Thanks! I know it’s kind of crazy to resurrect my original post, but thought it’d be neat to bookend it with our early retirement announcement post.
I think the most helpful thing we did to set the conditions for early retirement was simply to consistently plan for it. That helped me and my wife stay synched regarding financial goals/aspirations and avoid excessive lifestyle creep as time went by. Through (seemingly countless!) spreadsheets we made sure we “knew our number” and then refined/updated them as conditions changed (moves, kids, career decisions, etc.). Aggressively and consistently saving/investing over the long term was required, of course, but we also made a habit of living our “retirement budget” to the greatest extent possible in the years before officially leaving the work force which helped give us confidence in our plan.
In hindsight, my biggest regret is not investing earlier in my working career. I grew up in a solidly working class home in rural America where the majority of folks didn’t have much (if any) disposable income and didn’t really know about investing. I was fortunate relatively early in my career to have a few professional mentors, though, who helped educate me and give me the knowledge and the confidence to get started. When I compare what I now have in my retirement accounts with what I contributed, I am extremely grateful for the power of compounding interest!
