I have had some issues defining myself now that I can no just fling out a job title. First, I used the term “retired”, but then I got the impression that I was not allowed to do anything that earned me money; that I should essentially sit back and withdraw money from my savings.

I then started using the term “semi-retired”. Of course, this implied that I still had to have some kind of job to sustain me, maybe working half-time or half-season; in that regard I have said that I was a “semi-retired ” depending on who I talked to.

What it really means though is that I have zero financial and zero time obligations. Each day, when I get up in the morning (I get up whenever, no alarm clock, usually around 830), I can do what I want. Some days I work on the blog(*), some days I read books, some days I write books, some day I copy-edit, some days I fix bikes, some days I program, and some days I just take the day off and go sailing or I go visit someone. I never have to ask or plan or make up when I get back to work.

(*) The reason I don’t monetize the blog is that I don’t want my income to depend on consistent postings as is the case for blogging. It is a form of semi-passive income, where you earn money for your daily activities leveraged with your past activities, if that makes sense. It is very much like a salaried job.

Time is extremely valuable to me because it is a finite resource and it is essentially mine. I can trade my time away for money by working a job, but I can never buy it back. It is just gone. Just like a coca cola tastes the same to a rich person or a poor person, time is the same for the rich and the poor. I likely have more freedom to do what I want than Donald Trump. This, obviously, is influenced by my wants being different. But I do not really want a big screen TV, a big mansion, etc.

The main point about being retired then is to reach the point where you have everything you want, that is, when enough is enough, and then maximizing the time you have to enjoy it.

I do not know what to call this state. “Retired” doesn’t really seem to cover it.



So what I’m mainly trying to find out is what to call this state of being ERE. There does not seem to be a single word that covers it. I think if I started saying I was independently wealthy, it would sound pretentious(?), but perhaps this is the way to go. What concerns me there is that people might think I was loaded/rich.

Originally posted 2009-10-06 00:22:27.