[dclowd9901]

Yep -- this is something I wish I understood earlier on: burn hard, make as much as you can, then do what you _really_ want once you have enough money.

[teractiveodular]

But when do you have "enough" money? There are many traps here.

With lifestyle creep, mortgages or kids' educations to pay for, the sum that would have been "enough" in your twenties isn't in your forties.

Many people work hard for decades and drop dead of a heart attack the first day after their retire.

Others retire too early and find out the hard way that they did not, in fact, have enough money.

Some people get both right and still find themselves bored or spiraling unhealthily (drinking to much etc).

[dclowd9901]

You're right to ask, because I neglected to elaborate. You do want to know what you really want to do and figure out how much you'll need to do it.

[bdangubic]

you have enough money when you can comfortably live taking out 4% of your invested savings. math always checks out for this.

also I know one family who retired early, realized they will run out of money and instead of going back to work moved to costa rica :)