Sometimes life changes creep up on us slowly, so slowly that we may not even realize the change is underway. At other time, though, we face a defining moment that shapes the rest of our life. I’ve had several of these defining moments in my life, one of the most significant being when I decided to escape the corporate rat race at a (relatively) young age.
I’ve mentioned before that I was 32 when I decided to start planning for early retirement. It might seem odd that I know exactly what age I was, but it really was something that came over me all at once and I remember where I was and what lead me to the decision.
The funny/sad thing is that prior to that point, I had given very little thought to retirement. Fortunately, I was always careful with my money and most of my big financial decisions were reasonable and sound. But retirement seemed so very far off that I just couldn’t get interested in it. I don’t think I even participated in a company retirement plan until my late 20s, and even then just wasn’t that interested in it. At that point my time was spent focusing on my needs and wants.
At age 31, I went through a couple of life-changing events: a divorce which in turn lead to the sale of my home and purchase of another house on my own. I also had a strong feeling of discontent about my job and where my career was headed, but decided that changing jobs at the same time would create too much chaos in my life, so I waited about a year until things settled down. Still unhappy at work, though, I proceeded to change jobs when I was 32. This was a fairly major event for me as I had been at my former job for 7 years and built solid relationships with co-workers and clients. But I felt strongly that the job change was needed to get me back on track, to rekindle my enthusiasm for my career and help me move forward. I was certain that a job change was all that was needed.
Instead, moving to that job felt like I had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. I was looking for more interesting and challenging work, and instead ended up in an environment that, although very comfortable and pleasant, had almost no work for me. I had to entertain myself for days on end, trying to look busy with nothing to do! That was when it dawned on me that continuing to search for the “perfect job” was futile; that while I needed to continue working for a number of years, the solution was geared more towards achieving financial independence. I remember sitting at my desk, bored again, realizing that I needed to find a way to pay off my mortgage, to stash away some income-producing investments, and to possibly figure out some part-time work or casual form of other income. And thus my plan was set in motion.
I did in fact change jobs one more time (I could only sit at the desk twiddling my thumbs for so long) but my mindset was different now. My career was no longer the center of my attention, but instead more of a stepping stone to help me move towards early retirement.
How about you, have you faced some defining moments in your life that pushed you towards a bigger goal? What caused the shift in your outlook and how are you going about planning your life change?
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:05 am
That’s kinda cool that you said you were 32 when you started planning for retirement. I started my journey at the start of September and I too am 32. My idea is to retire by 40 and whilst I know I probably won’t make that age, even if I do it by 45, 47 or 50, I’m still way ahead of the game.
As for why I decided, well, I’m not entirely sure. I started doing 4 days a week at work and whilst I always said I’d pay my mortgage off by the time I was 40, I suddenly decided that the challenge of doing all three (working a 4-day week, paying my mortgage off AND retiring at 40) was just too compelling to turn down!
It’s people like you who inspire me since now I know it is possible. Thanks!
Andy @ Retire at 40´s last blog post..The Satisfaction of Paying off Debt
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I planned my retirement for many years from the corporate world. I left 5 years ago and opened my own consulting business. This past April I moved it home. Now I work part-time out of my home office. And yes I am 47!!
I wasn’t sure if I would like it and it is still taking me time to get used to having more time and less stress. It is harder than I thought getting the “rat race” out of me.
Financially we planned for 17 years, paid off the debt including the mortgage. We are debt free!! Not expense free, I have two boys in privite school and the oldest one starting college next year( yes, we have their education already put away), insurance, and a mulitude of other expenses. My part-time business pays for that.
But after reading what you wrote, I think that there were some defining moments in my life that led me this way. God opened and closed doors along the way. But looking back, it just seems like it was all in His plan.
I can tell you that the hardest thing about semi-retirement is having so much time….and the best part of semi-retiremnet is having so much time.
I would be interested to hear what has been the worst and best parts about you semi/retiring early.
October 24th, 2008 at 7:14 am
@Andy - It sounds like we are following much of the same path. I thought it would take 10 to 12 years to reach my goals, but it ended up taking about 15. Still good! For me, paying off the mortgage was key as it freed me up considerably. Keep at it, is certainly is possible.
October 24th, 2008 at 7:18 am
@Dennis - Thanks for contributing, that is remarkable that you’ve been able to semi-retire with two children in private school.
Thanks also for the suggestion - I’ll wrote a post soon about the good and bad of early retirement. I have to say that for me, it’s mostly good.
October 30th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Hi, retiring early is also one of my dreams. In fact, I started at the age of 21 building my assets. I always believe that the younger you start yourself in these acts, the younger you can retire yourself.
I want to invite you to read on my blog that talks about investments, entrepreneurship, personal finance, self-improvement and achieving financial freedom. In fact, with its success, it has been the number 1 in search results for the key phrase ‘Aspiring Entrepreneur.’
January 4th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
I was also 32 when I decided to start planning for early retirement. Would have started at 22 if I knew how important it was.
January 8th, 2010 at 4:32 am
Very well said..now I’m beginning to consider about retirement even if I’m far from retirement age.
April 5th, 2010 at 1:51 am
Planning for independence should be ultimate goal rather the specific retirement. It is irrelevant what age you are that word retirement is not necessarily what it means. Financial Independence is when you can begin making choices that suit your current WANTS rather than NEEDS. Our wants are what we define as choice! To be enabled to make choices at whim without being owned by banks or employees is the key to contentment, yet it also offers a sense of freedom and maybe just maybe some spontaneity. I will reinforce, however, the NEED to employ a sound stockbroker and also include a good banker for advice.
April 12th, 2010 at 3:49 am
I haven’t faced anything life changing, but I don’t really want to see myself in an office for the next 40 years (I’m 22 now). I wouldn’t mind an early retirement, but I guess I haven’t tasted all the work flavours yet, so who knows what is around the corner for me and my working life. I like your story, it was a good read.
April 27th, 2010 at 10:44 am
I’m 24 and like a lot of people my age, I don’t tend to consider retirement. However, I’m definitely going to from this point forward. It’s not too early to start planning for these things, in fact - the sooner the better. I’d love to retire early and the only thing that would stop me would be enjoyment in my job and still having that work/life balance with my family.
June 8th, 2010 at 5:49 am
I don’t believe it is ever too soon to start planning for retirement, if you plan well hopefully you can retire a few years early. I am very envious of my brother, who started saving for his retirement as soon as he started work at 16, and will be able to retire comfortably at least ten years early.
June 24th, 2010 at 3:25 am
I started planning for retirement almost as soon as I started working (in my early 20’s). Fortunately, thanks to self-discipline, a decent balance of hard work and fun and an extremely adamant state of mind, most of my dreams materialized. I was able to retire from the corporate world at 31. Now, though I still ought to work, I can afford to engage in occupations that I truly enjoy.
July 10th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Good for you
July 17th, 2010 at 5:47 am
I don’t think I’ll retire from my job even at 60…I personally believe that we should continue the work which give us happiness and which we enjoy doing…I like designing a lot and fortunately my business is same i.e. website designing..If the situation remains same, I’d like to continue this job as far as I can go…but many a times the co-relations among team changes which force us to leave our work…:(