Has anyone here retired early on a lean budget (or plan to)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, maybe get a new job.
If you have a job you love, it does not feel like work. For real.

Even if your numbers were great, A LOT can happen between 35 and 85 or whatever your life expectancy is. That’s just too much time for too many things to happen, and many will be totally out of control. So no, this does not sound like a good idea. You do not want to be 55 or 60 and realize you don’t have enough, because there will be no good way at that point to fix it.

Yes, this is exactly it. You can work less. Or you can work at something you like better. But it's not really responsible to "retire" at 35.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is fine to take a break and change careers. I don’t think it is fine to just stop working and rely on your spouse while you fart about.

Unless your spouse is fine with it, in which case it is absolutely fine to stop working and fart about.

OP, seriously, the opinions of anonymous internet strangers on this topic DO NOT MATTER. The only other person you should consult is your spouse.

And you absolutely shouldn’t try to take any sort of “lean” financial advice from anyone on this board…. They think you need half a million a year just to survive. Maybe ask your question in the Mr Money Mustache forums instead.

a friend has been a stay-at-home spouse for most of the 25 years i've known them, but it was a joint decision between spouses who are childfree. also, the SAH spouse project manage all of the big projects: remodeling, house moves, vacations, hobbies. they volunteer, they've had serious research, they are not sitting at home eating bon bons and watching tv. the working spouse absolutely still needs the engagement of a job, and doesn't really know how to relax. aka, it's worked for them, but it has to be a joint decision.

[Anonymous]

Lean - assets worth 10 million dollars

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is fine to take a break and change careers. I don’t think it is fine to just stop working and rely on your spouse while you fart about.

Unless your spouse is fine with it, in which case it is absolutely fine to stop working and fart about.

OP, seriously, the opinions of anonymous internet strangers on this topic DO NOT MATTER. The only other person you should consult is your spouse.

And you absolutely shouldn’t try to take any sort of “lean” financial advice from anyone on this board…. They think you need half a million a year just to survive. Maybe ask your question in the Mr Money Mustache forums instead.

I'm the PP who said one spouse retiring created resentment in our marriage. We were both kind of inspired by MMM, but the reality is different once you're living it day to day. I wonder how many divorces came out of/will come out of that movement (starting with the founder of course!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm 35.

There's an early retirement movement where entire families retire on investment portfolios of $600k - $1.5m and live frugally forever. That's seeming increasingly more attractive by the day.

My situation would be different because my spouse plans on continuing working, but I don't want resentment to seep in.

I love the FIRE ideas mostly. However, some of the people have invested in real estate and get income from that. Others have pensions. They are not all always entirely transparent about their other sources of income or skills they have and use to generate additional income through carpentry, etc.

You have to look at healthcare costs and so on and none of us here can give you a solid answer without all the facts and details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm feeling burnt out from working and just want to retire to pursue my hobbies. Maybe I'll try freelancing, but that sounds more stressful than an office job in many ways. What's the smallest nest egg you'd feel comfortable retiring on?

Burnt out at 35? Nonsense. Just take some time off and get a different job.

+1 OP, come back when you are 55.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are early 40's and have $3M in assets, not counting our paid off home and fully funded 529s. We spend way less per month than current income. I keep trying to get spouse to majorly downshift his stressful job but he keeps insisting he is "overqualified" and he won't be able to get hired somewhere at a lower level. I wish he would try. I was a SAHM and now work part-time for peanuts. We live a simple but comfortable life plus my spouse is also going to get a multimillion dollar inheritance. He knows and agrees with all of this academically but can't bring himself to improve his situation.

I feel the same way as your husband. Not only am I “overqualified” for a lower level job, but younger folks may be better at it by now than I am. And all positions that actually leverage my experience and seniority are stressful.

I was in a similar situation. And I could see that there isn’t much room in my profession if you don’t want to move into those more senior and stressful roles.