Richard VB,
I retired from my regular high stress job at age 52, after 28 years of it. I did not retire super rich, but comfortably. Almost three decades of 12 hour days, and half a day's work every weekend, were enough for me.
That was 14 years ago, and I have never ever regretted it!
My Partners were really shocked when I retired. They claimed, "You can't do this! You're are still a young man. You are in your peak earning years!"
I laughed and told them, "If you guys want to stay here another 15 years, and die at your desks, making other people wealthy, or contract diabetes, cancer, chronic hypertension, heart disease, or any of the other diseases that come from sitting for 40 years at a desk, then go for it. Me? Starting tomorrow, I'm gonna do whatever I want, whenever I want, for the rest of my life!!"
The biggest critic was my father, a guy who grew up starving during the depression, joined the Navy in WWII just to get three meals a day (he weighed 85 pounds), went to college and medical school mostly on the GI Bill, and then was still working as a doctor every day at age 86. He was outraged. In his view, any man without a job was a bum!
The best part of being retired relatively young is that you feel great every day. You want to go out and do physical things, keep learning, making money on the side with interesting or easier jobs if you want to or not.
And surprise, unless your regular job was a government job, then a few years later, at age 61, you can start drawing social security.
Yes, I live in a 2,500 square foot house, instead of a 4,500 square foot house like my father and former partners, but I couldn't care less. I once had a huge house, and found that there were three of four rooms that I never went into anyway.
My advice. RETIRE NOW!
Mannyrock
