Last week, I was having a moment. My deadlines were getting closer, and I found myself putting in a 60-hour workweek on top of wrangling my kids and having to do all of the fun stuff that comes with running a household, like laundry, laundry, and more laundry.
"If only I could retire now" was what I thought to myself at one point when things got particularly stressful. But then I realized that early retirement is really not for me. And it may not be for you, either, if these signs apply to you.
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1. You don't have a lot of savings
You may be someone who intends to live frugally in retirement. Even so, it takes a certain amount of savings to be able to pull off retirement in general. And it takes that certain amount plus more to be able to live comfortably after retiring early.
Now that certain amount is one I can't pinpoint. It might be $1 million for you and $600,000 for someone else.
But if your retirement-savings balance is notably low, then ending your career early might end up being disastrous, financially speaking. You might end up so short on cash that you have to cut corners any way you can in retirement. And that might mean having to take frugal living to a really unpleasant extreme.
2. You love your job
I'm thankful to really enjoy what I do, which is a big reason I wouldn't want to retire early despite having that thought for a brief moment last week. Many people can't stand their jobs and find them stressful. But if you're in the opposite boat, it's hard to see what you have to gain by retiring early.
Sure, you might get more time to travel or pursue hobbies. But if you're a strong performer at work, you might be able to make that sort of arrangement while hanging onto your job. Your boss, for example, might be open to your taking a few extra weeks off per year unpaid if that's something you can afford to do.
Or, you could do like me and transition into a freelance role rather than retire if you love what you do. Just don't do like me and commit yourself to so much work you're putting in 12-hour days.
3. You get bored easily
For me, the idea of early retirement is actually pretty laughable because I'm someone who does not do well with downtime. And it's important to know that about yourself, because if you tend to get bored easily, then retiring early might end up being a move you regret big time.
It's one thing to retire on time and find ways to occupy all of those working hours at that point. But why retire early only to find yourself restless and unfulfilled? Again, if this point applies to you, part-time or freelance work is probably a better solution than early retirement.
A lot of people dream of retiring early either on a regular basis or when they're deep in the throes of a hectic workweek. But in reality, early retirement isn't right for everyone. And if these signs apply to you, it's something you may want to strongly reconsider.
