Retiring Early - How I Might Do It Differently :-)

Since retiring in my forties in 2007, I've been getting a lot of surprised looks when I tell people I've retired. The comments range from "You're too young" to "Really, what are you doing next?" If I could retire early again, here's what I would do differently:

1. Win the Mega Millions or Powerball lottery. No one is ever surprised when a big lottery winner "retires." It seems winning a lot of money entitles one to retire, but saving a lot doesn't :-) The trouble is that counting on winning the lottery is A Very, Very Bad Retirement Plan.



2. Dye my hair gray. To many people, gray is old, not gray is not old. My father didn't start becoming noticeably gray until his seventies. I guess I'll have to wait that long before people think I am old enough to retire.



3. Have a passionate interest or dream job to do right away. A colleague who also retired early is doing a cross country (i.e. Pacific to Atlantic) bike trip with his wife. Upon retiring the first time, my father-in-law consulted for a small company and then took over as president, retired again and became a professor at a local university. My sister started a business. Others I know did more volunteer work or mentoring. I don't have anything exciting to report. I'm just living more or less the same life, without the work part :-)

Seriously though, retiring early was a great opportunity for me and I'd do it again, even without winning the lottery, graying early or having a dream activity or interest to do.

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This is not financial or retirement advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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