Early Retirement: Balancing Financial Independence and Purpose

Tim, at 42, wants to retire at 45 to spend time with family, but struggles with the shift due to unaddressed life elements and relevance.

### Early Retirement: Balancing Financial Independence and Life Purpose
* 🕒  Tim, a 42-year-old looking to retire at 45, is struggling to mentally step away from his job despite **stress-testing his financial plan**.
* 💰  Financial independence is often seen as a utopian phase, but it's crucial to **plan for how to spend time and find purpose after retirement**.
* 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦  Tim's "why" for early retirement is to **spend more time with his kids before they leave the house**, but he may need to consider other ways to achieve this goal without completely leaving the workforce.
* 📊  Retirement planning should include considerations for children's education, health insurance, and **other life goals beyond financial independence**.
* 🧠  The importance of "**relevance**" in retirement is highlighted, as individuals often derive **purpose and satisfaction** from their careers beyond financial rewards.
* 📚  The hosts recommend using resources like the "**Money Guy Guide to Retirement**" to help clarify goals and decision-making in the transition to retirement.

[Music], but we're going to kick it off with Tim's question about early retirement. He says, I'm 42 and want to retire early at 45. I've stress-tested my plan and everything looks okay, but I'm having a hard time mentally stepping away from the job. I know I want to spend more time with my kids before they leave the house. They're my why. So why is it so hard for me to make the switch? M, so okay, a lot of things going on there. Uh, 42 looks like he wants to retire early at 45. You know, first, I want to commend him. He said he's done some stress testing, so he's at least tested his plan to make sure. Now, one of the things I'd really want to know is I would imagine that even at 45 years old, I don't know how old his kids are, but there's still a lot of variables that have not been solved for yet. There's still probably a lot of outstanding questions. Hopefully, the rigor of the plan that he put himself through that he

stressed tested was good, right? Um, so let's operate under the assumption that that's the case. He's still having some trouble stepping away. I think one of the reasons be that happens is because at 45, hopefully still a lot of life to live, there's still a lot to go on. And what I worry is that people often see retirement or financial independence as this like, uh, this like utopian part of life where everything is amazing and everything is great. I love hearing that Tim wants to spend more time with his kids, but one of the things I'd worry is retiring and stepping away from the workforce and leaving it, maybe what are like your peak earning years or maybe the height of your career. Is that the only way to accomplish the goal, or might there be other ways to be able to have the goal of spending more time with family and pouring into the kids and that sort of thing without completely severing from the workforce if he's not just quite yet ready for it? Well, you

just completely changed the question cuz you went from fire financial Independence retire early to fine Financial Independence next Endeavor and that's kind of what you're alluding to if he has a next ende I don't know that but he doesn't say he had a next Endeavor right he said he want to hang out with kids I want to just put my put it on the record that first I want to give Tim a huge compliment I feel like so much of of what happens in the world of Finance people focus only on the math and and he stress test that's the math part of it but he's already putting some time into the mindset stuff if you understand your kids are the why that's obviously a Hu huge component of this but now we have to kind of know what are you going to because look I've already told you the cruel part of life is is that as you get more sentimental towards your children they're going to get more and more independent it's just it's a

natural thing as they're building their own independence. So you don't want to create this huge life threshold change and then you drive your family crazy or because you're around. So I would go into the point what are you going to what are your hobbies what are you going to spend your hours doing because yes you're going to be making more memories with the family but that's not going to fill all of your days. I also that Bo you you hit on this there's big life components you still have to figure out because 45 is Young you have to figure out hey there's life elements like the kids still need to go to college there's going to be education and other goals that you're going to need to plan accordingly for um there's also going to be health insurance because 45 to to 65 20 years that we got to cover we got to bridge that so there there's some things that that you need to kind of measure twice on Cut once but I commend you for working on mindset plus the math it's

just making sure there's not elements or components that you've left behind. Yeah, the very crux of the end of his question was why is it so hard to make the switch, and my guess, and again this is just a hypothesis here, is that he doesn't, he hasn't actually solved for what am I referring to, 'cause we've worked with hundreds of retirees at this point in time, and what's interesting is you see the ones that have a lot of success versus the ones that maybe don't have as much success in retirement, and it's almost always centered around those who've planned well for how they're going to spend their time, what they're going to do after 45 years old. You've got a lot of time, a lot of time left, and I don't mind one more key thing, um, because I was having a great conversation with a gentleman who sold three companies, super successful, and we got to talking about what happens when money is not your driver. What's the big thing that a lot of

people are seeking and he used a word that I was like, I'm going to file that away, and I've told him I was like, that really hit me hard relevance so you I think somebody who's super successful enough that you can retire at 45, you probably do get some elements from your career that you're not necessarily putting value on, but they're there, you know, like when you go to social events and other things so make sure and I think that that word relevance, because you do want to wake up in the morning and feel like in some small way you're making the world a better place, and that's relevance in my eyes, is that you feel like you have purpose, you know what you're doing with every day. The kids are super important, family is important, those blossoming memories, but make sure you're taking into account where does relevance on how you feel in the next chapter of your life fit into this story. A great thing that you can do is go to moneyguy.com resources. We actually have

the money guide to retirement. If you've not worked through that, at least as you're thinking about these next 3 years before you enter into this transition, you should go check that out, answer some of those questions, and hopefully it will help inform are you making the right decision and how can you make that decision in the best way possible.

I Want to Retire at 45, but I'm Having a Hard Time Stepping Away from Work!

Bring confidence to your wealth building with simplified strategies from The Money Guy. Learn how to apply financial tactics that go beyond common sense and help you reach your money goals faster. Make your assets do the heavy lifting so you can quit worrying and start living a more fulfilled life.

Subscribe today to stay up to date with our latest episodes, livestreams, and highlight videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/MoneyGuyShow?sub_confirmation=1

Are you ready to go beyond common sense when it comes to your money? Check out all the free resources The Money Guy Show provides: https://moneyguy.com/resources/



The Money Guy Show

A 42-year-old is struggling to mentally step away from work to retire early at 45, despite stress-testing his plan.

There may be unresolved variables and a perception of retirement as a utopian lifestyle, making it difficult to leave the workforce.

It's worth exploring alternative ways to achieve his goal of spending more time with family without fully retiring.

Planning for Early Retirement and Life Beyond

Tim is praised for considering the emotional aspect of early retirement and not just the financial side.

It's important for him to plan how to fill his time and consider the impact on his family as his children become more independent.

In addition to focusing on family memories, he needs to think about his hobbies and how to fill his days, as well as important life elements like his children's college education and health insurance for the next 20 years.

The Importance of Planning for Retirement Success

Planning for how to spend time after retiring is crucial for a successful retirement.

Financial success is not the only driver for retirement, as relevance and a sense of purpose are also important.

Having a sense of purpose and relevance in the next chapter of life is essential for feeling like you're making a positive impact.

The Importance of Financial Planning for Retirement

It is crucial to work through "The Money Guide to Retirement" before transitioning into retirement.

This will help answer important questions and inform the decision-making process for the best possible outcome in the next three years.