Friday, December 05, 2008

Comments I've Received about Early Retirement

Since retiring in my forties in 2007, I've noticed common themes in the comments I get. I'm also surprised that I don't get a question that I think most people are thinking.

Here are the common themes in the comments:
  1. You're too young to retire. To which I usually answer, " I started when I was 12:-)" I guess I have to credit my boyish good looks :-), which include the lack of a receding hairline, and barely noticeable grey hairs. They are also surprised to learn that we have a 4 year old daughter.

    My new answer is going to be, " You can never be too young to retire :-)"


  2. What are you doing (next)? Almost everyone expects the answer to be "Looking for a job, consulting or starting a business." They don't expect "spending more time with family, helping with my mother's affairs, and dabbling with Internet ideas " to be the answer.

    I suppose I ought to look for a job since my four your old needs to learn parents working is the norm :-) So, my latest answer is "looking for a job with very flexible hours, which leverages my strengths and is fun to do."

Here are the questions that I'm surprised I don't get: "How did you do it?" and "What's the secret to retiring before 50?" Because I'm a personal finance junkie, I think other people might be interested.

I guess most people consider the questions too personal, or they think they already know the answer based on the car I drive :-)

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

Copyright © 2008 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I retired at the age of 50 but now at the age of 58, I regret it. No amount of money could have prepared me for this economic crisis.

Now, at the age of 58, I find that I have wasted some very important earning-potential years. Each passing day brings my quality of life down oh! so the most slightest, but felt nonetheless.

I should be enjoying life NOT worrying about how I am going to sustain myself. No more passive income because of devalued investments, reduced equity, declining values, yada, yada, yada. Be forewarned, my friend. I'd hate to see you 'wake up' and be 60 years old.

The secret to an early retirement is to keep working.

Live and learn.

Anonymous said...

The questions I get are a variation on those, my personal favorite "what do you DOOOO all day?" It's a surprisingly hard question to answer, that's why I hate it!