re: Am I early retirement ready? Updated

I’m loling at the comments that early retirement equals dementia or Alzheimer’s, or a sad life with no friends....seriously? Going to work each day is no protection from mental decline, and there are loads and loads of people who work non traditional schedules, are freelancers, self-employed & don’t work 80 hrs a week who are out living life.

The world is a huge, amazing place full of incredible things. Being a wage slave for an extra decade isn’t going to keep you mentally sharp if you have a brain disease.

While I understand that some are concerned about rising costs of living and unanticipated kid costs, I think you should take a couple of years off and see how it goes. Military retirement isn’t like dropping out of the corporate rat race—you’ll have a good transition story for any potential employer if/when you do decide to re-enter the workforce. Teaching ROTC is a great fallback plan, esp if you are location-flexible.

If you aren’t fixated on material things and live some place w/low housing costs, you’ll be fine.