Hiya! I'm a long time lurker and a new registrant, and aiming for a "career break" starting at or around the end of March 2019, at which time I'll be 55. This site, and one or two other PF resources, have convinced me to think differently about money and retirement.
I've already got the means to fund a very cheeseparing sort of retirement, but I like my job more than I'd like having to count every farthing, and it's possible that I may discover that I like my job even if I'm not relying on it to put bread on the table, or decide to plunge into a new career since I will only be 55, which isn't old nowadays. I've worked hard all my life (and spent big, mainly due to having had many children, not all of them launched yet, and having opted for the luxury of a stay-at-home spouse until the children had all finished high school, but also due to a couple of stupid financial decisions that seemed the right thing to do at the time) and would like to take some time out to see whether I really want to do the things I always say I'd do if I wasn't at work.
My plan isn't very complicated. Save like Ebenezer into an interest-paying cash account between now and then (22 paychecks to go) while maintaining my pension payments, aiming to be able to live off the cash savings alone for at least a year, and leave my job with my bridges unburned. And cut back on regular expenses. We're not frivolous spenders, though we do have one expensive hobby (biking, not in the Mustachian sense) that gives us a lot of pleasure, but I've been spurred on to shop around for insurance quotes (I knew I might not be getting the most advantageous rates, but I didn't realise how much my "valued loyalty" was costing me), set up a pension fund for my spouse who will be a non-taxpayer in retirement, and warn my adult offspring that I have neither the means nor the inclination to fund more than one household so if they want to go away to study they will have to have their own income.
The tough part might be making myself make the break. I foresee discussions along the lines of, "Couldn't you just cut your hours?" or, "Could we ask you to cover if we have an emergency?" and that won't work. Leaving the thin end of the wedge in the crack with the hammer in someone else's hands won't work at all.