Retired at 26...

JDARNELL said:
Right play the hand that was dealt you. But don't ever apologize for your good fortune or for that matter what you did to get to your current place in life!
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Absolutely right!! I wish the OP the best of luck.
 
soulsearching said:
I have responded in a longer post on this thread, but wanted to come back to this post and tell you that I often take long breaks off the internet to keep myself sane. I don't check any of my internet posts regularly (although admittedly I probably should given the amount of support I saw on this thread) but provide explanation for my absence.

Thanks!
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Hey OP, welcome back!

Since you've made multiple responses, I will add a bit more than my "here today, gone tomorrow" post.

While not quite in the same shoes as you (e.g. able to call it quits at 26), I started my mega-corp job at age 20 and by the age of 35 or so figured I had enough to leave and just hang. Perhaps get my PHD, who knows what was next. I had been pulling in a decent salary and living pretty much below my means.

I didn't, somewhat because of some external factors in my life but also because mega-corp had a defined benefit pension. But even the thought that I could go *if I wanted to* made things better. (Or perhaps I was just afraid to give up a bunch of OMY's.)

I ended up FIREing at age 51. All along I had been pushing for that step - to be able to retire EARLY and just do every day what I wanted to do.

The only "problem" was by that time, I had a 7 year old child. One that I didn't want to travel without, and one that I wanted to spend time with. I also didn't want have my child see me sitting around all day or to think dad out playing every day was typical. So, in retirement I picked up a part time gig as an adjunct teaching at a local college (teaching Computer Science). Mostly to keep my mind busy AND as a mechanism to keep me from doing something stupid like getting another go-go-go IT job. That was 12+ years ago - I ended up working full time after a few years of being an adjunct.

Some here on ER.org would look at that with disdain (well, perhaps that is too strong a word). I did not need the teaching job at all in terms of my financial well being, yet here I am doing it. The why has to do with the needing to be useful, and at the same time be in a more relaxed environment. Some people don't need that or find it in other endeavors. Only you can determine what gives you joy and keeps you alive, i.e. provides meaning.

It's funny, I am now considering moving on (i.e. retiring). I was the first of my set of friends to retire, and now will be pretty much the last to really retire. The why is not because the j*b bothers me, in fact I am struggling more with this decision than I ever did back in 2009. It is mostly because the clock is ticking, and there are things I would like to spend more time doing while I am able to do them. "Live every day as if it were your last."

Good luck with your decision, and welcome to the forum.
 
soulsearching said:
RESPONSE

thank you for your comment! unforunately I wasn't lucky enough to have won the lottery, although there's something to be said about most lottery winners losing their fortunes in less than a few years.. Unforunately as well I did build my place predominantly on my own. I was extremely fortunate that my education was largely paid for by my family (although most came from life ins when my dad passed) but "self made" is a loose concept to me. I'm not one to say "I started with a small loan of a million dollars" but also recognize I was born into privileges most were not afforded.

I live extremely conservatively. I am not your typical 20 something. I don't drink, do drugs, party, or really much of anything socially. for the last 10 years (yes, 10, I like to think I started this journey still in high school) I have been working 60-100 hours a week to build to where I am at now. Now I have to retool that thinking and passion I put into building businesses and make something new.

Thanks for the response!
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You probably just need a break after those ridiculously long weeks. I think it would be hard for your personality type to just stop building businesses and live off investments the rest of your life.
 
Congratulations. I was 26 in 1991. Any passive income streams I might have even thought about then would be a joke now. Please understand that the world changes and you need to change with it. When you retire, whether it be at 26 or 66 you are making the decision to coast for the rest of your life. Are you prepared to do so?
 
SecondAttempt said:
Congratulations. I was 26 in 1991. Any passive income streams I might have even thought about then would be a joke now. Please understand that the world changes and you need to change with it. When you retire, whether it be at 26 or 66 you are making the decision to coast for the rest of your life. Are you prepared to do so?
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How can deciding to retire at 26 be a decision for the rest of OP's life? He could easily start another business or go back to work at any time. Heck I am 71 and get job offers all the time. I am not going back to work at this point but I could if I wanted to.
 
harllee said:
How can deciding to retire at 26 be a decision for the rest of OP's life? He could easily start another business or go back to work at any time. Heck I am 71 and get job offers all the time. I am not going back to work at this point but I could if I wanted to.
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What sorts of offers do you get? Is it related to your prior career?
 
SecondAttempt said:
When you retire, whether it be at 26 or 66 you are making the decision to coast for the rest of your life. Are you prepared to do so?
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I'm too busy in retirement to coast. In fact, I probably coasted a lot more in my working career than I do now.
 
soulsearching said:
I live hyper conservatively in a small apartment with multiple roommates. I do not have any dependents and have no plan to in the future.
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Ok this is a big wrinkle. That's not sustainable. It might work in your 20's, but will get old by your 30's, and downright sad in in your 40's.

You haven't mentioned your actual savings or income, but that's some super lean living and not the kind of retirement most of us would want. You DO have dependents here - your landlord and your roommates. Any of those change the game and your finances can be significantly altered.

If you can afford your own home and still afford not to work, great, but if your rent went up 20% and all of your roommates bailed tomorrow, are you still ok?
 
Aerides said:
Ok this is a big wrinkle. That's not sustainable. It might work in your 20's, but will get old by your 30's, and downright sad in in your 40's.

You haven't mentioned your actual savings or income, but that's some super lean living and not the kind of retirement most of us would want. You DO have dependents here - your landlord and your roommates. Any of those change the game and your finances can be significantly altered.

If you can afford your own home and still afford not to work, great, but if your rent went up 20% and all of your roommates bailed tomorrow, are you still ok?
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I was going to comment on that too. Roommates are fine when you're young, and it's a good way to save money but almost no one wants them when they get older.
 
teej1985 said:
What sorts of offers do you get? Is it related to your prior career?
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No the none of the recent job offers were related to my career, they have all been related to my volunteer work or hobbies. For example I volunteer to prepare income taxes at the local senior center and through that I have received several job offers from accounting firms and have recently been asked to apply for a job with the IRS, they are hiring thousands of people. I also do volunteer work at a community foundation, the executive director is retiring and they wanted to hire me as the interim director. As a hobby I do a unique style of dance called "flat footing" and as a volunteer I teach other people how to do this dance and I have been asked to teach this dance on a paid basis. If someone has a lot of interests and knows a lot of people they can always find a good job.
 
I would just try to find things that provide you with enjoyment and satisfaction and you have a lot of time to try different things and experiences that will give you the answers you seek (travel, hobbies, sports, building things, volunteering, reading, furthering your education, charitable initiatives/helping others, posting on this forum, etc.). And maybe the most important is companionship and finding a mate. The world is your oyster.
 
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OP, after reading a bit more about you, I wonder if your frugality or your income is the key here to your early retirement.

As some have noted, "hyper conservative" frugality is great in your 20s but can become just sad 20 years from now. Making a really good passive income and still living with roommates is even sadder and likely not good financial management to boot.

Not being critical but just my two cents.
 
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Some people enjoy having roommates for the camaraderie. In our area housing is super expensive so many households have room mates, in law units or multi-generational households.

OP, I would just get try out different hobbies, volunteer opportunities or join hobby clubs, like hiking or whatever interests you. We thought we would relocate, downsize and travel in retirement and instead stayed where we live now, joined several clubs for a social life and do more day trips than long term travel. You have the luxury of just trying different things out and seeing what you like.
 
Keep in mind that by retiring at 26, you cannot count on any Social Security income later on (plus the Medicare Part A qualification). Plus your expense needs may change so what is adequate now may be way too little later.
 
Hi,

Congratulations! Judging from your user name, the answer will obviously come from within: a combination of your skills, passions and interests.

Generally I can group my 7-8 years of retirement activities:

1. Long project, related to interest not work. Long because I only spent about a from 1-2 days per month to periodically 2 days per week.

2. Physical goals, mine were biking, hiking, now pickleball. Multiple partial days/week.

3. Mental goals, improve me (not going so well because I spend even less than a day a month executing); Bridge

4. I have my next project lined up after [1] and smaller short term project is finished. Nothing to do with field of [1], tangentially related to work skills - picked purely because I saw a match w my skill and societal need.

5. As an introvert, I was surprised to learn how much I like doing the above with people. A core of 5 (3 post retirement friends), I see weekly or monthly plus everything I do has clubs! Meetup.com was perfect source for me to start with an interest then filter down to smaller groups of 12, 8, 6 for main focus of activity, but might involve activity focused trip.

6. I haven't lived anywhere else in this country, but I am very grateful to be living in a vibrant, educated community also close to redwoods, creeks, ocean which has made it easy to connect with people with common interests.

Good luck with your soul and search :)
 
I see only one brief mention of inflation. This is a HUGE HUGE factor for anyone who intends to be retired for more than 5-10 years.

I'm 66. Since I was your age, prices (CPI) have gone up more than 3x. Said another way, without inflation protection, you would get a 70%+ "pay cut" by the time you reach the "usual" retirement age.

There are many ways to protect against inflation: COLA'd pensions, passive income from things like rentals that increase with inflation, having so much $$ that you can't spend it all and your account grows faster than inflation, etc.

However you do it, design some inflation protection into your plan. And design an increasing net worth and an increasing return from your investments. You probably won't always want to share an apartment with a couple of roomies. You may want to buy a house, maybe a nice car or other toys. You may marry a "roomie" who doesn't want to live like a starving college student, and your married life will probably be much more blissful if she doesn't feel like you're forcing her into a life of poverty. Plan for those eventualities and things will work out much better.
 
Aerides said:
Ok this is a big wrinkle. That's not sustainable. It might work in your 20's, but will get old by your 30's, and downright sad in in your 40's.

You haven't mentioned your actual savings or income, but that's some super lean living and not the kind of retirement most of us would want. You DO have dependents here - your landlord and your roommates. Any of those change the game and your finances can be significantly altered.

If you can afford your own home and still afford not to work, great, but if your rent went up 20% and all of your roommates bailed tomorrow, are you still ok?
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RESPONSE

thank you for your comment! i own the building i rent, and within 1/8 units i own here at this property, i live in 1 with 2 other roommates. I hope landlord doesn't raise rates on me, that would be a jerk move :)

but thank you for your response. you're right. for now, it works. it may not work forever. I have seen some other comments that are spot on about my situation: if things change, I can always get another job I suppose. If one income stream dries up, I have 7 so hopefully the others float me until I can get that 8th turned back on, or add a 9th.

But, I truly do recognize things can change in a heartbeat. if i decided to settle or have a family for instance, I may change my mind and re-enter the workforce.
 
thank you so much for all of the comments and responses. You have given me much to think about! I will continue monitoring and responding to questions/comments when I can.

I greatly appreciate all of your comments and guidance. Staying positive is hard to do on the internet sometimes and this has been a wholesome experience to say the least. I can tell you all genuinely care which is very refreshing.

One thing I will say about everything I have read: though I do consider myself "retired" right now, it may not always remain permanent. The good thing is because I am so young, if I must return to the workforce, I should be able to without too much interruption or backtracking. Things are always subject to change which I understand.

Thank you everyone!
 
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