Foreward: The title is misleading, I realize, as this post is not about retiring at 25 but starting work to retire at 25. And yes, to those of you in your 30s, 40s, and 50s, I know. This sounds like complaining. I apologize. However, I thought this a question that might apply to more than just me so I wanted to get it out there.
Diving into this community, I've seen a lot of people in situations worse off than me. Out of control debt, medical issues, family troubles, the Devil's own bad luck. Reading the epic actions of others in the face of life's challenges always makes me say, "Shut up complaining E! You're riding in a gold-lined limo compared to some." But it's easy to forget when Mustache Envy starts.
Yeah, I'm sure most of us have had it. You can tell yourself "I'm doing good," until THEY come along. You know. The 21 year old with a retirement fund bigger than your annual paycheck. The 18 year old with a better paying job than you. The 24 year old with "a couple of years" to retirement. And there's no classic "born with a silver spoon" excuse here. These are kids who know their stuff and earned it! You can tell yourself "I'm doing good," but when you stack up against the titans, you don't have to tell yourself anything. You can feel the difference. Even MMM himself can seem like a better version of Bill Gates or that kid who started Facebook.
When I was in high school, I knew exactly what I wanted to be. I knew I wanted to go into libraries and anything else would be the same as digging ditches. For work, for a career, nothing else would satisfy. Nothing. But I knew it'd be tough to break into. I knew it'd be 6 years to get that MLIS and then a few more to break to a good position. 24 at the earliest, if I happened to end up as personal friends with the director of a great library.
So it happens that, while I know I've got it decent compared to some, when I look at myself (25, a sparse 14k in the bank, still looking for THE job) I start thinking, "Christ! I haven't even started and I should be half-way through by now!" The walls get a little closer. "Retired at 35? If I'm lucky! Hell, might be as late as 40. It's like half my life just washed down the hill in the last rain."
The key factor here, and the one I want to zero in on, is that feeling of starting late. That sense of the other racers having alread looped the track but you somehow missed the pistol. That's what got me thinking about this question: Is 25 (or, rather, any time between the early 20s and the early 50s) too late to really retire "early?" Is 25 too late for a good start? After all, I'm still calling my next job "my first big step." I still think of it as "the start of my career."Is this opposed to the Mustachian idea of early retirement? Is it condemning one's self to a paltry couple decades of decent living as opposed to half a life of really living?
If it is, is early retirement just something that people who take up the harder fields have to accept as unobtainable? Like how choosing to maintain a monogomous relationship means willingly sacrificing the wild romp of bachelorhood and playboyism to a deeper commitment. It's no use (and, honestly, no fun!) trying to make a complaint out of the sacrifice. It's inherent in the work! Besides, when I frame the question like this and ask myself "Do you want to work in libraries so bad that you'd willingly give up a retirement at 30 to do it?" I find myself saying, "Yeah! Hell yeah. What else is there? Bring me the policy and budget. Let's go!"
I'd like to hear the opinion of all other Mustachians, not just those who feel the same as me (though, hey, if you've got similar questions, add them in). Even if it's just someone chiding me for asking a question that's not hardcore. I like the criticism!
