For Those Who Retired Early -- Why? (2013, blog, date)

[Perryinva]

I am grateful that no work pressures will affect my decision as to when to retire. It is all self motivation. I just hope that the time will be obvious when the time vs money equation is balanced and I will want to leave in May 2020. It is very hard to leave a well paying job, at the highest salary, with almost my own hours, and great benefits compounding my retirement income and savings.

[BucFan]

Radio Financial Guru Bob Brinker defines Critical Mass as...

Critical Mass:

A state of freedom from worry and anxiety about money due to the accumulation of assets which make it possible to live your life as you choose without working if you prefer not to work or just working because you enjoy your work but don't need the income. Plainly stated, the Land of Critical Mass is a place in which individuals enjoy their own personal financial nirvana. Differentiation between earned income and assets is a fundamental lesson to learn when thinking in terms of critical mass. Earned income does not produce critical mass......critical mass is strictly a function of assets.

So once you get to critical mass, you're trading time (time remaining in your life) for dollars. Maybe you want to increase your wealth for legacy sake, but not everyone has that goal.


http://www.bobbrinker.com/terms.asp

[katharsis]

When I was 56, the company I worked for went out of business (2010-11), and as my husband was making more than enough to support both of us, I didn't want to take a (new) job from someone who really needed it, so I retired early, I thought.

However, my husband was laid off for six months last year, and then I did go back to work -- and am still working -- as a wine associate (wine consultant/shelf stocker) because not many people who CAN do it are willing to do work evenings and weekends and at such relatively low pay. However, I truly enjoy my job and it is good for me in many ways.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by BucFan

Radio Financial Guru Bob Brinker defines Critical Mass as...

Critical Mass:

A state of freedom from worry and anxiety about money due to the accumulation of assets which make it possible to live your life as you choose without working if you prefer not to work or just working because you enjoy your work but don't need the income. Plainly stated, the Land of Critical Mass is a place in which individuals enjoy their own personal financial nirvana. Differentiation between earned income and assets is a fundamental lesson to learn when thinking in terms of critical mass. Earned income does not produce critical mass......critical mass is strictly a function of assets.

So once you get to critical mass, you're trading time (time remaining in your life) for dollars. Maybe you want to increase your wealth for legacy sake, but not everyone has that goal.


Bob Brinker's Land of Critical Mass : bobbrinker.com Marketimer © Moneytalk Bob Brinker

Can't stress this enough to the 'Wage Earners"....
Earned income does not produce critical mass......critical mass is strictly a function of assets.[/i]

Wages can be a "tool" to increase your wealth, but unless you are in a very rare job (such as living at home with a Google 'intern' job that pays $135k+) Wage income does not directly or rapidly increase WEALTH. SAVING and INVESTING high wages over a long time period can increase wealth, as can stock options, and other investments and gains.


I have found "Wage income" is not all it is cracked up to be (IMHO) And the Government has your wage income clearly within it's target for apprehending as much from you as possible, as soon as possible.

This is part of the gentrification / inequality of wealth distribution. The under-educated, unmotivated (by choice or necessity), and hand-to-mouth living is a sponge that can absorb as much of your 'Wage-income' as you can throw at it. Wealth building is a completely different skill and mindset, and usually requires significant vision and much discipline.

I was not educated in wealth building... Just learned it's critical contribution through observing and participating in many failures. Mom, Dad, educators never sat me down and said, "that 'good' job you have is just sustenance! If you don't get out of your comfort zone and take risk to pursue building a wealth portfolio.... you will be STUCK in a very long career / life, and only have 'additive' contributions to your wealth / necessary assets to sustain "Life-after-a-job"..

[ohio_peasant]

Originally Posted by BucFan

Earned income does not produce critical mass......critical mass is strictly a function of assets.

No, "critical mass" is a function of return generated by the assets. A billion dollars kept in a checking-account will generate zero income. A beautiful gleaming skyscraper in Manhattan or Hong Kong - that has no tenants - generates negative income. A million dollars kept in a CD might generate $10K/year. The more clever (or lucky, or adventurous, or...) we are as investors, the lower the requisite amount of working-capital necessary to cover expenses.

People who have amassed a considerable portfolio may NOT necessarily be able to retire, if they're insufficiently creative/aggressive/etc. in managing that portfolio.

Yes, of course we have the venerable rules-of-thumb for safe withdrawal rate (please chime in here, Mathjak!) and for portfolio-design (again, please chime in) and so forth. But there's stress involved, in following (or ignoring) those strategies. This stress is complementary to the stress of being employed, or unemployed but looking for work. Which is worse? I can't judge. It's situational.

The point is that though assuredly it's better to have money, than to not have money.... the mere having of money is NOT some halcyon guarantee.

[StealthRabbit]

"critical mass" is a function of return generated by the assets.

Interesting dilemma. Need for meeting all the variables in the formulae to succeed.

1) the assets (1)
2) manage(2) those assets(1) in a manner to achieve the income(V) you need for the Budget(B) you have defined for "freedom"

Lots of variables, and we will all manage / define them differently.

I am encouraged to meet many friends who have been at this process far longer than I, and have done well +/-, (Life throws curve balls, and many swings become STRIKES!) A few can be HOMERs, Most are RBI's. Some of us are masters at ERRORS... (But life has continued to give us extra innings!)

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by BucFan

Radio Financial Guru Bob Brinker defines Critical Mass as...

Critical Mass:

A state of freedom from worry and anxiety about money due to the accumulation of assets which make it possible to live your life as you choose without working if you prefer not to work or just working because you enjoy your work but don't need the income. Plainly stated, the Land of Critical Mass is a place in which individuals enjoy their own personal financial nirvana. Differentiation between earned income and assets is a fundamental lesson to learn when thinking in terms of critical mass. Earned income does not produce critical mass......critical mass is strictly a function of assets.

So once you get to critical mass, you're trading time (time remaining in your life) for dollars. Maybe you want to increase your wealth for legacy sake, but not everyone has that goal.


Bob Brinker's Land of Critical Mass : bobbrinker.com Marketimer © Moneytalk Bob Brinker

I agree with that.

The thing I wonder, though, based on reading hundreds of people describing the circumstances of their retirement, is what percentage of early retirees actually reached critical mass prior to pulling the plug?

[TroutDude]

Because I could.

[Ulysses61]

Because I detested my job and my life's dream was to get out at 55. It was a goal I actively worked towards for 30 years.

[Art2ro]

For Those Who Retired Early -- Why?
Never enjoyed working for a bunch of a__holes.
Retired at age 49 and 19 yrs later, still enjoying
my retirement.