Biggest Challenge to Retiring Early

You believe early retirement isn’t possible. It’s not impossible. It just takes removing the Biggest Challenge to Retiring Early. I truly believe that early retirement is possible for many people yet few do it. The only thing worse than needing to work until you die is taking until you are of advanced age before you can consider retirement. It is a documented fact that there are folks who are figuring out ways to retire early. Some have even retired in their 30s and 40s. It takes getting past all the obstacles, real and imagined. You need to ask yourself: Why can’t I execute my own plan to successfully retire early?

The reason is you haven’t figured out how to get around the Biggest Challenge to Retiring Early. it’s YOU.

Biggest Challenge to Retiring Early

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You have to get out of your own way

Most people don’t retire early and they don’t try to. They go along though life following the consumerist hordes. The system where you go to work and constantly buy stuff you really don’t need. Buying with borrowed money. Living paycheck to paycheck. Stressing about traffic, career, money, and buying more stuff. All because it is all they know as being the normal life.

Then there are those who languish in low paid work. Doing all they can to survive. Hoping to get their shot at a better job down the road. They aren’t looking at early retirement or early retirement related articles. But if you are reading this you are different. You are in a place where early retirement is a worthy goal. You are financially educating yourself by searching for the alternative to the debt and rat race enslaved lifestyle.

Why you are the Biggest Challenge to Retiring Early

You know what you need to do to retire early. But you can’t or won’t stay on track to carry out your plan. Nobody cares more about your future financial independence than you should. Yet for some reason you get in your own way and deviate from YOUR plan. You settle for a mediocre financial life and extended stay in the rat race. You have educated yourself financially and have some if not all the knowledge you need. It is up to you to stay motivated and execute.

Which of these known proven early retirement success actions are you letting get in your way?

  • Successful Early Retirees stayed on course by having a smart frugal and balanced budget and they consistently spent less than they earned. They then invested the difference. They started saving early to leverage “time” and at an escalated percent of savings to income rate. Saving 10% is good but not good enough to get to early retirement.
  • Successful Early Retirees always have their eyes open looking for opportunities to increase their income. Whether doing what it took to gain advancement within their career/job and/or starting side hustles to create multiple streams of income.
  • Successful Early Retirees didn’t try to keep up with the Joneses. They only spent money on that which truly matters and what would bring real happiness into their lifestyle.
  • Successful Early Retirees understood that debt only enslaves. They took control of their finances to enjoy real and true freedom.
Life Happens

There will be obstacles and curve-balls. Live your smart and balanced frugal life where you challenge your frugal threshold. But not to the extent that you feel like you are living a deprived life. Allow for periods when your plan will have to be adjusted if not put on hold for a short while when the financial worst happens.

Even during my financial independence journey there were times when I had to scale back my savings to take care of bad financial luck. Mine came by way of a medical bill of around $10K. A sum that my insurance company deemed as my share. Anything can happen. Something as major as job/income loss will have to be looked at with the big picture in mind. The idea is that it’s OK to delay your early retirement plans but it is not OK to totally abandon your goals.

Get back on your feet and on plan as soon as you can. If you have done the research and have gained the financial education to seek a way to financial independence you know what it takes and have no excuse to abandon your plans for good.

Final Thoughts

Make sure you understand that the journey to financial independence and early retirement is not a race. You simply do what is necessary to put your finances ahead of consumerism. Doing so until you can collect YOUR reward in YOUR time-frame and on YOUR terms.

Even if the worst happens and you are unable to support your plan to the end when your goals are fully met. You will be vastly far better off and ahead of the “YOU” who did nothing. That is why the Biggest Challenge to Retiring Early is yourself. You are in full control of your plan’s outcome because you are the one who cares the most about it.

Aside from life throwing a few financial fastballs you may find that over time your goals may even change. Go into this journey willing to make and execute any necessary hard choices and roll with them.