I retired at 54. Worked in the high end automotive service industry for 30 years, and worked my way to parts and service director.
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When I was 25, I told my (way more mature than me) girlfriend that I was GOING to retire at 50. She was from a VERY financially-responsible family, as her father was a financial planner. She told me I should meet with him to discuss how I could make it happen. I met with her father, and had an impactful experience that changed my life.
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Her father was casual. He asked me what age I wanted to retire. He asked how much money I had in the bank. He asked how much I made. He asked how much I save and spend from each paycheck. Ultimately, the answer I got was that at the rate I was going, I could retire when I was about 90. I scoffed and said that he was crazy, and he showed me the numbers, and the hard truth. He gave me a rough template for investment, but the basic ideology of saving as much as you can early enough, invest in your company's 401K as much as you can until it hurts, and then more...
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From that point on, I actually listened. I put the max into my 401K. I opened a Roth IRA when available. I'd party when I could, but forgot about the crap that sucked my money out (401K). I forgot about it, because it was ALREADY gone from my paycheck. That's part of the key. If you take the money from your paycheck after you've cashed it, to invest, it's WAY more difficult both emotionally, and because somehow you'll rationalize that you need it for bills.
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So, the best advice I can give is to talk to a "qualified" financial advisor. Do some research and find many ppl happy with their services. Make sure your investment firm uses an SEC-registered broker/dealer. I lost about 800k with a company that didn't do a Bernie Madoff; they just made bad decisions. I could have retired slightly early (and with way more money) if I had done my due diligence. But, I didn't know what I didn't know.
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You would think that after losing 800k, I'd still be way rich. I'm not (because I lost 800k) but I'm "comfortable." I know another guy that was with the same firm I was with that was 82, had ALL his investments with them, and had to go back to work to pay some bills.
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The moral is that you live and you learn. Take advice from someone like me that's done it, and do the research.
Most decent investment firms will run something called a "Monte Carlo" on you. It takes your income, savings, assets, and throws them into a long-term predictive model that is fairly accurate. They will know your social security, when you should take it, expected medical, etc. A qualified investment firm or advisor should be able to tell you what you can spend a year. If wisely invested, they usually recommend an annual deduction of around 4% of your total investments to start. The actual number you can spend is based on a complicated matrix of current investment diversification, at what age they think you should take social security, life expectancy, and a crapload of other input. It's why you hire them. The Monte Carlo even takes into account when you'll die. This is a normal process, and should be embraced because hey, everybody dies. It will tell you when you can retire based on desired annual income vs. investment portfolio.
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BUT, here's the the criteria. You need to figure out your living expenses. So, you are NOT going to want to do this. My recommendation is to marry someone who likes, or is amenable to, doing tha maths. You need to know how much your food is per year; how much your gas is per year; how much your utilities are per year; how much your f#cking underwear and clothes are per year. The more you drill it down, the more prepared you will be. The reason you do this is to know what you are spending a year just to live. It's probably more than you think, because the little crap adds up.
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NOBODY wants to hear or do this. But, if you want to be prepared, you will be. You will know all. I know all for my future life. I know I'm going to New Zealand next year to kill a big freaking red stag. But, I know what I can't do. And, believe it or not, that's great, because if I can't afford to go to Arizona to kill a giant Elk, I DO know how much quality beer I can consume while I'm not hunting.
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So, the takeaway is...
Plan NOW. Do research NOW. You are asking the right questions. Many don't. I have friends making beaucoup bucks that can't retire because they spend what they make. Big hat, no cattle.
Better to ask now, than to reflect back on woulda shoulda coulda...
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D!
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