Do people actually retire early?

[easysurfer]

oh...and I retired at 41.

I like that, An ER'd person version of "Happy Hour!"

 

[LARS]

I retired at age 50. What I can't figure out is how to convince you that I really exist.

To paraphrase Sartre in this new high-tech world: "I type, therefore, I am."

And I retired at 38 and have a number of ex-colleagues that punched out early, but that was Investment Banking and not accounting.

 

[kramer]

If these early retirees exist, where are they? I do not want examples from internet blogs. Do you actually know a real person who has retired in the 40's or early 50's successfully?

Well, I am in Colombia

I am 44, retired at 41 and that was after getting a late start on my career (I was almost 24 when I started college).

The very early retirees that I have met (45 or younger?) personally are Billy/Akaisha, Ben, and Paul/Vic Terrhorst. But I met them all through the internet via early retirement forums before meeting them in person.

But now that I think about it, no one in my extended friends or family network, and this includes extensive connections in Silicon Valley, did a very early retirement. Also, I have traveled to and lived in a bunch of countries and met a lot of people since I retired, and yet I have never met another Very Early Retiree that I know of, save those I mentioned above that I met first through the internet. So I guess we are a rare breed . . .

Also, even of this small group, I am the only one that I know of that has basically done no work for pay (writing articles, writing books, AdSense web sites, angel investments, etc) since retiring. That is one reason I prefer to call it financial independence -- it is not necessarily retirement, as not working is not the most important element. The important element is freedom to do what you want with your time.

I recently posted an update on my Early Retirement here:

Raddr's Early Retirement and Financial Strategy Board :: View topic - Three Years of FIRE

 

[LOL!]

Nope, not even govmint workers can retire until they are 95:
Postal Worker Retires At 95, Onion Sandwich In Hand : NPR
I can't decide if an onion sandwich is better than cat food or not.

 

[haha]

Well, I am in Colombia

I am 44, retired at 41 and that was after getting a late start on my career (I was almost 24 when I started college).

The very early retirees that I have met (45 or younger?) personally are Billy/Akaisha, Ben, and Paul/Vic Terrhorst. But I met them all through the internet via early retirement forums before meeting them in person.

But now that I think about it, no one in my extended friends or family network, and this includes extensive connections in Silicon Valley, did a very early retirement. Also, I have traveled to and lived in a bunch of countries and met a lot of people since I retired, and yet I have never met another Very Early Retiree that I know of, save those I mentioned above that I met first through the internet. So I guess we are a rare breed . . .

Also, even of this small group, I am the only one that I know of that has basically done no work for pay (writing articles, writing books, AdSense web sites, angel investments, etc) since retiring. That is one reason I prefer to call it financial independence -- it is not necessarily retirement, as not working is not the most important element. The important element is freedom to do what you want with your time.

I recently posted an update on my Early Retirement here:

Raddr's Early Retirement and Financial Strategy Board :: View topic - Three Years of FIRE

Super interesting Kramer. Thnx for the link.

Ha

 

[Htown Harry]

Well the reason I ask is that any time this subject comes up at work and I mention I would like to retire early, they think I'm A)Crazy or B)Naive. You just see the same people grinding it out M-F and it's hard to think there are people who actually don't live this way.

In other words: B) What do you mean, you want to be financially independent from a paycheck? or A) Why would anybody want to retire early?

The collective ER.org wisdom has taught me that the FI part can be boiled down to a simple math problem. Something like this:

Career income
- working-life spending
+ career retirement benefits (pension, SS, med coverage, etc)
+ (LBYM savings x investment growth and compounding)
+ windfalls (gifts, inheritances, lottery winnings, etc.)
= my retirement portfolio and benefits

When the sum is greater than 25 times a desired retirement income, you're FI

​

See Firecalc and a few hundred helpful threads for more details.

Sadly, not many 25 to 40 year-olds have grasped how the various parts of this equation work and interact with one another, which puts a real damper on the number of 45-year-olds prepared to consider ER.

For those in their 40's with the foresight (or luck) to actually be prepared financially, the self-examination needed to answer "why do I want to retire?" trips up a large percentage. The retirement lifestyle isn't for everyone.

A small percentage multiplied by a small percentage = a very small percentage. Our flock is indeed pretty rare.

"Crazy" or "naive" are often just convenient labels some folks come up with to categorize opinions or knowledge not matching their own.

 

[Nords]

During the week I listen to the rush hour traffic reports while I check email and have another cup of coffee.

I try to get to the beach at dawn, or at least drive to the beach that's opposite the rush-hour traffic flow...

 

[scrabbler1]

A few months before I retired in late 2008, two coworkers in my office retired at age 55. One was a married man and simply latched on to his wife's medical plan. The other was like me, single and childfree (but was female, unlike me).

Both of them, like me, had long, tiring commutes and were simply sick of them. Both of them, like me, got out when our company stock was still very high, before it tanked a lot at the end of 2008 (after I left, too). Both of them were grandfathered into the pension plan which had been frozen for me because I was too young (45).

The woman was more angry at her management (she was in a different department). The man was not. He had been my boss for a few years before he got switched around and was higher up on the food chain than I was.

I have stayed in touch somewhat with the woman but not as much in the last 12 months. I have not stayed in touch with the man although he lives in my county.

 

[clifp]

Besides Nords, who looks a lot like his pictures . I know four other people who have stopped working before the are 50 plus my Brother In Law who actually retired twice before finally retiring at 65 and my cousin a retired firefighter who was about 50 when he stopped working.

Among my former Intel colleagues many have stopped working for corporation and work as "consultants", entrepreneur advisers, charitable organization where I'm pretty sure they don't actually collect paychecks.

 

[Tigger]

The youngest I've met worked in a coalmine and when those were closed in my country, got his retirement at 38! Or at least that's what he told me. Later on he worked a bit as an IT conslutant, to keep busy.

An uncle and an aunt were teachers and were offered a chance to get out at 50, which they are happy to have done.

I also know about a guy who is living a quiet life with his beautiful young girlfriend, receiving social security because he's "jobless". He is said to have a fat investment portfolio that generates a nice income. Won't have to work ever again probably.
He's cheating the system, but the others simply were lucky to get a (reduced) pension at an early age, back in the days before government started worrying about funding future pensions.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

A high school classmate of mine retired at 50 as a police officer. My old electrician sold his business at 45 and retired. My cousin retired at 55 from her federal job. And I know a couple of military members who retired in their forties, also some teacher friends in their early 50's.

 

[aaronc879]

No, I don't know anyone who retired early 50's or earlier. One of my grandmas retired at 55 with a nice cola'd city pension. One of my aunts retired at 58 with an even nicer cola'd city pension. Neither of them had a net worth above $200,000(neither ever owned real estate) when they retired and have still been quite well off just with the pension and SS. No one else in my family has ever retired before they could get SS. I expect to retire in my 40's.

 

[Dawg52]

My Dad retired at 58 and my brother at 50. The only golf buddy I have that retired early did so at 62, so not that early. That's about it.

 

[donheff]

If these early retirees exist, where are they? I do not want examples from internet blogs. Do you actually know a real person who has retired in the 40's or early 50's successfully?

Ha was right, there are no early retirees. There is just a conspiracy on the Internet by us fakers to make our fellow workers suffer more. We make all these posts about the joys of ER from our desks at mega-corp.

 

[Dawg52]

Well, I am in Colombia

I am 44, retired at 41 and that was after getting a late start on my career (I was almost 24 when I started college).

The very early retirees that I have met (45 or younger?) personally are Billy/Akaisha, Ben, and Paul/Vic Terrhorst. But I met them all through the internet via early retirement forums before meeting them in person.

But now that I think about it, no one in my extended friends or family network, and this includes extensive connections in Silicon Valley, did a very early retirement. Also, I have traveled to and lived in a bunch of countries and met a lot of people since I retired, and yet I have never met another Very Early Retiree that I know of, save those I mentioned above that I met first through the internet. So I guess we are a rare breed . . .

Also, even of this small group, I am the only one that I know of that has basically done no work for pay (writing articles, writing books, AdSense web sites, angel investments, etc) since retiring. That is one reason I prefer to call it financial independence -- it is not necessarily retirement, as not working is not the most important element. The important element is freedom to do what you want with your time.

I recently posted an update on my Early Retirement here:

Raddr's Early Retirement and Financial Strategy Board :: View topic - Three Years of FIRE

Nice post in the link. You need to write a book someday.

 

[REWahoo]

We make all these posts about the joys of ER from our desks at mega-corp.

Desk? You have a desk? Sheesh.

I'm posting from a 4 x 4 cubicle, sitting on an overturned wastebasket...

 

[Dawg52]

Desk? You have a desk? Sheesh.

I'm posting from a 4 x 4 cubicle, sitting on an overturned wastebasket...

Picture this. I once worked in an office just a little bigger than your cubicle, using one of those old 1940 style metal desk. The drawers on the darn thing would barely move. The floor above me was part of our warehouse where the idiot manager stored cleaners and chemicals we sold. Quite often I would come in with Johnson Floor Wax dripping from the ceiling, covering my entire desk. I guess that is why we had metal desk, so we could easily clean up the mess.

 

[BigNick]

A guy I used to play chess with retired at 48. He had joined France Telecom (or their predecessor, the state post/telecomms monopoly) at 18. Normally you needed 35 years service for a full pension, but at some point the government wanted people to breed more and so gave you 5 more years pension credit ("hey, someone else can pay, 20 years from now") if you have 3 kids, which he duly did. (We know at least two other people whose avowed principal reason for a third kid was this generous incentive.)

This guy had always had a slightly unusual living arrangement. He had moved to a village and bought the left half of a double house. He then got together (in the Biblical sense) with the lady in the right half. They had those 3 kids together, but never married and always kept their own houses. Just as well, because within 18 months of him retiring, they had split up, because she couldn't stand him being around all the time, despite the fact that she could go back to her own house! (Of course, there's probably more to it than that, but it's a great story).

He's now 53. My wife bumped into him the other day and he has a new SO and is enjoying life. He still has the same length of hair he did in 1975. He's put on a little weight, but he's stopped smoking cigarettes. (He only stopped smoking reefer about 10 years before that. No wonder we had unreliable phone service in our part of the world. )

 

[angelbaby]

If these early retirees exist, where are they? I do not want examples from internet blogs. Do you actually know a real person who has retired in the 40's or early 50's successfully?

My mother, a California state employee, is getting ready to retire in about four more years. She's in her mid-40's. She contributed heavily to a defined benefit pension that matches contributions and pays out according to number of years worked for the state. She also contributed to a 457 plan and has several small investments in oil stocks in taxable accounts. In addition to her home, she owns two rental propeties, one townhouse and one condo.

She's not that financial literate and is just a high school graduate. Believe me, if she can do it, anyone can. It just takes dedication, goal-setting and knowing what you want out of life.

 

[REWahoo]

The floor above me was part of our warehouse where the idiot manager stored cleaners and chemicals we sold.

You worked in a building? You had a roof? Sheesh...

YouTube - Monty Python - Four Yorkshiremen

 

[Delawaredave5]

Do you actually know a real person who has retired in the 40's or early 50's successfully?

Not really.

I know a few people who sold businesses and don't have to work. I know some people in "forced retirement" because they can't find work. I know people who retired 55-58 with Megacorp pensions.

But I cannot personally name a "true ER'er" - a person who worked a job, saved, invested, and retired in late 40's or early 50's.

Maybe we're all planning about a mythical goal.....

 

[Spartacus]

I'm 41.

Worked in big company in sales for 15 years. Made a really good income, also DW and I saved saved saved scrimped and saved some more.
Got the house paid for, the cars, and a really good interest and dividend income producing portfolio, using a 4% w/d rate based on Bob Clyatt's Work Less Live More book, only withdrawing 4% of the current year's portfolio balance.

I inherited nothing. I made an above average income, varying between $80,000 and $140,000...(my wife did not work outside the home), so that was our only income.

I truly am livin' the dream. I think one needs the following in some sort of 'mix'....

1. A decision made fairly early in life that this is a real goal, and that goal becomes one of your top values that you pursue over a fairly long period of 12 or so to 20 years.

2. A spouse that's "in the game" with you on this dream.

3. A pretty darn good income.

4. You have to live in a way where most Americans would say you are cheap. If they're not calling you that to your face, you're not being frugal enough. (I never liked the word cheap. I had lots of fun over the past 20 years, am raising two beautiful kids, travelled alot, but always always always had in the back of my mind an eye for the "frugal way".

5. Continue to be frugal after you pull the plug on the working world.

6. Admit to yourself it IS NOT EASY, not even close to easy.

7. Stay busy doing what you love to do after leaving the work force.

8. Live in a very reasonable cost of living state, nothing like San Fran or LA, or NY......

just my two cents, but it can be done....

 

[Delawaredave5]

just my two cents, but it can be done....

The OP was "do you actually know anyone ?"

 

[RE2Boys]

Retired at age 50 in year 2000 with a 3 year old and 18 month old.

Had a backpacking buddy that retired in early 40s after liquidating the several gun shops he owned. Then hiked the AT.

While I do some seasonal employment (tax prep with a local CPA firm), it's to keep busy in the dog days of winter, the work is not necessary from an income standpoint.

RE2Boys

 

[Leonidas]

I know quite a few - mostly former co-workers with a smattering of friends thrown in.