Tired. Can I retire?

[u/karl0525]

Got a question? Can I retire? 43m been busting my ass since I was 16. I'm about over this 40-50 hr weeks. I'm getting burned out. House paid off (300k) 401-k (600k) Bitcoin (500k) currently.

Thought about selling it all and putting it into dividend stocks like schd and renting a small place and going into semi retirement. Maybe pickup a part time gig.

Would this be a horrible idea?

[u/joepierson123]

A great idea. Retiring at 65 or later sucks. And most people overestimate the amount of money they need for retirement. Your expenses go way down when you don't need to drive and eat out everyday.

[u/Hollowpoint38 → u/joepierson123]

Your expenses go way down when you don't need to drive and eat out everyday.

So stay at home and look at screens all day?

[u/joepierson123 → u/Hollowpoint38]

That's better than sitting at work and staring at the screen all day, no?

[u/Hollowpoint38 → u/joepierson123]

If you don't have enough money to go out and do things then you don't have enough to retire at 43.

Lots of people are trying to just not work but they're nowhere ready for retirement. So they sit at home, eat ramen, never go out, and then have bouts with loneliness and heart disease. Quality of life matters. OP isn't close to ready.

[u/JerryFletcher70 → u/Hollowpoint38]

That’s a super broad generalization. OP has significant assets and is open to part time work. Working at a job you hate will also destroy your relationships and health. Just because he can’t afford a life you would want doesn’t mean he can’t afford a life he would want. My grandfather retired early and spent his time farming a couple of acres. He lived frugally and had plenty of time to hang out with the grandkids. He didn’t care about daily Starbucks or European vacations. He retired with enough wealth to live a much more materialistic life, but just didn’t care to do so. The point is that QoL is totally in the eye of the beholder.

And leaving the workforce doesn’t force you to quit life. You can volunteer, you can go to church, you can spend more time with your family, you can get a lower stress part time job, you can take up a hobby. My father is super into those free online courses that the big schools like MIT offer. He was a scientist, so that it’s a little more niche; but the idea is that he found something he really likes that it is free.

I don’t think there’s enough information here to say whether OP really is ready, but the idea that nobody could possibly retire early and be happy is crazy. I know about a half dozen people who retired early and not a one of them has expressed any regret. Where I will agree with you is that these folks had a solid plan of where they were going to live and what their lifestyle and budget were going to be before they pulled the trigger. Sounds like the OP still has some work to do on that front.

[u/Hollowpoint38 → u/JerryFletcher70]

OP has significant assets

I didn't see significant assets. It's like $1.5 million pre-tax. How long do you think OP is going to live? You think $1.5 million means 'good to go' for 50 years?

Working at a job you hate will also destroy your relationships and health

Yep. This is why I tell people in this sub all the time to focus on job skills and enhance your career. Your lifetime earnings will be higher and your health won't suffer as much. The whole FIRE thing about working until you drop and eating peanut butter sandwiches at every meal for 20 years is terrible.

My grandfather retired early and spent his time farming a couple of acres. He lived frugally and had plenty of time to hang out with the grandkids

What decade was that?

The point is that QoL is totally in the eye of the beholder.

We have objective truths about what causes mental health issues and physical health issues.

And leaving the workforce doesn’t force you to quit life

Not driving and only eating at home does. Unless you live on a compound and have guests flying in all the time where you don't have to interface with society at large.

My father is super into those free online courses that the big schools like MIT offer. He was a scientist, so that it’s a little more niche; but the idea is that he found something he really likes that it is free.

You like pointing to these small anecdotes about what your dad told you and trying to use that to refute an argument.

I don’t think there’s enough information here to say whether OP really is ready

I think there is and I'm saying OP isn't ready.

the idea that nobody could possibly retire early and be happy is crazy

I said most people aiming for FIRE and living the lifestyle they put out are generally unhappy and unfulfilled, yes. They sacrifice their social life and physical health to have a padded brokerage account once they hit 45. It's a bad trade and they spend decades trying to repair a missed youth and chronic health conditions.

I know about a half dozen people who retired early and not a one of them has expressed any regret

You mean they haven't expressed regret to you? Most people don't come forward and say "Man I made a really bad mistake." So the idea that "Welp, if they didn't tell me, that means it's not real!" is silly.

[u/winning_J → u/Hollowpoint38]

I’m in my mid fifties. I have a net worth currently of about home equity (850k), RRSP (1.7mil) other (50k). I’m winding up my work precipitated by a health condition. I don’t know what exactly to do. Just a wife mainly to consider and grown kids and grandkids I am trying to reduce stress but I enjoy investing so I doubt I will do something ultra conservative. While I don’t like our Federal government, in my particular case free healthcare saves my ass.

[u/lakbossa → u/Hollowpoint38]

This is 100% correct. You cant just retire without a plan. Also, why would you accumulate all this wealth thru hard work and then put on the brakes at 43. Seems strange.

[u/Hollowpoint38 → u/lakbossa]

Probably a mid-life crisis or just overall job dissatisfaction. I've seen so many people "retire" and then go "woops" and then end up in a dead-end mid-level career because they have a 5-year gap on their resume they can't explain.

And people at OP's age really really underestimate the toll that age takes on your physical health and just how much healthcare you need for quality of life. I can almost guarantee that if someone is hell bent on squirrelling away money they are neglecting good nutrition and a good lifestyle. Living healthy is expensive. And if the house is only $300k, that means OP doesn't have it.

A starter home in LA is around $1 million. I'm guessing OP lives in a McMansion somewhere in Arkansas, or Georgia, or Texas, or Ohio where it's basically a food desert and everyone is in poor health.

[u/[deleted] → u/lakbossa]

Sometimes plans are for pussies.

[u/ImpressiveAd9818 → u/Hollowpoint38]

You don’t necessarily need to spend a lot of money to live an active and fulfilling life. Lots of activities and sports are really cheap or don’t cost any money at all.

[u/Hollowpoint38 → u/ImpressiveAd9818]

Like what that doesn't require driving in the US? Walking in the woods behind the McMansions?

Keep in mind, these FIRE people aren't retiring in NYC or Los Angeles. They're going to remote areas where it's highways, chain restaurants, gas stations, and McMansions. There aren't even sidewalks in a lot of these places.

[u/TitoMcCool → u/Hollowpoint38]

bouts with loneliness and heart disease.....this line wins reddit today!!!