Getting out of the rat race
Getting out of the rat race
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Wacky Racer

Original Poster:

40,716 posts

271 months

Wednesday 20th March 2024
quotequote all
Fortunately I am retired but:-

If I was twenty all over again the thought of being stuck in the rat race all my working life would fill me with dread, so has anybody escaped the race without having a large inheritance or winning the lottery?

Maybe living in a motorhome or canal boat for example?


LimaDelta

7,950 posts

242 months

Wednesday 20th March 2024
quotequote all
Never joined it in the first place.

If you do the same as everyone else, you get the same as everyone else. To achieve something more* requires an unconventional approach to life. A different path, the taking of risk. Not just the life-by-numbers school, university, job, promotion, retirement, death, path that most are stuck on, wishing the days away.

* I don't just mean materially

Hoofy

79,471 posts

306 months

Wednesday 20th March 2024
quotequote all
As long as nobody talks about taking the red pill, escaping the matrix and becoming a billionaire...

The thing about the rat race is that if it's about making a lot of money to live a comfortable life then it's fine, but if you get sucked in to all the things that demand money - eating out every night, the latest top-of-the-range cars, private school for the kids, a modern house with the latest interior designs, wearing the latest brands/fashions - then you're going to be working yourself to the bone and when you finally retire, maybe give it a year or two, you'll get terminal cancer or a severe stroke and die. Your children won't thank you.

Fortunately, my parents led a very modest lifestyle and this has been ingrained into my thinking. I do have some luxuries (nice cars, nice watches, nice house) but I'm currently wearing a 10 year old Regatta fleece that I bought from a charity shop for £3. My outgoings are pretty low, all things considered, and if I fancied a massive boost to my income, I could get a part-time job to top up my business income. (For instance, if 9e tell me that my car needs two new turbos. hehe )