As you might imagine, my retirement caught most people by surprise.
I think it’s because of a combination of three things:
- My age (only 52). Most people do not retire this young.
- My career. Most people who know me see me as a hard-charging executive. How could I stop working?
- My looks. Believe me, I look nothing like a “rich guy who could retire at 52.” I look more like a dorky guy you expect to mow your lawn. 🙂
Put all those together and most people are shocked by my retirement announcement.
It’s kind of fun to see people’s reactions when I tell them I am retired. I thought you might enjoy them as well.
So here’s how some friends and family members reacted when I told them I had retired:
- Mom — “I knew you had been thinking about it and I’m glad you finally did it.” Low key from mom since she was the one most in the loop other than my wife. Mom later sent me a nice letter saying how proud she was of me.
- Dad (not married to mom) — “Wow. Ok. That’s good news, right?” He was more stunned than anything, especially since he’s about 10 years away from retirement himself.
- Uncle (when my dad emailed us both and mentioned I had retired) — “Retired? Really?” My dad followed it up with the statement that “I had done well with my investments over the years.” 🙂
- Co-workers — “That’s awesome!” Most started feeling sad because they assumed I was canned and now in a tight financial spot. One lady entered my office crying. Then when I broke the news that I was retiring, she/they light up and are very happy for me.
- Neighbor (told him I had retired so he wouldn’t wonder why I was around during the day — he works from home) — “How are you doing that? Planning to play the lottery every day?” Ha! I loved this! He went on to tell me his house will be paid off in five years or so and he’ll retire then — at about 60.
- Past Co-Worker — “I just had the same thing happen to me. I just don’t have your financial ability to retire now.” A job he took a year ago was the wrong fit for him and he was let go. I felt sorry for him, and know this is the case for many. I did offer to use my network to help him out however I can.
- Friend who is a financial planner — “Wow, I’d love to meet your financial planner!” I told him it was me!
- Friend and past co-worker — “Good for you. I hope you enjoy the time with your family.” I had several responses like this.
- Friend from church — “Praise God!” Yes, of course!
- Trainer at health club — “How old are you?” BTW, the whole age issue is compounded by the fact that I look significantly younger than I am. I’ve even had people ask if my son and I were brothers. Good genes from my parents.
- Friend at health club — “Uh…” He was speechless. It was hilarious.
- Most friends — “How did you pull that off?” For most people I simply tell them I have rental real estate that I bought years ago and is now allowing me to retire.
- My daughter — “What are you going to do with the rest of your life?” I told her I was thinking of going to college with her next fall to which she gave an emphatic “no.”
- My son — “Cool.” A man of few words.
It’s been a wide range of responses but mostly shock/surprise followed by congratulations/well wishes with a hint of envy/longing. Pretty much what I expected.
Jon @ Be Net Worthy says
That’s awesome and sound like what I would expect. Seems like you may already have a few buyers lined up for when you use your new found free time to write a book! I’m sure many of your co-workers that are happy for you are also now wondering how you did it and why they didn’t do it too!
ESI says
Ha! We’ll see…but I do have a few book ideas in mind. 🙂
Coopersmith says
My goal in 5 1/2 years is to go to my boss and hand him my letter of resignation on April first ( April fools joke) because 14 days later (two weeks notice) I will be 59 1/2. Everyone will be shocked as to how could I.
We will see if I actual get there.
ESI says
So your birthday is April 15? That’s a “financial birthdate” if I ever saw one!
If you do it, I’d love to have you do a guest post here and tell us all about it.
Mike H says
ESI, you didn’t read that right. On April 15th he will be 59 1/2 so Coopersmith’s B-day is Oct 15th… this feels like a puzzle question.
ESI says
Ahhhh, yes. I see. You are correct.
I was so excited that someone’s birthday was April 15!!!!
I know, I’m a finance nerd!
Memories says
My mom’s birthday is April 15th, but she was born before it was Tax Day (that happened in 1955)
Coopersmith says
LOL… It is OK because my sons are engineering nerds. Actually October 13 but my dad retired from GM on April 1 and he was 60. Seems fitting to follow in my dad’s footsteps…. Has been retired for 29 years…
KP at PassiveFinance says
Love this. Thanks for sharing and congrats on your retirement!
(Btw, I’d love to meet your financial planner)
K D says
This was a fun post. As a long time reader I was not surprised, as you worked hard to maximize your income (earnings), savings, and investments (hence the name of your blog). Way to go.
My husband and I are in our late 50s and he will be able to retire when he is tired of working (or able to take a job with a significant pay cut, depending on what he wants to do).
ESI says
Would love to hear the story when it happens!
Chris Colter says
I don’t know what I would do with myself in retirement. I don’t want to be stuck reading the paper and wondering what I’ll do for the day. I see myself working until I can’t anymore. If you haven’t already, you might check out the book “What On Earth Am I Here For?” by Rick Warren. It might ignite a spiritual gift that will help fulfill your purpose in your retirement years.
ESI says
It’s different for everyone and you do have to have a lot of outside interests or you will get board.
Here’s what I’m doing now to keep myself busy:
1. Managing this blog plus one other. It takes a lot of time to write all this stuff not to mention the tech and marketing aspects.
2. Helping my son get a second job and helping my daughter get a new job.
3. Planning to attend my 30th college reunion. I would have never taken vacation time to do it but now that I’m retired, I can go! My three best friends from college will be there — two of which I haven’t seen in two decades! Also get a visit in with my parents as they live close to where I went to college.
4. Prepping the yard for fall. My yard has never been so well fed/cared for. Also many other misc home repair tasks that have piled up and there never used to be time for.
5. Working out five times a week. No longer rushed, so it’s awesome. I take two to three long walks with my wife every day to boot.
6. Helping my daughter apply for college. I’m soon to tackle the FAFSA and am dreading it.
7. Volunteering for a local non-profit that helps feed the poor. I actually have a lunch meeting today to meet with a donor for them.
8. Doing much more cooking. I’m the grillmaster at home and we’ve had lots of great food given I have the time to work on it.
9. Once a week the whole family picks a day and we go out for fun. This week we played two games of glow in the dark mini golf and had lunch. There isn’t much time left for all of us to be together so we are making the most of it while we can.
10. Started the process of teaching personal finance at my church (based on Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey).
Those are just the top of mind things. My to-do list is long every day. I get to a couple things each day but also take lots of breaks to read, watch a movie with my wife or play video games with the kids.
I LOVE Rick Warren (I got to meet him a couple years ago) and read The Purpose Driven Life many, many years ago. I haven’t read the book you note but I’m assuming it’s an expansion of what he said in TPDL.
BTW, nice site you have. But the Eagles? Really? 😉
Did you happen to watch America’s Got Talent and see how well John Doornbos (Eagles snapper) did?
Oh, that reminds me — I’ve watched more college and pro football in the past couple weeks than I did the previous five years. Loving it!!!!
Wayne says
It will be interesting to hear your reaction to the Dave Ramsey program. I know you will agree with much of what he says, but you do differ on the use of credit cards and likely some of his investment recommdations such as a 8% withdrawal rate.
SavvyFinancialLatina says
I say way to go! It’s super cool that you can retire. Most people I speak to who are 52 say they will never be able to retire. Surprising since they have been working professionals for 30 years plus. I could understand it from a low income worker like my dad, but not from someone who has been working a high paying job for years.
Donna S says
Congrats! I retired at 50 and got some of the same comments. After one month I attended a company get together and the comment was I looked 10 years younger since I retired! Probably because I finally got 8 hours a night sleep instead of 5 hours due to no more job. My best advise is to keep busy doing the things you love. Hobbies, time with family, and doing “jobs” that excite you that YOU want to do. Also keep learning.
ESI says
Yes! See above for what I’m working on now.
I’m so busy that I haven’t even had much time to get to the 10 or so books that I have piled up on my bookshelf now — not to mention all the ones at the library I want to read! 😉
Mike H says
I guess none of these people are regular readers of ESI as you have been tipping this off for some time 🙂
Retiring at 52 is a great achievement. I am not sure if I’ll retire sooner or later but feel like the best is still yet to come, career wise so I’d like to see that through unless the BS levels get unbearable. We’ll see!
-Mike
ESI says
You will need to write a post for me if you decide to retire. I know it will be EPIC!
JayCeezy says
Fantastic reactions! ESI, it says quite a bit about you (all of it good!) that the reactions were so positive and supportive. People are happy for you! Really admire the way you have filled your day now with what you want to do, instead of what you have to do. Your lifelong effort has bought such a precious commodity, time, and now you are spending that time helping others. You are a living example to all of us. Thanks for sharing this!
Bruce says
I think you should watch the Rodney Dangerfield movie, “Back to School”, with your daughter, say nothing, and just smile at her when it is all over. 🙂
Mr.PIE says
Great, this gives me a few terrific pointers on what to expect in less than 2 yrs time at age 51. I can imagine I am going to get a lot of weird stuff going on in the workplace as absolutely nobody will have an inkling of what is coming.
When I then say we are retreating to the mountains to live, they will think I am joining a cult. I guess FIRE is a kind of a cult, isn’t it…?
ESI says
Just don’t mention your bunker, guns, or 3-years worth of food stored up! 😉
Memories says
These are great, loved the response to your daughter the best!
Charles Dale says
Retirement at 52 is great. I wanted to retire at 20, lol. I am now 55 and retired and the days fly by. You do certain things at certain times and before you know it, the day is over and you are going to bed. Then days turn to weeks, turn to months, turns to years. Being retired is great for me and will be for you to. I never felt you needed to work to have a purpose and the free time from retirement can be a blessing. When working, you work to live not live to work so you can eventually retire.
Enjoy!
Mustard Seed Money says
I love that you’ll be able to facilitate the Dave Ramsey course. I currently am able to do that at my church and I find it incredibly rewarding to help others that are desperately in need of the financial education that they didn’t receive.
You’ll have to let me know your thoughts when you finish running the course.
ESI says
Knowing me, I’ll probably turn it into a series of posts!
DC says
I was really interested to see what types of responses you would get knowing that you retired early and before the traditional retirement age range. I’m much younger (late 20’s) so still accumulating but some of the responses seem to transcend generations and are similar to what I’ve heard from people when my FI aspirations have been shared. Stealth Wealth most accurately defines my attitude towards FI at the moment but my parents are probably the most informed in terms of my earnings and goals. After realizing the importance of investing for the future later in their lives they seem to have a better understanding of my mindset and wish they had taken steps earlier to secure their future but some people don’t, or can’t, “get it”. Over the last few years I think most responses I’ve heard can be categorized into doubt/disbelief or something equating to “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid”. Due to my personal bias I was expecting some more negative responses in your post and was surprised that wasn’t the case.
One item on your busy list that caught my attention was the FAFSA application. When I was applying to colleges my stepfather was a very high income earner which crushed any need-based financial aid opportunities for me. My biological parents were the ones helping me with college tuition (plus loans) and it wasn’t his responsibility but the fact he and my mother were married and filing taxes together took any financial aid off the table. Perhaps there’s a double bonus to be gained by retiring early and dropping W-2 income/reducing earnings before any children head off to college in order to qualify for a reduced tuition bill.
ESI says
I think there will be a benefit on tuition/scholarships but I’ll need to work at it.
This year’s form will incorporate last year’s income (which was high). I’ll use those numbers for the form and then have to contact the school, explain I’ve retired, and ask for a reassessment.
This year’s income will still be high, so we won’t see any reduced income (on an annual basis) until calendar year 2017.
JayCeezy says
@DC, am feeling you on the ‘negative responses’. My thought is that ESI is a very different breed, online and off (in the best way!). I’m a few years ahead of ESI on the same path, am now 56 and retired four years. The ‘doubt/disbelief’ thing you are getting is not about you, but about them; they are afraid that you will succeed and they don’t want you to.
I learned early to keep my aspirations to myself with friends, family, classmates and colleagues. They weren’t on-board, didn’t understand why I was looking so far ahead, and felt threatened by it. It didn’t validate their own choices.
Only a very few friends/mentors were ‘safe’ to talk about this with, and would be knowledgeable and supportive. They are the best! Quite a few others felt immediately free to give me ‘advice’ without knowing my situation, obviously having no qualifications or accomplishments in PF themselves, and assumed that they would know more about it than me. I’m sure this is similar to what you are getting.:-)
For fun, here are some of the ones I got in past years…
20s – “Everybody has to work!” “Sure, maybe you’ll win the lottery!”
30s – “What are you going to do all day?” “We have plenty of time to save.” “I’d rather spend the money now and work on retirement when I’m making a lot more money.”
40s – “My parents have some money, and they’re taking care of the kids’ college.”
50s – “Must be nice to have a pension!” (I don’t) “What are you going to do for medical?” “Won’t you miss the social interaction?” “Did you inherit?” (No) “Does your wife have money?” (No) “Some people are just lucky!” (Right?:-))
I didn’t tell my parents for almost a year, because I didn’t want them to tell my brothers who are both 12-15 years from retirement. Eventually, my family and friends figured it out, and, if asked, I would say so. But even then, I get the occasional ‘needle’. My reply is “don’t be jealous!” delivered with a big grin. Takes their attitude down, permanently.
Anyway, you are right in pursuing a ‘Stealth Wealth’ approach, until you can be sure that somebody will really be happy and supportive for you. Great tip on the reduced income for tuition assistance, too. Looking forward to reading more about your journey!
ESI says
Great comment!!!!
It’s amazing how disbelieving people are. I had lunch today with people I haven’t seen in a year. When I told them I was retired they about fell out of their chairs.
I love watching people’s reactions to this sort of news. 😉
JayCeezy says
ESI, you clearly have a lot of good will in your life. Speaks quite well of you. I would be interested to know if your relationship(s) changes with those to whom you have revealed your early retirement.
My motivation for keeping the info to myself unless asked, is that I know it would make others feel bad (like my brothers). They are competitive, and even if they haven’t been ‘competing’ (I haven’t, I just compete with myself) they will certainly use my situation as a measure of their own situation.
Some former colleagues and friends have had lukewarm reactions when they learn about it (mostly second-or-third hand). It makes me wonder about that reaction, as well as the motivation for those who relay that reaction to me. Mostly, I think it is sour-grapes and it is certainly too late for them to change their situation now; they made their choices 30 years ago and must live with the consequences.
Maybe I’ll do a write-up sometime about ‘reactions’. Yours is quite interesting, maybe mine will be a little different due to the time gap.
ESI says
If you do, I’d love to publish it!!!
Matt @ Distilled Dollar says
Hahaha! So many great responses!
The financial planner sounds like a funny guy. I love your mom and daughter’s response. Very sweet and spot on, respectfully.
Your 10 point list in another comment is great! You have a full plan ready to go on what you’ll do after retirement. That doesn’t completely surprise me since you obviously had the resources and foresight to plan ahead with early retirement, BUT I do see too many people retire and basically sink into a funk of “what’s next?”
Congrats on the move and best of luck! I look forward to seeing more from you as you have time to write more.
J. Money says
Haha… Best answer goes to your daughter 🙂
I don’t know about you, but I feel like I get much more funny/light-hearted when I’m feeling confident – either in money or in life in general. I’ve been struggling with something for over a year now, and just last week I found clarity and have been feeling on top of the world even though nothing outside of that has actually changed. I know that getting to FIRE is gradual and sinks in over time vs a “a ha” moment, but I’d imagine having that chapter finally locked up brings out the more playful side of you 🙂 And now your kids get to enjoy it whether they want it or not!
Financial Samurai says
Haha, love your son’s response. Cool! Your post is going up this morning 10/3/2016!
S
PatientWealth says
This is one of the coolest posts I have read! It is incredibly motivating. My retirement will probably come in about five years and will likely be a step in another direction professionally – but one where I am completely financially independent. I really liked the folks who were sad and crying. Good for you and glad to see you are enjoying it. I saw your post at financial samurai and liked that one too.
ESI says
Thanks, I appreciate that.
Welcome too! Great to have you here!
theFIREstarter says
This is really cool.
All I’ve done so far is downshifted to 75% of normal full time hours and even then I get odd looks and comments when I tell people, so who knows what the reactions will be when I fully retire, a bit earlier than usual at around the age of 55 if things go well (currently 36)
The classic one I’ve had is : “they’re obviously paying you too much” which I would really like to counter with “Um no, you obviously spend too much” but I just smile and brush it off instead.
HappilyRetired says
Thank you for sharing your experience. Great blog! I have retired a couple of years ago. It was an early retirement too. How would you respond to people (relatives, friends, mere acquaintances) who ask you for money?
ESI says
Ha! So far I haven’t had that problem.
In the past when it has happened, if I think it’s a reasonable request and for a good use, I’ll give someone the money (this has happened maybe once or twice). Loans are problems waiting to happen so I’d either give the money or say “no”.