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Its interesting to note that when I speak to my peers and relatives about retirement, there seems to be an underlying fear of not working. Work, it seems, is an integral part of our lives and that trend is unlikely to cease anytime in the near future. Ironically, the biggest reason I hear for not working is boredom. Let that sink in for a moment.
I don’t know about you, but any job that I do for 40 hours a week, every week, until the end of time sounds pretty boring to me. Try watching TV for 40 hours a week, running for 40 hours a week, or laying on the couch reading for 40 hours a week. How long does it take the novelty to wear off? How long before you are burned out and want to do something else?
So it is that the idea of a “career” of doing the same thing all the time every day ad nauseum seems..well, boring! How do I counteract this boredom? Entertainment of course. I love travel, I really do, I recently came back from driving to Atlanta, a city I’ve never been to, and I had a blast. The experience itself is enough to keep me going. Unfortunately these trips are few and far between, because like most other things, they cost money. In order to keep myself entertained outside the workplace I need to spend the money I earn within it. If I want to escape the workplace, however, I’m going to need to save it, not spend it! The Atlanta trip was well budgeted and I’m currently saving well over 20% of my income, but I don’t feel like its enough.
I’m curious, readers, what it is you do for cheap entertainment? My spending budget for each week is 25$, enough to go out to eat and catch a movie if I want to. I think that’s reasonable, and some feel like that’s outrageously low. How much do you spend on average?
-Xias