Retire early at 40, 45, live a peaceful, leisurely life, wake up early every morning to enjoy tea and read books, spend time for yourself and your family, travel and explore here and there. Everything will be perfect until… you wake up.
I was skeptical about retiring early.
"There were many sleepless nights, I had no spirit to work, I cried when I thought about my parents, I doubted my own decision. I wondered if retiring early was right or wrong? Am I ruining my own life?" That is the confession of Ms. Tran Thi Trang (32 years old) - a girl who quit her office job to live a simple life, doing what she likes.
When deciding to retire early, Trang herself had to make trade-offs and pay the price with many tears. Giving up a job with a stable income to return to her hometown, she often fell into financial difficulties. She thought that leaving the city would eliminate the pressure of work, but in fact, returning to her hometown brought with it other worries.
Tran Thi Trang has often doubted her decision to retire early.
"From a person who worked 8 hours a day in an air-conditioned room, when I retired early, I had to work hard. In the middle of the blazing sun, I still had to go out to the garden to work. My finances are not as abundant as before, and even if I sell online, I don't have many customers," Trang confided.
As an insider, more than anyone, this girl understands the challenges that she and other young people who intend to retire early face. It took Trang a while to get used to the new lifestyle. However, the idea of returning to the city to work still lingers somewhere in her mind.
Once an assistant to the director of an outside company, receiving a salary of 200 million/month and benefits that many people dream of, Nguyen Thanh Binh (45 years old) decided to quit and retire early because he "didn't want to do something that made him tired".
In the early days of his "retirement", he had to live on unemployment benefits because of his out-of-control spending. His investment money also gradually decreased due to the Covid-19 pandemic and unpredictable market fluctuations.
According to Mr. Binh, when retiring early, young people must prepare mentally for not having much money to spend, not meeting friends often because everyone has their own job... Above all, they must endure loneliness, sometimes too much peace creates pressure!
"My life is more stable now, I am self-sufficient, and I use very little money. But I think that if young people have not experienced enough in the working environment, they should not retire early. At least they should try working for a while, accumulate enough finance, experience, and life capital to be able to take control of their lives after retirement," said Mr. Binh.
Must take responsibility
Many people believe that early retirement is a selfish lifestyle, lacking social responsibility and fraught with risks. If something unfortunate happens, early retirees will be left with nothing, unable to leave or stay.
Sharing with Thanh Nien , Dr. Le Thi Mai Lien (Head of Psychology Department - University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City National University) said that young people's desire to retire early comes from many different reasons.
Dr. Le Thi Mai Lien
For some people, they decide to retire early because they have achieved financial freedom, return to live freely, focus more on their own values. They have proactively prepared additional passive income to ensure long-term maintenance of life.
In addition, there are also some young people who have not worked yet or have only worked for a while, their finances are still unstable but they want to retire early. Maybe they are having too much anxiety about work, falling into a state of "burn out" - exhausted energy. These people need a short or long break depending on their needs to take care of their mental health. They should seek more help and support from outside instead of rushing to follow the trend of early retirement when they are not financially independent enough.
Retirement at what age is entirely a personal decision for young people, but Dr. Mai Lien also emphasized that: "Today's young generation pursues life values that may be very different from before. But once they make the decision to retire early or late, they must take full responsibility for themselves."
Dr. Mai Lien added that young people are a generation with talent, intelligence, and strength to contribute to society. They are also the pillars and support for their small families, so if they decide to "retire", they need to calculate carefully to achieve sustainable financial freedom. Only then can we minimize the negative impact on themselves and their families in the event of a "failed" early retirement.
"Early retirement is not entirely a bad thing. As long as you have autonomy and continue to contribute value to society, that lifestyle is still welcome. There are even people who, when they find freedom and comfort in their spirit, will work better and their mental health will improve even more," said Dr. Mai Lien.
Labor must be respected.
According to Dr. Le Thi Mai Lien, working hard to achieve certain achievements in the working process is also an important factor in perfecting each individual's personality. This is also an opportunity for young people to demonstrate and prove their abilities to society.
Each of us lives in many relationships and ties with relatives, family, and friends, so in addition to pursuing our own values, contributing, joining hands, and serving for the common good of the community is also extremely necessary.
A lifestyle of not working, just wanting to live off others, and depending on others will certainly not be approved and needs to be reconsidered.
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