Early retirement refers to the practice of retiring from work before the age at which one is eligible to receive full retirement benefits. This is typically earlier than the age of 65, which is the age at which most people become eligible for Social Security benefits in the United States.
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Have been talking with my (59) wife (54) about retiring at 60. She's been rightfully a bit apprehensive even after reviewing our accounts with 2 fiduciaries. Thursday evening I experienced chest press...
A story from Fortune rudely assaulted my news feed recently. The title of it is big and scary: WHOAHH! Everything I know is a LIE! I NEED to find another job! NOW!!! Haha. No. The article referenced a...
Paying off your mortgage before retirement sounds responsible. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it quietly costs you the best years of your life. In this episode, James walks through the story of a client w...
Joe Schmitz Jr. and Jeremy Keil explore the 2% Club of retirees and the unique challenges that come with significant retirement savings and a pension. https://youtu.be/G04JKpKyLJ0 Most retirement conv...
Research links retiring early to cognitive decline, while continued work is associated with stronger cognition.
John Q. Taxpayer is in the home stretch of his career, looking for the best way to catch-up and build his tax-free bucket. Meanwhile, a pair of young financial nerds in Omaha are already strong savers...
Should Al and Peggy in Illinois keep hammering pre-tax retirement savings or should they pivot to post-tax Roth for better tax diversification? Which pension option is best for their early retirement ...
Lucky Lou is 48, burned out and wants to punch at 50. How should he bridge the gap before pensions and Social Security? Joe Anderson, CFP®, and Big Al Clopine, CPA walk through the Rule of 55, 72(t)s,...
Today on Your Money, Your Wealth podcast 562 (an encore of episode 513), Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine, CPA spitball for YMYW listeners in their 40s who are ready to call it quits at work, bec...
Today on Your Money, Your Wealth® podcast 559 with Joe Anderson, CFP®, and Big Al Clopine, CPA, David wants to know if he and his wife (ages 47 and 53) are actually on track for retirement - without r...
Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine, CPA are defusing some confusing tax time bombs today on Your Money, Your Wealth® podcast number 557. George in Torrance wants to know the smartest way to deal wi...
Most people assume retirement taxes are based on how much they withdraw. The real problem is what the IRS eventually forces them to withdraw. In this episode, James walks through what taxes can actual...
We check in on some champions of early retirement nearing their own finish line of financial independence. The post How are FIRE adherents making out? appeared first on MoneySense.
At a poker game recently, I heard one of the saddest things I've encountered in a while: “$10 million is not enough to retire early.” Mind you, we were all sitting in San Francisco, an expensive city,...
How can a couple get retirement timing "right" when one spouse comes from a long-lived family and the other doesn't?
Financial Assessment (Meet with an experienced professional): https://bit.ly/PureFreeAssessment Today on Your Money, Your Wealth® podcast number 582, Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine, CPA address...
Hey everyone! I hope you’re enjoying the beautiful spring weather. It’s been a while since I posted an update. To be completely honest, blogging became much more difficult once I ... Read more The pos...
Retiring at 60 feels like a clean plan. Work ends, savings take over, and Social Security fills the gap later. What most people do not realize is that decision has already changed their benefit. In th...
One of the issues we frugal people despise is going through buyer’s remorse. We don't want to feel stupid or ripped off, so we tend to buy fewer things and experiences. Minimalism and early retirement...
A big single-stock win can feel like freedom one day and a tightrope the next. This plan walks through how a family holding ~$15M in NVIDIA shares can turn concentrated success into stable, low-stress...
Often times retirees like to stay busy with a “Side Gig”. In this episode we delve into a number of ways retirees sometimes continue to work either part time or for a limited period of time in their e...
April 15, 2026 – Welcome back to another post. This time, I want to do another economic update, which many readers seem to enjoy. Today’s topic is whether the recent oil price shock, driven by Middle ...
Most people think deciding when to take Social Security is a math problem. Run the numbers. Find the breakeven age. Pick 62, 67, or 70. Done. But that approach misses the point. This is not a math dec...
Saving into Roth instead of traditional accounts to bring down required minimum distributions in retirement, and whether retiring early is in the cards: that's today on Your Money, Your Wealth® podcas...
One of the key ways to FIRE is to save and invest aggressively. You've forecasted your misery, therefore, you know that by the time your misery becomes a reality, you'll have invested enough money to ...
Hello. I (59F) have been trying to plan to retire early-ish for years. I would like to very much soon. I have tried to make my plans generally as fitting the circumstance at the time only to have the ...
You’ve done everything right. You saved consistently. You built a portfolio. You figured it out on your own. So why would you ever need a financial advisor now. That question makes sense. And for many...
You can do everything right and still feel stuck. Save aggressively. Max out your 401k. Build a large portfolio. And then one day realize you can’t actually use it when you want to. In this episode, J...
As you get close to retirement, something unexpected starts to happen. The math looks good. The plan works. And yet, you hesitate. In this episode, James Conole explores the quiet mental traps that sh...
One of the biggest fears people carry into retirement is running out of money. But for many retirees, the greater risk is something else entirely. Running out of time. In this episode, James Conole, C...
An early retirement account withdrawal often triggers taxes and penalties.
Thinking of calling it quits in your late 50s or early 60s? Before you retire early, see if you can answer these three important questions.
Context: USA couple. We plan to retire at around 60 years old, with no employer paid health care after that date. But, having been employed in tech, I've been a reasonably high earner in a low cost of...
Some might feel this is a ridiculous premise, but it actually could make sense to use airline points to manage risk in early retirement. The post Using Airline Points to Manage Sequence of Returns Ris...
In the world of very early retirement, we tend to ignore one of the most important things for normal retirees: the Social Security program. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great thing for the 73 million pe...
Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine, CPA spitball on whether a popular early retirement strategy could actually blow up your financial plan, today on Your Money, Your Wealth® podcast number 577. Red...
When you first start putting money into the stock market, your investment accounts may not seem to be that valuable. But over time, those accounts may very well be the lifeblood of your entire financi...
As someone who's been writing about FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) since 2009 and actually leaving full-time work for good in 2012, it's been quite an interesting ride. For the most part, ...
Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine, CPA spitball on how to build your own retirement AND support your kids financially, today on Your Money, Your Wealth® podcast number 575. "Lloyd and Diane" in Mo...
Most people think retirement begins the day they turn in their notice. In reality, retirement begins much earlier than that. It begins the moment you stop depending on your employer for everything. In...
“Only live off the dividends. Never touch the principal.” It sounds responsible. It feels safe. It may be one of the riskiest retirement strategies out there. In this episode, James breaks down why bu...
Everyone thinks retirement is a permanent vacation. For the first few months, it might feel that way. Then something shifts. The novelty fades. Tuesdays start to feel like Saturdays. The structure tha...
One of the biggest fears workers have about retirement is losing their sense of purpose. That fear is not unfounded. It is one of the negatives of early retirement nobody likes talking about. For the ...
Joe Anderson, CFP® and Big Al Clopine, CPA focus on Social Security claiming strategies as part of the retirement spitballs, today on Your Money, Your Wealth® podcast number 574. Bijou Plutus and her ...
Can you retire early if you are a parent and don’t have a six-figure salary? It’s a question the FIRE community gets often. Well, today we’re going to meet a reader who worked as a librarian, has a to...
I always thought I could budget $1,000 for healthcare in early retirement and be totally fine. Turns out that was nowhere close to true. The post The Health Insurance Dilemma of Early Retirement appea...
Juan and Mary in Brooklyn are 49 and 48 with $2.2 million saved. Can Juan afford to retire early, or just walk away if he gets fired? And if they get divorced, yikes - but does the math still work? Th...
Hey everyone! Have you seen Alysa Liu’s Gold medal cinching performance at the Olympics? It was carefree, joyous, and inspirational. She glided over the ice and won the heart of ... Read more The post...
Roger Whitney dives into practical strategies for navigating health care before Medicare, sharing insights from retirees, survey results, and listener questions. Together they explore real-world solut...
My life is changing fast and I’m having a hard time keeping up. Just a short recap: My mother passed away late August 2025. In November, I drove across the country to have a funeral service (it was at...