Some days you feel like you’re stuck in the middle of a Tough Mudder, crawling through mud and muck of your plan to retire early, virtually smelling the next guy’s dirty socks, while trying to keep under barbed wire. Retirement is so far out of reach that you feel like giving up, or worse, giving in to a parade of joyless happy hours and weekend shopping sprees. Keeping tracking of how many days until I retire can get old fast.
Then you start hitting milestones. Time does have that wicked tendency to keep ticking away, doesn’t it? And if you’re not careful, you’ll do what many in this early retirement space are notorious for – not living for the moment.
But hey, why so wistful, Cubert? 500 days to go, man!!
Okay okay… A milestone like this is worth a little retrospective. Let’s review how I put the pieces together to retire from employment-at-will, in my mid-40s.
When my journey began in the fall of 2014, I had had enough. Without a clue, I must have Googled something like “How to retire early.” You can guess who popped up at the top of my search results.
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The 1,942 Day Retire Early Plan
The very first thing I did was to study my butt off. And the best place to start was to read MMM’s blog from top to bottom, TWICE. Some posts seemed to know my exact situation and gave me instant hope. I found MMM’s case study posts the most entertaining and informative. Face punches and Debt Emergencies – good humor, with an applicable message.
The first actions I took to reduce how many days until I retire:
- I switched to Geico. Course, I later switched to different outfit courtesy of my insurance broker. Bundling personal policies with rental property policies yields a very nice discount.
- I ratcheted down our life insurance policies. The main thing here was to make sure in the event either of us croak unexpectedly, that we’re covered, i.e., status-quo. There’s no reason to correlate a death with winning the lottery.
- I refinanced our home into a much lower 5 year ARM mortgage. This locked us in at a very low 2.625% interest and gave us the incentive to pay off the mortgage within 5 years. Sort of a “crap or get off the pot” kind of thing, with the biggest pile of debt most of us carry.
- I went on a crusade to pay off our debts, using the cash flow index to prioritize and pay-down all of our 4.55% interest student loans.
- I sold my Honda Accord in a private sale, and replaced it with a much more functional and fuel-efficient Honda Fit, for a mere $500 difference.
How to Retire Early at Age 45 (46, 47, and so on…)
In 2015, I decided to add to the rental portfolio. We already had two houses that were cash flowing pretty well, earning us around $500 each net profit per month. I learned a lot in that first year and a half since taking on Rental A in 2013. Particularly, how to avoid broken leases, and how to more seamlessly (and effortlessly) find new tenants.
So in the summer of ’15, we added Rental C. That one was a real treat to set up. If a house were a fingernail, this would be the one with dirt and grime stuck under it. As I always preach though, 90% of long term rental effort is getting it set up for the very first tenant. Today that house brings in $550 a month, net cash flow.
A year later in 2016, we added Rental D. This time, the market was heating up. I must’ve been beaten out on 10 offers before finally landing on “D.” The neighborhood wasn’t quite as sparkly as A, B, or C’s, and I had to settle for a single bedroom home, but the property was very well-maintained, CLEAN, and with a tiny yard, perfect for a tenant to maintain.
The good news was, I was still landing rentals with sub 5% interest rates, at $150K max price. But I knew that as the market continued to overheat in Minneapolis, and the economy recovered as well, housing stock would become even more overpriced, and interest rates would eventually go up. That’s where we’re at today. (And hence, the Airbnb Experiment.)
By the end of 2016, with four long-term rentals in the mix, I found myself two years closer to my goal: 1,200 days to freedom.
When I started on this journey, nearly four years ago, I had a decision to make: I could either mail it in and coast through the next five years, or I could keep on leaning in. I’m glad I chose the latter. Working smart, not just working hard, allowed the bonuses and raises to continue to flow, year after year.
I had two opportunities during this span to accept a promotion. I turned both down, wanting instead to perform well in my current role and keep a healthy work-life balance. I have no regrets looking back, but admittedly, I wouldn’t mind taking on that next level now, to capstone my career.
An early retirement goal, I’ve since learned, gives you more impetus to bust-ass. And as you close-in on your goal, your confidence in the workplace soars.
Reasons to Retire Early
The question can dog you sometimes: “Am I trying to retire early to escape from something?” Often, you’ll come across comments or entire articles that drill you on this. Heck, I even posted last year about why you should never retire! Yep, we all have our moments of weakness.
Sam over at the legendary Financial Samurai wrote an excellent post a few years back about what you won’t miss when you retire early. Here’s my simple list – inspired by Sam:
What I won’t miss in 500 days, by Cubert
- Friggin’ commutes. Just last night I was stuck in a half-hour crawl-fest to get home. I like to “do the math” on this kind of sh*t while I’m stuck in traffic. I figured that at an hour a workday (half-hour there, half-hour back), I was giving up nearly 500 days of my life to commuting. That blows.
- Sitting on my ass all day, staring at a screen. Or lately, standing and leaning there like an idiot all day. We have stand-up workstations, but I’m not convinced that’s a cure-all for staring at a screen all day in a cubicle. F*ck. If I’m going to stare at a screen, I’d rather do it during my chosen window of time and produce something I care about (e.g., a blog.)
- Office politics. Even if you’re a really good operator, you can’t avoid this one. I don’t let it bother me like it used to. But then, I’m probably shell-shocked now twenty-plus years into the corporate scene. Ultimately, it is taxing on the brain to witness really bad decisions by really highly paid executives, on an all too frequent basis.
- Being stuck inside all dang day. Sort of in-line with number 2. But honestly, I wouldn’t mind staring at my screen as much, if I had a cubicle outside during nice weather. Practically speaking, I’d rather have the flexibility to get outdoors when I want and for as long as I want, with no technology involved. Health is Wealth. Yeah, we have a gym on campus, and yeah, I bike to work (after the ice melts.) But I’m a firm believer that optimal health and fitness is very hard to achieve while working a full-time job. If you are pulling it off today, what else are you sacrificing to make it happen?
- Being bored. Funny I should put this one on the list. I just wrote about the fear of being bored in retirement. What a gas, huh? Well, it turns out that boredom can afflict even the most dedicated office trooper, well-before a traditional retirement “strikes.” Half the time for me anymore, the work itself just doesn’t inspire, even if the stated mission of the company does.
What I might well miss
- The comradery. People are pretty neat, most of the time. There are several peeps at the office I enjoy chatting with, going for walks or a coffee. We commiserate and complain together. And sometimes there are fun happy hours. Volunteering in the community with your colleagues is fun and supremely rewarding. I will miss this aspect of the job most.
- The pay. The bonuses. The benefits. But that’s why we all follow these bloody blogs, right??? …To get the mechanics fully understood and in place, so we don’t end up in a van down by the river.
- A wee bit of prestige. Sometimes it’s nice to don the sport coat and/or tie. Not often, but sometimes. And the chase up the ladder can be rewarding/thrilling if you manage to pull good reviews, and you know you’re on the radar for promotion.
How Many Days Until I Retire: Making the Best of the Next 500 Days
I’m super excited. But also impatient.
As someone who’s learned the value of preparing and planning (I’m a project manager for Pete’s sake!) I feel I’ve got a good handle on what I need to do to pull this off. Mr. Money Mustache is clear about this: You have to have a margin of safety in your plans, to account for the unknowns.
With that in mind, I’m excited to share with all of you over the next year and a half any “gotchas” that may emerge. How will I handle the unforeseen? Will something come up to throw the timeline way off track?
If you’re on a path to early retirement, I salute you. It means you have some other passion in your life that you want to pursue outside of your current day job. It means you’ll be a MORE productive member of society after you’ve left behind your employment-at-will situation. Go get it. We’ll make it happen together.
So many days until YOU retire?
Just discovered your blog and have been reading through it. I absolutely agree with your reflections regarding office politics and bad decisions made at the executive level.
I worked on a year-long project once that was a complete mess. So much time and resources were wasted. And the whole thing started with an off-the-cuff remark by an exec in a meeting.
The sad thing is, it was more about politics than anything else. No one even cared that it was a total disaster.
That project absolutely turned me off to the company. So I said F U and quit back in September. I had personal reasons for doing it too, but that was certainly the nail in the coffin to make my decision for me.
Hi Andrew! Thanks for stopping by!
Oh, how I can relate to your story. What really grinds me is how our company is set up to help others live healthier lives. And yet we have lots of waste in the system. Certainly most of the work is predicated on good intent, but the egos and politics of our leadership often make it impossible to achieve success.
Congrats on your decision back in September! I hope you’ve found a better landing from that experience.
Even though I bike commute for the two days a week that I work now, the DAILY commute is #1 for me. We have the worst traffic in the USA here in the DC region. Commuting is pure hell. Even on a bike, the drivers are just out to kill me.
AF! Nailed it. The commute stinketh. If only I could bike all year round, I’d be less antsy to call it.
I hope you stick with it, but be safe – lots of reflective clothing, and hop onto that sidewalk without shame if you have to.
Wow, so close! I’m sure still feels like a long way off. Office politics are definitely #1 on my list of things I won’ t miss. Is there anything akin to this in retired life? Do people find other things to gossip about? I hope not. Good luck in the home stretch.
Hey, Sarah! That’s about it – feels super close, but I’m super antsy!
I’d think the closest thing to office politics in retirement is dealing with your medical professionals, lawyers, and even perhaps your kids, as you slowing start to need others’ help to make decisions. Hopefully that can be put off until one’s late 90s. Better keep exercising to ensure that!
“it is taxing on the brain to witness really bad decisions by really highly paid executives, on an all too frequent basis”. I thought I was immune to this until the last few weeks! What a bunch of idiots!!! But I will miss my co-workers for sure.
Hahaha! Time to let them have their zoo to themselves, no??? You can always sneak back in for monthly birthday parties and cake. 🙂
I’m going to give you a little more info on that Tough Mudder analogy. When I ran in one of those a few years back, I was crawling through a shallow pit filled with water and hundreds of dangling wires that you try to avoid. I wasn’t smelling anyone’s dirty socks, but I did catch one of those electric lines on the jaw. It felt like someone kicked me, and I’m pretty sure I passed out for half a second. Needless to say, I quit doing the slow crawl, and did the mad scramble to get out of that thing.
I am somewhere in the neighborhood of 3500 left, unless I hit the lotto.
Fiberguyr1! Welcome to AC.com!!! Having only done the Warrior Dash, and NOT the Tough Mudder, I give you all sort of props. I read about the dangers those races were posing – at one point a few deaths too many. The electrified lines make the TM a NO Hell NO proposition for me.
Time for a countdown clock I think, if you don’t already have one 😉 And office politics are certainly the worst part of any job. I wonder if one more raise might cut some time off that clock though. Seems feasible with the time you have left there.
Ha! I used to have one on this blog, until I realized how much bandwidth that silly widget was using up. Maybe I’ll try again and see if they’ve improved that little piece of, er, code…
I don’t know that a raise would do it. I’m relying on an annual bonus – one more to go next Feb, and some “tack on” months to pre-load kid’s college funds and pay off the last of our student loans. We’ll see – even a small raise could shave the number down a few days or a few weeks…
Start the COUNTDOWN. There will be adjustments in the first couple of months. More like shocked! Then things will start leveling off, and that good and energized new feeling will start to take over. You will then begin to take charge of your new and exciting life. Life is what we make it.
Heck yeah!!! Thanks, Bernz+JP. I am guessing it’ll be like when I got laid off and had a few weeks before going back to school full time. I sure loved not having an alarm to wake up to!
I’m not missing a thing so far. You’ll love it. 🙂
Thanks Amy – You’ll be invited to the big party. 🙂
Looking forward to following the journey. Tom
There will be tee-shirts! (JK)
Believe me you’ll love retirement, as it frees you up to do so much else. One thing that it does free up is your mind, I remember the days when I’d carry work around mentally even at home, worrying about things, constantly going over things, now my mind is free, uncluttered and better used on other things! In retirement I wrote a book which was published (sorry, no retirement advice included), travelled a lot and learnt a lot more Chinese (that’s a long story!). Nowadays I contribute articles to various publications and sit on my university’s Alumni Association in a foreign country ! Not overly busy, just a few things to provide contrast to life. And don’t worry about your neat work pals, you can still keep in touch and indeed I’m sure you will. Also, packing in that lengthy commute will do wonders for your health.
Hey Ben! That’s a fantastic truth I should add to my list. How often are vacations and weekends wrecked by work stress? Too often, in my experience…
Appreciate your encouragement. Living overseas would be a fun adventure – something I might yet have to consider.
You should definitely hire Fritz.
Thanks for the shoutout. I was exactly where you are 400 days ago, and it’s shocking how fast the time flies. Hang in there, you’ll be at 86 Days before you know it.
What’s your going hourly rate, my friend?
I bet you’re pretty excited, and totally prepared. Really thankful for blogger friends like you to show us the way, Fritz.
My jump ship date is probably….oh, almost 7000 days. F*ck.
500 seems much more reasonable! 🙂
Oh c’mon, Dave! 7,000??? I’m betting it’s less than half that. Start renting out that spare bedroom. 🙂
I hear you on the bloody commuting days! Those really suck, but I only have bout 20 left before I quit my job and go travel for a few months. Since we are not yet FI, I will have to see how we are going to get ourselves to the finish line when we get back from road tripping. It will be more than 500 days!
Rock on mate
Those mini-retirements you guys call “Vacation” over in Europe… A little envious of that! Thanks for the kind words. I’m so ready…
When did you get into my head? I have been unconsciously making the exact same list. I will miss my job and the pay when I retire. But I will have a huge relief which will more than compensate for that!
Birds of a feather! Was there anything on that list I didn’t have, that you have?