Early retirement experiences?

I would never suggest, imply, or recommend that somebody retires just so that they can do things before they get too old if the financial numbers don't make sense. However, I think there are always ways to be creative. For us, we still have an income, it's just from doing things that we have always wanted to do. We also are careful with budget. For example, when all of our coworkers go out to dinner, we usually skip it.  We go to the grocery store and pick up salad and a rotisserie chicken. Over the course of a month that probably saves us $500.  Simple things like that add up and go a long way.

SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:

I would never suggest, imply, or recommend that somebody retires just so that they can do things before they get too old if the financial numbers don't make sense. However, I think there are always ways to be creative. For us, we still have an income, it's just from doing things that we have always wanted to do. We also are careful with budget. For example, when all of our coworkers go out to dinner, we usually skip it.  We go to the grocery store and pick up salad and a rotisserie chicken. Over the course of a month that probably saves us $500.  Simple things like that add up and go a long way.

This^^^^
We have friends (in their late 60's) that go to dinner 3-4 nights a week, go to Starbucks everyday, but new cars every year, and as a result are in no position to retire. They talk openly about their inability to afford to retire but do nothing to prepare.

Worst part is that they have owned their own business for decades and never pay themselves a paycheck, instead just taking cash out under the table so their SS payments when they get to that point is going to be artificially low. 
 

On the way home from Toronto Saturday afternoon I stopped at PW's favourite German store and bought $27 worth of deli 'ends', some pretzel buns and some fancy cheese on sale.  Saturday night on my way home from the track I stopped at the new country grocery store and take out. Just before close they pkg up the day's leftover food at 50% or more off. I spent $11 that time, so for $38 I got at least a dozen individual meals. All good quality food, too, especially the deli meats, cheese and bread.

Thursday afternoon the grocery store flyers come in, I peruse them, and that evening we plan the week's meals based on what's cheap. I don't have to be frugal anymore but that's how we got here and it's not like I have any control over it.

Ironically enough I'm in the airport right now.  My wife and I packed fruit and sandwiches, and brought an empty water bottle in.  $40 saved.

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

i'm 29, and not anywhere close to retirement, but I am astounded every time i fly and I see how much money people spend on food at the airport. I refuse to buy anything other than a protein bar or something in an emergency, I will either pack a snack or just go hungry to avoid paying $20 for a sub-par Subway sandwhich or something.

Lots of people spend money in shocking ways, including racing cars :)  The important thing is that you feel that it brings value to your life equivalent to what you pay for it - and that includes the potential early retirement payoff.

ShawnG said:

43 and saving as much as I can.

I'd like to retire at 50-something but I probably won't, I'm not good at doing nothing.

My current house has an ideal setup, I have a two-car garage that I just need to kick the trash out of to be working on my own terms.

I have a feeling my retirement will simply be bringing my tools home one day and hanging out my shingle, just picking the jobs I want to do.

I still haven't worked on a Stanley, I'd gladly pick away at  maintaining someone's car collection in exchange for walking-around money.

I like reading through old threads like this. It's funny how things can change in a year or two

July 27, 2027 is my 35th work anniversary and I'm outta here.

I'll be 59. Not sure what I'll afterwards but I'm sure I'll find stuff to do.

I'll have to get healthcare off Healthcare.gov for a few years. The Missus will be just getting Medicare at that point.

GPz11 (Forum Supporter) said:

Not sure what I'll afterwards but I'm sure I'll find stuff to do.

This, more than finance, is why I see people fail at early retirement. Having a framework of what you can do and what you want to do is an important part of retirement planning. Ensuring your spouse, if you have one, has a similar plan is also critical. Having a spouse with a different plan will frequently leave one with no spouse and half the money.

I'd also argue that a fair number of people here are in early retirement and actively employed.

I define retirement as working for and with people you want to work for and with because you want to and not because you need to.
There is a distinct difference between doing work and being employed. My wife is not employed and works very hard. I am employed and don't always work very hard at all. People need work - not employment to have some life satisfaction.

Johnboyjjb said:

I'd also argue that a fair number of people here are in early retirement and actively employed.

I define retirement as working for and with people you want to work for and with because you want to and not because you need to.
 

Amen!!  As I said, I put in more hours now than I ever did before I retired.  However it's all "want to" instead of "need to".  I sign up for every opportunity to do what I do (as does my wife) because it's a dream come true and we are taking full advantage of it.  If we want time off, we take it.  We will have the bulk of the winter on vacation.

This is a great thread, it is interesting to re-read since me many of the posters are still active here. 
For me it is a little timely, I am 48 but have a strong urge to retire as soon as practical. For me I think the earliest is 59, based on saving and 401k rules (although the info on early withdrawal on previous pages was very helpful), and the age of my kids. The calculator with a Monte Carlo simulation of money over time was helpful and it reaffirmed what my advisor had to say. 
There are a lot of smart people on this board, people at different stages and different income levels, different desires. It all blends nicely to give insight and context and things to think about. 
I appreciate all the info here and thank you all for keeping me thinking about why, how and when I want to retire 

Working towards a soft retirement early.  Currently 47 and still have little ones 8 and 15.  Assuming I can keep the current earnings going I should be able to go to being a part time consultant in the next 7 years.  Have been pretty frugal for many moons and am lucky enough to have a wife that is on board with the plan.  Need to get my arse in gear to get a website and consulting business incorporated so I can build that on the side over the next years in preparation.  The plan is a lot more family time and personal goals aka racing etc.  A big part of this is currently being researched, a tax shelter US retirement address like the virgin islands or Puerto Rico.  I was amazed at how reasonable they were in terms of cost of living etc.

In reply to 84FSP :

Before you move to the islands, also do research WRT weather and hurricanes.  Just to be prepared to know.  Many years ago, I wanted to retire to Puerto Rico, too, but I also saw the reality of living there, and we decided against it also many years ago.  Available healthcare being the primary reason along with dealing with natural disasters.  We know of a lot of people who left Puerto Rico after Maria.  

edit- on the healthcare thing- if you are going to rely on medicare during retirement- check and make sure that you will get your US allotment of payout as opposed to the islands payout- which is based on 1980 dollars.  It's a real problem on the island, and a contributor of people leaving.

My area is full-up with Puerto Ricans who left Puerto Rico. 

ddavidv said:

My area is full-up with Puerto Ricans who left Puerto Rico. 

Yes it is

In reply to 67LS1 :

That's a balance.  I take a salary from my business, but most of my income is from owner draw.  Yes, that hurts me as far as SS goes, but the tax savings far offset it...

67LS1 said:

They talk openly about their inability to afford to retire but do nothing to prepare.

This is way too common.  I've seen it so many times on this forum.  Its really sad to see people who absolutely have the means to prepare for it take a head-in-the-sand approach instead.  

I don't know if there is a stigma of some sort?  Would anonymous discussions be more fruitful?  

In reply to prodarwin :

Have family members that are the same way. Some are young and well paid, and when we talk about preparing for retirement they worry we aren't living enough now - but they also talk about how they'll never be able to retire. We've tried to gently tell them it's possible, but it's not my place to change someone's financial perspective if they don't want to. 

In reply to prodarwin :

We have both worked full time pretty much all our lives.  Married, 2 kids, typical suburban life.

We had a modest nest egg, but we didn't really start saving seriously with a plan in place until we were in our early 40s.  Even then we put 2 kids through college (state school) and managed to live comfortably.  So in a little under 20 years you can go from not much to solidly prepared, if you are prudent and lucky enough to avoid catastrophes.

Of course, bad things happen.  We've had our share of normal setbacks, but no long term job losses, no million-dollar health crises, no total loss house fires, etc.

classicJackets (FS) said:

In reply to prodarwin :

Have family members that are the same way. Some are young and well paid, and when we talk about preparing for retirement they worry we aren't living enough now - but they also talk about how they'll never be able to retire. We've tried to gently tell them it's possible, but it's not my place to change someone's financial perspective if they don't want to. 

When you retire in your mid-50's and start doing more than they did in their earlier years, maybe then they will figure it out.  It's always amusing to run into people who tell us that we are too young to retire.  

At the same time that it's not your place to change their perspective, it's also not your position to worry about them.  As I see it- I'm not all that concerned that slightly older family members have a long way to go so that they can retire when we are already retired.  

The lack of retirement savings for people has always been in the news, so people complaining that they can't retire these days is nothing new.   

Oh yeah, one other early retirement experience - I have to be careful when/where I sit down, or I could end up trapped for hours.  

Duke said:
We had a modest nest egg, but we didn't really start saving seriously with a plan in place until we were in our early 40s.  Even then we put 2 kids through college (state school) and managed to live comfortably. 

Did you teach them to be smarter than you were?
(try to read that in a voice where I don't sound like a jackwagon)

My wife and I both have parents who retired well and well enough. But they didn't teach their kids a dang thing about finance directly. We just watched them and gleaned things, but that wasn't good enough for us to be successful.
 

In reply to Johnboyjjb :

We've tried.  The elder seems to have taken it on board pretty well. The younger, maybe not as much.