The unfortunate reality is that many of our jobs can be replaced in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence. This isn't always a bad thing as the increase productivity, can help reduce the cost of a product, and increase the demand for higher skilled jobs. That's initially bad news for the assembly line worker that is replace by a robot. However, it results in better cars for consumers and ultimately creates new jobs for the people who create and maintain the robots.
The best way to hedge yourself from the possibility of being replace by a robot is to find a career where human interaction is needed. A doctor could functionally one day be replaced by a robot with artificial intelligence a massive medical knowledge database; however, people are still going to want to interact with a human doctor.
This is already happening in my field as a financial advisor. They call it roboadvisors. It's something that may be good for people with a small investment portfolio. If you have complete financial planning or asset management needs; however, it's going to be difficult to have a roboadvisor give you the appropriate solution. And like the doctor, most people are going to prefer having another human work with them directly.
My daily struggle is with time management. If I devoted just one hour each day to each of my eccentric hobbies, I would have no time to sleep or work. My current lifestyle took years of practice to achieve and I'm constantly tinkering to make my world more efficient and less wasteful. Since I enjoy this challenge, this is itself a hobby and not a burden for me.
If you look at my list, a lot of the things I do to save money dovetail into each other, so I save time by doing things like "batching errands."
One of the reasons why I am constantly looking for ways to downsize is that I realized that I spend a huge amount of time amassing and carry for material goods. Less things, less things to dust. Once I cut out shopping, that gave me a lot of free time to do things like start a garden.
I try to focus on creating side jobs that I not only enjoy, but am also really good at. For example, I don't recommend starting a home canning business if you truly don't love food preservation as a craft and you aren't speedy with kitchen prep. I just canned 50 jars of marmalade last weekend in 100 degree weather in preparation for a craft fair. Standing over a hot water canner in that heat would be a terrible experience for anyone who doesn't think canning is generally fun. 50 jars took all day to pick and prep the fruit and to process the marmalade. To free up a day for canning, I had to organize my week's schedule around that day.
Beekeeping doesn't take up much time. The bees do all the hard work.
I had a Whirlpool for 16 years, and in those 16 years I used it less than 20 times.
As the article says, they take too long to fill, drain the water heater to empty and the tub is still not full at that point.
The only positive is that it came with the house I bought, that and a sauna, which I also only used about 5 times.
I think 18 ways would have been more than sufficient (without #14). Yes, I know that's how it was done in the 'old days' but there are lots of things our ancestors did that would be considered unsanitary now and this is one of them.
Customer service certainly depends on both the customer and the CSR. It's awesome that point 1 mentioned the different perspectives! Sometimes, all it really takes to be satisfied as a customer is to be kind to the CSR. Perhaps such actions on the customer's part would help future customers receive excellent service. I'd also like to point out point 9 about filling in a survey. – It really does help give back to person who had helped you! Sometimes, even the simplest of gestures go a long way. I've recently written about what had seemed like a simple gesture on the CSR's part, but was actually quite memorable on my part. Feel free to check it out! http://goo.gl/w0CJpq.
Max - How do you find the time and energy to do all of these things and run a business?! I know that not having to be somewhere 9 - 5 (or a variation on that) probably helps, but you manage to accomplish a lot!
As always, I enjoy reading your articles - you really are endlessly creative.
I'd like to retire near home, in Louisiana~ mainly because this is where my sons live. I would consider moving to a small town nearby, but not any further, unless my sons both agreed to move. I think it's important to be near family!
We'd like to retire to Volcano, HI. Property on the Big Island is cheaper than most of the other islands and Volcano is at a high enough altitude that the climate is temperate.
I want to be somewhere near mountains so that there is plenty of hiking and outdoor activities to do, but also somewhere south-ish so that it isn't too cold or too hot. At the moment, I've found that Clemson, SC seems to fit the bill, but there could be more places I haven't thought of yet.
Clothes will last years and years if you hand-wash them. I still wear underpants that are 8 years old; not because i'm a filthy pig, but because hand-washing (and line-drying) never ever wears them out. They will also retain their shape, never get lint balls and just look better for much longer. It makes sense: fabric is at its weakest when wet - so why subject clothes to mechanical, aggressive spinning while at their weakest? The only things I put in the washing machine are jeans, towels and sheets!
I live without cable TV so I don't have to hear from Oprah or Suze. I used to be a Suze fan but she lost me when she started shilling brand-new cars on TV, her line of debit cards, and her self-improvement pushed on her specials on PBS stations.
There's a really great short documentary on Sriracha that I saw at a film festival in Oregon:
srirachamovie.com/
The unfortunate reality is that many of our jobs can be replaced in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence. This isn't always a bad thing as the increase productivity, can help reduce the cost of a product, and increase the demand for higher skilled jobs. That's initially bad news for the assembly line worker that is replace by a robot. However, it results in better cars for consumers and ultimately creates new jobs for the people who create and maintain the robots.
The best way to hedge yourself from the possibility of being replace by a robot is to find a career where human interaction is needed. A doctor could functionally one day be replaced by a robot with artificial intelligence a massive medical knowledge database; however, people are still going to want to interact with a human doctor.
This is already happening in my field as a financial advisor. They call it roboadvisors. It's something that may be good for people with a small investment portfolio. If you have complete financial planning or asset management needs; however, it's going to be difficult to have a roboadvisor give you the appropriate solution. And like the doctor, most people are going to prefer having another human work with them directly.
Hi Thrifty Writer--
My daily struggle is with time management. If I devoted just one hour each day to each of my eccentric hobbies, I would have no time to sleep or work. My current lifestyle took years of practice to achieve and I'm constantly tinkering to make my world more efficient and less wasteful. Since I enjoy this challenge, this is itself a hobby and not a burden for me.
If you look at my list, a lot of the things I do to save money dovetail into each other, so I save time by doing things like "batching errands."
One of the reasons why I am constantly looking for ways to downsize is that I realized that I spend a huge amount of time amassing and carry for material goods. Less things, less things to dust. Once I cut out shopping, that gave me a lot of free time to do things like start a garden.
I try to focus on creating side jobs that I not only enjoy, but am also really good at. For example, I don't recommend starting a home canning business if you truly don't love food preservation as a craft and you aren't speedy with kitchen prep. I just canned 50 jars of marmalade last weekend in 100 degree weather in preparation for a craft fair. Standing over a hot water canner in that heat would be a terrible experience for anyone who doesn't think canning is generally fun. 50 jars took all day to pick and prep the fruit and to process the marmalade. To free up a day for canning, I had to organize my week's schedule around that day.
Beekeeping doesn't take up much time. The bees do all the hard work.
I'd like to retire in vernon British Columbia canada. They have beautiful lakes and gorgeous weather .
I had a Whirlpool for 16 years, and in those 16 years I used it less than 20 times.
As the article says, they take too long to fill, drain the water heater to empty and the tub is still not full at that point.
The only positive is that it came with the house I bought, that and a sauna, which I also only used about 5 times.
We would love to retire on the intercoastal of North Carolina. Nothing fancy of a house but a boat would be nice.
Do you agree with not renting movies or doing so every now and then, as both are somehow acceptable according to the author?
I think 18 ways would have been more than sufficient (without #14). Yes, I know that's how it was done in the 'old days' but there are lots of things our ancestors did that would be considered unsanitary now and this is one of them.
So I NEED to stop making these purchases listed but some of them are okay?
We plan on retiring somewhere in the NC mountains! Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Customer service certainly depends on both the customer and the CSR. It's awesome that point 1 mentioned the different perspectives! Sometimes, all it really takes to be satisfied as a customer is to be kind to the CSR. Perhaps such actions on the customer's part would help future customers receive excellent service. I'd also like to point out point 9 about filling in a survey. – It really does help give back to person who had helped you! Sometimes, even the simplest of gestures go a long way. I've recently written about what had seemed like a simple gesture on the CSR's part, but was actually quite memorable on my part. Feel free to check it out! http://goo.gl/w0CJpq.
The Skagit Valley if you hid on the weekends during tulip season or maybe Whidbey Island.
i want to retire either in asia or portland
Max - How do you find the time and energy to do all of these things and run a business?! I know that not having to be somewhere 9 - 5 (or a variation on that) probably helps, but you manage to accomplish a lot!
As always, I enjoy reading your articles - you really are endlessly creative.
I'd like to retire near home, in Louisiana~ mainly because this is where my sons live. I would consider moving to a small town nearby, but not any further, unless my sons both agreed to move. I think it's important to be near family!
We'd like to retire to Volcano, HI. Property on the Big Island is cheaper than most of the other islands and Volcano is at a high enough altitude that the climate is temperate.
I like where we live now, but maybe add a lake house.
I'd like a town with a good university in it so I could audit some classes just for fun.
a nice comfy coffin as I'll be working 'til I die.
when i retire i'd want to stay right where i've been living already but travel some if i can afford it
I want to be somewhere near mountains so that there is plenty of hiking and outdoor activities to do, but also somewhere south-ish so that it isn't too cold or too hot. At the moment, I've found that Clemson, SC seems to fit the bill, but there could be more places I haven't thought of yet.
Clothes will last years and years if you hand-wash them. I still wear underpants that are 8 years old; not because i'm a filthy pig, but because hand-washing (and line-drying) never ever wears them out. They will also retain their shape, never get lint balls and just look better for much longer. It makes sense: fabric is at its weakest when wet - so why subject clothes to mechanical, aggressive spinning while at their weakest? The only things I put in the washing machine are jeans, towels and sheets!
I would love to retire in Paris, France!
Capital one will not give you a secured card if you have no history with any if the credit bureaus, so what is the point?
I live without cable TV so I don't have to hear from Oprah or Suze. I used to be a Suze fan but she lost me when she started shilling brand-new cars on TV, her line of debit cards, and her self-improvement pushed on her specials on PBS stations.