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The week's question
In March 2025, in the thread "Re: OT, out", Umm asked the members: "Do you think it is because America is made up of magical soil that makes businesses based in America magically profitable?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
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Personal Finance / Retirement Investing
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Author: rayvt ✧☼🐝🐝  😊 😞
Number: of 1355 
Subject: Re: Early retirement pitfalls?
Date: 04/28/24 9:41 PM
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No. of Recommendations: 9
We retired at 58.

We spoke to a couple of advisors that we met through dinners they held.
One said "You don't need me, you are doing fine."
The other said, "Yes, you can afford to retire."

I did figures on the back of an envelope one lazy Saturday afternoon while she was taking a nap.

Figured what our usable income that we were living on was. Paycheck minus taxes minus FICA minus company health insurance minus 401K & IRA contributions PLUS what post-retirement, pre-medicare company health insurance would cost. The things that will all drop off when I quit, plus the one that will be added.

Then compared that with 4% of our total investment & retirement portfolio.
Realizing that you can take 401K at 55, and IRA at 59 1/2, and SS at 62. And company pension at any time.

If the 2nd number is more than the 1st number, you are gold.
We were, so I told my boss that if there was a layoff coming, I volunteer.

Do NOT NOT NOT retire on a shoestring. Make sure the 2nd number is comfortably higher than the 1st.
OTOH, you don't want to expire at your desk waiting for One More Year.

Switching from savings mode to spending mode can be mentally difficult.

Our income tax was surprisingly low the first few years. Went up later, though.
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This community has written 1,284 posts about Retirement Investing. The article-length ones it recommended most:
The Case for Long-Term Buy and Hold Investing · 49 recs · 2025
Transferring assets to the next generation · 20 recs · 2025
Retirement Year 8 · 17 recs · 2025
(nearly) year one of retirement has been good · 11 recs · 2026
Buying Treasuries Via Vanguard · 10 recs · 2023
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