I am going to make a very bold statement. Retiring Early and Often is the best Strategy and here are the reasons why.

If you plan to retire early and often to a passion-driven lifestyle you will:

Be forced to identify what you are passionate about.

People think they have to find their passion but it isn’t something that is found, it is created from within you. It is made up of all your experiences, both professional and personal. It is those things that you have done or experienced that you truly loved and enjoyed. Then apply what you have identified by looking at where your passions and skills intersect to have an idea of what you would like to do in retirement and even make money doing it. You will be able to answer the question, what would I love to do?

Invest in yourself

You will become very good at what you are passionate about doing in retirement. You will learn necessary skills, take classes, and/or practice to the point that you can dive right into whatever it is you want to pursue.

Be able to retire early from a career or job that you no longer find rewarding.

Either you have enough saved or other retirement income to fully retire or maybe you are a little short. Depending on your plan you can supplement your retirement funding or continue to increase your savings while being able to live a passion-driven lifestyle. In either case you are able to retire while taking less from your retirement savings. Always being open to opportunities that you are passionate about means there is always a possibility of additional income coming in so you may be able to move up your retirement date as you will need less savings to do it.

Be retiring to something, not from something.

The happiest retirees planned for and know what they are retiring to. This is the non-financial aspect of early retirement that is just as important as the financial parts of your plan.

Earn money in passion-driven pursuits

Earning income means less drain on your savings. It adds options. Like deciding to delay the start of your social security payments. You will be giving your future-self social security options.

Have better health

Better overall physical health or at least mental health through continued brain stimulation and social interaction. You will continually meet new people, learn new skills, and stay mentally active.

Leaving a long-held career-driven job is a difficult thing to do.

Even if you are in a rut, no longer liking your career or job and wanting desperately to change, it is scary to pull the plug. I know people who could retire today and have plenty of money to do so but won’t out of fear of the unknown even though they complain about how much they wish they could retire and do something else. I felt it too before I retired the first time but it was far easier to take the leap because I knew I was going to live a “retire early and often” passion-driven lifestyle and eventually I would have new money coming in from doing something I was passionate about.

OK I admit it. I am biased because I live this way and it has been awesome. Retiring Early and Often is the best Strategy because if you saved for it through financial investing, planned for it, and prepared for it by investing in yourself, it means you can rely less on your portfolio to support your new passion-driven lifestyle. It just makes it easier to live your life on your terms than trying to retire under the old retirement norms. The fact is, people who successfully retire early and young always stay engaged in opportunities that can earn money. Just be honest about it up front and make it part of your early retirement strategy and take advantage of the benefits. That is why Retiring Early and Often is the best Strategy.

People call it different things: encore career, semi-retirement, para-career, mini-retirement, etc. Do you have plans to retire early and often?