Poll: When did you ER?

[braumeister]

Inspired by the How old are you? thread, I would like to know when you declared yourself to be an Early Retiree.

 

[rbmrtn]

48, left megacorp Feb. 2008

 

[LauAnn]

I will make such a declaration in 7 days at age 55+1 day.

 

[REWahoo]

I would like to know when you declared yourself to be an Early Retiree.

As soon as I could!

 

[RockyMtn]

51...could have probably gone a year earlier but wanted to be sure the $$$ was in order.

 

[oldtrig]

I waited until almost 65 so I guess I am an older early retiree.
It just did not seem right to quit working when I was still young. I have not missed work at all, almost 14 months for me. Time for my afternoon nap.

 

[Lcountz]

57........Retired this Feb 28 and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

It seems like it was someone else's life....I can't believe how FAST the memory of that place has faded.....

 

[prof12]

Comingup to a year in May. Do I miss it? Are you kidding? Never. Not at all. Nothing is as freeing and empowering as "FREEDOM"!!!! prof12

 

[Meadbh]

At 40 responses, it's shaping up to be a normal curve with a slight skew to the right, with the modal x value being "55-59". It will be interesting to see if this continues as the number of responses increases.

 

[REWahoo]

At 40 responses, it's shaping up to be a normal curve with a slight skew to the right, with the modal x value being "55-59". It will be interesting to see if this continues as the number of responses increases.

I'm betting it will end up looking a lot like this poll from January of 2012: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/poll-what-age-did-you-fire-59525.html

 

[Rambler]

51 1/6.

R

 

[Tyro]

I'm betting it will end up looking a lot like this poll from January of 2012: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/poll-what-age-did-you-fire-59525.html

Or this current poll in Life After FIRE: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/at-what-age-did-you-pull-the-plug-66050.html

 

[obgyn65]

I was planning to ER last year. Now this year. I guess I suffer from the OMY syndrome.

 

[kramer]

Age 41. Now 47 years old and just celebrated my 6 year retirement anniversary.

I didn't finish college until age 29 (started late at age 23), but 11.75 years of working a "real job" was enough for me. Here is a reply I put on bogleheads.org to a similar question:

I agree with some of the other posters that beyond a certain point, you don't get much out of your job and it can be a constriction on other life possibilities in the long run. I had a romanticized view of work and even had read a book or two on the value (beyond money) of working and truly believed it. A few years on the job quickly dispelled me of this notion.

Even though I had a nice career (engineer), it was very demanding. What I realized is that I would like to work 2 days per week on my job . . . spend an additional half day or so on general research in my field during the week and have the rest of the time off. And then to have 5 months vacation per year. That was more than enough work to keep me intellectually satisfied and to achieve a work-life balance.

The idea of working 49 weeks per year at a full-time pace doing one thing . . . it is difficult for me to understand how that can be enjoyable. I did it, and I did it well and enthusiastically, because I don't expect anything in life for nothing. I was very happy to be born in the USA and be a productive citizen and appreciative for the opportunity and I excelled at my career. But I got out as soon as I could get out. Maybe it was an easier decision for me because I never had to sacrifice my lifestyle to achieve early retirement (age 41).

By the way, looking back on my career and writing this post, I was trying to think what I really got out of my career (age 47 now). I don't really value the technical skills that I learned (I learned enough about those in college). I do value my better understanding of business and marketing, the fact that I became a good public speaker, the fact that I truly became better at working with people, and validated my skills in the workplace. But that is about it. I would say that I had achieved just about all of that after about 6 or 7 years in my career.

 

[RE2Boys]

Just turned 50 when took an early retirement offer from career employer. Actually, the offer had been on the table for two years but when I heard it was ending, grabbed it. Retired on the very last day I was eligible for it, Feb 3, 2000

 

[scrabbler1]

I ERed at age 45 back in 2008. It has been a great 4 1/2 years.

 

[GoneFishing]

I was blessed to be able to retire at 54 this year.... still adjusting but its nice to put one chapter of my life behind and to be able to spend the rest of my life with the one I love.

 

[Tigger]

I recently got out, but I'm not making too much noise about it, as I'm not yet sure that I can STAY out. Gotta get my expenses down and my investments in order.