WWYD…. Coast until retirement or

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What??? You absolutely coast in this job. Life isn't about work. It's about living. A stable 400k job that doesn't burn you up is absolutely golden.

The reason I suggested OP not coast is because mental stimulation is what keeps dementia away. It'd be great to learn a new skill set in your late 40's. My dad is 75 and teaching himself Spanish, and re-teaching himself piano after retiring two months ago. He's keeping his brain sharp.

Neither of those activities are work, and both of those activities can be done while coasting at $400k a year.

[Anonymous]

You will learn more if you jump. Grow more as a human. Have a more interesting decade ahead of you.

Depends how much energy you have left in you. I would say you are young to burrow in and “coast,” unless some other aspect of your life is very demanding (child care?), which requires you to put professional on the back burner.

(Read up on ontological guilt vs ontological anxiety…)

[Anonymous]

I would coast if I was in a high paying job that was low stress and allowed me to work low hours. Having lots of disposable income would be fun

[Anonymous]

Coast. The grass isn’t always greener.

[Anonymous]

It depends on how soon you intend to retire.

I couldn't coast for 40 hours a week for a long time. It would depress me. Under 5 years, maybe?

But I couldn't coast for 15 years. Hell no!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a well paying job 400K where I WFH and travel a little bit, but not so heavy that it throws my work life balance off. It’s a pretty easy gig. I’m late 40s and always planned to retire before 60. I can coast in this job until the sunset. But jeepers I am bored to death. I’m regularly courted by exec recruiters for other jobs, not sure if I want to make one last jump or not. For those who were in similar positions, what did you do…? coast, or pursue the different job that was more engaging, but also more work, time commitment etc? I’d probably get a bump in compensation, but not significant enough to move houses for example.

Do you have any children? If so how old are they?
Do you have a spouse? If so, do they have an income? Do they have a stressful job? How do they feel about you changing things up?

[Anonymous]

Coast like a MF.

[Anonymous]

As this thread points out, there are basically two types of people on this issue, and the types map well to what people do with older age too. On the one hand, there are people who never particularly liked their job/career and don’t identify with it much. Thus, job/career is a means to another end, which is to “live,” which translates into traditional retirement. Retirement for these folks are taking care of people and things, dabbling in hobbies, playing golf and traveling, and reminiscing. On the other hand, there are those who like their career and identify with it. These people are already “living“ by contributing their skill set to their corporation, community, government, university, etc. For them, they can’t imagine life without their platform. These folks aren’t interested in “traditional retirement.” OP, you need to decide who you are. If you’re the former, coast at your current job. If you’re the latter, move on to the next chapter of a great career - you have more to learn and contribute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would Definitely coast, but that’s me.

+1 Especially at that salary, I would put all my mental energy into my hobbies (which I could easily afford!) and coast into the sunset.

[Anonymous]

What do you do, OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As this thread points out, there are basically two types of people on this issue, and the types map well to what people do with older age too. On the one hand, there are people who never particularly liked their job/career and don’t identify with it much. Thus, job/career is a means to another end, which is to “live,” which translates into traditional retirement. Retirement for these folks are taking care of people and things, dabbling in hobbies, playing golf and traveling, and reminiscing. On the other hand, there are those who like their career and identify with it. These people are already “living“ by contributing their skill set to their corporation, community, government, university, etc. For them, they can’t imagine life without their platform. These folks aren’t interested in “traditional retirement.” OP, you need to decide who you are. If you’re the former, coast at your current job. If you’re the latter, move on to the next chapter of a great career - you have more to learn and contribute.

My parents are what you might call traditionally retired, and they started a charity that feeds a lot of people and volunteer a ton. It's not an either/or. What you've written is a great example of a false dichotomy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As this thread points out, there are basically two types of people on this issue, and the types map well to what people do with older age too. On the one hand, there are people who never particularly liked their job/career and don’t identify with it much. Thus, job/career is a means to another end, which is to “live,” which translates into traditional retirement. Retirement for these folks are taking care of people and things, dabbling in hobbies, playing golf and traveling, and reminiscing. On the other hand, there are those who like their career and identify with it. These people are already “living“ by contributing their skill set to their corporation, community, government, university, etc. For them, they can’t imagine life without their platform. These folks aren’t interested in “traditional retirement.” OP, you need to decide who you are. If you’re the former, coast at your current job. If you’re the latter, move on to the next chapter of a great career - you have more to learn and contribute.

My parents are what you might call traditionally retired, and they started a charity that feeds a lot of people and volunteer a ton. It's not an either/or. What you've written is a great example of a false dichotomy.

If they just gave the money to charity, sure they’re traditionally retired. If they started a charity and active run it, they are not traditionally retired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As this thread points out, there are basically two types of people on this issue, and the types map well to what people do with older age too. On the one hand, there are people who never particularly liked their job/career and don’t identify with it much. Thus, job/career is a means to another end, which is to “live,” which translates into traditional retirement. Retirement for these folks are taking care of people and things, dabbling in hobbies, playing golf and traveling, and reminiscing. On the other hand, there are those who like their career and identify with it. These people are already “living“ by contributing their skill set to their corporation, community, government, university, etc. For them, they can’t imagine life without their platform. These folks aren’t interested in “traditional retirement.” OP, you need to decide who you are. If you’re the former, coast at your current job. If you’re the latter, move on to the next chapter of a great career - you have more to learn and contribute.

My parents are what you might call traditionally retired, and they started a charity that feeds a lot of people and volunteer a ton. It's not an either/or. What you've written is a great example of a false dichotomy.

I think you misread PP's post. Leaving the "work" world and starting up a charity is most definitely something people who don't identify with their career would do (unless their prior work was running a charity).

I think there are many people who think life without work/career is meaningless and boring. In fact, as you noted, life after work can be incredibly rewarding -- just not necessarily financially.

I'm late 50s and definitely coasting but in a second career that I chose after leaving my first "power" career in my late 40s. Now I split my time between easy second career and all the activities that will fill my life once I stop doing easy second career -- most likely when I can get Medicare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As this thread points out, there are basically two types of people on this issue, and the types map well to what people do with older age too. On the one hand, there are people who never particularly liked their job/career and don’t identify with it much. Thus, job/career is a means to another end, which is to “live,” which translates into traditional retirement. Retirement for these folks are taking care of people and things, dabbling in hobbies, playing golf and traveling, and reminiscing. On the other hand, there are those who like their career and identify with it. These people are already “living“ by contributing their skill set to their corporation, community, government, university, etc. For them, they can’t imagine life without their platform. These folks aren’t interested in “traditional retirement.” OP, you need to decide who you are. If you’re the former, coast at your current job. If you’re the latter, move on to the next chapter of a great career - you have more to learn and contribute.

My parents are what you might call traditionally retired, and they started a charity that feeds a lot of people and volunteer a ton. It's not an either/or. What you've written is a great example of a false dichotomy.

If they just gave the money to charity, sure they’re traditionally retired. If they started a charity and active run it, they are not traditionally retired.

They started it themselves. But they were not into their jobs and definitely coasted toward the end because it was financially beneficial for them. It’s a false dichotomy to assume that coasting at work means you will just play golf for 20 years and then kick the bucket. There are lots of ways to live.

[Anonymous]

Second careers, especially if it’s a pivot off the primary one, is not a traditional retirement. The general point is that many don’t want to “work” in retirement and can’t wait for “work life” to end. For others - definitely a minority - they want to continue some aspect of “work life.” It could be boards, a second career, consulting, teaching, etc., but they want to “work.” Bill Gates “retired” from Microsoft, but his time at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is not a hobby; he’s totally involved in the strategic direction of the charity and it’s a major aspect of his legacy.