The title says it all. For me, the goal of frugality is not so much to retire early, but to avoid doing things I don't feel like doing. Even if those things involve extra money.
To wit. I received an email (after 8 days sans email)asking if I'd be interested in teaching a course at a seminary college nearby. Now I taught there for a few years a while back. The pay was pitiful, but I did it as a favor to a friend and for a couple of other good reasons I don't feel like going into.
If you've been reading my blog at all, one thing that should be pretty clear is that I love my chosen profession. Not every bit of it, of course. but the fact that I get to blab for hours about the poetry of John Donne is a privilege I can't even begin to describe.
Just because I love teaching doesn't mean I want to do it all the time. Or that I don't find it incredibly draining. That's why Mr. FS and I don't check the "YES" box on "Do you want a summer course?"
Back to the seminary college. Teaching there was a gruesome experience. Perhaps I pride myself too much on my excellent classroom management and rapport--not to mention my amusing presentation. But the boys at the Abbey were awful to me. they were awful to most of the "outsiders," in fact. That is because when you are in the priest-to-be biz, you are constantly criticized by those above you. All this is taken out on the teachers.
One day, I realized that I could quit. So I did. I said it was because I had a sabbatical coming up, but the real reason was that I hated teaching there and that the money was too pitiful to compensate for my stomach aches.
When I got the email asking if I'd return, I replied that I'd need to hear the details. No reply. Eventually, I returned home and was relieved that someone else had been found. I was planning to say no, but it's always better not to turn down a job.
Though I don't want to retire early--or ever, really--I do enjoy retiring each summer. And I especially don't want to take on extra courses. I have a very heavy teaching load at my "real" job.
What does frugality enable you NOT to do?
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