Did any of you regret early retirement or is anyone worried about leaving too early?

I started caddying in 6th grade, started work ON my 16th birthday. I knew right then I wanted to retire as soon as I could. Loved my career (as much as work can be “liked”) !!
Retired at 60 (6 years ago) and love it. Planned well, so I am comfortable financially and health coverage wise, which is important. I agree that Covid has been disappointing, but making the best of it. My and I take a trip or 2 every year and one week vacation with the kids/grandkids. Even a “boring” day is much better than the rat race !!
 
We have both been retired for nearly 5 years. Should have played “Take This Job and Shove It” at least two years earlier! :dance::dance:
 
ER'd at 50. That was five years ago and I have not regretted a day. I was not miserable at work, but it was always stressful and it never really left my thoughts while I was there. Never realized the burden that put on me until it was gone. The past five years have been the lightest and most stress free of my life.
 
street said:
No regrets leaving at 57 year old. I can say, it was hard for when thinking about leaving money behind but my time was starting to be worth more to me.

If I knew then, what I know about retirement now, I would of went a few years earlier.
Click to expand...

+1

I also retired at 57. I questioned my decision a bit the first year (missed the camaraderie of being a part of the team, but did not miss all the other BS) and then realized we were going to be just fine financially and wished I had done it earlier.

I’ve lost 22 lbs of fat, gained several pounds of muscle, sleep like a baby for the first time in my life, and am very, very aware of gratitude on a daily basis.
 
These answers give me hope. I'm not "early" -- I'm quite late for this group, being 65. My current full-time job will end in less than three months, and I've told them I don't intend to return (I work on a contract basis). Why didn't I retire earlier? Frankly, uninformed financial planning. I'm here hoping some of the savvy will rub off on me.

My "retirement" won't be literal; I'm a writer, but I've been working on other people's projects far too long and want to return to writing books. That field, however, is a total crapshoot, and I know better than to count on income from it (though it would be lovely).

My work has been all-encompassing and I've put off so many things "till I have time." I'd like to learn German and French, and use that dusty telescope in the closet, and maybe, once Covid's behind us, find a group in the area who can teach me something like English country dancing, which looks like fun. I want to explore this city, and I want to travel -- maybe teach a few writing workshops in places I'd like to visit. I want to learn to cook and to garden! It's been a bit soul-killing to have a reflex inside that says, any time I think of something I'd like to try, "Maybe someday." Seriously, I'm 65; when's "someday"?

I'm not 100 percent confident about money. I don't want to trigger my pension for another year and a half, so I'll be living on savings till then. And the pension itself will only give me about half of what I'm used to spending. Once SS kicks in at age 70, that ratio will improve somewhat, but spending is going to have to decrease permanently. I don't live the high life -- my car is a 2008 Toyota Corolla -- but I do spend a lot. Top categories this year were repairs to my house and the fees of my business manager, followed by medical and help with my dogs. (At least I won't need dogwalkers once I'm no longer working.)

If I can make an overall reduction in expenses of one-third, Firecalc gives me a 90% score.

Given my doubts, I do wonder if I should work one year more -- but I also feel that I'm putting off living. And I have health issues I should be paying more attention to. Part of me feels this isn't really a choice; it's something I have to do.
 
Second guessing my decision...

JoseSantiago said:
Hi Forum,

I was wondering if anyone here left, and regrets it? OR those who are on the edge are worried about regretting it? IF so, what did you regret? What went wrong? What was the "I wish I knew...." Be it money, spouse not wanting to travel, boredom, etc

Thanks as always to anyone who replies!
Click to expand...

I have 32 days until I call it quits. I'll be almost 55. I second guess this decision almost daily but the numbers look pretty good for me. I have a military pension and VA benefits that are COLA'd and are about $76K a year. Medical insurance through Tricare and VA; dirt cheap! and my total portfolio is about $1,600,000. My plan is/was to have $10K a month from 55 to 100. Not that I would spend that but just for a plan. I'll have a small pension at 62 ($414 per month) and social security whenever I decide to take it. I have no children and if anything is left from my $$$ when I pass it goes to my niece and nephew. I am still having the OMY conundrum... And, since I resigned my current post, I have been offered a few positions for very good money (for me) but I have declined.
I know I will not be any younger than I am right now. And pre-covid I traveled a lot and want to do more.
It is great to see the many "no regrets' here on the forum...and the few issues I do see are very manageable in my opinion.
 
I’m eight years out in FIREland; entered this new phase at 52, so I’m settling nicely into the “correct” age group now. And I think that’s the only regret I have - that I didn’t prepare better to have a wider group of friends outside work. At the time I retired my key social contacts were all inside with me; that made the first years a bit lonely, and overly dependent on DW (overly would be her word as she HATES clingyness). That’s all on me and not a reflection of retirement at all; it is a reflection on how all-in I was as a striving, climbing, successful eager beaver who lived, breathed and socialized in a work bubble. So that’s the regret, not the retiring itself!
 
I have not retired but am closing in, likely in the next 24-36 months.

I certainly do not regret putting myself on the path for early retirement and am currently enjoying the freedom it brings while still working.

I could have left at any point in the last few years...and it has allowed me to play the corporate game fearlessly during this time.

There was/is nothing they can do to harm me or my family. I won't pretend politics, budgets, etc don't stress me out -- they do -- but its allowed me to spend less time on politics, take on inept leaders more directly, request compensation, and take risks that I wouldn't have dared 10 years ago.

Last week I had a key presentation to the CEO. It was a classic, high-stakes corporate meeting. The sort of meeting that consumes hundreds of hours of preparation for 45 minutes of intensity that too often shifts on someone's mood or a mis-step that gives a competing department a way to be disruptive.

One of my team commented that they didn't know how I was so completely calm as I headed into the meeting.

What he doesn't realize is that I'm holding all the cards.

They need me more than I need this job.

And if they stop needing me? No problem. We just buy that beach house a year earlier.

Game on.
 
We left our jobs of 35 years almost 4 years ago. After 3 cross county moves we settle once again and begin the job hunt. I have spent almost 4 years trying to get back to full time. I miss the steady income so I guess I miss work. Should have stayed at the job.
 
NO

No regret in the least. Left seven years ago at 60 years of age. Had checked out mentally well before that. Travel extensively and assets are greater than when we retired. Nope, no problems in the least.
 
I wanted to retire at 59 1/2. DW convinced me to stay until 62 which would have been last year. In April of 2020 I was offered a attractive "enhanced" retirement package. I would have missed out if I had not followed the DW advice.
Retiring in COVID times has been a bit boring. It has helped my wife as she is 52 and still works PT outside of the house. We are a bit home bound anyhow as we are the caregivers to her mother who has Alzheimer's.
Eventually the situation will improve and we have many travel plans.
 
My only regret was retiring at 58/59. Should have done it a few years earlier...perhaps 53/54
 
I retired in my early fifties. No regrets. My only regret is focusing on things like income, tax deductions, investments, and our small business retirement plan during our working years and not watching the basics like our day to day expenses more. If we had also watched our expenses closer, I think we could have pulled off retirement even ten years earlier.

Like we cut our energy bill by more than half just by weather stripping, getting more energy efficient appliances, using a Kill a Watt, etc. - nothing that really impacted our lifestyle negatively. The same with the food bill. We used to get carry out often because we were both short on time between working and raising kids, but in hindsight I could have made healthier crockpot meals and done more batch cooking that would have also saved time and cost a lot less.
 
Can’t believe the OP’s question. I retired at 47, 20 months ago and wake up every day with more to do than i have time. The fact that is my only anxiety is freaking awesome!!!

Admittedly, my productivity today is a bit less than 21 months ago!
 
I think I’m anywhere from 5 to 10 years away from retirement. Admittedly, it would take a strong stock market and some courage to do it in 5 years.

I do think that a 7 year timetable is reasonable for me. I will turn 47 soon so I will probably be in my early to mid 50s when I can seriously consider leaving the workforce for good.

I think I will have planned enough so I won’t have any major regrets. If anything I will be a little too worried about money so I’ll work a little longer than necessary.

I’ve learned a lot from these retirement forums:

  • Trust in your plan
  • Know what you are retiring to and not just what you are retiring from
  • Life is short and time is more valuable than money
  • Stay busy and intellectually stimulated after you leave your job
  • Appreciate the time you have and use it to pursue your interests

It seems like the biggest regret you will find on these forums is not leaving sooner. I hope one day I will be able to say the same thing.
 
Thought I might return to work during my first year, but 18 months in, I'm getting in the swing of it. Would have been nice to have retired 6-12 months earlier to have traveled and gotten settled in our new area before getting stuck at home.

I definitely want to pick up a new activity or two post-COVID.
 
Six months in and I have no regrets about my decision. Getting to that decision was extremely challenging, though and took a lot of time (2 yrs). A lot of things had to come together to get to that point. I had to be adjusted to the idea mentally and gotten used to how I was going to handle all the financial changes; no paycheck, dipping into investments, etc. Physically, I had pushed myself as far as I could and that was the final straw. By that time, I was ready in all areas and had reached a comfortable financial status. Preparation had met opportunity.
 
Wife and I retired together (dual military) on 1 Sept 2019 at ages 46/48. Wake up everyday feeling immense gratitude for all that we have. Not a single regret! Although I still occasionally have the "shouldn't I be doing something productive" thought creep into my head, it seems to go away on its own!
 
I'm down to just over a year to go now.
I never miss being away from work while on vacation and I'm not concerned about a lot of the psychological stuff like loss of status, loss of structure, work defining me, etc.
However, I recently felt a little bit of sadness thinking about retirement because I am the type that gets sentimental when closing chapters in my life, in particular, having really only worked for 1 employer my adult life.
 
Years ago when I announced I would be leaving the work force, my closest coworkers appeared stunned. I explained all about the 'FIRE philosophy' again during my 'good-bye' lunch. This time they actually listened. I would say the "regrets" were all on their side of the table as they divulged how indebted they had become and how their retirement would likely be to a casket.
 
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Retiring in 10 weeks and can't wait. All the responsibility I carried for years being a manager, subject matter expert and senior employee is falling off of my shoulders already. I was severely anxious about retiring even after giving my manager a heads up months ago but last week I announced my exact date and I feel 1,000% like I am making the right decision.
 
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