[USER]

Has anyone here retired in their 40s and regretted it? Or conversely, has anyone worked longer when they could have retired early and regretted it?

I’d love to hear lived experience that I can learn from.

I’m self employed, so I wouldn’t be able to just get a new job if retiring early ends up being a mistake.

[Amber]

I retired a couple of months ago at 38 and my husband is retiring next month at 40.

We both assume we’ll go back to some kind of work at some point given our age. But only if and when we choose to do so.

The difference is that, if we make that choice down the road, it will be focused on how we want to spend our time rather than how much we earn.

[Smith]

I retired at 39 when I sold my consulting business then returned to work at 41 because I realized I was too young to retire and started up a new consulting firm.

Retiring when you are young is rarely a wise move. Remember you need a lot more money ($5 mil at least) to enjoy retirement in your early 40’s because you are going to travel and do expensive hobbies also you need to fund 50 years of retirement.

What killed my retirement desire was when it occurred to me that all my friends are still working.

You need mental stimulation so keep working

[Sara]

I was in a similar position as you and sold my business and retired last year at age 43. I’m still a passive owner of another business but I’m not hands on.

I went from years of high stress and constant grinding to peace and tranquility overnight. As awesome as it is, it is also strange and takes major adjustment.

There are times where I miss the feeling of producing results and earning a high income but I can tell you that I don’t regret selling at all.

Almost every day, I experience a deep sense of gratitude for having the freedom to do what I want, when I want.

Also, my health (both physical and mental) have dramatically improved since I left the workforce. I feel like a different person now. A much healthier and happier person!

I’ll add that my spouse is older than me and has been retired for six years. That made the transition a little easier for me.

If I had to do it over again, I would make the same decision. No regrets. Life is short and freedom is the ultimate wealth.

Congratulations on making it to this point. Good luck to you on your journey!

[Bond]

I think there are going to be at least 2 categories of people that will give diverse responses.

For someone who’s career/job/gig is something that they love doing, rewarding both financially and spiritually, and with meaningful purpose, I think walking away early from that is going to lead to regret.

For someone who’s career/job was lacking purpose nor enjoyment and only served to provide a paycheck, I think there will be regret staying in such a job just to save up more towards their FIRE goal.

I’m sure there’s perhaps more nuance than this, but just broadly speaking, there will at least be these 2 delineations.

[Masuda]

I struggle with retiring early when I could now. Currently Active Army over 20 but I keep pushing that benchmark. I promised myself one more look at another promotion and two more years.

I can’t say I regret it, but it has been very difficult.

I think it has to do with fear of the unknown I guess or regret not pushing more as time in increases my pension.

I hope it’s worth it in the end.

[Paige]

I’m an oncology nurse. I’ve taken care of many many people at the end of their life wishing they had retired earlier.

So many sad stories of getting diagnosed like 3 months after finally retiring

[Cook]

I’m in a similar situation and plan on retiring next year in my early 40s and also a bit scared to regret it.

I wouldn’t be able to get the same salary or career back for sure

[Perez]

My husband retired when he was 40 and I at 38. I managed to do 3 months before It drove me crazy and I got another job, just part time, with a massive pay cut, but it makes up a few hours of my day and gives me some extra cash.

My husband on the other hand… have zero zero zero intention of working ever again. And honestly, that’s his business… but it makes him less attractive to me.

Especially since we are barista FIRE and he doesn’t want to be a barista.

But that’s our marriage issue. We have kids and that keeps us busy.

I had zero hobbies going into this and so I knew that working was something I am more comfortable with doing.

While he likes to smoke pot and be on his phone all day and he is very happy with it.

[Gilles]

I’ve been retired for 1 year now (I’m 37). I don’t regret it, but I found out you need a friend group with the same vision or a part-time job.

I went from 60 hours a week to zero.

I recommend slashing your hours in half. 60 to 30. 40 to 20 etc.

[Rodriguez]

I ended up retiring a little unplanned at 49 this year (was going to be next year). My job had been super fulfilling but the last few years the stress became too much.

I’ve had no trouble falling into a wonderful retirement lifestyle with volunteering, friends, family time, etc but I have to say it’s more difficult than I thought it would be.

To go from 20 years of saving and investing to actually spending that money causes me a bit of anxiety.

It also seems ridiculous to give up that salary (I was a pretty high earner) and I also, like you, worry about some catastrophe that could wipe it all out.

I wouldn’t say I regret it but would say give yourself time to both celebrate and mourn the ending of that part of your life.

I’m still working through that every day but also almost every day I pause and just feel so lucky that this is my life and I can now live it at my own pace.

It’s a bit disconcerting to feel this way after reaching such an amazing goal and especially when most people’s response is “of course I wouldn’t work if I didn’t have to!”.

I 100% don’t regret it but commend you for going into it with these questions at the front of your mind.

Know that it will be amazing but also confusing but we will both get through it and have beautiful lives.

[Mach]

I owned my own business for 30+ years in an industry that I don’t feel has much of a future. The opportunity came along to sell it last year, when I was 53. I jumped at the chance.

My wife has stayed at home for the last 20 years or so. She’s a breast cancer survivor for 11 years now.

We enjoy travelling and watching our son finish out high school in the next year or so.

No regrets about retiring. Not even a little.

I do have to find some additional hobbies to pursue, but it beats the constant grind of being a business owner 365 days a year (because even though I took the time to travel back then, vacation always came with an asterisk next to it) for three decades.

[Donna]

Why not just reduce your hours to 15/week. I once worked 20 hours/week when coming off of a 2-year disability leave, and I felt like I was barely working.

If you can’t handle 20 hours/week, then I’d seriously consider retiring or at least changing jobs.

[Author]

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