Should I rethink Retire By 40? (2024)

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out my guest post at Get Rich Slowly – Can I walk away from a 6 figure salary?

I was expecting some controversy when I wrote this post, but the torrent of negativity still caught me by surprise. The comments are quite amusing really, so head over to take a look at the public grilling I got in the Comments section.

Here are some reasons why I think the post is rubbing people the wrong way.

• The economy had been very bad over the past 5 years and this guy Joe shouldn’t be complaining about his 6 figure salary! Why would anyone want to quit their cushy corporate job and join the unemployed fray???
• Joe is planning to retire by 40 and he is an entitled Gen X. “He feels he’s worked hard enough, and now he wants to kick back and relax for the rest of his life and let his wife carry the load from here on out.”
• Why not get a job with a different company or do consultant work instead of quitting? Why do you want to give up 15+ years of experience and a lucrative career and connection to start at the bottom?
• Personally, I think many people feel trapped and are lashing out a bit. “Not sure why everyone feels entitled to doing something they love? It’s called work for a reason people!“

I have a pretty thick skin, but some of these comments got me a bit steamed so that’s why I’m writing this post for the more friendly crowd on home turf. 🙂

This being the internet, I think many people skimmed the article and didn’t catch some important bits.

Frugal message – Seriously though – walking away from a 6 figure gig with essentially only personal austerity as a plan?! And then rationalizing that “no job is secure”?

I believe being frugal is the way to early retirement, but that’s not the only plan I have. We have dividend income, rental property income, and online income. I have been increasing my side income and perhaps should have made it more clear in the guest post.

Working at this for a long time – It probably seems to some readers that I just one day decided to quit my job and am finding reasons to support this decision.

I’ve been seriously working toward quitting my job for 3+ years. Before that, we’ve been saving and investing for 15+ years. It’s not a decision that I made lightly and I do value my salary. If I was a hasty type, I would have quit my job in 2009 or earlier. I’ve been keeping track of our cash flow for about a year now and we don’t have to depend on my salary anymore at this point.

Making money online – “You can put your experience to good use and it’ll probably be a lot more lucrative than blogging.

Besides, no offense to anyone here, but the world really doesn’t need yet another influx of aspiring pro bloggers. I’d rather see more engineering startups.”

I neglected to mention the fact that I want to be a stay at home dad and part time blogger. Blogging is a lot of fun, but I don’t think I can really become a full time “pro” blogger. When baby RB40 goes off to preschool, I will find another part time gig to fill the day. There are many things that I would like to try my hand at. Also my expertise is very niche and the field has a huge moat. I can’t start a company in this field. I can become a consultant or contractor, but then I will still have to work for the big guys. I keep in touch with a few of my co-workers who left and it is very difficult for them to even get contracting jobs in this field. I’ll have to move to the Bay area to even get a chance at working for a small company.

Wife – “What happens when your wife gets burned out or resentful that you get to spend the day at home with your child while she has to be the main breadwinner?”

This is a very valuable comment actually. I don’t know if Mrs. RB40 will grow resentful in the long run. She is the A type workaholic so I know she likes working. Staying home with baby RB40 is very difficult for her. It might seem unusual, but I am a bit better at the stay at home gig than Mrs. RB40. She can’t be a stay at home mom; that’s against her nature.

Already made up your mind. “It’s clear to me that the OP has already made up his mind and is rationalizing away anything that could possibly dissuade him from it. He feels he’s worked hard enough, and now he wants to kick back and relax for the rest of his life and let his wife carry the load from here on out.”

Here is the big question – Should I reconsider my Retire By 40 goal? The last commenter is right and I already made up my mind. I don’t think I’m rationalizing anything away. I’m working to improve my plan to cover any contingencies, the big one being that I will not make as much money after I leave my job. It will probably take a very long time before I make this kind of money again, if ever. But does that really matter if we can live a happy life with less money? After all, the United States Declaration of Independence said “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” are the 3 sovereign rights of man. Wiser men than I didn’t put “the pursuit of making more money” in there.

I’m 99.9% sure that I will be happier with my life as I continue this endeavor to break free from the corporate world. I also would like to thank everyone who left a positive comment. I really appreciate you taking the time to give me some encouragement and it’s great to know that I’m not the only one on this journey to Early Retirement.

Cheers!

-Joe