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Your Escape Blueprint

Reasons to Retire Early Part I

We are firmly convinced on the merits of retiring early. We are thoroughly enjoying our new lifestyle. In case you are not totally convinced here are a few reasons why you too may want to consider early retirement.

Reason #1       The deferred life plan really sucks!

We have all heard it. Go to school, get a good job, work your ass off until you are 65 or 70, then enjoy the fruits of your labor. What a bunch of BS!

Randy Komisar a lecturer on entrepreneurship at Stanford University and author of the bestselling book The Monk and the Riddle has this to say about the deferred life plan:

Dangerous Risk 1

Reason #2       You don’t have any kids to worry about.

Many people use the fact that they have kids as an excuse not to retire early and travel the world, move overseas or ……….. (Fill in the blanks with what you would do).

If you do not have kids, you do not have that excuse, you have much more freedom and flexibility.

Even if you do have kids why deny them the opportunity of living and learning in another country? Good schools are widely available, home schooling is widely used and they will soak up a second or third language like sponges.

Reason #3       You have kids to worry about ( and living in your house).

By the time a child reaches the age of 17 or 18 you have most likely made a hefty six figure investment in each child’s health, education and wellbeing. Are you going to work till you drop to fund their inheritance? 

Selling or renting your house is also a good way to shift those clingy boomerang generations out of the basement. In 2001 it was estimated that over 40% of Canadians aged 20 to 29  lived with their parents some time during the year (Canadian Census Statistics).

Reason #4       Your parents are still young (or at least alive)

Not only are you not going to live forever neither are your parents. Even though we have rented our house and travel on a full time basis, we actually spend more time with our parents than when we were working full time. Once our parents pass, they ain’t coming back.

Mike and the Mechanics pointed this out so eloquently in their song 

 “The Living Years”

I wasn’t there that morning

When my Father passed away

I didn’t get to tell him

All the things I had to say

Reason #5     Escape the rat race rush hour commuter traffic.

Another thing that sucks is driving in rush hour traffic. Trust me I know I worked in Vancouver, which has some of the knurliest traffic in North America (GPS manufactures TomTom’s 2013 Congestion index).

Want less stress in your life ditch the commute.

Rat Race

Reason #6     You may live longer?

There was a rumour that the Boeing Aircraft Company issued a report stating that on average, employees who retire at 55 live to age 83. The same report indicated those who retire at 65 only live another 18 months or so. This report was everywhere including the notice board at my office. (Boeing denies the credibility of the report.) Other studies floating around out there “prove” the opposite. That those who retire early may also die earlier as well.

Lies, damned lies, and statistics aside the following question needs to be asked.

Would you rather have a marginally shorter life doing what you love, or a longer more miserable existence doing what is expected from you?

Reason #7     Live with no regrets!

In an article written by  Sina Anvari–a former  palliative care nurse–the greatest regret of the dying was not having the courage to life a life true to oneself, but rather living a life that others expected of them.

Follow your dreams!

What are your reasons for retiring early? We look forward to hearing from you.

About the author: Apparently born under a wandering star, Michael spent hours as a kid poring over maps, atlases and plotting where he wanted to travel when he grew up. Sadly Engineering school got in the way….. “it takes 5 years to complete and a lot longer to get over”. He still considers himself a “recovering” Professional Engineer. He escaped the rat race at 44 and now pursues his passions for travel, photography, Tai chi, scuba diving, cooking and sampling the world’s wines. Michael is also… Fiercely independent, a bit of a rebel, is on a self-imposed media diet & married to an incredible lady.

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