Financial Samurai

Don’t forget a middle ground – working less… I just negotiated my own pay cut in exchange for more increase of vacation time from 5 to 7 weeks and ability to work from home or exotic locales. When I deduct the tax, it will only have about 7-8% impact on my take home pay, yet I get to enjoy the life and my job (which I love) even more.

I will work to my grave and would come to work even if I won lottery (which I do not play), but I would not judge those who do retire early. If it makes them happy, and they are not living off social assistance, they should go for it. And, by the way, most of the mortals can make much bigger impact through unpaid work then their job. Take for example stay-at-home moms (and dads) or those volunteering to feed the hungry and heal the sick. They can make more difference in one year than I can managing my company for 30 years.

My retirement goal is different – I want to save enough so that i do not have to work when I am 50 if I chose not to (for example if I get sick, or can’t find work I like etc).

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I found your list of “dangers” to be a lot of bunk. I retired in 2008 at age 45 and it was the BEST thing to happen to me in my life. I hated the commute, even 2 or 3 days a week, so I had to make that zero days a week. I will never change my mind.

I won’t run out of money. All I have to do is make it to age 60 intact (12 more years now) when I can tap into the first of my “reinforcements” (Social Security, unfettered access to my IRA, company’sfrozen pension). I have health insurance and upped my car insurance limits last year.

I have not lost touch with local friends and family. In fact, being retired has made it easier to get together with them with my added availability.

Starting a family? I am childfree so I never wanted to have kids of my own. Your “What if you change your mind?” is an insult (“bingo”) to us childfree. Wold you ever ask a similar question to someone who wants to start a family? (“What if you change your mind and regret having thrown away your chance of an early retirement?)

I have my volunteer work to keep me busy, activities I began when I was working part-time for 7 years and can now do more of it and do it more easily without that work “nuisance” getting in the way all the time.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:31 pm

I’m happy to hear there’s no truth to my arguments and therefore greatly looking forward to hanging up my boots at 45!

Thx

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What an amazingly negative article. Full of extreme of the old Protestant ethic” system of shoulds and shouldn’ts. And so wrong on all of the over-generalized points.

I’m in my third year of retirement after 40 years of teaching. Gave it all I had – left because I could and was burned out from “realizing my potential”. Have enough (diversified) savings that i can live off of interest if need be (haven’t started collecting SS yet).

Most friends (of which I still have a rich network) are impressed with how much younger my stress-diminished Me is.

And this family issue? Who is likely (maybe a few rare ones) to retire so early as to make child-bearing an issue? Me? My wife and I are totally savoring the extra time we have with grandchildren.

It sounds like the writer is just a cynical, over-opiniated young’un who is glad to knock something before trying it. What a sad approach to life, whether you are retired or not.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 2:29 pm

I think the writer is just pointing out that not everybody can be successful and achieve their full potential, so it’s OK to give up early. I wouldnt worry about it so much.

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My position was eliminated two years ago (must have been a sub-optimal performer). Spent about a week looking over my financial situation and decided that at 55 I didn’t need to work anymore (divorced, no kids). I’ve looked for work, but I haven’t found anything I’m really excited about. The thing I’ve found is that people don’t really care what you do or don’t do for a living. Get over yourself. I’ve had a wonderful time. I eat healthier, get more exercise, more rest, feel much better and more relaxed. I’ve spent real quality time with my family, friends and hobbies. I’ve met a wonderful woman and fallen in love. I wouldn’t go back to my old job (stress, two hour commute) for anything and am thankful that I was given this opportunity. Maybe I’ll go back to some kind of work some day. It would have to be something really interesting though. I just don’t need the money – and that is a very nice feeling.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 6:55 pm

Montrose, I’m glad getting eliminated 2 years ago helped you see the light! Congrats on your retirement. If you’ve got the money, you’re 55, and the average life expectancy is 79, then by all means, stop working and doing something else.

Congrats!

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Feeling a bit pessimistic these days? Ready to go back to working a 60 hour week and feeling you need to justify it to yourself?
I am retired and enjoying it. We chose to retire–although not that early 53 and 60. We find ways to continue to add to the world- like taking care of our family while everyone else is too busy working. See- we don’t believe in nursing homes.
Since my mother never worked outside the house and is still kicking at 81 and his father and grandfather both retired at 60 and 58 and lived well into their 90′s….I think it will be ok. You can check on us around 2030. We will still, probably, be eating homegrown tomatoes and fishing on the lake!

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Nope, sorry. You seem to be defining early retirement as lounging in a hammock. Early retirement for me and my spouse meant financial independence and financial freedom. Free to do whatever we wanted without worrying about money. Our desire for freedom and options didn’t make your list. Time is precious though, so I’d cosign #5.

Regarding the dangers of early retirement, re: “oops, you change your mind”, we were self-employed so that doesn’t affect us. If we change our mind, we can simply rehire ourselves and go back into business. The great thing about being self-employed, besides being the easiest way to amass wealth: Your boss loves you.

“Lose touch with friends and family”? Seriously? Because they’re busy living their own lives no matter what *you* are up to. And if you’re retired, you have the time to make plans, cook meals, make a home where friends and family love to gather. It enhances your social life, no doubt about it. There is *more* time to be with the ones you love.

Raising children too expensive as early retirees? Nope. We have two children and we retired in our 40s.

“You’ll lose your self-respect and the respect of others”? Ha ha. Nope. Here’s a nugget of wisdom for you: Doing so well with your finances that you can retire early is actually a boost to your self-esteem. Being able to then turn your mind toward tackling the things that really, truly matter to you? Boost. Having time to learn? Boost. Having time to contribute to society? Boost. As far as the respect of others, again I think you must be imagining a guy in a hammock with a scruff of beard who just swills beer all day, but as far as *myself*, I lead a life that is respected by my children and my loved ones, and those are the only opinions that matter to me. As far as the guy who thinks I should be sweating it in a 9-to-5 job instead of following my dreams, I don’t respect him, so the feeling is mutual.

As far as early retirement being selfish, that’s ridiculous. If you work because you want to work, are you selfish? Are the only unselfish people the ones who are forced onto a path that they don’t want to be on? I retired early because I succeeded — at my business and at managing my personal finances. I now invest my time in my family, in learning, in doing, in creating, and in contributing to society. Is that selfish?

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Early retirement or financial independence means more choices! Not being tied to a paycheck is a nice feeling. If you are running away from a crummy career or job, it will always be a bad decision. If your focus is truly on yourself, it is selfish. Goals should be formed in everyone involved because it affects everyone.
The ideal age for retirement is around forty because you are young enough to still enjoy that freedom. Who wants to wait until a more standard retirement age when you are in your late sixties.
The bull market may make more people financially independent because it raises wealth and encourages IPOs.

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I tried to cut through the early retirement mystery last week.It’s about thinking through the non-financial aspect of retirement, selfish or not..

http://onecentatatime.com/non-financial-things-to-consider-before-retiring-early/

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Sounds like you’re jealous. I retired at 34 and am 39 now. I do not live on a shoestring budget. In fact I bought my dream car, a Lamborghini LP560, this year. It was my present for driving crap cars most of my life. I don’t “justify” to others why early retirement is great — I don’t need to. I don’t tell everyone how great my life is, either, because I don’t try to make people feel bad. I find it’s the other way around: people who have a 9-5 job they don’t like are the ones who tell me how they don’t want to retire because they’d be bored, and how they prefer their life over mine. Give me a break. Their jealousy is too obvious.

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These days with so many people not getting enough hours or advancement, I wonder whether not retiring early when you can afford to may be the more selfish option? So while I believe most people do look out for number one, I don’t believe that early retirement is intrinsically selfish. Folks who keep themselves out of the applicant pool in order to give others a chance to earn a decent living may be the heroes.

I don’t think there’s an ideal age for retirement from a particular job, but I do believe there is a right time for it to happen, and that’s when one loses interest in doing it well. Simply marking time I think is a mistake for both you and for your employer. I would agree that when the job market heats back up that early retirement will become less appealing– mainly because more job openings means a greater likelihood of finding that perfect fit in work/life balance. Many of today’s early retirees don’t want to settle for a poor fit, and when the market recovers they won’t have to.

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I think this is an excellent article with many well made points. I appreciate that you were willing to take an opposing view and provide a different perspective. Satisfaction and identity is often derived from doing productive, fulfilling work, and I concur that early retirement is oftentimes not the right solution towards achieving personal fulfillment. Having given up a career to raise children, I often crave and desire defining myself outside of the home. Being able to do intellectually stimulating work and meaningfully contribute to society is now what I want. A sense of self respect and identity I believe comes from doing work that benefits others beyond oneself. Many people who don’t have this do suffer from a lack of purpose or hopelessness. I also think one of the contributing problems is that many are stuck in dead-end jobs. However, those who quit early may never find their potential or fulfill their true calling in life. Thank you for a well written article and presenting many excellent points.

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I believe that all the previous comments have been harsh to the writer as I understand his objective in writing this article. Of course the people that are retired and live a great life are going to get insulted but what you haven’t realized is that this article is not intended for you or to insult you. This article is for people like myself, I am 19 years old and analyzing my financial options to endure a great lifestyle. As I was thinking, yes you can retire early if you definitely hate working or you just feel that you have given it all you have and are tired of it and have no need to continue working because you have made enough money in the years you have worked. Now, for those like myself that are starting out, all you read about in other websites is how amazing it is to retire early and live an extremely frugal life. Honestly who wants to live so frugal? What’s the point of retiring early if you can not enjoy a luxurious vacation if you wanted to or buy yourself a condo by the beach, or even if you can…. You have nothing coming in, the consumerism guilt is in the back of your mind, the subtraction to your savings for retirement. Not the.. “Its ok, I can purchase it because there’s still money flowing in.” Every one likes nice things, and like the writer said, what if you have a sudden inconvenience that you never expected. As in my short years I have realized, as I am a very honest individual. No one likes the truth, they like to be told that every thing will be ok, that every thing will go as planned and if it does not there will be a way. That is true there is always a way but I am a realist there is a big difference between being realistic and being a pessimist. I think as adults we all know that, like an old friend taught me ” You need to be able to have a professional conversation with out showing emotion even when the topic is about emotions.” If it is going fabulous for you, amazing…. But no need to insult the writer who is a realistic individual trying to warn those young ones of a promised land. As a dollar today does not equal the same as a dollar in the 1800′s don’t we all agree? Who knows how inflation may be 15 years from now……. Good luck, love, and respect to the now retired readers. :)

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Steven Reply:
November 27th, 2012 at 8:12 pm

If you are really 19 then good for you. Getting the gist of the OP’s intent is beyond what most of the early retierees seem to have been able to do. And the biggest obvious oversight on their part is thinking that their “well laid plans” will remain stable. Yep; the dollar of the 1880s is worth about 1/60th of what it is today.Heck; its one tenth of what it was worth when I was in high school, and Im not all that old… Low inflation never lasts, and when inflation does hit it takes down the vast majority of those who placed all confidence in “the system”. The Tulip Bubble of the 1600s, the post civil war inflation decade, the panic of 1893, the post WW1 inflation, the fun times of the 30′s, the post WW2 inflation and the post Viet Nam inflation. These cycles are inevitable even in the best and most stable economies. It’s normal. And the results decimate peoples savings, and their lives. The current gen’s experience of the go-go years of wealth creation resulting from new businesses such as dot.com, cell-phone, internet and all its spinoffs, the personal computer and all its spinoffs, and then came along the ill-fated home price run-up decade and it’s unbelievable shock to the county and world. Well, it all added up to a very long growth period that is only recently came to its inevitable end. I’m afraid this 19 year old seems to better understand the inevitable problems that many of todays early retierees will face once thier safe and secure “investments” begin to pay far less each month than they ever imagined. It’s going to be a big shock. Over time this dimished income will be inevitable for 3/4ths of them. And only with careful and prudent planning will a handful of retierees be prepared for the inevitable etching away at what they were so sure was going to be a hefty monthly income.
When in college I thought id never be able to buy a decent hoe. Then I was worried that we would ever get our home paid off, now we get rent from that house, and a couple more, every month and we’ve never had an empty month in 18 years. The freedom that paidoff rentals gives, what with rising rents (over time) in homes in desireable areas of cities that have been able to retain low unemployment levels. All my friends with paper investments brag about their ROIs, but when the stockmarket drops they stop bragging and my modest rents still keep chugging away. And guess who has a smile on his face at that point? Good luck to all of us, over time who knows who will really be safe. And whoever is 100% sure in his or her decisions, is invariably wrong anyway. But its sure fun to sit back and watch, isn’t it?

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Two points that I want to highlight. I agree with you about the fact that an early retirement plan is a great way to keep you focused. Secondly, most of the time, early retirement is selfish, but it doesn’t have to be. I don’t just want to sit around my entire life. Instead I want to use my time to make a difference. My early retirement plan isn’t the traditional plan as well, since i will still be working 3 days per week; but I’ll be working for myself too.

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The question of selfishness is dependent on your reason for retiring. There are many good reasons and many selfish reasons to retire.

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I have been thinking about retireing for a couple years now. My husband who is 9 years my senior retired four years ago. I have worked with the federal government for 32 years (2% pension for each year worked 64%) and would have a 15% penalty in my pension (5% for each year age is less than 55) should I retire now at age 52. The age for retirement with no penalty for me would be 55. I have been struggling with whether or not it is worth the 15% loss.
My 17 year old daughter recently gave birth to our adorable granddaughter who are both financially dependant on us. My 91 year old soon to be 92 year old father-in-law has come to live with us. He is financially independant.
I do not have any interest in my job any more and find it physically sickening everyday I have to be there. It is a time of cutbacks and reductions for the current government and the stress for all employees is noticeable in the office. Our mandate is no longer the same and everyone is feeling the stress of the unknown.
I do have alot that would keep me busy if I did retire even if they are not the things I would like to choose to do. I would like to care for children who cannot care for themselves and I would like to be able to help make a day brighter for someone even if that only means reading the daily paper to someone who can no longer do that.
I have to say that life is very short, It goes by very fast, you may not have your health physically or emotionally if you wait. All of these things keep me thinking everyday. Yet, I have not retired. Hopefully for me, it will happpen soon!
Thanks for listening, I feel better having vented.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
April 11th, 2012 at 11:11 am

Hi Shelley, first off I think it is VERY admirable that you’ve stuck with your job for 32 years! I know I could not do that.

Secondly, you’ve got a pension, that is better than most people. The average life expectancy is around 80 for women. What will you do for the rest of your life?

I’d take the leap of faith.

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Really great analysis – I don’t think you left anything out. The part about haven’t yet found the dream job is dead on. I suspect that is one of the main reasons I’m so enthralled by the idea.

I think the main reason I want out is because I just feel like I’m being used as part of a large, social experiment. A lot of the realities we’ve created in the last 20-40 years are going to be strongly tested soon (fiat currency, deregulation/re-regulation, social security, health care.)

I also have a strong contrarian/anti-authoritarian streak, which makes me loathe to work for an idiot boss. Some of us are better off on our own away from the good workers and line-toers.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
April 12th, 2012 at 12:49 pm

Glad you enjoyed the post John. Never heard of “feel like I’m being used as a large social experiment” before as a reason to get out!

So long as I like my colleagues and bosses, I’m happy to work. Once you start working due to the work, and not for the money, it is very liberating.

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Interesting post…

Is the purpose of education solely to support a work effort/career? Maybe I’m the oddball, but I enjoyed learning a great deal, and a majority of my education applies to life in general more than my work.

As for “full potential”, we all have potential in different areas, work being only one. Less time at the office might allow me to achieve my full potential as a citizen, giving back or providing value for my community/world.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
April 13th, 2012 at 7:42 am

Why not do both, provide value to your community and to your work? What’s the point of spending all that time and money to go to college to only stop working shortly thereafter? If that’s the case, best to just work from 18, or go to cheaper alternatives that provide just as good opportunities no?

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There’s really no such thing as retirement. You stop working, but you will always be relying on income streams (passive or otherwise). When you “retire” from your job, all you are doing is cutting off one income stream, and relying more heavily on others. The more you have, the more selective you can be. That’s how I view things. At some point, I hope to have enough streams that I can cut one off and rely on others, allowing me to adjust how I spend my time without affecting my material/personal well being. I would never say that I’m “retired”. That just sounds like being bed-ridden in a nursing home.

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When we have multiple income streams, we are allowed the freedom to spend our time as we see fit (to the extents that our streams allow us). I make the decision to stop working at my regular day job, because it truly does interfere with something I really want to do. Would I feel regret about doing this later on? Of course. Just as you may or may not feel regret about many other things in life (kids, marriage, not doing study abroad etc.). But it is not something to fear. The whole point is that multiple income streams allow you the chance to try this without any serious ramifications (other than regret). Just pick up hobby, or start volunteering. There are plenty of avenues to find fulfillment. Most people will never have the luxury to explore this, so be grateful.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
April 24th, 2012 at 6:24 pm

I think you’ll enjoy this latest Post: http://www.financialsamurai.com/2012/04/16/achieve-financial-freedom-slice/

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Very interesting post.
I started a little blog in downshifting and the like some weeks ago.
and I share the view here, that early retirement is maybe not the silver bullet. I think working can be interesting and even some fun, *if* you don’t have to work too much.
So I think a kind of middle-way is the best you can do: Reduce your working time here and now, reduce stress and maximize free time, but don’t aim to retire at 40.

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I think what most people want is not the early retirement but a financially independent lifestyle. What I mean is that being able to work on his/her terms. That’s is how my wife & I felt and did.

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I am soon to be with the same company 35 years, and am 54. We have no debt, 280K in accessible cash and 785K in 401K, which I believe can be drawn upon beginning at age 55 without penalty. Obviously we would not have to do this for some time. Advice and scenarios would be much appreciated, Mr. Samurai !

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Financial Samurai Reply:
August 15th, 2012 at 2:06 pm

Wow, 35 years is INCREDIBLE! Congrats!

My advice to you is to not quit, but figure out a way to get laid off, or volunteer your separation. Hint, I wrote a book about it.

Other than that, you are sitting pretty!

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Duh, I did not even see that above. Will read ! Thanks !

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Since I was 20 years old I’ve dreamed of retiring at the age of 45. My career choices and job changes have all been directed at helping me to achieve that goal. I will be 45 at the end of the year and because of 25 years of planning, saving and investing I will be able to achieve my goal.

The decision to retire is still a difficult one because of some of the what ifs posed in the post above. It is a personal decision and everyone is going to have their own aspirations and goals. There is no one size fits all plan. My wife and I were not able to have kids. A benefit to that is no need to save for college or weddings and no need to leave an inheritance either.

Despite being financially secure and having achieved great success in my career I can understand that not everyone will agree with my choice because it might contradict their choices.

At this point I’m not looking for validation from society or anyone else. Many will be jealous. Some will question the decision. You only live once. Live the way you want to and try not to judge others’ choices. You can squeeze a toothpaste tube from the bottom or the top. It still comes out the end. But, I’ve known husbands and wives who’ve fought over it and ended up having to get separate tubes for each. Accepting each others differences is part of life.

I’ve been exceedingly fortunate to have had a wonderful family and great opportunities. It is with gratitude that I am able to have this choice. We are lucky to live in a country where we do not have to live in fear and that the rule of law generally prevails.

My career has allowed me to travel extensively throughout the world and the lesson learned is that we take much for granted. How much is enough? We live in a culture of insatiability. Why should someone be made to feel bad for achieving their life’s ambition? Retirement is a transition, not a destination. What It means to me is doing what I want, when I want with who I want. That type of freedom is very desirable to me.

In my career I have been responsible for the livelihoods of thousands of people and hundreds of millions of revenue. I have hired, had to fire and have helped hundreds as a mentor, coach or leader.

I intend to maintain my friendships and ignore those that I don’t care to associate with. My focus will be on living a principled life and meeting the needs of those closest to me. That is selfish and it is intentional. I will continue to give back to my community, church and society. Because my time will be less constrained my hope is that I will be able to do more, not less.

It is with great optimism that I look forward to a future of endless opportunity and not be confined any longer by commitments that work demands.

Best wishes to all of you for success in whatever you choose to do.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
August 29th, 2012 at 8:40 am

Thanks for your thoughts. How old are you now?

I took the leap of faith and retired on my own terms at 35 in 2012.

Best, Sam

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JW Reply:
August 30th, 2012 at 3:06 pm

Sam,

I am 44 now. Looking forward to the future with the Emersonian attitude of not walking on the path but instead going where there is no path and leaving a trail.

Best Regards,\

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I retired 14 months ago from the nyc fire department after 20 years. No one retires on my job at 20. Nobody. Its the greatest job on earth. I loved it and i voluntarily left and i sit here and wonder about my mental state as i approached the decision. There is alot behind a choice to retire. On the surface and to an outsider it seems like the right decision but there are hours and hours of talking to oneself weighing the pros and cons.
The fire department was a lifestyle to me. It was an extension of who i was. It wasnt a career even though the accumuated years and experience might add up to one. Since i wasnt a test taker and promotion wasnt in my sights so i created a 2nd career in horticulture which has always been my love. I had a smalll 100 to 150k business which by my 19th year of working 2 careers, i was exhausted. I was also a bit financially strapped since working in nyc for 60 to 70 hrs a week led me to ignore certain money managing and labor decisions. I needed to address business issues that needed my undivided attention and to sto being career torn. I needed to focus on 1 thing. I picked my business since the financial rewRds can be greater and i can collect a very good pension at the same time. But, to be quite honest, i wish i was back in the firehouse. I was part of something big that now im on the outside. Operating a business full time is a pain in the ass…lol. i should have sold it and focused on the fdny and slowing down a bit…..not making my life more hectic. I retired cause of money. I git some retirement money, re did the house, paid some bills. After 12 months you start to ,ook back and think maybe i should have got better advice, softened my ego and maybe not being so impulsive. Bottom line…you dont realize in this economy how good you had it when you went to work.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 4th, 2012 at 3:44 pm

Thx for your perspective Dan.

Don’t firemen get great pensions after 20 years? I think 20 years is a very honorable amount of time to work and you should feel very proud of your achievement!

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I think it is the opposite of being selfish: by retiring early I freed up a good job for somebody else. That person was happy with the new chance, and I was happy not working anymore. A true win-win!

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 9th, 2012 at 6:31 pm

Out with the old, in with the new. Sounds good to me!

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Retired from education, with pension, this summer at 58. My husband works full time and will continue to work for about 4 years. He likes his job and we have financial goals. He retired at age 52, with pension after 29 years, from another firm. We’re the same age. I appreciate your article. I do miss some things about working, mainly the daily contact and laughs with cohorts and time with students, but I’m reconnecting with friends and joined a few hobby groups. I volunteer 1-1/2 days a week and have more time for my grandchild and grown children. Ii exercise more. I have more energy and our family weekends are more enjoyable. Have done some traveling with and without husband. Just accepted a holiday sales position at Macy’s. This will pay for family Christmas and help pay for our February sunbelt trip. It’s all good, but I wasn’t initially prepared for the emotional aspects of retirement. The emotional transition is important to highlight.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
October 8th, 2012 at 9:37 pm

Thanks for your thoughts Jean. Congrats on the retirement! Retiring at 52 and 58 is a nice age to retire, but I don’t consider it early retirement. After 30+ years of work, I think we deserve it!

Early retirement in my book is under 50 or 45 in my book. Please share more about the emotional aspect if you can!

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I disagree with the idea that retiring early is a selfish endavor. Here’s why:

You can’t help the fact that you daydream of retirement. You work for 20 years, until you have established a nice little crib to come back to when you are traveling the world, and an amount of capital big enough to sustain you for the rest of your life. You quit your job and retire. The next 3 years of your life are filled with sightseeing, adventure, and travel. You travel all throughout Europe, Africa, and South America. You finish that bucket list of yours, and you cross the last item of the list of places to visit before you die. Now what?

You get nostalgic. Not for the working world, but for your childhood, when everything was simple and carefree. So you move back to your hometown, meet some old friends, maybe rekindle some old flames. You move into a friendly little neighborhood where everybody knows everybody. All of your neighbors love you. You take a walk around town, past your old high school, the ball park you used to play at with your friends, the resturant that you went to on your first date. You watch the football team in their practice, remembering all the blood, sweat and tears it took. You see the paper boy, remembering how hard you worked to save up for that new toy that you just had to have. You pull into the gas station, where you witness a man teaching his son how to change a tire, the same way your dad taught you, all those years ago.

You’re much more relaxed now, having settled down. Every week, you do yard work for the elderly woman in a wheelchair down the street, free of charge. To have a little extra cash coming in, you become the assistant coach for the high school football team, your favorite sport in the whole wide world. All the kids look up to you, and ask you for advice in things totally unrelated to football. You’re not just a coach to them, you’re a mentor. Your Sunday afternoons are spent at your parent’s house, or at the coffee shop with your childhood friend, who you lost contact with for all those years, talking old times. You laugh and laugh until the store manager informs you it’s closing time. You sell all your old toys and donate the money to charity. To pass the time, you serve soup at the homeless shelter, go Christmas caroling with your church to the sick and elderly, and read to the blind.

You see, early retirement isn’t selfish at all. In fact, it can be more beneficial to society than if you were to continue working. It’s all up to you.

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Interesting article albeit a tad on the negative side. I personally feel the word retirement is really the wrong word for what myself and many others have done or want to do. The goal is not to simply stop working, that’s easy. The goal is to have the resources and most importantly the time to truly enjoy life and follow your passions without being constrained by the requirements of a paycheck. Everyone will have a different objective depending on what they feel is important to them. To me it is being able to be with my family and explore the world with my wife. Being present to watch my children grow and help them learn to ride a bike or learn to swim if invaluable. But does that mean I stop doing anything? No. My wife and I enjoy starting little projects here and there (including donating to and starting charities). It keeps life interesting. But we only do so as long as we are enjoying them. My wife was able to retire at 31 and myself at 37 and life has become busier and more interesting than ever. “Retirement” for us is much more about following our dreams and challenging ourselves with new adventures than about sitting on a beach somewhere doing nothing.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
October 16th, 2012 at 10:43 am

Hence the title, “The Darkside….” :)

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Sam,

Hi, great article. With lifestyle design being the current Buzz word. people need to look past the immediate pleasure, and look at 20 year down the track…… Financial Security in old age, will be smacking a lot of people in the face.

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Great post! I just realized myself a few years ago while i was studying that its possible to “retire” early. Now as i got my first job am working on that goal again. On the other hand i have learned that early retirement is only one goal, but its not what life is about. For me, it is only the foundation to do all the things in life that i would love to do. I wish you good luck on your journey! I will keep on following your posts :)

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A very wonderful and interesting write-up on retirement, a laudable eye opener on how to retire without any blemish or regret of any kind.

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Retiring early is not that bad. But as always, you got to look at your current situation. If you indeed retire at 37, after 15 years of work and you are an undergrad, of course you need to pause for a while first and consider things. Do you have enough retirement fund to last you a lifetime? What were you plans before you retired? It’s something that should be taken into account meticulously. You may travel the world 2-3 years after you retire but what’s next after that? you could be broke and you have no back-up plan. That would be game over for you. In the end, it’s all about financial security.

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The original article and subsequent rebuttals and comments made for a very insightful and interesting 30 minute read. I, like a few of the responders, have thoughts of early retirement (40). To those that believe a decision like this is not a selfish one …think again. There are very few people that will walk away from a rewarding career without really thinking about the lifestyle they will lead afterwards.

If you are not doing it with selfish reasons then what are you doing it for? For a majority of our lives we work with such dedication and commitment to doing the best that we can for a corporation or individual, why not have the same approaches to retirement and you. Not all of us will have the financial resources to leave a “well” paying job at 45, but to those that do…good for you. Life is very short, and unless you are in a career that is your life’s passion, which I am guessing is a very small percentage of the population, why not get some enjoyment out of the years you have left.

I am 44 years old (as you can see I had to reset my goals…darn kids) and don’t see myself retiring before the age of 55. I don’t believe there are too many people that retire with regrets of walking away from a job that was just that…a job. The thoughts are more centered on flexibility and the freedom to do what you really want and love to do, which undoubtedly includes friends and family time. If your finance are all in order… DO IT!

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Financial Samurai Reply:
March 27th, 2013 at 10:41 am

Thanks for your thoughts Roger. I wrote an updated post on how it feels like to be an early retiree this March, 2013 now that I am retired. I think you’ll enjoy it: http://www.financialsamurai.com/2013/03/19/what-does-early-retirement-feel-like-the-positives-and-negatives/

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