I wrote this first, when a few polite people were curious, as to how one retires early:
Thought I would add more, as it relates to finances. Yes, 52 and retired, not on disability... And yes, it is very nice having been so since I was 46. I invested by myself via low cost mutual funds/REITS, low cost brokerage, saved from a very early age, invested any windfall, lived very far under my means, was/am very self-sufficient, and always valued time over chasing $$$ or material crap.
Could not have done it having anyone/advisor charging 1-2% AUM (Assets Under Management), where IMO this will become even less doable in the future. I like to volunteer my time helping non-profits with their 403b implementation, and helping individual investors reach their financial goals, learn to budget, coach them toward dropping the whole more toys/keeping up with the Joneses guilt trip BS. Not to seem smug, humble braggy, or uncaring toward others who truly struggle, but I would have never thought money would be the least of my worries, rather managing what seems too much freedom of choice in my retirement is.
Then got this from one poster:
I am sorry, things still aren't adding up.
Unless you are a 20 year former military/federal on a good pension or have been making upper 6 figures and saving like you are describing, the retirement at 52 is impossible. The sheer cost of medical insurance and out of pocket medical is astronomical. To live frugally you need about 3000 a month. You'll have mortgage/rent to pay, utilities, medical care, food, gas, necessities and taxes to pay. No investment at your age will guarantee that.
Another poster replies to this with:
The OP said he retired at 46 and is 52 now. This simply doesn't pass the sniff test. The locations the OP has written about aren't mid-6 figure income or "hit it big in a tech company" locations. 20 year former military doesn't need ACA. They moved a number of times so it's not 25 years of generous state/local pension with some kind of accelerator and that would have come with a health insurance deal, too. I see no point in participating in a troll thread.
I'd add that if you own a low home ownership cost house outright, you could probably retire on less than your $36K income.
I reply to the post above:
Well then *******, I'd appreciate that you not participate, and certainly not call me a troll/liar.
to which I never heard another peep.
To the poster who said things don't add up, I wrote:
Well, all I can tell you is the magic of compounding is very real, and our ideas of frugality seem to diverge. Even with horrible ACA insurance which was much less when I retired at 46, rent payment, and the rest you mention is way less than $3000 a month for me... Even when considering Fed/state taxes by virtue of how my investments are structured. There have been many self made millionaires who worked rather modest jobs, retiring with multi-million dollar portfolios. Many too if you go to sites like mrmoneymustache, are millionaires way before 40, doing jobs paying way less than 6 figures. It's all about delayed gratification, self-sufficiency and discipline, living way under your means, and low cost investing as much $$$ as you can with a plan, and sticking to it. hardly impossible at all.
I surely don't expect any guarantees, have done the best I know how, don't allow lifestyle creep as I progress in retirement and wealth, and financially everything looks fine, full steam ahead.
To this, the same "things don't make sense" poster went full "I'm a troll" too:
This might have worked 40+ years ago, but not any more. Incomes are stagnant, and prices are ever increasing, far outpacing anybody's income capacity. So unless you had a huge starting capital to invest or already invested inheritance, I'd say all of this is bluff. ACA prices may be low, but the coverage is awful. From what I hear the premiums aren't that pocket friendly, to say the least.
You are either a troll or have made some big miscalculations regarding your finances and future earnings.
I replied no more, others chimed in, and the real trolls never said a peep:
Quote:
Originally Posted by "things don't make sense"
This might have worked 40+ years ago, but not any more.
Nope. The math is just the same as it ever was.
Quote:
Incomes are stagnant, and prices...
The saving/invest choice has to come BEFORE the COL choices.
Too few have been willing to make those tough choices.
Quote:
You are either a troll or ...
Correct. Anyone with a contrary view must be a troll.
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So wrong on so many points. The opportunities and income are plenty, if you are willing to look for it, and work for it.
I raised a family, divorced, but wisely invested my income, did not need to have all the "luxuries", or have what the Jones had, and I now have a very nice investment portfolio. It is possible by most everyone, if you have the discipline for it.
Although I do have a pension, at 57 (retired at 55), I could easily live off my investments.
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I'm boggled at the people who assume the OP is a troll.
He would have turned 18 around 1984 at a time that good paying union jobs might be available right after high school. And 10 yr treasuries yielded 14%. Thus the comment about compounding interest?
I would assume the OP didn't hop off a boxcar in PA, probably had family connections for jobs and reasonable rents. and financial advice from a knowledgeable relative. He mentions being married and that would likely be a 2 earner household, might have lived with parents right out of school.
I sometimes wonder if people who live in high COL areas rationalize that there are no jobs that pay more then a pittance in these backwaters but for someone who is bright and disciplined and has connections that is not necessarily the case. It is easy to imagine someone being able to retire at 46. According to the timeline that would have been about when Obamacare kicked in.
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Quote: Incomes are stagnant,
Maybe yours is, but mine is not, nor is anyone that I work with.
You seem to be making quite a few aSSumptions.
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Thread was 7-8 pages, so I put it all together here. Have fun poking holes in this tripe, and again seeing it all laid bare that some folks are just too stupid, jealous, or too enmeshed in the machine to see or know the truth.