You might be a candidate for Early Retirement if...

[Walt34]

I got the idea for this thread from this post. It should be entertaining to see what the membership comes up with. I'll start:

... you don't buy laundry detergent. You make your own and wash your clothes in the creek behind your house.

 

[REWahoo]

...the first thing that pops into your head when you see "ER" isn't emergency room.
...the first thing that pops into your head when you see "RE" isn't real estate.

 

[6miths]

... your lifelong friend asks you if that's the same winter coat you had in college (circa 1982) - and it is!

... you think that free refills means - for as long as the cup will hold liquids!

 

[MichaelB]

...the first thing that pops into your head when you see "FI" isn't fixed income.

 

[karluk]

...you have a full-length poster of Wade Pfau hanging in your bedroom.

 

[steelyman]

... you don't calculate your "number" anymore.

 

[Bestwifeever]

The first thing that pops into your head when you see AA isn't asset allocation. Oh wait....

 

[W2R]

.... instead of thinking of prices in dollars for big ticket items, you think of how much longer you would have to delay ER to pay for it.

 

[karluk]

...you have already finalized your annual budgets through the year 2050 - and have the investments in place to finance them.

 

[gromit]

...when your coworkers hear you talking to yourself it's always whispers of "Vanguard", "Wellesley", "Fidelity", etc, and of course "wheeeeee" when the market goes up.

 

[ImThinkin2019]

...you talk with your company HR head and mention that you might last about another 3-4 years. (S)he says "you will not be at your retirement age by then!". ....and you don't bother to tell her (him) that all your life you LBYM and that you don't need to wait till 65, 67, etc.

 

[ImThinkin2019]

...you look at your 20 year old car which gets 35 miles per gallon and it looks highly valuable to you.

 

[ImThinkin2019]

...you buy a pair of business casual shoes and think to yourself "this is the last pair I have to buy!"

 

[Meadbh]

.....your idea of a gripping read is a book by John Bogle or Ernie Zelinski.

 

[ImThinkin2019]

...you think about the times that when kids, you and your friends looked for half-smoked cigarettes by the side of the road, and wonder now if that started you along the path of LBYM. Then you think again and realize it set you up not only for ER but also gave you some life skills for living under a bridge with no income!

 

[Pleeplus]

You buy your business casual button up shirts on eBay.

You have built in savings bumps on your spreadsheets based on your child's milestones - coming off of formula, no longer needing diapers and coming out of daycare!

 

[38Chevy454]

....all your friends and acquaintances have no idea how or when they will retire, but you already have it planned out.

.....a majority of your free time is spent on this forum and similar working out ways to stop working sooner

 

[bbbamI]

....you have 8k+ posts on a financial forum...

 

[Janet H]

.... you "get" the dryer sheets references at E-R.org.

 

[Calico]

....you spend Sunday afternoon preparing your lunches for the week ahead, instead of shopping like everyone else you know.

....your 17-year-old Honda is your definition of a luxury car.

....you know the balance in every one of your accounts down to the penny, and exactly how many years of living expenses that equals.

....your house is furnished almost entirely courtesy of Craigslist.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

... you took the high road in a meeting by simply ignoring the coworker who bit your head off in front of the whole room, then regretted later not biting right back and telling them in no uncertain terms in front of that meeting to just kiss your @$$.

 

[Meadbh]

…..you have had your "take this job and shove it" letter written and dated for the past 3 years, just have to sign and send it.

…..you have a "days to ER" counter on your desktop.

 

[robnplunder]

The other day, my doctor asked me what I do for exercise. I said I play golf 2 - 3 times a week. Immediately, he asks, are you retired? Yup, I think playing golf 2 - 3 times a week is a prelude to retirement.

 

[Alan]

... You open your wallet and Abraham Lincoln blinks in the sunlight

 

[Alan]

... you live in a community where the census taker simply rolls a coin down each street and then counts the people as they come out to investigate.