re: Early Retirement

First off, I'd realistically think of a budget you want in retirement. When you don't go to work everyday, your expenses drop quite rapidly actually. A ton of the things you paid for like oil changes can start to cost 50% or less. If you want to, you eat out less, drive much less, and have more time for things like yard work and house maintenance.

2ndly, why retire completely? If you don't have to work, you know how easy it is to just make $15k a year? You could work at a retail store you enjoy like a lowes, bass pro, etc. that is low stress for 10-20 hours with 12 weeks off a year to help pay your bills until you are 60.

What about owning and renting real estate? It is low tax investment and you can own it in an LLC and open a SEP or Simple IRA to put a large amount of your income into for retirement.