ALL their work, write up a really detailed paper on every stupid little thing, good (*snort*) and bad about their work, refine it into an argument to why they should either quit writing or try harder, and then submit it to them via USPS in a thin leather-bound volume with the title embossed on the front in gold leaf.

 

[day_dreamer]

1) Indulge in all sorts of madness which I could not do earlier.
2) Pick up new hobbies and change them as and when my mood permits.
3) Write a book.
4) If I am too bored, I would rather prefer to die.

In fact I am always scared that I will end up getting bored once I have done everything in my life. Boredom has haunted me all my life for a major part of it because my mind is always hungry and nothing seems to satiate it for long. I have a dream of living up to only 60 years because after that I cannot imagine living being dependent on others(physically due to ill health).

 

[Tess]

I'd definately write a book and set up some kind of foundation, then spend moi days researching for moi book and managing the foundation.