We love to travel. If it were me we would do it on a shoestring. My wife, however, appreciates the finer things and travel is more expensive. This is one of the reasons I plod on and add to the stache.
Hobbies -- I would like to paint, write and help folks with basic financial literacy. My all consuming job leave little time and less energy for these pursuits. It isn't just the work, it is the travel heaped on top of the work that robs me of time (driving, not flying, or I could at least write).
Would you be able to fill all or most of your retirement time with travel and those hobbies? Could you plan your daily schedule now, starting from when you wake up until you go to sleep, for each hour?
Exactly how much time would you spend goofing off each day, and would you feel uncomfortable if it was more than you had originally planned? (When answering, assume there's nothing inherently wrong with goofing off).
Do you have a burning desire for ER, or is it a more vague feeling that ER might be better for you than working full-time?
Is your wife on-board with ER? How much have you discussed it with her?
I found that I am much lazier than I had imagined myself. I goof off way more than I had originally planned, and it does make me feel uncomfortable about myself, like I should be more productive. I'm still trying to figure that out, whether that's decompression mode, or my childhood up-bringing makes me feel guilty about it, or the time in my 20s when I was flat broke and nearly homeless. The questions above, are the ones I should have asked myself more deeply before going to ER.
BTW, my COBRA coverage was actually $100/mo less expensive than the cheapest Obamacare plan, and COBRA had a much lower deductible, so it was an easy choice for a traditional insurance plan. I am guessing the COBRA coverage is being subsidized by my former employer (big tech company).
I am not too worried about healthcare costs now, since my expense rate is less than 1% of my net worth (not including taxes), and I am very healthy. But who knows what will happen in the future? I am also single with no dependents for whom I need to worry about.