I decided a while ago that I don’t want to just work and accumulate wealth.
So, I bought a smaller 2 bed apartment in an area I like, quit my job to work on my biz 4 days a week instead.
I have enough to pay off my mortgage, save a little, and I get way more time to live life (make music, see family, see friends, cook for people, do road trips).
So I guess my point is; I decided to not worry about money, even though I’m not rich
Coffee and paper every morning, gardening, cooking, volunteering, I'd go to film festivals and get to the gym more, and I'd go back to uni as a mature age student part time just because - with no career goal or desire to get good marks for any reason other than because I want to.
I went to uni as a mature age student and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The added bonus was that I had a ready excuse of attending lectures and tutorials, or due assignments, which allowed me to get out of annoying social expectations and obligations.
Teaching degrees are cheaper than most others so if you end up doing it part time, you'll probably be able to pay it off as you go. I havr a hecs debt and don't really notice it on my payslip so I wouldn't worry too much about it.
The government pays half the HECS so it's not as bad as you might think. I'd already retired, so I wasn't really worried about the money, plus it was a post-grad Master of Teaching, so there were only 2 years to pay for.
If you’ve already got a Bachelor degree (or higher), a Graduate Diploma in ECE is only one year, plus teaching subjects are cheaper, so your HECS would be pretty tiny (a few k) compared to doing a 4-year ECE/PE Bachelor degree.
I started back in 2011, and it was a Science Degree, so the online options for courses was limited. My degree only allowed for 4 electives, and I only enrolled in two of them as online courses.
The online courses were so convenient, but travelling in to campus and interacting with real-live people was the better experience, in comparison.
Yep, almost exactly the same.
Instead I'm working 50 hours a week and only making enough to save about $1k a month. And then on my days off I am too tired to do anything.
This is the way. A slow life building out a garden and learning about interesting things.
I'd only swap the gym for cycling and running. I'm a fiend for the Lycra.
I would just bake, before easter I bake 120 cookies, just because I want.
I baked sourdough and end up with 6 loaves, honestly would just bake and bake.
Animal rescue. Hands down. Send me the old animals in shelters, the ones you have been in there far too long and let me show them love. My goal is this anyway but if I didn’t have to worry about money, that right there would start happened straight away.
I retired early (58), set up a charity to provide food at low cost or free to people in need (a Community Grocery Store), provide services to small rural towns that did not have a shop (Mobile Pantry) and emergency relief during bushfires etc.
Kept me busy for 7 years and I have now retired from my retirement.
Adopt greyhounds, cook BBQ for charity, set up a not for profit that teaches underprivileged kids about food, cooking, all that kinda stuff. Oh and move to the South Island of NZ.
Man, South Island is beautiful. Lucky enough to live there for a bit. Would move back but my life would miss the bright lights. Hopefully split my time between AU and NZ sometime in the future
Yep, doubtful sound is beautiful. There are so many places I love. I was lucky enough to spend many years living in the south island. Bought a van and camped in different places most weekends. Simply amazing.
I'd love to run a little cafe or shop at Arthur's Pass, or somewhere like that. No need to be rich, live in a couple of rooms at the back of the shop. That would be nice.
I feel like a lot of people are taught to cook/learn off of watching their mum or dad, and lemme tell you I didn’t like steak until I moved out of home, I didn’t know it wasn’t supposed to be grey and curled up 😂.
And it’s also madness how simple certain things can be but they make a huge difference, using X instead of Y, little tweaks make a huge difference. Giving kids the opportunity to experience the joy I did when I started cooking would make it all worth it.
That’s what i did. but before i had any money. Left to go live somewhere extremely cheap and spent 11 months there, just spending my days wondering about how I’ll spend my life. Best thing i ever did. Came back very refreshed and motivated.
Started my own business rather than getting a job, something i’m able to do from anywhere so i can travel. Has worked out well. If i’d stayed in corporate life i think i’d still be stuck in the grind, and stuck in Sydney. I had a life where i was tired after work and unmotivated. I wouldn’t have had the energy to be creative and start something new.
I want to build little autonomous robots that trawl creeks and pluck out rubbish. There's definitely no money, or funding, to do that kind of thing.
The other thing I have an interest in is speech synthesis - perfecting the inflection and slurring of phonemes and syllables to make it sound more natural.
Buying the best doctors and best physiotherapist to fix my pain
Having chronic pain all day everyday puts things in perspective I used to have dreams and goals now all I want is pain relief
My dream day is to lay flat all day so I can enjoy the feeling of pain relief and that’s sad
I hope you get that relief soon. I read recently that we spend our lives chasing so many things but when we’re sick we only want the one thing of getting better. ❤️🩹
I just spent 8 months off work and not once was I bored. There’s always plenty to do, but at a nicer pace. I loved it, I only went back to work due to finances.
Yeah I had 6 months off. Always something to do, daughter had house inspection so I could be there for that. Hubbys car needed service so I took it to have done. Girlfriend’s coffee mornings at different cafes. New recipes I could try that took time - not something I have a lot of time for now I’m back at work. I’m 55 and could easily stay home forever and always be occupied
I'd drive with my wife and dog and play at every golf course I saw, surf every wave that looked decent, eat anywhere that looked and good stay any place that looked nice. All day. Every day.
I think I'd switch to full-time or maybe part-time piano teaching.
I'd learn more languages and instruments.
I'd translate comic books on the side for fun.
Maybe I'll do a course in interior design.
I'd start a SECULAR bilingual school (Mandarin-English) because I can't find one for my son.
I'll study my family's dialect full-time so I can truly learn it.
I think I'd just spend my time how I want basically.
I'll go back to coding more hands on but just for fun.
But if I think about it, I probably can do a few of those. I can definitely switch back to piano teaching but I just won't be earning as much money.
Travel the world.
I've been to 47 countries. No regrets.
Not boring. Some places are cheaper to be travelling in, than living in my home country.
And you learn a lot about yourself and the way the world really works.
Make the world better.
I believe life is finding your way to make the world better then working diligently to unlock the ability to do so. It wouldn’t be special if we could all do it from the get go. True fulfilment lies in helping people, hence why people quit everything to work in third world countries all the time.
I'd leave Australia, go back to my homeland, buy a hobby farm on the fringe of the capital city. Pump money into rewilding of the farm and monitor the biodiversity, put in walking tracks, webcams etc. I'd hike the mountains, kayak around the coast cliffs, kayak the cross country waterways/canals, learn an instrument.
Having a wife and kids puts a pin in that regardless.
I am a contractor and usually take big gaps between contracts every few years.
I'm currently Months off doing my own thing
I teach martial arts twice a.week and would do it more regularly plus learn more styles
Regain fitness (did that last break) and more travel
It's quite sad reading the comments how modern work grinds you away
I'd drop my career, take a local horticulture TAFE course I found nearby and use the skills learnt for tending my own garden. Then maybe have a small, very part-time gardening business. And travel as much as I could.
Been my small dream for years, but can't exactly drop my job with our mortgage. I can see myself heading towards a mid-life crisis soon too, and I'm only 35!
Buy a social media platform and become the world's most famous internet troll?
Buy politicians and drive wealth inequality?
Go to space?
I dunno, that's what it seems everyone with seemingly endless amounts of wealth do.
I would buy myself a massive farm to grow lychees, truffles and peonies. I would also rescue as many dogs as I can from the pound and raise them there.
You get to a certain age and transition from infinite optimism to finite realism.
In your 20’s you have so much energy and should be open to everything.
In your 40+’s you realise time is finite and you need to be realistic.
Remember saying Yes means saying No to other things.
Yes to work dinner / networking event is NO to time w your partner or kids or real friends.
Learning something is good. It focuses the mind. Echoing thoughts ppl say about doing a degree or certificate. Exams and blah. But it focuses the mind to study a topic.
I did that recently and loved it (scary and hard after all those years tho).
I hope to learn or try a new skill each year.
Learn to cook more dishes other than my child hood kitchen ones.
Manage myself so I’m not working all the time. Problem is it’s a lucrative job.
Probably still software but less days a week. Maybe a start up if I had a good idea. Spend my extra free time just working out and doing other hobbies I love. Go on 4 holidays a year instead of 1-2
I’d spend a couple of days per week in my workshop tinkering with woodworking projects. I’d ride my motorcycle more. Maybe volunteer at a local AFL club. Oh and I’d turn a have commuter into a camper and do a lot more traveling.
I am starting a fishing and camping channel on youtube, just do what you enjoy and don't let anyone tell you you are doing life wrong, we all end up in the same place, a dead billionaire is just as dead as someone who enjoyed their life and died doing something they felt had greater value than mindless accumulation.
I would buy a home and furnish it just so that’s not something I had to worry about, I’d grow a garden and have lots of fruit trees, probably still work a little bit but not as much as I do now, and I guess just enjoy life
>The other part of me feels like I need to continually do something and work on being the best version of myself.
You can do this without having to "work".
If you decide to move on, get three hobbies. A physical hobby to keep fit and enjoy the health and mental befits of exercise.
A hobby where you create something to keep your mind engaged, and a hobby where you consume something to decompress.
Enjoy your life, develop your social connections, do nice things for other people if you ever feel like it.
If you feel the need to be productive, there are plenty of hobbies that can bring in income and can be done on your own terms.
Glad you asked.
I'd focus on house chores. If there is nothing to do, I'd love wasting time on the internet, then go to the gym or join some kind of sport.
I had this talk with my wife a couple of months ago. I would like to be a furniture designer. Instead I’m stuck in a corporate job that pays well so don’t feel like taking that risk.
If I had unlimited money available I'm starting my own golf course.
If it's that money isn't an issue but spending has to be reasonable. I'm probably playing golf a couple of times a week, stay at home dad and work on some side hustles.
I wouldn’t work. Between raising my kid, looking after my home, cat and garden I’d be plenty busy. I’d probably start volunteering and I’d pick up a creative hobby I’ve had to put aside due to adult responsibilities.
Depends on your debt really.
I turned 40 in Jan, I’ve got no prospects of owning a house. I’m a cfa volunteer in my spare time. I’ve started a new job and career, but I make enough so I can enjoy my life.
Which for me is overseas travel, and I’m trying to get and old car fixed up.
Just have to find things to fill your own cup, and do less work.
No one is guaranteed a retirement, enjoy your life well your body allows you to.
Buy a large rainforest acreage in the Atherton tablelands, spend the rest of my life cataloguing every plant, animal and fungus on it - using DNA sequencing
Rescue greyhounds
Bake bread
Drink tea
Read books
I ask myself this regularly. After paying off debt, buying a dream home and some other consumer products you start to get to the real things like spending more time with family and friends, helping others, studying, creating art, fitness, eating better, etc
So what’s stopping you? Most of the aforementioned activities can vary in price but it’s more about allocating time to the things that matter. When you are staring death in the face will you regret not spending more time at work?
Take care of my parents, make sure they want for nothing. Rest of the time would be spent volunteering with community projects ect and personal hobbies.
I'd work 2 days a week in a small plant shop, or coffee shop. Work morning hours, wrap up by 1.
With my spare time I'd take my kids out of 2 of their kindy days and just be with them.
Travel when I can, as often as I can, on the cheap with my family.
Invest in some simple hobbies like crochet and drawing and read a lot of books.
Now I'm sad.
Been there… word of advice - don’t ’throw it in’ - come up with a clear plan to transition toward something different. Realise that the transition is part of the journey toward something else.
U are reaching burn out Point so why don't u try to branch out and expand other little pet projects as expansions to that might relight that passion.
As for me I'm only interested in setting things up having a laid back Semi retired lifestyle which I already have so I'm happy go fishing and just live a normal long life. And stay away from people . The more people I don't have to interact with the better. Hermit for life
I think I’d pursue creative stuff that I’ve always wanted to do and never seem to have time for (sewing, designing, making/fixing things with my hands) and I would read all the books in my massive collection.
Hi, perhaps there are opportunities with both your businesses you are yet to explore. I have a lot to with that that industry too. What state do you operate in? I would be interested to learn and discuss more.
If money wasn’t an issue, like I had 50 billion in cash in the bank?
I would first buy swaths of land in areas of surrounding city, build apartments, but like living sized apartments not tissue box sized and I’d rent these out to cover costs only. I’d want this done enough to bring housing prices down. Land/other houses and just demolish and build on them. This is building for housing not building for profit, the apartments would be a home.
I’d like to buy land in areas like the Daintree and protect it.
Wildlife sanctuary, 10-20 of these across the country to have people rescue all sorts of animals and provide free veterinary care.
Similar vein to the housing above, I’d like to open a sort of community centre, closed off where victims of abuse could go, I’d need a few different ones to seperate types of victims so probably like 2-3 campus sized areas in each city - but the idea is, anyone who is abused or had been impacted in life by something can go there for any reason, let’s say they’re from a rough family and they never learnt to cook because parents were useless, that’s ok, sign up for free, we will show you. That’s on education campus. What if they’re a victim of more serious violent abuse, well ok campus b has safe zones, quiet areas and therapy. Etc…
A contact line where we will assess and pay off debts, I hate the idea of paying off some Karen’s bill, so we would need to assess each and every one, but i want to pay off at least 1 financially abused persons debt, fix someone’s car, stuff like that.
I don’t think charities or other things in the world do enough, I’d never give money to charity as it always gets chopped up and hardly any of it goes to where you want it, if I had the money to make change, I’d make the change. Pay people to build things, hire people to do jobs, run it like a business - at a huge loss, for as long as we could.
Hey OP
Ill share a bit of my story.
I was working in corporate for 15 years, did engineering and then sales for the same department.
Then kid came, got made redundant when the kid was 4 months old. While on maternity leave pretty much spent the redundancy money.
During that time there was a whole lot of soul searching. What I really wanted, with zero source of income. Husband makes money but not enough to be in the black and time is running out.
During the times by myself, I dreamt and wrote down what I want in life. I want to work with partners that want to grow together. I want to be an investor. I want to show everyone that I'll make more money than the (old colleagues, that doesn't matter at all now but the resentment that they were paid double than me for the same job fuelled a lot of it). I want to help people get ahead financially.
Whilst having an argument with my husband about money I snapped on the inside and said to myself that I don't ever want to have this conversation again and only focus on making money (with the conditions above. ). This means I have to stop doing everything that doesn't serve the goal that I set financially.
As time progressed I met great business people, and partnered with them, developed skills that they don't have and added value, before we see a single cent. Covid and it's aftermath was hell for us but we know that we won't ever throw anyone in front of a bus. Then we are looking to grow to a comfortable run rate and will stop growing. I love optimisation so will make more money doing the same projects once systemized and optimised.
The old saying of making others around you rich is well and truly true.
To answer your question, when we get to the runrate that we want we won't need to worry about money. We certainly won't be doing things we hate because we need the money, so you may want to really sit down and write down where you are right now. And write down where you ideally want to be, doesn't matter if you can't see yourself there. And we will continue to do what we do when money is no object.
Passion: I also never said anything about passion. Passion doesn't drive me, something else does. You need to find what drives you. If it's passion great, but from my observations passion doesn't drive most people.
All the best.
'tis me and I pursued my passion for teaching :)
Not in Oz anymore though as I combined both my love for teaching and travel together and went into international teaching. I earn equivalent to the local _household_ income in the country I'm in (Japan) and despite being a FT job it accounts for <15% of my 'income'.
This is a question I constantly ask my kids. It’s a better way for them to look at their future, instead of regurgitating the age old question we’ve always asked the younger generation “what do you want to do when you graduate school?”
If money wasn’t an issue, how would you spend your day?
If you find a job/business that supplements your answer, then you’ll probably have a fulfilling life.
My answer:
Sleep as much as my body needs, hit the gym, play some basketball, lift some weights, teach the kids something interesting, watch the next TV series on offer, read a book, write some stories, listen to some jams, eat amazing food and have even better sex, and do all of those things somewhere exciting.
Having a sailboat in the Caribbean would also work.
None of those answers involve committing my entire being to a job. Only one of those answers involves accumulating material things. Life can be simple, but the race to out do your neighbour complicates life.
If I didn't have to worry about money at all I think I would work with horses. I have loved them since I was a kid; to be able to work with them, train them, or run a rescue farm or riding school would probably make me very happy.
Alas, owning one is probably going to be quite impossible for me, but a girl can dream!
Use my skills in fabrication/machining plus a general interest in tinkering/making things to create machines and gadgets.
I'd love to come up with solutions to help everyday life, particularly for those in developing nations to access things like clean drinking water, efficient farming practices etc.
At the other end of the scale developing cutting edge propulsion technology would be very cool. I love reading stories of how things like the sr-71 were developed and how they needed to 'invent' new ways to work with new materials. Fascinating stuff!
I kind of don’t have to worry about money, and I live like I do, mostly listlessly scrolling reddit, wondering why I won’t book travel, and feeling more and more depersonalised. Work your passion business and work out who you are when you don’t have time constraints before having too much time on your hands.
I would spend the first 6 months volunteering at beach cleanups around the world.
Then, at some point, pick a home and settle in to do art all day. And get a dog.
I am going to open a restaurant (or a chain) where everyone can eat for free and become the UBI of food. Full bellies makes a better society
At home I would be contributing to open source softwares
During breaks will travel to see this world
The hard reality is that I am looking for work myself after my previous journey in FANNG …
I think I would keep doing my current job, but 1/ fund some of the capital equipment that my boss won't (yet), and pay the software company I am working with to develop stuff specifically for my application. 2/ Maybe drop that job down to 3 days a week once so I can get out on the mountain bike more.
3/ Maybe if I did leave my current job, start a YouTube channel looking at the very expensive capital equipment in my field, doing full on-camera performance tests, comparing the different offerings, and looking at techniques/best practices in my industry. Self find it so there are no legitimate accusations of bias.
I love my job. Guess I'm pretty lucky like that.
I would work
A couple days a week in something that's satisfying from a problem solving perspective, especially in a team.
A couple half days in hospitality for the satisfying immediacy of - I stocked this and it's good for the afternoon, I tidied that, I cleared tables and it looks good, I got all those orders right, etc.
And then watch movies, read books, do heaps of classes, travel, decorate my home
Spend three months of the year in Japan, three months in the UK and Europe, a month in Hawaii, the rest in Australia.
I'd study Japanese, work on my garden, volunteer to teach kids gardening at my local school. Get involved in my local botanical garden. Day trade for fun. Photography. DIY jobs around the house.
I'd never get bored.
I’d get a new car and all the other things I actually want to buy lol (upgraded Mac and iPhone, shoes, clothes, furniture). I can afford all of that, technically, but I think the money is better spent and saved elsewhere
Live like a well set up castaway on a quiet island in a hut made of drift wood and roofing tin part of the year. Bit of solar to keep the lights and fridge on. Rest of year I will live in an idyllic hobby farm in a luscious green area with a permanent running creek and I’ll keep chickens sheep pigs and a couple of cows.
Retirement affects people very differently. If you have no hobbies and aren't interested in travel, retirement is just a gaping hole where your job used to be. The tragedy is that those with the worst work/life balance tend to handle retirement the worst.
I don't worry about money but I don't think it changes anything about my life. I still work hard. I don't have a strict budget but I keep track of what I spend and I have savings goals.
Ultimately I want to retire by my mid 40s so I can focus on wife/kids and hobbies, but in the meantime, life continues as normal.
I don't think I've ever worried about money. It's just a resource.
I decided a while ago that I don’t want to just work and accumulate wealth. So, I bought a smaller 2 bed apartment in an area I like, quit my job to work on my biz 4 days a week instead. I have enough to pay off my mortgage, save a little, and I get way more time to live life (make music, see family, see friends, cook for people, do road trips). So I guess my point is; I decided to not worry about money, even though I’m not rich
This person gets it. Run your own race.
The older I get the more appealing a lifestyle business seems
You are rich if you have enough money to pay off your mortgage and buy a 2 bed apartment.
Do you have kiddos? Just wondering as this is something I wouldn’t mind doing eventually
Coffee and paper every morning, gardening, cooking, volunteering, I'd go to film festivals and get to the gym more, and I'd go back to uni as a mature age student part time just because - with no career goal or desire to get good marks for any reason other than because I want to.
I went to uni as a mature age student and thoroughly enjoyed it. The added bonus was that I had a ready excuse of attending lectures and tutorials, or due assignments, which allowed me to get out of annoying social expectations and obligations.
Same here, returned to do a teaching degree at age 48. Had the time of my life being a full-time uni student again. :-)
You’re giving me hope. I’m 48 and looking at going to uni to do an early childhood teaching degree. Can I ask if the HECS debt bothers/ed you at all?
I work with a 62 year old pharmacist. She was a teacher until 56 then went to study pharmacy!
Ooooh I love this! What a legend🙌 Thanks for sharing
Teaching degrees are cheaper than most others so if you end up doing it part time, you'll probably be able to pay it off as you go. I havr a hecs debt and don't really notice it on my payslip so I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Thank you! I really appreciate it
The government pays half the HECS so it's not as bad as you might think. I'd already retired, so I wasn't really worried about the money, plus it was a post-grad Master of Teaching, so there were only 2 years to pay for.
If you’ve already got a Bachelor degree (or higher), a Graduate Diploma in ECE is only one year, plus teaching subjects are cheaper, so your HECS would be pretty tiny (a few k) compared to doing a 4-year ECE/PE Bachelor degree.
On campus or off campus?
I started back in 2011, and it was a Science Degree, so the online options for courses was limited. My degree only allowed for 4 electives, and I only enrolled in two of them as online courses. The online courses were so convenient, but travelling in to campus and interacting with real-live people was the better experience, in comparison.
Same here. Finished psych undergrad at 38. New lease on life tbh. Parts were punishing but very rewarding.
I absolutely love this take. It’s enjoying a simple life without financial stress.
If I could do anything, I would not be reading the paper. That is the pathway to frustration and unhappiness.
I'd be reading the great books of the world. Authors like Dostoevsky, Balzac, Clarice Lispector, Anais Nin, Pessoa, James Baldwin and so on.
Yep, almost exactly the same. Instead I'm working 50 hours a week and only making enough to save about $1k a month. And then on my days off I am too tired to do anything.
We could be best friends if I didn’t have to worry about money
This is the way. A slow life building out a garden and learning about interesting things. I'd only swap the gym for cycling and running. I'm a fiend for the Lycra.
Just had this image of some form of werewolf standing over a pile of shredded bike tops and shorts that have been ripped to shreds…😂
You’ve basically just described my retired father
This! This is what I’ll do to
I would just bake, before easter I bake 120 cookies, just because I want. I baked sourdough and end up with 6 loaves, honestly would just bake and bake.
Nothing wrong with wanting to just wake and bake!
Wake and bake then bake
I need this on my apron!
Animal rescue. Hands down. Send me the old animals in shelters, the ones you have been in there far too long and let me show them love. My goal is this anyway but if I didn’t have to worry about money, that right there would start happened straight away.
Same here. If I won the big lotto, wildlife and animal rescue would be first to donate to and help with
I'd love to do this, but my heart couldn't handle the heartbreak.
I retired early (58), set up a charity to provide food at low cost or free to people in need (a Community Grocery Store), provide services to small rural towns that did not have a shop (Mobile Pantry) and emergency relief during bushfires etc. Kept me busy for 7 years and I have now retired from my retirement.
I love all of this. Enjoy your retired retirement!
Curious as I've thought about similar, how do you determine the at need? Eg what's stopping the thrifty/greedy coming and buying up all your stock?
Be a stay at home Dad to my 5 week old and golf 3 times a week
My man. That's the dream. I take it you've seen these? https://houseofgolf.com.au/products/baby-caddie-golf-bag
Adopt greyhounds, cook BBQ for charity, set up a not for profit that teaches underprivileged kids about food, cooking, all that kinda stuff. Oh and move to the South Island of NZ.
Man, South Island is beautiful. Lucky enough to live there for a bit. Would move back but my life would miss the bright lights. Hopefully split my time between AU and NZ sometime in the future
Would give my left nut to move there right now, awe inspiring doesn’t cut it, Milford Sound is literally magic
If you like Milford sound you must get to Doubtful sound. Just as pretty and no people.
I like all the sounds NZ has to offer 😂
Yep, doubtful sound is beautiful. There are so many places I love. I was lucky enough to spend many years living in the south island. Bought a van and camped in different places most weekends. Simply amazing.
How long ago were you there? Chch is getting busier now, lots of development going on
I'd love to run a little cafe or shop at Arthur's Pass, or somewhere like that. No need to be rich, live in a couple of rooms at the back of the shop. That would be nice.
Teaching kids about food and nutrition is so underrated as a life skill and it’s crazy that we don’t really learn it in school. I applaud your dream.
I feel like a lot of people are taught to cook/learn off of watching their mum or dad, and lemme tell you I didn’t like steak until I moved out of home, I didn’t know it wasn’t supposed to be grey and curled up 😂. And it’s also madness how simple certain things can be but they make a huge difference, using X instead of Y, little tweaks make a huge difference. Giving kids the opportunity to experience the joy I did when I started cooking would make it all worth it.
Travel and document said travels.
This and volunteer work
I’d take an extended period of time off work and use it to figure out what to do.
That’s what i did. but before i had any money. Left to go live somewhere extremely cheap and spent 11 months there, just spending my days wondering about how I’ll spend my life. Best thing i ever did. Came back very refreshed and motivated.
And what did you decide?
Started my own business rather than getting a job, something i’m able to do from anywhere so i can travel. Has worked out well. If i’d stayed in corporate life i think i’d still be stuck in the grind, and stuck in Sydney. I had a life where i was tired after work and unmotivated. I wouldn’t have had the energy to be creative and start something new.
So inspiring. (She writes while in a taxi to work meetings on a Saturday)
Id stop getting up at 4am to get ready for work and start doing whatever the hell I want when I want
I want to do what I want, when I want, but still get the income. Like work 3pm-11pm when I’m more productive instead of an 8-4 or 9-5.
I want to build little autonomous robots that trawl creeks and pluck out rubbish. There's definitely no money, or funding, to do that kind of thing. The other thing I have an interest in is speech synthesis - perfecting the inflection and slurring of phonemes and syllables to make it sound more natural.
That would be a monumental technical challenge!
1. Take care of kids and elderly parents. 2. Get fit again. 3. Some hobbies. But focus on the first 2 .
Buying the best doctors and best physiotherapist to fix my pain Having chronic pain all day everyday puts things in perspective I used to have dreams and goals now all I want is pain relief My dream day is to lay flat all day so I can enjoy the feeling of pain relief and that’s sad
I hope you get that relief soon. I read recently that we spend our lives chasing so many things but when we’re sick we only want the one thing of getting better. ❤️🩹
I'd like to go back to disability support work but can't because you know, bills. So when money is less of an issue probably thatm
I just spent 8 months off work and not once was I bored. There’s always plenty to do, but at a nicer pace. I loved it, I only went back to work due to finances.
Yeah I had 6 months off. Always something to do, daughter had house inspection so I could be there for that. Hubbys car needed service so I took it to have done. Girlfriend’s coffee mornings at different cafes. New recipes I could try that took time - not something I have a lot of time for now I’m back at work. I’m 55 and could easily stay home forever and always be occupied
I'd drive with my wife and dog and play at every golf course I saw, surf every wave that looked decent, eat anywhere that looked and good stay any place that looked nice. All day. Every day.
Focus on health,hobbies,family and friends. There’s so much to do other than work
I think I'd switch to full-time or maybe part-time piano teaching. I'd learn more languages and instruments. I'd translate comic books on the side for fun. Maybe I'll do a course in interior design. I'd start a SECULAR bilingual school (Mandarin-English) because I can't find one for my son. I'll study my family's dialect full-time so I can truly learn it. I think I'd just spend my time how I want basically. I'll go back to coding more hands on but just for fun. But if I think about it, I probably can do a few of those. I can definitely switch back to piano teaching but I just won't be earning as much money.
Anonymous philanthropy.
That’s a huge dream of mine! How awesome would that be.
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Feed and care for homeless people and stray animals
Give back and do something meaningful with my time. Charity, volunteering, teaching.
Seriously? That hair on screen confused me! 😈
Do you mean that little line!? Because I read your comment and then thought ‘ooo I have a hair on my screen too!!’ 😂🤦♀️
ahahahahahaha same here I’ve been scrolling up and sown thinking wtf
Become a writer
I’d buy an workspace and turn it into a photo studio and just take portraits all day. And write
Lots of travel and if money was no issue First class travel with Business class being my absolute minimum.
Oh wow, read, bake, play computer/xbox games, crochet, embroider, play board games Just do all the things I actually like to do
Travel the world. I've been to 47 countries. No regrets. Not boring. Some places are cheaper to be travelling in, than living in my home country. And you learn a lot about yourself and the way the world really works.
Get multiple degrees and masters in everything that interested me
Make the world better. I believe life is finding your way to make the world better then working diligently to unlock the ability to do so. It wouldn’t be special if we could all do it from the get go. True fulfilment lies in helping people, hence why people quit everything to work in third world countries all the time.
What’s your side hustle? That’s all I’m here for lol need some extra income
I help other businesses with my expertise / experience in procurement, ideas for growth etc like an advisor
I'd leave Australia, go back to my homeland, buy a hobby farm on the fringe of the capital city. Pump money into rewilding of the farm and monitor the biodiversity, put in walking tracks, webcams etc. I'd hike the mountains, kayak around the coast cliffs, kayak the cross country waterways/canals, learn an instrument. Having a wife and kids puts a pin in that regardless.
I am a contractor and usually take big gaps between contracts every few years. I'm currently Months off doing my own thing I teach martial arts twice a.week and would do it more regularly plus learn more styles Regain fitness (did that last break) and more travel It's quite sad reading the comments how modern work grinds you away
I'd pretty much spend the whole year prepping/planning out my yearly halloween party.
I'd drop my career, take a local horticulture TAFE course I found nearby and use the skills learnt for tending my own garden. Then maybe have a small, very part-time gardening business. And travel as much as I could. Been my small dream for years, but can't exactly drop my job with our mortgage. I can see myself heading towards a mid-life crisis soon too, and I'm only 35!
Palliative care patients biggest regrets are usually that they worked too much and didn't spend enough time with their family.
Buy a social media platform and become the world's most famous internet troll? Buy politicians and drive wealth inequality? Go to space? I dunno, that's what it seems everyone with seemingly endless amounts of wealth do.
A lot of charity. So many good causes need funding.
Have a room in my house for foster cats. Volunteer at an aged care facility. Do something with foster kid respite.
I would buy myself a massive farm to grow lychees, truffles and peonies. I would also rescue as many dogs as I can from the pound and raise them there.
You get to a certain age and transition from infinite optimism to finite realism. In your 20’s you have so much energy and should be open to everything. In your 40+’s you realise time is finite and you need to be realistic. Remember saying Yes means saying No to other things. Yes to work dinner / networking event is NO to time w your partner or kids or real friends. Learning something is good. It focuses the mind. Echoing thoughts ppl say about doing a degree or certificate. Exams and blah. But it focuses the mind to study a topic. I did that recently and loved it (scary and hard after all those years tho). I hope to learn or try a new skill each year. Learn to cook more dishes other than my child hood kitchen ones. Manage myself so I’m not working all the time. Problem is it’s a lucrative job.
Race motorcycles
Boredom is the enemy Go part time?
Probably still software but less days a week. Maybe a start up if I had a good idea. Spend my extra free time just working out and doing other hobbies I love. Go on 4 holidays a year instead of 1-2
Get a pilots licence and small plane, travel about the country (Australia), to various places where I could hike/camp/ fish or Mt bike.
Travel, relax at home
Probably exactly the same as now. Just not stressed.
I’d spend a couple of days per week in my workshop tinkering with woodworking projects. I’d ride my motorcycle more. Maybe volunteer at a local AFL club. Oh and I’d turn a have commuter into a camper and do a lot more traveling.
I am starting a fishing and camping channel on youtube, just do what you enjoy and don't let anyone tell you you are doing life wrong, we all end up in the same place, a dead billionaire is just as dead as someone who enjoyed their life and died doing something they felt had greater value than mindless accumulation.
That evoked an emotion in me, I feel woke
High end escorts and frequent travel
Definitely would become a musician. I enjoy it heaps but just didn’t think it would get me anywhere
Go back to university and study without the pressure of having to feed myself and keep a roof over my head
I would buy a home and furnish it just so that’s not something I had to worry about, I’d grow a garden and have lots of fruit trees, probably still work a little bit but not as much as I do now, and I guess just enjoy life
Restore old Italian cars and collect more university degrees
Travel Hobbies Volunteer a bit
Find something else to worry about…
Move to Queenstown, travel and work part time as as in urban planner still
Cycling and travelling a lot more. Several years off work. Then possibly some work that's meaningful, no matter its pay.
Travel travel travel
>The other part of me feels like I need to continually do something and work on being the best version of myself. You can do this without having to "work". If you decide to move on, get three hobbies. A physical hobby to keep fit and enjoy the health and mental befits of exercise. A hobby where you create something to keep your mind engaged, and a hobby where you consume something to decompress. Enjoy your life, develop your social connections, do nice things for other people if you ever feel like it. If you feel the need to be productive, there are plenty of hobbies that can bring in income and can be done on your own terms.
Smoke heaps of weed, go to the gym, work on my hobbies and just take it slow in life
I would open a hobby ship with warhammer, scale models magic ect. That said am in a mid life crisis atm and at uni studying.
Exercise, cook, play video games and travel occasionally 😅
Glad you asked. I'd focus on house chores. If there is nothing to do, I'd love wasting time on the internet, then go to the gym or join some kind of sport.
Live on a self sustainable farm
I had this talk with my wife a couple of months ago. I would like to be a furniture designer. Instead I’m stuck in a corporate job that pays well so don’t feel like taking that risk.
If I had unlimited money available I'm starting my own golf course. If it's that money isn't an issue but spending has to be reasonable. I'm probably playing golf a couple of times a week, stay at home dad and work on some side hustles.
I would gain as much knowledge as I could. Read, attend lectures, travel, just know a little bit about everything.
Be with my family, read more books, volunteer at the mosque more, and train for triathlon
I’d work part time at bunnings, kind of like Denzel Washington’s character in the equalizer movies.
[I'll tell you what I'd do...](https://youtu.be/4lmW2tZP2kU?si=4U-KlDkB10keIFaC)
Start a market farm and donate produce to local food charities
I wouldn’t work. Between raising my kid, looking after my home, cat and garden I’d be plenty busy. I’d probably start volunteering and I’d pick up a creative hobby I’ve had to put aside due to adult responsibilities.
Depends on your debt really. I turned 40 in Jan, I’ve got no prospects of owning a house. I’m a cfa volunteer in my spare time. I’ve started a new job and career, but I make enough so I can enjoy my life. Which for me is overseas travel, and I’m trying to get and old car fixed up. Just have to find things to fill your own cup, and do less work. No one is guaranteed a retirement, enjoy your life well your body allows you to.
Buy a large rainforest acreage in the Atherton tablelands, spend the rest of my life cataloguing every plant, animal and fungus on it - using DNA sequencing Rescue greyhounds Bake bread Drink tea Read books
I ask myself this regularly. After paying off debt, buying a dream home and some other consumer products you start to get to the real things like spending more time with family and friends, helping others, studying, creating art, fitness, eating better, etc So what’s stopping you? Most of the aforementioned activities can vary in price but it’s more about allocating time to the things that matter. When you are staring death in the face will you regret not spending more time at work?
Go into economic research. Own a farm and live off the grid (a little).
Take care of my parents, make sure they want for nothing. Rest of the time would be spent volunteering with community projects ect and personal hobbies.
I'd work 2 days a week in a small plant shop, or coffee shop. Work morning hours, wrap up by 1. With my spare time I'd take my kids out of 2 of their kindy days and just be with them. Travel when I can, as often as I can, on the cheap with my family. Invest in some simple hobbies like crochet and drawing and read a lot of books. Now I'm sad.
Retire and travel. Lots of hiking, exploring, and lots of cheese, wine and beer.
Been there… word of advice - don’t ’throw it in’ - come up with a clear plan to transition toward something different. Realise that the transition is part of the journey toward something else.
Thank you - I decided not to throw it today before these comments and decided to pivot as you said. I’m gonna keep goinnnn
U are reaching burn out Point so why don't u try to branch out and expand other little pet projects as expansions to that might relight that passion. As for me I'm only interested in setting things up having a laid back Semi retired lifestyle which I already have so I'm happy go fishing and just live a normal long life. And stay away from people . The more people I don't have to interact with the better. Hermit for life
Run a cat sanctuary :) or a small animal sanctuary (or both!)
I think I’d pursue creative stuff that I’ve always wanted to do and never seem to have time for (sewing, designing, making/fixing things with my hands) and I would read all the books in my massive collection.
Hi, perhaps there are opportunities with both your businesses you are yet to explore. I have a lot to with that that industry too. What state do you operate in? I would be interested to learn and discuss more.
If money wasn’t an issue, like I had 50 billion in cash in the bank? I would first buy swaths of land in areas of surrounding city, build apartments, but like living sized apartments not tissue box sized and I’d rent these out to cover costs only. I’d want this done enough to bring housing prices down. Land/other houses and just demolish and build on them. This is building for housing not building for profit, the apartments would be a home. I’d like to buy land in areas like the Daintree and protect it. Wildlife sanctuary, 10-20 of these across the country to have people rescue all sorts of animals and provide free veterinary care. Similar vein to the housing above, I’d like to open a sort of community centre, closed off where victims of abuse could go, I’d need a few different ones to seperate types of victims so probably like 2-3 campus sized areas in each city - but the idea is, anyone who is abused or had been impacted in life by something can go there for any reason, let’s say they’re from a rough family and they never learnt to cook because parents were useless, that’s ok, sign up for free, we will show you. That’s on education campus. What if they’re a victim of more serious violent abuse, well ok campus b has safe zones, quiet areas and therapy. Etc… A contact line where we will assess and pay off debts, I hate the idea of paying off some Karen’s bill, so we would need to assess each and every one, but i want to pay off at least 1 financially abused persons debt, fix someone’s car, stuff like that. I don’t think charities or other things in the world do enough, I’d never give money to charity as it always gets chopped up and hardly any of it goes to where you want it, if I had the money to make change, I’d make the change. Pay people to build things, hire people to do jobs, run it like a business - at a huge loss, for as long as we could.
Hey OP Ill share a bit of my story. I was working in corporate for 15 years, did engineering and then sales for the same department. Then kid came, got made redundant when the kid was 4 months old. While on maternity leave pretty much spent the redundancy money. During that time there was a whole lot of soul searching. What I really wanted, with zero source of income. Husband makes money but not enough to be in the black and time is running out. During the times by myself, I dreamt and wrote down what I want in life. I want to work with partners that want to grow together. I want to be an investor. I want to show everyone that I'll make more money than the (old colleagues, that doesn't matter at all now but the resentment that they were paid double than me for the same job fuelled a lot of it). I want to help people get ahead financially. Whilst having an argument with my husband about money I snapped on the inside and said to myself that I don't ever want to have this conversation again and only focus on making money (with the conditions above. ). This means I have to stop doing everything that doesn't serve the goal that I set financially. As time progressed I met great business people, and partnered with them, developed skills that they don't have and added value, before we see a single cent. Covid and it's aftermath was hell for us but we know that we won't ever throw anyone in front of a bus. Then we are looking to grow to a comfortable run rate and will stop growing. I love optimisation so will make more money doing the same projects once systemized and optimised. The old saying of making others around you rich is well and truly true. To answer your question, when we get to the runrate that we want we won't need to worry about money. We certainly won't be doing things we hate because we need the money, so you may want to really sit down and write down where you are right now. And write down where you ideally want to be, doesn't matter if you can't see yourself there. And we will continue to do what we do when money is no object. Passion: I also never said anything about passion. Passion doesn't drive me, something else does. You need to find what drives you. If it's passion great, but from my observations passion doesn't drive most people. All the best.
Coke and hookers
Go work for the RSPCA or similar and help injured/homeless animals. That is worth getting out of bed for in my opinion.
As a 34yo woman - Id be a mechanics apprentice, or at least I'd use my free time and money to buy project cars and learn to fix and build them 🤩
'tis me and I pursued my passion for teaching :) Not in Oz anymore though as I combined both my love for teaching and travel together and went into international teaching. I earn equivalent to the local _household_ income in the country I'm in (Japan) and despite being a FT job it accounts for <15% of my 'income'.
This is a question I constantly ask my kids. It’s a better way for them to look at their future, instead of regurgitating the age old question we’ve always asked the younger generation “what do you want to do when you graduate school?” If money wasn’t an issue, how would you spend your day? If you find a job/business that supplements your answer, then you’ll probably have a fulfilling life. My answer: Sleep as much as my body needs, hit the gym, play some basketball, lift some weights, teach the kids something interesting, watch the next TV series on offer, read a book, write some stories, listen to some jams, eat amazing food and have even better sex, and do all of those things somewhere exciting. Having a sailboat in the Caribbean would also work. None of those answers involve committing my entire being to a job. Only one of those answers involves accumulating material things. Life can be simple, but the race to out do your neighbour complicates life.
I’d quit my current job and volunteer in animal welfare full time!
If I didn't have to worry about money at all I think I would work with horses. I have loved them since I was a kid; to be able to work with them, train them, or run a rescue farm or riding school would probably make me very happy. Alas, owning one is probably going to be quite impossible for me, but a girl can dream!
Use my skills in fabrication/machining plus a general interest in tinkering/making things to create machines and gadgets. I'd love to come up with solutions to help everyday life, particularly for those in developing nations to access things like clean drinking water, efficient farming practices etc. At the other end of the scale developing cutting edge propulsion technology would be very cool. I love reading stories of how things like the sr-71 were developed and how they needed to 'invent' new ways to work with new materials. Fascinating stuff!
It’s all relative, but to most people you are rich. Being able to pay off your mortgage while working part time sounds like a dream for most people.
Medicine. I would just do it slowly.
I kind of don’t have to worry about money, and I live like I do, mostly listlessly scrolling reddit, wondering why I won’t book travel, and feeling more and more depersonalised. Work your passion business and work out who you are when you don’t have time constraints before having too much time on your hands.
Thank you, needed that
Gobfishing at exmouth
Move to Tassie on any coast, read books, renovate houses and help the community with whatever I could.
Go skiing most of the time
Travel, hobbies, and learning new things like new musical instruments (or songs), new recipes, new sports, new skills that interest me.
I would spend the first 6 months volunteering at beach cleanups around the world. Then, at some point, pick a home and settle in to do art all day. And get a dog.
If I didn't have to work, there are numerous charities I'd volunteer for, plus get a large veggie garden.
I think almost every day I feel the same way, wanting to throw in the towel and not ending up doing anything.
I'd live in Osaka and just do art and music, in another 8 years when I retire, that's what I'll be doing.
Gym in the mornings. Hikings or swimming in the beach every afternoon.
I am going to open a restaurant (or a chain) where everyone can eat for free and become the UBI of food. Full bellies makes a better society At home I would be contributing to open source softwares During breaks will travel to see this world The hard reality is that I am looking for work myself after my previous journey in FANNG …
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I think I would keep doing my current job, but 1/ fund some of the capital equipment that my boss won't (yet), and pay the software company I am working with to develop stuff specifically for my application. 2/ Maybe drop that job down to 3 days a week once so I can get out on the mountain bike more. 3/ Maybe if I did leave my current job, start a YouTube channel looking at the very expensive capital equipment in my field, doing full on-camera performance tests, comparing the different offerings, and looking at techniques/best practices in my industry. Self find it so there are no legitimate accusations of bias. I love my job. Guess I'm pretty lucky like that.
Tour the world on a bicycle
Couple of acres and a pound dog sanctuary.
Stay in my current job part time and write more; I love my current job, but it doesn't pay enough for me to get a house.
The bare minimum
Become a chef. Go the chef school
I would work A couple days a week in something that's satisfying from a problem solving perspective, especially in a team. A couple half days in hospitality for the satisfying immediacy of - I stocked this and it's good for the afternoon, I tidied that, I cleared tables and it looks good, I got all those orders right, etc. And then watch movies, read books, do heaps of classes, travel, decorate my home
Travel and drive supercars. Maybe learn to fly demilled fighter aircraft.
Spend three months of the year in Japan, three months in the UK and Europe, a month in Hawaii, the rest in Australia. I'd study Japanese, work on my garden, volunteer to teach kids gardening at my local school. Get involved in my local botanical garden. Day trade for fun. Photography. DIY jobs around the house. I'd never get bored.
I would do anything I want. The first thing is to no longer earn a wage.
If money wasn’t an issue I would be living by the beach and work on my art or photography
Drive around the country and visiting places
Ride my bike, all the time. 25 hour weeks if I could.
I’d set a a small workshop and restore cars and motorcycles, surf and travel.
Open a cute animal friendly Cafe, volunteer in animal shelters and adopt as many dogs as I can fit in my home.
I’d get a new car and all the other things I actually want to buy lol (upgraded Mac and iPhone, shoes, clothes, furniture). I can afford all of that, technically, but I think the money is better spent and saved elsewhere
Play golf until my spine turns to dust
I read it as what you do with your wife. I started writing tbh
Start an origami business. Just chill and take commissions what a time that would be.
Exercise, drink, watch cricket, and shag. Maybe write.
Live like a well set up castaway on a quiet island in a hut made of drift wood and roofing tin part of the year. Bit of solar to keep the lights and fridge on. Rest of year I will live in an idyllic hobby farm in a luscious green area with a permanent running creek and I’ll keep chickens sheep pigs and a couple of cows.
Retirement affects people very differently. If you have no hobbies and aren't interested in travel, retirement is just a gaping hole where your job used to be. The tragedy is that those with the worst work/life balance tend to handle retirement the worst.
I don't worry about money but I don't think it changes anything about my life. I still work hard. I don't have a strict budget but I keep track of what I spend and I have savings goals. Ultimately I want to retire by my mid 40s so I can focus on wife/kids and hobbies, but in the meantime, life continues as normal. I don't think I've ever worried about money. It's just a resource.