Retire early at the age of 40 or 45, live a peaceful and leisurely life, wake up early every morning to enjoy tea and read books, spend time for yourself and your family, and travel to explore here and there. Everything will be perfect until... waking up.
Was skeptical about the decision to retire early
“There were many nights when I couldn't sleep, didn't have the spirit to work, burst into tears thinking about my parents, and doubted my own decisions. I was wondering if retiring early is right or wrong? Am I ruining my life? That is the confession of Ms. Tran Thi Trang (32 years old) - a girl who quit her office job to retire to live quietly, doing what she likes.
When deciding to retire early, Trang herself had to make sacrifices and pay the price with many tears. Giving up a job with a stable income to return home to live, many times she fell into a situation of lack of money. I thought leaving the city would be free of work pressure, but in fact, returning home brought other worries.
Tran Thi Trang has many times doubted her decision to retire early
“From a person who sat in air conditioning for 8 hours every working day, when I retired early, I had to sell my face to the earth and my back to the sky. In the middle of the afternoon, the sun is blazing, I still have to go to the garden to work. Finances are not as abundant as before, and if we trade online, there are not many customers," Ms. Trang confided.
As an insider, more than anyone else, this girl understands the challenges that herself and young people who intend to retire early face. It took some time for Trang to get used to the new rhythm of life. However, the idea of returning to the city to work somewhere still lurked in her mind.
Formerly an assistant to the director of an outside company, enjoying a salary of 200 million/month and a remuneration package that many people dream of, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh (45 years old) was determined to give up and retire early for reasons such as: due to "not wanting to do things that make me tired".
When he first "retired", he had to live on unemployment benefits because his spending was out of control. His investment amount is also decreasing day by day because the Covid-19 epidemic struck, causing many unpredictable market fluctuations.
According to Mr. Binh, when retiring early, young people must be mentally prepared for not having much money to spend, not meeting with 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, I use very little money. But I think, if young people have not had enough experience in the working environment, they should not retire early. At least you have to try it for a while, accumulate enough finance, experience, and living capital to be able to control your life after retiring," Mr. Binh said.
Must take responsibility for yourself
Many people believe that early retirement is a selfish lifestyle, socially irresponsible and carries many risks. If an unfortunate incident occurs, people who retire early will be left empty-handed, unable to leave and unable to stay.
Share with Youth, Dr. Le Thi Mai Lien (Dean of Psychology Department - Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University) said that young people's desire to retire early comes from many reasons. due to different.
Dr. Le Thi Mai Lien
For some people, they decide to retire early because they have achieved financial freedom, return to live freely, and focus more on their own values. They have proactively prepared additional passive income to ensure long-term maintenance.
Besides, there are also some young people who have not worked or have only worked for a while, their finances are still unstable but want to retire early. Maybe you are worrying too much about work, falling into a state of "burn out" - depleted energy. These people need to take 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 following the trend of early retirement when they do not have enough financial independence.
At what age to retire is entirely a young person's personal decision, 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 sooner or later, 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 pillar and support for their entire small family, so if they decide to "return to the garden", they need to calculate carefully to achieve sustainable financial freedom. Only then can we minimize the negative impact on ourselves and our family in case of "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 mental comfort, will work better and their mental health will improve," Dr. Mai Lien said.
Labor must be respected
According to Dr. Le Thi Mai Lien, working to achieve certain achievements during work is also an important factor in perfecting each individual's personality. This is also an opportunity for young people to show and prove their abilities to society.
Each of us lives in many relationships and bonds with relatives, family, and friends, so in addition to pursuing our own life values, we also contribute, join hands, and serve for the common good of all. Community is also extremely necessary.
The lifestyle of not working, just wanting to be a freeloader, and dependent on others will definitely not be approved and needs to be reconsidered.
