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Old 03-05-2015, 10:12 AM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,848 posts, read 30,936,012 times
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I was going through some LinkedIn contacts today and came across an old classmate's profile who founded several companies, likely has high eight/low nine figure wealth, and pretty much put on his LinkedIn profile that he is only reachable in the event of emergencies. It appears he has completely quit working.

Do you know anyone who was self-made and able to retire in their 20s or 30s?
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Old 03-05-2015, 01:02 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,604 posts, read 57,579,010 times
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#1 of 4 retirements was age 16 (I left Dairy Farm Boarding School).
Work / Life was significantly different after that. (especially life at 4:30 AM and 4:30 PM x7days)

Self-made didn't come till after age 20~23, but IF I would have been smart and able to make the right choices, it could have come at age 16. My dad became disabled and had 7 great businesses, any 2 or 3 would have provided 'semi-retirement', then full within a couple yrs.

Retire early, retire often. much too fun to do once per life.

In this era, it is totally possible to have a fun 'job', that is flexible and affords most of the benefits of retirement (without the health loss).

USA is really backwards... Should be 'retired' when kids are home, and go back to work when kids are gone, and we are physically unable to do everything we want to accomplish in retirement. 'Work' is SO EZ (physically, for the most part), Require less sleep when older, perfect for more time to 'work', we like warmth as we age, most work is indoor. ... (YMMV)

Last edited by StealthRabbit; 03-05-2015 at 01:12 PM..
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Old 03-06-2015, 03:33 AM
 
Location: Las Vegas
14,229 posts, read 29,925,079 times
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I wish I could have! It was always my dream.
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Old 03-06-2015, 10:50 AM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,260 posts, read 61,008,694 times
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'Self-made' ? No. I have known a number of people who slowly built an empire for themselves, but they never retire.

I have known people who focused on careers that offered 20-year pensions. Some get a pension at 38yo and start a new career. Others simply retire at 38yo.
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Old 03-06-2015, 06:41 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles area
14,017 posts, read 20,843,313 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Submariner View Post
'Self-made' ? No. I have known a number of people who slowly built an empire for themselves, but they never retire.

I have known people who focused on careers that offered 20-year pensions. Some get a pension at 38yo and start a new career. Others simply retire at 38yo.
Military 20-year pensions are not normally considered sufficient to actually "retire" in the usual sense. I know you have done it (or maybe not - see below), and it is much to your credit. Wouldn't you agree that it takes a combination of good savings/investments during the 20 years of active service coupled with an ability to live frugally in a low cost-of-living area?

Do you consider yourself retired? I do not consider you retired because your farming and raising of animals requires a hell of a lot of work. You have, however, found a lifestyle which suits you, again, much to your credit.
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Old 03-06-2015, 07:13 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,260 posts, read 61,008,694 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Escort Rider View Post
Military 20-year pensions are not normally considered sufficient to actually "retire" in the usual sense. I know you have done it (or maybe not - see below), and it is much to your credit. Wouldn't you agree that it takes a combination of good savings/investments during the 20 years of active service coupled with an ability to live frugally in a low cost-of-living area?

Do you consider yourself retired? I do not consider you retired because your farming and raising of animals requires a hell of a lot of work. You have, however, found a lifestyle which suits you, again, much to your credit.
There are a lot of variables.

I know former co-workers who settled in Guam, the P.I., or Peru; as their pension allows them to own a large home with domestic servants, in those locations. I have a friend now that alternates between here and Bangkok, his gross income is equal to mine.

We did not know what options would be available to us, so we did focus on investments and we used that funding to buy our current home without a mortgage.

I refused to go into a corporate career. To me it was a huge shift in lifestyle. I busy though, doing various projects, mostly making things. We should soon be off-grid, then solar heated.

My Dw has a job, she wants a few more improvements done in our house, before she quits. That is where her thinking is. We do not need her income to sustain us. She wants to increase our standard-of-living before she stops working.

I really do like having a fruit orchard, and raised beds with veggies and herbs, and beehives, and a herd of pigs, etc. Tapping maples is a joy for me. I think the most we have made from 'farming' has been $500/year.

We settled in a region where a Minimum-Wage income is enough to support a family in terms of cash flow.

I do things now, because I want to do them. Not because I need money.

Financially I do consider myself to be 'retired'.

My time is my own.
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Old 03-06-2015, 07:21 PM
 
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I know of only one. Completely lost contact with him as he left the area, and I was nearly ten years younger at the time which meant I had wildly disparate interests both work and personal wise, facing decades of my career ahead.
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Old 03-06-2015, 09:06 PM
 
1,844 posts, read 2,415,611 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StealthRabbit View Post
...

Self-made didn't come till after age 20~23, but IF I would have been smart and able to make the right choices, it could have come at age 16. My dad became disabled and had 7 great businesses, any 2 or 3 would have provided 'semi-retirement', then full within a couple yrs.

...

Oh to be young again! my Mom used to say. Also: "Ve grow too soon oldt undt too late schmart".

I did an experiment in my 20s. Was in a job I did NOT like, treated like a lightweight. Wasn't getting any assignments worth doing (really). So I went with the flow.

Smiled nicely, shortened my skirts, heightened my heels, nodded at the appropriate time with obvious admiration for the (male) speaker. Retired at my desk (yeah, I know, that doesn't count). The one catch: I actually had to BE there every day. But for that catch, I might really have liked that job, although I would not have learned much.

To my amazement, the tactic worked for almost two years. I guess retirement in my 20s did not suit me.

Now that I'm older and wiser, I'd be singing a reeaaallly different song, lol!
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Old 03-06-2015, 09:16 PM
 
2,401 posts, read 3,242,718 times
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Yes. Mr. Money Mustache: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/
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Old 03-07-2015, 09:35 AM
 
2,645 posts, read 3,310,707 times
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Yes, I had a coworker who got herself into a financial position where she could retire in her late 30's. She thought it was cool for a while, but once the novelty wore off, she got bored. Seems it's not easy to enjoy retirement when all your friends are still working.

She went back to work.
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