If you would have asked me a few years ago when I would like to retire, the answer would have been “yesterday”! Not that I hated going to work (ok, sometimes I did) but I also didn’t really love it. I would sometimes dream about being a real Hausfrau/ stay-at-home-mom who could stay home all day instead of going to the office. But on second thought, I am not really sure that I wanted that too.
There are really good blogs out there on the subject of financial freedom and early retirement, for example Mr. Money Mustache (English) and Hasolidit (Hebrew). These are blogs that I really like and read regularly and learn a lot from, but somehow that wasn’t the perfect answer to my problem.
There came a time where I felt that I couldn’t go on any longer. Partly because I was very unsatisfied in my job and partly because dear husband was having a blast in his own new found professional independence. He challenged me then and asked what I would really like to do, could I do anything that I wanted? That is a really hard question!
After a lot of thought and going back and forth, I was able to define it. I want to work with people. I want to work with something where I can add value to other people’s lives. I want to help people. I want to work when I want. I want more time with my children while they are still small. I want more time to be creative.
And so that is what I did. It is still a long journey that I am taking one step at a time, but I am enjoying (almost) every step of it. It takes time and a lot of patience but I believe that when you really love what you do, you will always bring a good result and with that, success.
So why don’t I want to retire early? If I can work with something that I really love while having time for all the other things I want to accomplice, there really is no need!
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