I resigned from my job in January this year and it’s been 6 months. I’ll let you know what I’ve learned, experienced, and what I would do different. This is my 6 month check in.

Financial independence and retiring early has been a goal of mine for many years. I knew I did not want to work till retirement age and spend my time and energy working. I reached my goal and finally made the decision to quit my job this year.

6 months in and I’m still happy I made this decision. It wasn’t an easy transition and a number of adjustments had to be made. Here’s my 6 month report.

You can’t scroll and watch TV all day

There’s a point where you have a moment thinking “what am I doing?” I’m wasting my time doom scrolling and watching TV all day. Retiring early is meant to give you opportunities to do other things other than just watching a screen. When you hear retire towards something, that is very important to consider. You don’t want to retire early and not have a plan how you will spend your time. I caught myself in the beginning doing just this and luckily I got out of it quickly. You will have more time to scroll but it shouldn’t be most of the your time.

Set Daily Reminders

The urgency to get things done will slowly fade. This doesn’t mean you can drop all your responsibilities and not meet deadlines. You do, however, start to forget when those deadlines are. Set daily reminders and alarms. I have to make sure I set alarms for everything because sometimes I get caught in what I am doing and I forget.

Spend Time Wisely

Time is the one resource you can’t control and one of my goals for retiring early is to be able to spend more time, not at work, but doing things that are meaningful to me. I’ve been spending more time with my family, helping my wife’s business, and just being there when loved ones need me. I know time is precious and every minute that passes, I feel a sense of thankfulness.

Time Flies

You think time flew when you were working? Time flies faster when you’re not working! At least, that’s what it seems like to me. You wake up, take care of some chores, do your thing, and next thing you know it’s time for dinner. Where did the time go? You focus less on time so you’re not monitoring it as much. When you’re at work you focus on when you arrived, meetings, putting in at least 8 hours, coming home on time, getting kids to their activities, and sleeping at a decent time. You’re more aware of the time whereas in early retirement it isn’t.

Showing Less Stress

Actions speak louder than words. When you are stressed, it shows. When your children see you stressed, they see it. They know. A huge burden is lifted and many of the stresses of work is gone. My kids tell me I’m smiling more, laughing more, and more engaged. I don’t have the worries and stress of meetings, work deadlines, commuting, working overtime, and all the other stresses that come with work. I always had the Sunday stress of having to think about going back to work on Monday so Sunday didn’t feel like a weekend.

Everyday Feels Like a Saturday

This is a good problem to have. Every single day feels the same now. My weekdays also feel like the weekend. Sometimes I forget which day of the week it is. Also a good problem to have. Not complaining, just describing my experience.

Health Insurance Is My Biggest Expense

When you hear that America’s health insurance is expensive, it’s true. I’ve been fortunate to have health insurance with all my employers but now that I’m not employed anymore, I have to pay for health insurance out of pocket. When you are calculating whether you can fund early retirement, make sure to know what your expenses will be. You don’t want to get caught not being able to fund your early retirement.

Always Be Thankful

Life happens and things can change in a blink of an eye. I cannot take full credit for what I was able to accomplish. It is by the grace of God that I am where I am today. I am thankful everyday and do not take this for granted.

When I described above that time flies, I can’t believe 6 months have already passed. My early retirement experience has mostly been positive. If you are on the same journey as I am of financial independence, I cannot wait till you reach it and be able to retire early. This is my 6 month check in. If you are interested in following my journey, email subscribe here to get alerts of latest posts or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.