Early Retirement

[Mountaineer]

I suppose we're all investing for financial independence at some point in our lives, but I'm wondering if any of us have the goal of retiring early.  That brings up the immediate questions "what is retirement?" and "what is early?"  So I'll try to define it as follows:  Retirement in my mind essentially means financial independence, as opposed to beaches, golf and shuffleboard.  And "early" means prior to the normal retirement age of approximately 67.  I'm 48, so my window of opportunity for early retirement is rapidly diminishing, but I do hope to be able to retire somewhat early, which in my case will be a change to a different career that pays far less than my present career in Engineering management. 

So, any others out there?  And if so, do you have a target age?  And my favorite juicy bit: do you have a target dollar amount you need to have put away to achieve your goal?

I am in the "did it already category".  Pulled the plug at age 56.

My suggestions for your consideration re. the financial:

1. Read several retirement focused books to get some ideas about the various views - which will vary widely if they are like they were over a decade ago.    In particular, I would recommend the book by Jim Otar - Unveiling the Retirement Myth.  http://www.retirementoptimizer.com

2. I would plan for a withdrawal rate of no more than 2%/year from your portfolio (average over a few years). 

3. In my case, I had a pension and chose to take Social Security at age 62 for a variety of reasons (including a bird in the hand vs. two in the bush view) so withdrawal from my portfolio only has to supplement those two but my pension is non-COLA.

4. I would suggest you plan on needing at least as much, on average, as your annual GROSS salary.  I expect that is more than most will suggest but my guess is you will spend early on travel and later on medical in sufficient dollars to offset the decrease in income tax and savings.  As you can tell, I'm rather conservative in my planning for how much money is needed to avoid eating cat food if my wife and/or I live to be 100.

5. Assuming you are not independently wealthy, save as much as you possibly can (e.g. until it hurts your current lifestyle moderately) before pulling the plug; that will also make you realize what it may be like if your actual retirement needs exceed your current expectations. 

6. I would not bet the bank that you will want to continue working after you "retire" ... I now can't imagine going back to work in a paying job; there is way too much to do.

... Mountaineer

[dragoncar]

I suppose we're all investing for financial independence at some point in our lives, but I'm wondering if any of us have the goal of retiring early.  That brings up the immediate questions "what is retirement?" and "what is early?"  So I'll try to define it as follows:  Retirement in my mind essentially means financial independence, as opposed to beaches, golf and shuffleboard.  And "early" means prior to the normal retirement age of approximately 67.  I'm 48, so my window of opportunity for early retirement is rapidly diminishing, but I do hope to be able to retire somewhat early, which in my case will be a change to a different career that pays far less than my present career in Engineering management. 

So, any others out there?  And if so, do you have a target age?  And my favorite juicy bit: do you have a target dollar amount you need to have put away to achieve your goal?

I am in the "did it already category".  Pulled the plug at age 56.

My suggestions for your consideration re. the financial:

1. Read several retirement focused books to get some ideas about the various views - which will vary widely if they are like they were over a decade ago.    In particular, I would recommend the book by Jim Otar - Unveiling the Retirement Myth.  http://www.retirementoptimizer.com

2. I would plan for a withdrawal rate of no more than 2%/year from your portfolio (average over a few years). 

3. In my case, I had a pension and chose to take Social Security at age 62 for a variety of reasons (including a bird in the hand vs. two in the bush view) so withdrawal from my portfolio only has to supplement those two but my pension is non-COLA.

4. I would suggest you plan on needing at least as much, on average, as your annual GROSS salary.  I expect that is more than most will suggest but my guess is you will spend early on travel and later on medical in sufficient dollars to offset the decrease in income tax and savings.  As you can tell, I'm rather conservative in my planning for how much money is needed to avoid eating cat food if my wife and/or I live to be 100.

5. Assuming you are not independently wealthy, save as much as you possibly can (e.g. until it hurts your current lifestyle moderately) before pulling the plug; that will also make you realize what it may be like if your actual retirement needs exceed your current expectations. 

6. I would not bet the bank that you will want to continue working after you "retire" ... I now can't imagine going back to work in a paying job; there is way too much to do.

... Mountaineer

So you saved 50x your gross salary?  That's very impressive

[Mountaineer]

Remember the pension and Social Security.

[Kriegsspiel]

I'm aiming for financial independence pretty early. I make good money at my job now, and if I stay in the same/higher salary range I should be FI before age 30. I've also considered getting an "easier" and less stressful job and delaying FI by a few years. The less stressful jobs I've been eyeing are at colleges, so I could get free/reduced tuition also, and get another degree or a masters degree. Since another degree would take a few years anyway, it's a win-win situation.

Another route that sounds better every day is drastically lowering my expenses and retiring earlier than 30. This would be accomplished by living in an RV and touring North America for a while. I call it my Sons Of AnRV Tour. A cheap RV is not that expensive, and staying longer in one place longer would cut down on gasoline, which would be the highest expense from my estimates.

[Kriegsspiel]

By the way, Mountaineer, did you retire in WV or are you elsewhere now?

[Kriegsspiel]

I really like the idea of RV living, especially in the younger years.  The wife and I (prior to the kid) took an RV trip up in Alaska, and I really liked it.  I could do the RV thing myself with no problem.  There are some deals you can work out with National Parks and the like as well, getting free spots in exchange for a bit of work. 

Kriegsspiel, I'm guessing you're single?  And child-free?

Well, parking in a National Forest is totally free too, but yea, National parks "rent" is almost negligible. I hope you appreciated the Sons of AnRV name, I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about it.

Yes, Although I think it would be much more awesome with a chick I liked along for the whole deal.

[WiseOne]

Congrats Mountaineer!

I took a look at that website.  There's some good news for us:  the gloomy scenario was with a portfolio of 60% stocks/40% bonds, i.e. NO CASH.  The 25% that the PP keeps in cash does a remarkable job of protecting the balance of the portfolio during the drawdown phase, and makes 4% or even 5% withdrawal a much safer proposition.

With that in mind, I figure I should be financially independent by the time my current research grant runs out.  My goal isn't to quit my job, it's to remove the constant worry about having to earn enough to pay my salary plus that of the English department, new drapes for the Dean's office etc.

By the way, you might want to rethink the canned cat food diet.  By the pound, it's one of the most expensive food items you'll find on the grocery shelves. 

[Tyler]

My wife and I have been actively taking steps the last few years to retire very early -- sustainably slashing spending, moving to a less expensive city, etc -- and are now on target to retire late this year at the age of 37.  We've been saving over 80% of our net income the past few years, and based on our spending last year we'll have a 3% withdrawal rate starting out along with a great deal of flexibility to adapt when the variables inevitably change.  Along with the PP (especially the very underrated cash buffer) to help ride out the markets tides without stressing so much about portfolio returns, I feel about as comfortable with our financial situation as one can be without knowing the future.

While I really look forward to some true time off, at our age I find it very unlikely that we'll never earn money again.  We'll just do it on our own terms.  We're very low-maintenance people and with our level of expenses even a small amount of side income would be a reasonably significant percentage of our annual spending.  And who knows -- maybe we'll stumble into entire new and rewarding careers eventually.

Along those lines, I saw this referenced on BraveNewLife.com this week and find it especially inspiring:

http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2722

I consider myself wrapping up adult life #2 and starting #3 soon.  Financial independence is simply a means to maximize my options for whatever comes next, and I'm thankful I've been able to figure that part out early on.

[Mountaineer]

Can I ask what presently keeps you too busy to consider a paying job in retirement?  By the way, when I mentioned that I might take on a career that pays less, I'm thinking the pay in my new career might actually be very close to zero. 

Edited to add:  What sort of health insurance did you use at age 56?

Desert,

When I first retired, my first priority was to learn how to do "nothing" and be OK with that.  I retired from a job I loved and traveled over half the time and when I was home I was frequently doing some kind of "work".  I was concerned that I would have trouble going from full throttle to idle.  My wife was concerned that she would have to entertain me 24/7 since we both had really valued my down time when I was working.  In retrospect, and much to my amazement, that did not happen - my wife learned she could still maintain her freedom and I valued my space as well as the time we spend together.  I trust my abiity to keep myself from becoming bored.  When I first retired, I took several classes at a local "over 50" place with several hundred other retirees.  It was affiliated with our local university.  I decided to take all those classes that I did not have the opportunity to while obtaining my engineering degree.  I did that for two or three days a week for several hours each day over a period of 5 or 6 years.  I finally tired of that.  I do/did volunteer work, traveled a bit outside the US, traveled a lot to visit my kids, got involved in a lot of church work, and for the past few years attend 2 to 4 different Bible studies a week.  I read a lot and spend way too much time playing on the computer.  My wife and I enjoy trying different places to eat so we usually are going out several times a week either together or with friends who have similar interests.  In the summer, yard work and general home maintenance takes some time and in winter (this winter especially) I REALLY have enjoyed using my snow thrower a lot (heavy sarcasm).  When I first retired, I spent quite a bit of time monitoring and playing around with my investment portfolio - I have since greatly simplified it and don't look at it much any more.  I developed a rather extensive "what to do if I die" plan, mainly for my wife and children's benefit, that my wife and I review annually.  Also, I spent a lot of time off and on since retirement investigating family history (genealogy programs on the computer and a lot of physical and online research).  I improved my marksmanship skills; that is another item I do off and on over the years.  When I get as good as I think I can be, I lose interest for a couple of years and then start the cycle over again.  I was on an exercise binge for a while until I realized that everyone who exercises a lot dies   So, to answer your question in a very broad sense, I have tried to focus on my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual development in ways that are interesting and beneficial to myself and others.

In retirement I kept the same health insurance that I had while I was working.  My company subsidizes retirees medical and dental insurance but when I retired, I picked up a larger share of the premiums.  That lasted from the time I retired until Medicare kicked in at which time my company insurance became the secondary or supplemental.  Then, for 2013 my company decided to get out of the health insurance game and just give the retirees a fixed sum of money that the retiree could use to buy their own supplemental  plan.  My company also made an arrangement with an insurance broker to help us find the right plan for our personal needs and desires (i.e. basic plan or Cadillac plan or something in between) and handle the reimbursements from the company subsidy.

Kriegsspiel,

I finished up my working career in northern Delaware and thus far, have chosen to remain here.  It is a relatively retiree friendly state.  The medical and dental care in the area is excellent, which is increasingly important; also we really like our doctors/dentist and I have heard a few horror stories from my friends about their doctors refusing to take Medicare aged patients - so far that has not happened in our area, perhaps since there are a large number of retirees here????  Our friends are mostly here.  We really like our church.  Our son and family live within a couple hour's drive.  Most anything we want to do is reasonably close and if we want to travel (daughter and family live on west coast), there are major airports near by that have competitive airlines pricewise.  The climate is relatively moderate and we enjoy the four seasons (usually) but I must say the older I get the less appealing temperature extremes and snow become.

WiseOne,

Thanks for the tip on expensive cat food.  I will have to check out dry dog food or perhaps just rummage through the neighborhood trash cans if desparation sets in. 


... Mountaineer

[Mountaineer]

My wife and I have been actively taking steps the last few years to retire very early -- sustainably slashing spending, moving to a less expensive city, etc -- and are now on target to retire late this year at the age of 37.  We've been saving over 80% of our net income the past few years, and based on our spending last year we'll have a 3% withdrawal rate starting out along with a great deal of flexibility to adapt when the variables inevitably change.  Along with the PP (especially the very underrated cash buffer) to help ride out the markets tides without stressing so much about portfolio returns, I feel about as comfortable with our financial situation as one can be without knowing the future.

While I really look forward to some true time off, at our age I find it very unlikely that we'll never earn money again.  We'll just do it on our own terms.  We're very low-maintenance people and with our level of expenses even a small amount of side income would be a reasonably significant percentage of our annual spending.  And who knows -- maybe we'll stumble into entire new and rewarding careers eventually.

Along those lines, I saw this referenced on BraveNewLife.com this week and find it especially inspiring:

http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2722

I consider myself wrapping up adult life #2 and starting #3 soon.  Financial independence is simply a means to maximize my options for whatever comes next, and I'm thankful I've been able to figure that part out early on.

Retiring at 37.  Now that is really impressive.  Major kudos and congratulations.

Great cartoon!

... Mountaineer

[Pointedstick]

Regarding RV living, I tried it myself and found that it didn't work out and I lost a lot of money very quickly. Let me offer a piece of advice I wish I had taken: If you don't have any prior experience with RVs, or towing, or driving extremely large vehicles, or living in a really small space, I would highly recommend doing these things beforehand just to get a feel for it. Rent an RV of the type you're planning to live in for a week or so and see how it goes. It'll be expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as if you decide you don't like it and sell everything at a big loss a month later. 

The reason it didn't work out for me was primarily because I underestimated how different of a lifestyle it was going to be, and didn't fully understand the degree to which I didn't actually enjoy a lot of the details of RV living. No matter how you slice it, you're living in a small space of relatively low build quality (unless you shell out the big bucks, in which case it's not ERE-compatible anymore due to the crazy depreciation of the thing), having to frequently perform a large variety of heavy vehicle tasks, and living near people who are old, poor, working-class, car-lovers, or any combination of those. If you're a homebody who doesn't really like driving that much, and you don't have much in common with car-loving working class people or the elderly, you're gonna have a bad time.

It's also really hard with a family, especially kids. In order to make it work, you have to expand the size of your rig, which means greater initial expense, a larger tow vehicle (if you're towing), and fewer opportunities for parking. Regardless, your larger rig will be more difficult and irritating to maneuver anywhere and you may start to hate it. But a smaller rig will just make living in it miserable. Where will the baby sleep if you don't have a separate bedroom? Forget about having the baby sleep on the floor by the main bed. It doesn't work. Where will your spouse go when s/he needs some privacy? Outside? Better be more of a nature lover than a homebody. Same goes for you. Pets complicate things, too.

When you live full-time in an RV, the expense you're minimizing is rent. All the others will pretty much stay the same, and your gas and insurance costs will rise. So it makes the most sense if you live in a high-rent area, which is why ERE Jacob did it in the SF bay area. As he said, if he'd been living in the midwest, buying a modest house would have made more sense.

[ns3]

I buried my Dad last year at the age of 94. He retired at 59, not necessarily because he wanted to.

I plan on retiring at around 70 if I can keep working that long which would be slightly more than 5 years from now. If I have my parents longevity (my Mom is still alive and going strong @ 94, BTW), then the way I see it I WOULD be retiring early at the age of 70. I would think that 24 years of retirement ought to be enough for anybody.

Also, got turned off on the idea of not working when my first wife died about 14 years ago and I took more than a year off. I did a lot of travelling but it got pretty boring after a while. I was glad to go back to work.

[WiseOne]

Sounds like you've had rather a sad time of it, ns3...best of luck to you whatever you decide to do, work-wise.

I think I like the term "financial independence" better than "early retirement".  I completely agree with you that it's not necessarily a good thing to stop working.  My father "retired" at 65 and within a few months started working as an independent consultant, simply because he enjoyed it and was very well respected for his work (environmental engineer).  He continued consulting until he was past 80, when he had to quit because of advancing dementia.  And I have no intention of walking away from the career I've developed, no matter what.

The point of being "financially independent" is that you can choose to do work that you might not otherwise be able to do for financial reasons.  That's exactly what I'm after:  I would really like to be able to stay in my current position even if my pay ends up getting cut because of shrinking grant funding and clinical reimbursement.  To me, that's "financial independence" - not early retirement.

[ns3]

Sounds like you've had rather a sad time of it, ns3...best of luck to you whatever you decide to do, work-wise.

I think I like the term "financial independence" better than "early retirement".  I completely agree with you that it's not necessarily a good thing to stop working.  My father "retired" at 65 and within a few months started working as an independent consultant, simply because he enjoyed it and was very well respected for his work (environmental engineer).  He continued consulting until he was past 80, when he had to quit because of advancing dementia.  And I have no intention of walking away from the career I've developed, no matter what.

The point of being "financially independent" is that you can choose to do work that you might not otherwise be able to do for financial reasons.  That's exactly what I'm after:  I would really like to be able to stay in my current position even if my pay ends up getting cut because of shrinking grant funding and clinical reimbursement.  To me, that's "financial independence" - not early retirement.

I wouldn't wish anyone to have to take a year off and travel at the age of 50 under the circumstances I was confronted with, but I have to say it did help clear my mind and give me some perspective about what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Looking back on it now I would even conclude that it gave me a second wind. I think maybe a lot of people would work longer if they took a sabbatical like this.

[Mountaineer]

Sounds like you've had rather a sad time of it, ns3...best of luck to you whatever you decide to do, work-wise.

I think I like the term "financial independence" better than "early retirement".  I completely agree with you that it's not necessarily a good thing to stop working.  My father "retired" at 65 and within a few months started working as an independent consultant, simply because he enjoyed it and was very well respected for his work (environmental engineer).  He continued consulting until he was past 80, when he had to quit because of advancing dementia.  And I have no intention of walking away from the career I've developed, no matter what.

The point of being "financially independent" is that you can choose to do work that you might not otherwise be able to do for financial reasons.  That's exactly what I'm after:  I would really like to be able to stay in my current position even if my pay ends up getting cut because of shrinking grant funding and clinical reimbursement.  To me, that's "financial independence" - not early retirement.

I wouldn't wish anyone to have to take a year off and travel at the age of 50 under the circumstances I was confronted with, but I have to say it did help clear my mind and give me some perspective about what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Looking back on it now I would even conclude that it gave me a second wind. I think maybe a lot of people would work longer if they took a sabbatical like this.

Sounds like you made lemonaide out of lemons!  That is not always so easy to do.

... Mountaineer

[Tyler]

Tyler, that's great.  Do you feel like sharing the magnitude of your annual expenses? 

For us, a family of three plus a cat and a dog (I'll report on our new dog in the other thread), $50K per year is pretty comfortable.  We could live on less if we needed to, and we're certainly capable of spending far more if we're not careful.

Just the two of us, no kids, 2 cats. Ignoring the mortgage (which we plan to pay off before pulling the plug on the day jobs) we spent about $25k last year and are planning for $30k/yr just to be safe. 

BTW, to WiseOne's point the most important concept is independence, not quitting.

[Tyler]

When I first retired, my first priority was to learn how to do "nothing" and be OK with that.  I retired from a job I loved and traveled over half the time and when I was home I was frequently doing some kind of "work".  I was concerned that I would have trouble going from full throttle to idle.  My wife was concerned that she would have to entertain me 24/7 since we both had really valued my down time when I was working.  In retrospect, and much to my amazement, that did not happen - my wife learned she could still maintain her freedom and I valued my space as well as the time we spend together.  I trust my abiity to keep myself from becoming bored.  When I first retired, I took several classes at a local "over 50" place with several hundred other retirees.  It was affiliated with our local university.  I decided to take all those classes that I did not have the opportunity to while obtaining my engineering degree.  I did that for two or three days a week for several hours each day over a period of 5 or 6 years.  I finally tired of that.  I do/did volunteer work, traveled a bit outside the US, traveled a lot to visit my kids, got involved in a lot of church work, and for the past few years attend 2 to 4 different Bible studies a week.  I read a lot and spend way too much time playing on the computer.  My wife and I enjoy trying different places to eat so we usually are going out several times a week either together or with friends who have similar interests.  In the summer, yard work and general home maintenance takes some time and in winter (this winter especially) I REALLY have enjoyed using my snow thrower a lot (heavy sarcasm).  When I first retired, I spent quite a bit of time monitoring and playing around with my investment portfolio - I have since greatly simplified it and don't look at it much any more.  I developed a rather extensive "what to do if I die" plan, mainly for my wife and children's benefit, that my wife and I review annually.  Also, I spent a lot of time off and on since retirement investigating family history (genealogy programs on the computer and a lot of physical and online research).  I improved my marksmanship skills; that is another item I do off and on over the years.  When I get as good as I think I can be, I lose interest for a couple of years and then start the cycle over again.  I was on an exercise binge for a while until I realized that everyone who exercises a lot dies   So, to answer your question in a very broad sense, I have tried to focus on my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual development in ways that are interesting and beneficial to myself and others.

@Mountaineer: That sounds like a great life!  Can't wait to give it a spin. 

@ns3: Sometimes the best thing you can do with freedom is to discover what really makes you happy.  I'm glad your sabbatical allowed you the freedom to take a deep breath and move on with confidence.

[Thomas Hoog]

Well, my goal is financial independence, so some personal figures (in EUR).
51 years, 3 kids (studying, I hope), spending 60 k each year. Taking the 4% rule, I need 1,5 million, to be reach, according to Excel in the year 2027, (3 years early retirement). That's about 2 million $.
However, if I calculated the 7 years moving average surplus on my investments, I will reach the surplus of 60 k in 2022; 1,1 million or 1,5 mil $.
Those are familiar figures. If you live frugal, you need 1 million. To be sure you need 2 million.

[Kshartle]

I feel like retirement is a worse-case scenario. It's kind of like saying "I never found a way to make money that I really enjoyed so I saved enough to stop".

I get that this is totally normal for almost everyone through all history and I'm not judging. It might be that you did really enjoy it but now want to do something else.

I'm trying to figure out a way to never retire. I could always just work a lot harder and live a more austere lifestyle now when I'm young but this doesn't make sense to me. It makes more sense to enjoy this time while figuring out how to make money doing something that really excites me. That way retirement is a goal I don't have to think about because it would never be a goal. Excitement and enjoyment of life every day and every year would be the goal.

Saving and buying investments plays a part in that, but I actually really enjoy that stuff, it's not for a retirement goal.

Didn't mean to derail the convo, I just think we are bombarded with this idea that we need should focus and plan on retirement as well as buying a house, having kids, blah blah blah and I think we're hoodwinking ourselves.

I plan to never retire. That helps me focus on short-term goals which are vastly, vastly easier to acheive because they are near-term. They build on each other and keep building a better life, and ironically make early retirement a greater possibility should I ever choose that "worst-case scenario".

I think the happiest and most incredible people never retire until they are pysically incapable of continuing their work.

[Libertarian666]

I feel like retirement is a worse-case scenario. It's kind of like saying "I never found a way to make money that I really enjoyed so I saved enough to stop".
...
I plan to never retire. That helps me focus on short-term goals which are vastly, vastly easier to acheive because they are near-term. They build on each other and keep building a better life, and ironically make early retirement a greater possibility should I ever choose that "worst-case scenario".

I think the happiest and most incredible people never retire until they are pysically incapable of continuing their work.

I don't expect to ever lie around the house all day. However, although my job isn't bad, it also isn't how I would spend my time if I didn't want the money.

So at some point I'm going to stop working for others and work for myself instead.

[Kshartle]

I feel like retirement is a worse-case scenario. It's kind of like saying "I never found a way to make money that I really enjoyed so I saved enough to stop".
...
I plan to never retire. That helps me focus on short-term goals which are vastly, vastly easier to acheive because they are near-term. They build on each other and keep building a better life, and ironically make early retirement a greater possibility should I ever choose that "worst-case scenario".

I think the happiest and most incredible people never retire until they are pysically incapable of continuing their work.

I don't expect to ever lie around the house all day. However, although my job isn't bad, it also isn't how I would spend my time if I didn't want the money.

So at some point I'm going to stop working for others and work for myself instead.

That's what I'm getting at right there. I'm well compensated in a low-stress (for me) position I work from home part-time at full-time pay. I could really pursue career advancement and push it and retire before 50...NP. I think that's the wrong goal for me so I'm putting the extra energy into figuring out an exciting way to make a living that at least for the moment I could envision doing until physically unable, if ever.

[Tyler]

I feel like retirement is a worse-case scenario. It's kind of like saying "I never found a way to make money that I really enjoyed so I saved enough to stop".

...

I think the happiest and most incredible people never retire until they are pysically incapable of continuing their work.

I hear where you're coming from.  I disagree with the perspective that the primary goal in life is to make money, but admire those who work because it truly brings value to their life and to others.  My career has been very rewarding at times.  But I can't help but think there's more to life than the single track I've been in up to now.

I think for many, the issue with working late in life (other than assuming you'll be capable or immune to ageism) is enjoying the same career track for an entire lifetime.  For me, financial independence and "retiring" from a career mentality frees me to explore doing many rewarding things (many of which may eventually pay pretty well) over my lifetime.  I'll have the flexibility and opportunity to adapt and jump at rare or not particularly profitable opportunities that many people can't afford to take.  I believe that freedom will increase my ability, both emotionally and practically, to find enjoyable work later in life.  Some people talk about golden handcuffs, but I find golden guiderails just as constraining.

I think the word "retirement" has a lot of baggage based on the traditional definition as a finish line.  But if managed sufficiently early, an ending frees one up for a new journey.  Think of it as 18 holes of career golf. 

[Kshartle]

I think the word "retirement" has a lot of baggage based on the traditional definition as a finish line.  But if managed sufficiently early, an ending frees one up for a new journey.  Think of it as 18 holes of career golf. 

I completely agree with you in a general sense. If I can disagree slightly in the details though please don't take offense. In my own experience, and where I think a lot of people could improve their lives.....is to completely drop the notion of an ending. We are always bombarded with the threat that if we don't plan for the next 20-30 we'll end up eating cat food.

Yes we might end up eating cat food, but it won't be the result of not planning today. Ironically, people put off planning entirely because the end of their plans is so far off.

I say screw planning like that, and screw the idea of retirement. If I have a plan for anything that goes out much more than 1 year then it is a freakin fantasy. I plan for this year, next at the most and even that's rather vauge.

My savings goals are for the year, and really for the quarter. That way I always acheive them. My work goals have never been to be the CEO, just to increase responsibility and compensation to the next level. Since starting with the company in 2007 I've averaged about 12% annual increase in an era of 2% raises across the board. I work from home 4/5 days and only come in when I choose.

Anyway, it applies to a lot of different aspects of life. Yes it's a nice idea to wake up as a coach potato and say you're going to run a marathon. Good luck with that. I'm sure some people make but 99% probably don't. How about just make your goal one good hard mile. When you get there make a new goal. Who knows, by the time you can run a half-marathon you might realize you don't want to go the rest of the way.

Same thing with retirement. I don't even know I'd like it so why would I want to make it a goal. I'll stick to what I can see on the horizon, not past it.

[ns3]

I think the word "retirement" has a lot of baggage based on the traditional definition as a finish line.  But if managed sufficiently early, an ending frees one up for a new journey.  Think of it as 18 holes of career golf. 

Reminds me of the parable of the rich fool in the Bible ......

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”?’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”?

[Tyler]

Reminds me of the parable of the rich fool in the Bible ......

I'm acutely aware of that parable.  The very day I reached a big financial milestone last year, I also received post-surgery test results that finally proved (after 7 months of worry) I did not have cancer.  Guess which news I celebrated more.  That exact passage was heavy on the mind that day, and I consider the experience a not-so-subtle divine message not to get cocky and to keep my eye on the correct target.  Still, it also reinforced for me that continuing down my current path was also not the best use of my limited gift of time. 

Perhaps it helps to define what you seek to retire from.  When I achieve financial independence, I intend to retire from a traditional 40+ hour/week cubicle job solving shallow consumerist non-problems for profit.  Even when the work itself is often rewarding, the system is no longer personally conducive to a full life.  With the additional time and freedom, I plan to pursue activities with little regard to financial reward that will help me, my family, and my neighbors both physically, emotionally, and spiritually. 

It's not for everyone, and we all have our own motivations.  But I look forward to forging my own path.  It's admittedly a lot easier to think about early retirement when you're already pretty close.  I don't take my opportunity for granted, and have no intention of wasting it.