Anyone retire early early?

Sounds nice but 45 coming faster than I thought….. shooting for 55

Watched my dad slowly lose his health and family. Retired at 42. We were starting 7th grade. He would bounce from hobby to hobby. Golf, racing, hunting. Starting drinking a lot. Essentially did his own thing and had no one to answer to since my mom didn’t work (and he had a prenup). Now he’s 68 and his health is shite. Lives by himself and rarely leaves the house. My only advice is to find something that gives you a purpose. Whether you get paid or not.

Money is great and all but that’s all he ever really cared about. I guarantee you he would trade everything he had now for a better relationship with us. It’s been sad to watch his decline and we have tried to talk to him countless times about his lifestyle to no avail.

I don’t think I’ll ever retire early regardless of my income.

But congrats to you for putting yourself in that position. Just be mindful of your time.

Sorry about your Dad. What you laid out is what concerns me. There's only so much travel/hobbies one can do. I'm wondering if it's better just to cut down hours to let's say 20 hours/week work wise just to stay engaged/active.

Own a law firm and then got into rehabbing and renting out properties. Mainly STRs with some LTRs sprinkled in. Also own a couple other businesses now. Army helped a lot with tricare and VA home loan.

Got really lucky. But also very burned out.

ETA: also don't spend a lot of money. Savings rate is probably 50%+ of gross

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There's only so much travel/hobbies one can do. I'm wondering if it's better just to cut down hours to let's say 20 hours/week work wise just to stay engaged/active.

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I tried this at age 40-45. Seemed to be working great at first, but I can't do anything half-assed or have my name attached to it. Next thing I know, I'm working more than ever to clean up shite caused by others lack of motivation and detail. Then COVID hit and I got my arse worked into the ground, gained weight, blew out my knee, gained more weight and quit giving a shite about anything for a year or two. Now I'm 50 and pissed away my 40's trying to retire without retiring and feel like I've wasted a decade of my life.

So, I say reitre. Enjoy it and rejuvenate your mind and body. Make the most of your prime years and then do something later if you get the urge. My problem was I always wanted early retirement but couldn't pull the trigger when it came time, and I couldn't give up the reins and see the businesses I created go to shite. I should've quit, enjoyed life and then took them back over a few years later and then sold them again.

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What did you do instead of working?

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I guess I could have “retired” in my late 20s. And by retired, I just mean having a corporate job. I would have still stayed involved in my real estate and other ventures.

I guess from my father and grandfather, I have a real need to be doing something. I have to be involved in something, even if money isn’t the prime motivator. So since retiring from the corporate world, I still run my options trading business, dabble in private equity ventures, but mostly I work with several nonprofits. My wife and I also travel a fair amount - and I can trade from anywhere in the world as long as I have cell service or the internet. For hobbies, I take my car to the track a few times a year and pretend that I’m Mario Andretti or Ayrton Senna.

All that to say, if you’ve been used to a fast paced, action oriented work lifestyle, you’ll probably hate just sitting around. A friend of mine is a retired attorney. Yeah, he plays a lot of golf, but he also works part time driving a tractor trailer (of all things!) - says that it makes him feel more productive, and more like a real person than when he was practicing law. He also volunteers at one of the nonprofits that I’m in and is into the car culture (how we became friends).

TL/DR: Find something that you enjoy doing that makes you feel alive. And do it for as long as you can.

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What did you do instead of working?

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you can post on the cesspool aka OT all day?

What are your hobbies now? Are you married? Have kids?

If you’re not passionate about multiple hobbies now, you probably won’t find fulfillment trying to do them full time in retirement.

I know I wouldn’t have a problem retiring that early, but I can see why others do.

If we had remained DINKS, 45 would have been realistic and we would have travelled for at least a 1/3 of the year as “retirement”. With children, we will keep the cash flowing in from active work at least until 50.

I will likely become a college professor and/or become a CFP to do pro bono financial literacy coaching. I’m passionate about the life change from financial planning and I would love to do that without compensation expectations (or requirements).