Hi:
I am married, aged 46, have 4 kids, and a great frugal wife.
I have 3.2 million dollars in stocks, bonds, and cash.
My house is paid for. No debt.
My job has gotten somewhat less enjoyable over the last few years. I had planned to ER, at age 46, but I am afraid to try it. Afraid I will miss working, or my relationship with my wife will be change. Concerned that some unforeseen event could land me in financial straits. Concerned I may get bored, or lose a purpose in life. In short, I am a worrier.
Any advice?
I don't give advice, but I will comment. Your relationship to your wife will change, as will your relationship to your kids. It may get better, or worse. But it will definitely change. How could it not?
Even with 4 kids, you probably have plenty money to retire. Most here would say you certainly have plenty.
But we are not talking about an inability to accept life saving surgery here. We are talking about a somewhat unusual and completely voluntary act, early retirement. Quite early, at age 46 with a large family. So I don't think you have to hassle yourself about why you are not doing it.
Maybe your intuition is telling you that for your individual self and your particular wife and family and job and everything that makes up your environment, you are not at this time sure early retirement is the best thing for you to do.
This board is dedicated to early retirement, so you can expect to hear the most positive aspects of it here.
Take your time. A job that was good enough to allow you to accumulate a a wife and 4 children, a paid for house and $3.2 milion in invested assets is a pretty good job to walk away from.
It is fashionable to pretend that we are not competitive, that we don't get ego gratification and maybe even testosterone enhancemnet from having these powerful positions.
But read some of the threads here. Do you see quite a bit of jockying for respect and position? Does it make you wonder if at least some of this comes from what was lost in ER?
Presumably you have it, and you will be walking away from a good bit of it if you retire.
Personally, I quit a good career only becaue it was driving me goofy. I would not have quit if my job were "somewhat less enjoyable", as you said.
Mikey