My grandfather retired early (55) in the early 70’s. Inflation KILLED thier budget. My grandmother, who’d never worked outside the home, became a “shop girl” at Quon Mane in La Jolla…, in her 60’s. The fixed income/pension that they thought would be enough wasn’t. It wasn’t the retirement of their plans.
[quote=walterwhite]Otoh instead of retirement taking time out for radical retooling for a better different job or adventure sounds more prudent and probably more fun and invigorating[/quote]
This is actually a great idea. I have 2 friends and a sister who’ve done this. One friend has an undergrad degree from Penn, MBA from Columbia, and was doing technical marketing for 15 years… She realized she’s always be a square peg in a round hole. She took some inheritance, paid off her house, traveled around the world for a year (volunteering in 1 month increments to allow her to meet people and get her host family lodging.) She came back, and started working as a director for a non-profit… Much more fulfilling for her than the corporate rat race. My sister decided in her early 30’s to chuck her corporate job and get a teaching credential… Lower income potential, but it was a good choice for her and her students – she’s a great teacher. Plus summers off to travel and do mission work in Africa. She’s never looked back.
