If you're going to retire early, you'll have to make some sacrifices
If you want to be an Olympic athlete, you’ll be training while others are relaxing. If you want to be a doctor, you’ll be grinding through medical school and long hours of residency while others are sleeping. If you want to be an entrepreneur, you’ll be working for years to implement the details and realize your vision, while others are spending more time with family.
That kind of corporate status and power are no more in my life. My impact on the software world is ancient history, held in dusty technical journals and occasional recollections by former colleagues. Yet there is at least one purpose for which I miss power: the ability to make positive changes in the world. It’s harder to do that if you have little say over how groups of people spend their time and money. We are facing many problems as a society that would benefit from the wise use of power and leadership.
Since a key component in the financial plan of anybody focused on becoming financially independent and retiring early is controlling expenses, it stands to reason that you’ll get a lot of bang for your buck by economizing on your dwelling. We rented that house for a year in tony Connecticut. I remember the initial buzz of moving into the beautiful new construction on a large lot in the country. Enormous rooms, hardwood floors, stone fireplace, high-end kitchen appliances and bath fixtures, beautiful trim everywhere. But as the year progressed, I grew disenchanted. The large rooms were impersonal. The location was inconvenient.
International travel At age 50, when I first let it be known among family and friends that I would be retiring early, an older relative chastised me. I couldn’t possibly have enough money saved yet. Health care was expensive, and had I budgeted for international travel? A few package tours overseas every year for a couple could easily run up bills over $20,000, after all.
And it’s not like we have no travel options. I’ve done dozens of camping and backpacking trips in spectacular regions of this country, and have many more planned. We’ve been all over the American west in our small RV, and will likely make treks to Canada and possibly Alaska eventually. Guaranteed long-term security Up to this point, the “sacrifices” I’ve discussed — worldly power, big house, international travel — have a certain opulent, expendable feel. If I fussed too much about missing those, you’d rightly call me an elitist crybaby.
Still others will find alternative trade-offs to make. You can achieve the same goals I did, but optimize differently. You can tilt your financial life to allow for a large house, or international travel, by cutting back in other areas. The vast majority of people who manage to leave the workforce early will do so at some cost. This post discussed mine.• Since retiring, I’ve enjoyed unprecedented personal freedom. I get up every morning and do precisely what I want all day.
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