Is early retirement a myth?

9982 Views 13 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Rickson9, Jun 30, 2009

Spidey

Discussion Starter · Jun 25, 2009

By early retirement I'm referring to those who say they retire in their 30's or early 40's and not the "freedom 55ers". I tried dropping out of the work force in my early fourties and getting by with a frugal lifestyle. We were paying the bills but we found the lifestyle to be a little more difficult than we imagined. It can be difficult not to feel deprived when being frugal is a necessity rather than a lifestyle choice.

Anyway, it seems as though when you dig a little deeper into any of the so called successful early-retirement stories, they either work part time, sell books, become farmers or depend on their spouses income. It may be an inspirational example of doing what you want with your life but is that really retirement? Is anyone doing it with no income other than investments?

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Assetologist

· #5 · Jun 25, 2009

CanadianCapitalist said:
I'm not entirely sold on early retirement, in the sense that you simply live off investments. At least for me, it will be great for a few weeks or months before ennui kicks in. I like the concept of Financial Independence much better -- you go to work because you want to do something not because you have to. And if it comes to that you can tell anyone to go to hell. In that sense, a lot of these "early retirement" types are financially independent, not really retired.

I'm personally planning on retiring by 55. I'll probably do a retirement-on-installment-plan deal. Work a few months, take a few months off. Work part-time in the summer months etc.

A agree CC - my plan is very similar.

My plan necessitates investing until age 55 then work only to pay for life expenses until age 60. This should allow for an additional 5 years of compounding. ? full retirement by age 60 although you never know I may continue to work a bit more.

I have built a number of safety margins into my plan... I think.

I am fortunate to be able to take about 12 weeks completely off each year now which certainly goes a long way in helping me 'love' my job.

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