[masraum]

Originally Posted by twobone

Hi,

I have worked hard (30 years at the same bank) and invested religiously including money received from insurance when my 1st wife passed away.

When she passed away 15 years ago, I decided that I would focus my energies on retiring early and maximize my enjoyment of the "2nd half of my life".

Now as I get closer, the majority of folks I talk to seem to frown upon this idea that I would stop working and just enjoy life. I'm often told that I should look for new challenges in a different line of work or stay working into my 60s at my painfully boring job to maximize my pension.

As a middle manager who never really enjoyed working at the bank, I'm not really qualified at anything and I hate my job.
As an introvert, I want to spend my time outdoors with my wife, dog and kids. I want to ride my dirt bike, snowboard in the winter, travel a bit, play my guitar, paint a some landscapes, join some hobby clubs, etc..

Any advice on responding to the stigma and addressing comments that I should "achieve something"? I have watched too many people die and my most precious resource is time. I want to maximize my happy relaxed time.

Wow, that's insane. If you can afford it, then I say go for it, enjoy yourself and your family. Anyone else thinks it's crazy, then they need advice, not you.

my only thought is that if I try to retire early, I'm going to need a lot of money saved, because I'm going to spend it. I wouldn't necessarily live extravagantly, but travel and doing things to fill your free time could get very expensive.