I retired early - at 40. I am 60 now.
-Kids were young so a lot of my time went in guiding them and their academic and EC life.
- I invested and played the stock market of two countries and it has done well.
- I have invested time and energy in my family and relatives. I have cultivated a huge circle.
- We travel a lot. DH and I have several hobbies that we spend time on.
- Home improvements and yard improvements also take our time and we also entertain a lot.
- Exercise, daily life, yoga, healthy eating etc.
- We don't have pets. We have two adult kids who have launched well. We are empty nesters. DH is gearing for retirement but I encourage him to continue working because he enjoys his work a lot.

Take care of elderly relatives and college aged kids.

I think the bigger question is what is your DH going to do when he is retired? Is he going to be on your nerves, complaining and messing up the house 24 hours a day.

Anonymous wrote:everyone I know who retired early died early as well.

Interesting observation. I have noticed that several people have died right before or soon after regular 60's age retirement.

Anonymous wrote:everyone I know who retired early died early as well.

Most women were stay at home before boomers. Women's life expectancy exceed mens.

Anonymous wrote:everyone I know who retired early died early as well.

Not my experience at all.

I retired before 40. I play tennis, volunteer, learned mahjong. I still have kids in HS so I don't have freedom to travel and take day trips yet. Some of my volunteer activities take 10 hours a week or more.

I retired at 57. I do whatever I feel like. I exercise a lot. I read. I’ve traveled a good amount. I’ve spent a lot of time helping out my elderly mom. I have been doing a lot of home projects, tackling the deferred maintenance that I didn’t have time or energy to deal with when I was working. Some days I binge watch shows. Some days I go exploring - to museums, parks, trails. I have volunteered. I go to cultural events like film festivals, art shows, special events at embassies, walking tours. There are so many things to do in DC that even as a retiree I don’t get to all of the things on my wishlist. I balance activities with downtime depending on my energy level. It’s wonderful.

everyone I know who retired early died early as well.

Anonymous wrote:What's your age, OP? Early retirement mean different things to different people.

48 Me. 50 DH.

I had my kids late so they were young teens when I retired. So I volunteer a lot and have taken over all the things I used to pay someone to do (yardwork, house painting, etc). Oh, and I finally got all the PT I needed but couldn't do with work.

Early retirement lets you keep the rhythm of your life at your fingertips. You don't have to rush through the life and brush people off just to survive, you can thrive and nurture your loved ones to thrive.

If you are financially secured, be the volunteer for your family, friends and neighbors. Do the things they can't do or need to be done to make life easier. Anyone can volunteer at the animal shelter but not many help people around them.

Make the most of your own life as well, eat well, sleep more, workout effectively, meditate, travel, listen to music, go to museums and marathons etc. Be really present for your parents, siblings, spouse and children.

What's your age, OP? Early retirement mean different things to different people.

For those that did, what do you do with your time?

For those that have not, but given the opportunity, what would you do?