My Personal Economic Disobedience

My Personal Economic Disobedience is all about the lifestyle I have chosen to live as an early retiree. I have always been someone who seems to buck the system, I just can’t blindly follow rules that don’t make sense to me. I seldom quietly oblige when someone lays down expectations that are not fair in my mind. Especially when the only reason given is obedience.

It seems the only folks who use the word obedience as a motivator are those who believe they are in a position of power or claim some kind moral authority. Perhaps that is why I love challenging the traditional definition of retirement and call myself a Leisure Freak. That said, I do enjoy the thought that I am practicing My Personal Economic Disobedience through Financial Independence.

I feel that those who are dedicated to smart frugal living and saving/investing are considered economically disobedient because we are at odds with the economic mainstream and the financial expectations of the system.

Economic Disobedience has different flavors.

There are those who are part of Tax Revolt or Student Loan repayment refusal. Then there is where I fall into Economic Disobedience, with Frugality and my Employment Demands. That’s what the government and/or private economic powers consider to be Economic Disobedience. To us in the Financial Independence movement, it’s not about trying to be disobedient, but just our creating strategic and elaborate ways of living an alternative economic lifestyle. One that works for us. A way that is apart from the existing economic systems that are considered as normal.

We are empowered free people who have chosen to break the chains that financially enslaves us within the existing capitalist, employment and consumerist system.

My Personal Economic Disobedience Through Frugality

Spending Discipline

It takes a certain amount of frugal living to get to Financial Independence. You have to cut cost to maximize savings to attain financial freedom and early retirement. That means we don’t buy crap if we don’t need it and strategically limit purchases for what we think we need. This goes against economic measurement and expectations where if you have the means you are expected to spend it and buy things.

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

The biggest way that the economy is measured is by gross domestic product (or GDP) calculated statistics.

My Personal Economic DisobedienceConsumer Spending is the largest part of GDP now weighted around 70% of overall GDP measurements. Practicing frugality when you have the money goes against the system. If you make more money then you are supposed to follow the masses and spend more money. Not save it so you can drop out of the rat race early. That goes against the system’s economical expectation of the masses and is just being economically disobedient.

Avoiding Debt

Another part of Financial Independence motivated frugality is debt repayment and debt avoidance. Nothing financially enslaves more today than debt. However we are expected to take on debt and pay it back with interest over the length of the loan. The people who pay off credit card charges each month without ever paying interest are considered Credit Freeloaders and Deadbeats. Just think what they call those of us who not only avoid all credit card interest but also reap rewards from their cards too.

How many times have you seen reported as an economic indicator the number of auto loans? Or borrowing in general that was either up or down for the month or quarter? Borrowing money is expected in the current consumerist and capitalist system. The data is compiled by the Federal Reserve and released as economic reports. Anyone with the means and a better than horrible credit rating who purposely are a non-participant in the borrowed money economic measurement is economically disobedient.

My Personal Economic Disobedience Through Employment on my Terms

I chose to retire early and often. If and when I choose to take on employment it will only happen when the opportunity is aligned with my interests and passions. I am also picky and I set boundaries around what I am willing to do. Unfortunately that doesn’t fit in the workplace very well. At least in the U.S. where workers are considered interchangeable and replaceable cogs. Cogs with predefined “take it or leave it” cross-functional and excessive responsibilities.

Just look at job ads and the list of the required skills. They want it all. All at entry-level salaries. Sadly, many workers today in an investor-driven corporate market are not seen as an asset. Not seen as people with unique capabilities, skills and talents to be maximized. But instead treated as costs and expected to fill job-needs as low-expectation and loyal drones.

Without Financial Independence you may have no choice but to accept it. However for those of us who are backed by the power of financial independence, we can challenge the employment system. The system that depends on economically desperate employees performing work without question. Our setting boundaries and being selective about what we do may be considered Economic Disobedience.

When I retire and leave a position I may trigger other economic measurements. Each month there is a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is based on data from employers at industry levels detailing the amount of people who were added or subtracted from their payrolls. Anyone who is capable of working is expected to labor. To choose to not work at a young age and retire early is most likely just another form of Economic Disobedience.

Are There Penalties for Economic Disobedience?

Yes and No.

Being frugal is not illegal or called out anywhere. Although numbers are growing, in the grand scheme of things there are few purposely frugal people in numbers. We aren’t an overall threat to the economy. Even though Financial Independence may bring on sometimes extreme frugality with reduced purchases, it also brings investments into the system through the stock and bond markets so there is economic benefit.

Being a choosy employee while retiring early and often may cause backlash and future unemployment. But that is part of the risks for living life on our own terms. I can mitigate this by over delivering and providing a valued and wanted skill set.

There are some things that seem to be targeting the Financially Independent by way of taxes.

An easy example is the small amount of non-Social Security income that a retiree has coming into them which will trigger taxing up to 85% of their received Social Security benefit. Seemingly the non-adjusted static thresholds are there to take money from anyone who saved for a better retirement. Especially once RMD begins at age 70 ½.

A few years ago in Colorado a group dissatisfied  with the ACA (Obamacare) tried to push through a state-wide single payer health system. It came with the mandatory citizen payment into the system not only determined by income but also net-worth. Counting your home equity, investment/savings portfolio and retirement accounts. The gall of some people to be financially independent through frugal living, being financially responsible and saving. Can’t get enough from them on their frugal taxable income so let’s go after total assets too!

There was talk by Republican Presidential candidates to means-test Social Security above how it is currently means tested within its income bend points. Some in congress share those views. Who knows how far this might go. But I wouldn’t bet against it just ending with adjusting working income means testing as it is now. I wouldn’t put it past some of them to also want to include retirement savings balances and/or retirement income. Just to snare and penalize those who had modest incomes but chose Financial Independence to save for retirement. Punishing the savers was alright through the economic recovery with low-interest rates so why not with Social Security?

Final Thoughts

I don’t mind being labeled as practicing Economical Disobedience, I am a Leisure Freak after all and challenging rules is what I do. I chose to buck the norms and live free from all the consumerist trappings that the system expects everyone to take part in.

My Personal Economic Disobedience does benefit me but I do not consider it as selfish or self-centered. I am not shucking some kind of economic obligation. It’s just living a life where I took control of my finances to become free and liberate myself from employment servitude. What is so wrong with that?

Stray from the expected and become a part of the growing few who are practicing Economic Disobedience.

2 thoughts on “My Personal Economic Disobedience

  1. I just learned something from reading this post — that we are credit freeloaders. Ha! Never been happier to be a deadbeat.

    We are in the camp of thinking that not everyone needs Social Security or cheap health care premiums to get by, and so we’re okay with some adjustment for income and/or means. Even though we’ve paid more into SS than plenty of people, the result is that we need less, and we’d rather if more of our dollars go to those who came into life with many fewer advantages than we did. (It probably helps this view that we aren’t expecting to receive any SS payments by the time we reach our 60s — or, who knows, the eligibility age may be into the 70s by then!) Of course, we’re banking on being able to get subsidized health care in early retirement through the exchange, so if we were dinged for net worth, and not just annual income, we’d certainly have to re-adjust our thinking!

    1. Thanks for the comment. I know many younger people with your view point about Social Security but at my age of 57 pretty much my whole life minus the last few years Social Security was never called an entitlement for just those in need but my mandatory and guaranteed retirement plan backed by the US Gov. So I disagree somewhat with your position of just accepting a reduced or no benefit. I say good for you if you feel you don’t really need it and there should be a way to donate it back to the less fortunate in those cases if people want to. Social Security is already means tested in favor of the low income within its current bend point structure. Sure there could be additional income bend points added to further reduce high earners benefit but that isn’t what the “Entitlement Movement” folks want. Social Security has only became an entitlement when those who would like to see the obligation gone took the opportunity to start moving public perception in that direction, especially the millennials who seem to be buying into their story. The whole Social Security is an entitlement movement is not for reasons of the patriotic and what is best for the country but for reasons of future profit. I didn’t make 6 figure plus salaries but know plenty who did. They didn’t then and don’t now save anything much for their future self. I think to means test people out of their benefits or forced to pay more who had/have lower salaries and lived responsibly saving for old age while favoring high salary irresponsible spenders sends the wrong message. It only justifies my post as they are trying to punish the economic disobedient. I am fine with looking at lifetime salaries or retirement income and adding some tweaks to the existing means testing, but to treat the financially irresponsible better than the responsible because the frugal and responsible paid off their house and has a decent IRA is BS. My final comment is that Social Security is the only retirement program in this country that works and is worth fighting for. Don’t give up on it.
      Tommy

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