How early can you retire?

justme111

GenghisKhan wrote: »

For me FIRE is work becomes optional and not sunning myself on a beach until I die.

At the FIRE point my plan is to:
1. Resign
2. Ascertain where we want to live. At this time that's looking like 6 months in Malta, Spain and a non-UK city location not in the South East of England to understand that.
3. In parallel decompress ensuring no critical decisions are made during this time. I want to really understand who I am outside of the high pressure high stress work environment I currently find myself.
4. If it's the UK then ideally build a modest home. Want a low energy use, fairly small home but on a bit of land which seem rare.
5. Then once I know myself and have the family settled figure out what I want to be when I grow up. That might be a keen cyclist, a keen sea kayaker, a valuable charity volunteer or a self employed worker. Money won't be a concern so I can become who I want to be. What I won't be is a corporate drone.

I am not sure life works like that.
I do not think it is good for one to become focused on money first and foremost for a decade of his life in a hope to become free of money worries and able to give attention to other sides of life after.
Hope you will find the right balance.

weenie15

Recommended UK FIRE blogs written by young people:

(sorry, can't post links...)

earlyretirementguy_dot_com - mid-20s guy looking to pay off his mortgage early, save and invest for early retirement.

fibrarian_dot_com - 27 year old aiming for FI by age 42 via saving and frugal living.

financiallyfreebyforty_dot_blogspot_dot_co_dot_uk - 32 year old aiming to be FI by 40 via frugal living, dividend investing and writing kindle ebooks.

thefirestarter_dot_co_dot_uk - married 32 year old, expecting first child, aiming for early retirement.

thefinancezombie_dot_com - aiming to "spend less, save more and escape the Horde"

Kendall80

http://quietlysaving.blogspot.co.uk/


That ones not bad either

weenie15

Kendall80 wrote: »

That ones not bad either

Haha, thanks but I'm a lot older than that other bunch! :rotfl:

racing_blue

Generally I like my work but boy does it make me sweat sometimes. It pays OK which is a plus, but not enough to keep me doing it if I start hating.

So the logical choice was to build a stuff fund... a fund which could allow me to say "stuff it all" or words to that effect at any given moment.

I have kind of done that now, quitting would require some lifestyle downsizing but it is a real option. It feels good and like Chickereeee says actually has made work more attractive because it is a conscious choice rather than a slavish obligation.

GenghisKhan, your plan is beautiful - can't you start to do some of those things today anyway?

tejero23f

How early can i retire?
For me it's probably 60 from full time work, spend 6 months in the warm and 6 months summer here enjoying a modest standard of living, enjoying every minute and pursuing hobbies until i conk out.

My advice- If you love life and have varied interests then retire as soon as you can, life is so short....you won't spend time on your death bed wishing you had worked a day longer...would you?

JeDi

Hi, I have read Rich Dad Poor Dad last year and it certainly changed my attitude to money. the right question is not how much I need to save to retire, but how can I create passive income so I don't have to work anymore? No matter how much you save, what if you live longer then you have planned? Or how would you fill when your money are about to end? So, since you hate your job, I would consider career change if I were you, or may be switching to self-emloyed or freelance, and start looking for passive income, it can be stocks, currency trading, or any investments that make money work for you instead of you working for money

ANGLICANPAT

All very well ,slaving, saving, and planning for an early retirement, but not to the point where you deny yourself all pleasures that 'cost' , stress and struggle to find time to enjoy the 'now' .Life has a way of biting you in the bum . I know of many that have worked themselves into the ground, neglected their families in search of the holy grail of early retirement, only to find that when they finally make it , their body packs in on them and they cant even do a fraction of the things they can now afford to do. So - remember to have a good time along the way !!

Cornucopia

Doing the figures for different scenarios is vital if you're serious about it.

The figures ultimately depend on what kind of investment(s) you are going to have. With cash in the bank, you'd need at least £500k to derive a basic income, whereas with property that could be as little as £125k.

Obviously there's more risk with property than a bank, and the usual caveats of having more than one property, as well as savings in the bank definitely apply.

There's also the question of whether being a Landlord is consistent with your personal view of what "retirement" means.

Kendall80

ANGLICANPAT wrote: »

All very well ,slaving, saving, and planning for an early retirement, but not to the point where you deny yourself all pleasures that 'cost' , stress and struggle to find time to enjoy the 'now' .Life has a way of biting you in the bum . I know of many that have worked themselves into the ground, neglected their families in search of the holy grail of early retirement, only to find that when they finally make it , their body packs in on them and they cant even do a fraction of the things they can now afford to do. So - remember to have a good time along the way !!

This is a very valid concern. So important to enjoy life to the full while you're still fit and able. One way to estimate your longevity is to assess the average age with which your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents met their demise. Particularly the way in which they went. Its a surprisingly accurate way of estimating your own lifeline as long as you allow for healthcare advance. Chromosomal telomere length if I remember correctly. My family seem to reach 80 and they didnt have particularly healthy lifestyles. Smokers, drinkers etc. I reckon I can top that so have to plan accordingly.


I'm fortunate in that i'm naturally frugal. I'll look up things i need on the net, add them to basket, then find a way to do without them Not so Mrs K. However, by my calcs we should have 22k of workplace pension coming through aged 60-65 assuming continued contribution levels (she works for EA/NRW). With SIPP and ISAs meeting expectations we should be able to check out early to mid 50s. That'll do for us. Anything we get from the state will be a bonus but we shall not rely upon it.