It Takes Discipline to Retire Early

My last day of work, February 7, 2020, was exhilarating and scary. I was ecstatic that all my planning and discipline had paid off, but nervous about no longer getting a paycheck.

I started my quest for early retirement back in my 20’s when I began working with a financial advisor, participated in my employer’s 401K plan and opened mutual funds and an IRA to stash more money. Paying myself first became my mantra. That meant living below my means and forgoing extras. Not so easy for a single 20-something but I took the long view and stuck with it. Thanks to that discipline I am now enjoying the benefits of all that saving.

Throughout my career I continued to increase 401K contributions each year as I received raises, continuing to the point of maxing-out annual contributions, and raising the amount I put monthly in a money market fund and my IRA. Planning ahead, I created funds for car replacement, and home repairs once we bought a house. This, along with keeping monthly budgets, allowed me to track our spending and to know what we could comfortably afford while keeping to my long-term vision. My wife had a good time ribbing me for all that planning, but she’s smiling now that the goal has been reached.

It hasn’t always been easy to stay on plan as unexpected things popped-up. Be they emergency situations, unexpected repairs, or unplanned travel opportunities that were over-budget, I approached them like being on a diet – it’s OK to stray once in a while as long as you get back on track. After all, if you are not enjoying your life you need to make changes and having fun now doesn’t have to be out of line with your long-term goal.

As I got into my 40’s I worked more closely with my financial advisor to focus on 55 as my target retirement age. Once I hit 50, the goal was in sight and financially it looked good. We adjusted our portfolio to guard against significant down-turns while providing strong upside returns, and we started talking and meeting more often to tweak accounts as needed. Each year right up to retirement day, we adjusted the portfolio to provide long term stability. Even though the models say we are in good shape, it’s scary to be pulling my money out each month instead of seeing a paycheck hit my account every 2 weeks. But I am getting more comfortable with that as each month passes.

Retiring early is not out of reach. It takes discipline and planning for the long haul, but it can be done - and many have retired much younger than 55 - by making lifestyle choices early on and sticking with them. That doesn’t mean depriving yourself of a life, it just means prioritizing what’s important and focusing on that.

For me, retirement is not an ending, but the beginning of the next phase of my life, with the rest of the story yet to be written. I’ll be sharing much of that story right here.