Any other VERY early retirees? (in your 30's)

2

23Red

Dryer sheet wannabe
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
16
Hi All,

Glad to be new to the forums. Looks like a great place to see what others have done or are planning to do. All the posts I've read so far have been filled with those generous with advice and best wishes.

I'm curious.... Anyone retire VERY early? I'm 33 and looking to "retire" at 34. I know I've been very lucky so far and I'm exceptionally grateful for that every day, but it's hard to find people who can relate and share advice for others in that situation. Maybe this is a good place to try. Background:

Started a business at 25, looking to sell later this year, should receive between $5m and $6m *after* taxes. Current assets:

$1.2M (non-retirement accounts, split 70/30 in equities and bond/income generating funds)
$200k (retirement accounts; 401k's and IRAs)
$350k (cash on hand)

Excluding the house (for asset purposes, it's a townhouse est. at $300k), I have approximately $1.5 in assets. Counting the sale of my business, I should have around $6.5M by year's end. I already have a financial advisor for asset allocations and investments in general. It's unlikely that I'll stop working altogether, but I will switch to doing what I want to do versus what I have to do for a living. I'm sure I'll take a year off and then get bored and go back to work, but until then, I'm doing my planning that I won't go back.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, or close to it (late 30's, early 40's)? Have you been able to retire altogether? It's worrisome with such a long time ahead of me to stretch it and ride the ups and downs of the markets. I have 50+ years, on average lifespan, to grow my principal even with annual income taken out. I'm planning on $150k annually to travel, pay my bills, and do whatever, within reason.

Healthcare is a large part of retirement, but being retired military (long story, but yes, full retirement from military at 22 including pension and benefits), I have Tricare Prime for $500/year. That's my backup though... because of active-duty disability leading to my retirement, the Veteran's Administration covers all my healthcare since I'm a 95% disabled rating.

I'm curious if anyone else has been in a similar situation, perhaps through selling a business, inheriting money, stock options, etc. Do you find yourself worried it'll run out in 30 years? Are you taking enough out to live a good time without going overboard? Anything you wish you could've done differently? Any advice?
 
Welcome to the forum and thanks for your service. Congratulations on overcoming serious adversity and doing VERY well. I was at the advanced age of 56 before I retired so no help there. The one thing I do see in your post is that you have a financial advisor. IMO anyone smart enough to build a 5 million dollar business probably does not need too much help from a financial planner. If you are using a fee only planner and the fees are not too high then it is probably not an issue. If your financial planner is taking a percentage of your portfolio then it can be alot of money for something that you can learn about on your own and perhaps do better.
 
I would advise working on more education so you can make another $5M doing what you love doing. Congrats!!!!
 
Thanks, jclarksnakes. It's been a long, interesting road for the last 10 years. No doubt about that! I do have a financial advisor that I recently brought on, and they are percentage based, but that was by design based on the advice of others in my field who sold and used the same guys to initially get their portfolio up and running and deal with related tax issues. I've read much between the argument on fee vs percentage planners and can't imagine sticking with them too long, but they've already paid for themselves for the next 3 years with setting up trusts and some other things to [legally] reduce my tax burden. All in all, they've been great assets to have on-hand for these next few months.
 
Funny you mention the education part, skipro3! I was going part time to college after my military service, got ~2 years in, but as the business took off I had a choice to make on whether to drop it or not. I chose to drop it and focus on growing the business because I couldn't do both at once. Going back to college for a year or two to finish my degree is on the top of my list to do. Amusingly, going full time for two years sounds like a GREAT way to spend my time rather than running a business. I'm really looking forward to doing just that. It's always personally bothered me that I never finished my degree :(
 
23Red said:
Funny you mention the education part, skipro3! I was going part time to college after my military service, got ~2 years in, but as the business took off I had a choice to make on whether to drop it or not. I chose to drop it and focus on growing the business because I couldn't do both at once. Going back to college for a year or two to finish my degree is on the top of my list to do. Amusingly, going full time for two years sounds like a GREAT way to spend my time rather than running a business. I'm really looking forward to doing just that. It's always personally bothered me that I never finished my degree :(
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Oops! Somehow I deleted my post you replied to here. Along with the formal education, don't forget the 'fun' stuff. Stuff like learning to play a musical instrument, learn a second language, or get your pilot's license. I hope to get to the controls of a helicopter in my retirement. I ride in one a lot for my job; enough that the pilot let's me take over the controls occasionally. Lots of FUN!!
 
Hi 23Red,

Congratulations on your success. I retired at age 41 and I was not nearly as rich as you. I ended up traveling around different parts of the world (primarily SE Asia, Mexico, and Colombia). I have lived in 4 different countries in retirement. I am now 46.

My first suggestion would be to take some time to educate yourself about investing, particularly passive investing (which means mainly index funds) and asset allocation (diversification). You can start by reading any recent book by Larry Swedroe or William Bernstein. And take a look at the discussion board at bogleheads.org. There can be a big danger in using financial advisers. Many of them (but not all) will steer you to high cost funds or loaded funds (ones that charge you to buy and sell) or individual stocks. The total expense ratio of your portfolio should be below 0.2% annually to give you an idea. You should structure your portfolio around your ability, willingness, and need to take risk. In your case, this will probably mean a conservative portfolio because you have already "won" the game.
 
23Red said:
I'm curious if anyone else has been in a similar situation, perhaps through selling a business, inheriting money, stock options, etc. Do you find yourself worried it'll run out in 30 years? Are you taking enough out to live a good time without going overboard? Anything you wish you could've done differently? Any advice?
Click to expand...
Google "Philip Greenspun early retirement". And read Ernie J. Zelinski, "How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free".
 
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Hi 23Red, I retired in late 2008 at age 45 so I can surely appreciate anyone who can retire earlier than I did :cool:. I have my investments in two broad categories - current assets which generate income which covers my expenses with a surplus or cushion which can be used to pay for unforeseen expenses or, usually, reinvested, and what I call my "reinforcements," namely my IRA, my frozen company pension, and Social Security. This makes my overall projections using Fidelity's Retirement Income Planner program improve once I near age 60 when the first of these items open up. So my biggest challenge is simply getting to age 60 intact, and my spreadsheet has me in good shape to get there just fine.
 
23Red said:
I'm curious if anyone else has been in a similar situation, perhaps through selling a business, inheriting money, stock options, etc. Do you find yourself worried it'll run out in 30 years? Are you taking enough out to live a good time without going overboard? Anything you wish you could've done differently? Any advice?
Click to expand...

I am not too worried about running out of money in 30 years. But my confidence level is perhaps deceptive because it finds its roots in a somewhat unique set of experiences and circumstances.

With a broadly diversified asset base and plans to live solely on the income generated by those assets, I have a hard time coming up with a scenario that leaves me penniless in 30 years. Even healthcare is only somewhat of a concern for me at this point since I can always move back to Europe for access to quality, affordable services. I also have zero worry about a possible lack of access to basic necessities. So, as far as I am concerned, the greatest risk to my retirement is that I may not be able to maintain a suitable level of discretionary spending. Given that I don't care much for overseas travel, fast cars, and fancy restaurants, I am not overly worried about that either. Finally, I come from a pretty modest milieu. I cannot conceive failing where others have succeeded on so much less.
 
Spending sounds way high. Other than health care, without a big house I can't imagine how you'll spend $150k annually while being 95% disabled.
 
33 and change in 1987, got my degree in the mid 90's never picked up my diploma. It's been a great ride so far including several trips "down the rabbit hole"! Enjoy!
 
GrayHare said:
Spending sounds way high. Other than health care, without a big house I can't imagine how you'll spend $150k annually while being 95% disabled.
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With a 6.5M portfolio he is planning to spend 150 thousand a year. That seems very reasonable to me.
 
If you're into schadenfreude, I am looking to retire early-ish (39 or 40) with liquid assets of +/- 1.8MM and truthfully yes, I am terrified of running out of money before going under the grass.

Ours was also made through owning/selling a small business.
 
jclarksnakes said:
With a 6.5M portfolio he is planning to spend 150 thousand a year. That seems very reasonable to me.
Click to expand...

The question is not the affordability but rather the accounting. I'd expect someone whose health care is paid for by the government and is 95% disabled would not ordinarily have enough ways to spend $150k per year.
 
Your accomplishment in acquiring such a tidy sum so early in life is remarkable. Since I had a negative net worth until the age of 40, I can offer no advice except --- I think you're there, dude. Kick back and enjoy the next 40 to 50 years !
 
GrayHare said:
The question is not the affordability but rather the accounting. I'd expect someone whose health care is paid for by the government and is 95% disabled would not ordinarily have enough ways to spend $150k per year.
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I hope that is not a crack against the disabled because it is sure starting to come across like that.
 
Koogie said:
If you're into schadenfreude, I am looking to retire early-ish (39 or 40) with liquid assets of +/- 1.8MM and truthfully yes, I am terrified of running out of money before going under the grass.
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Why retire then? If you are terrified of running out of money, shouldn't you increase your chances of success by working longer?
 
FIREd said:
Why retire then? If you are terrified of running out of money, shouldn't you increase your chances of success by working longer?
Click to expand...

I think I'll always be scared of running out of money. Doesn't equate to a reason not to do it.
 
GrayHare said:
The question is not the affordability but rather the accounting. I'd expect someone whose health care is paid for by the government and is 95% disabled would not ordinarily have enough ways to spend $150k per year.
Click to expand...

How does his 95% disability have anything to do with how much money he can spend? A friend of mine has a 100% VA disability rating and he is spending serious money setting world records in hot air balloon circles. I think maintenance on his helicopter is also pretty pricey.
 
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