Huston55
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Of the retirees here that could have retired sooner than they did (~55 or younger), do you wish you pulled the plug earlier??
What did you learn after you retired that would have impacted your decision to leave the workforce earlier, if you knew it?
How much earlier would you have left?
The short answer:
Yes.
Nothing; answer based on a full BS bucket.
<5yrs
The background:
Although DW & I have always LBYM (though not radically), I didn't start thinking seriously about retirement until I was in my early 40s. I read YMOYL and TMND, and a switch went on in my head, after which the pursuit of FI was an overarching goal. At that time, I began to educate myself financially and set a goal of retiring before turning 60 which, as time progressed, morphed into somewhere btwn age 55-60. This is not super early (and much later than many on this forum) but, it was somewhat specific and gave me a tangible goal (I do better with tangible goals).
As time passed, things were going well financially, I still enjoyed my career very much, and projections forecasted that we'd be FI in the early part of that 55-60yo window; then 2008/9 happened. So, we redoubled (ney...tripled) our savings efforts; banking bonuses, saving as much as possible elsewhere, were fortunate to benefit from the post-2009 runup, and were FI by 2012/13. During the last few years, my BS bucket quickly got full, and the time seemed right to FIRE. So, in Summer 2014, we did just that, at age 58 (technically Semi-FIRE since I'm doing a small bit of consulting).
Having been Semi-FIRED (and relocated to what we hope is our long term RE location) for only ~1yr, I can't say that I've learned anything in that one year that would have affected our RE timing decision significantly. What I have learned is that we're loving our new lifestyle. And, I think we could have loved it just as much, with no regrets, several years earlier; as early as age 55 or maybe a year or two earlier. However, any earlier and I feel like I'd have missed out on some of the most satisfying work of my career. So, that's why I say <5yrs earlier than 58.
Of course, that's just our story; everyone is different.
PS: I do want to say that this forum, and the people in it, were a tremendous help to me and very reassuring during trying times. The experience, wisdom, willingness to freely share (both like & contrary views), has been of great benefit to me, and I appreciate it very much. Thank you.