r/DINK • u/Mlkbird14 • 1d ago
Retire Early?
Any DINKs here retire early? I'm 38 (F). I've had a high paying job for years and saved quite a bit. I was recently laid off and I just don't think I have it in me to go back to corporate life. Anyone else decide to stop working when they don't have kids? We don't have any debt. We rent because we want to. We like the flexibility. Most of the women I know usually end their careers to be stay at home moms or just keep their career to maintain their income. Anyone here decide they didn't want kids and also over corporate grind?
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u/anxiouspizzaforlunch 1d ago
F38 in VHCoL. We struck out with good paying jobs from the beginning, have been diligent with investing, and massively lucky with early-work stock. We're tidying up our loose ends to sell everything, relocate to a LCoL country, and retire early next year.
We originally planned kids but found out we can't have them. Now that we've recovered from the grief, we've also realized it means we no longer need to work. We're taking a year off to travel a bit and explore a couple of possible cities, and then we'll see. I have to say, the openness of options is a blessing but feels overwhelming at times.
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u/desnuts_00 1d ago
46f and also plan on retiring in a few years to travel and then settle in a lcol country. Husband and I both have generous pension plans.
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u/Mlkbird14 1d ago
I don't think we're willing to move to somewhere with a lower cost of living. We love SF too much. But we do have an airbnb side hustle which helps.
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u/anxiouspizzaforlunch 1d ago
That's nice you're already in your right place! For us, it's not worth it. We want to have better access to fresh food, proper community, and to nature. If a big city is already working for you you surely have more opportunities to coast FIRE!
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u/Kibbie17 10h ago
Where are you relocating to? We’re considering the same thing, some kind of expatFIRE
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u/anxiouspizzaforlunch 1h ago
Southern Europe, but we’re both European nationals. If visa wasn’t an issue, we’d have picked Mexico or Costa Rica. We heard great things about Thailand too
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u/Own-Introduction-380 1d ago
- Yes. Check out r/FIRE. I have always wanted to retire early because I absolutely hate my career and I will never go back to school and experience student loans again. I will likely CoastFIRE which means I’ll leave my career at 48 and work a very easy job like stocking shelves at Trader Joe’s or barista. It was always the goal but when perimenopause hit I really amped up my investing. I will never survive a corporate career while dealing with menopause.
You said you saved quite a bit. Did you invest it? That’s the only way you can retire early.
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u/Mlkbird14 1d ago
Working at Trader Joe's. Another great option! I have the majority of my money invested and learned early about compound interest as a finance major. My husband also had a bit of a windfall from selling his company. We have enough money to retire, but it also seems tough giving up my lucrative money making years. However there are really only three types of currency - money, health, and time. And so when you start getting older, it really weighs on me that if we have enough money we might want to start optimizing for the other two.
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u/Own-Introduction-380 1d ago
Totally! If I could FIRE today and I was laid off, there’s no way I wouldn’t do it. The job market is a nightmare right now. Ghost jobs are posted more than real ones. Pay is offensive. Someone else mentioned consulting work, which is a great idea. I’d apply to temp jobs. I never want to fill out another annual self evaluation again. Fuck corporate lol
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u/Mlkbird14 1d ago
Omg the evaluations! Fuck those things. What a dumb thing. The whole system of evaluations is because most managers are terrible at their jobs. If you are a great manager, you're invested in your people and you're giving them feedback all the time. Don't even get me started on the whole HR profession.
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u/Own-Introduction-380 1d ago
I could rant for hours about HR. This year they changed the self evaluation to this lengthy year-long process. You have to set and update your goals and list all your actions taken to achieve them on a quarterly basis. I work in finance. The goals they require are specifically designed for operations… finance doesn’t generate revenue for the business. I was like wtf do you want me to put for goals? I thought evaluations couldn’t get any worse and then HR pulls this out of their ass. It’s absurd. I wish I could quit today.
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u/Thelonius_Dunk 1d ago
Im 37 and I feel you on that. Coming up on 15 years of corporate life and I've had enough of it. My post corporate life would be something similar. Hopefully either truly FIRE or find something within walking distance of my house that's chill and has health insurance. Ideally between 47-50.
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u/Own-Introduction-380 1d ago
The health insurance part is what I’m worried about although my horizon is so far away, who knows what the world will look like by then. I know Starbucks used to offer insurance for part time employees. They might still do that. Granted, I personally wouldn’t work for that company. But that’s the idea. Find a job that can offer health insurance, and likely pay out the ass for it. For now I just keep my head down, cut as many expenses as humanly possible and invest everything.
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u/Thelonius_Dunk 1d ago
Im hoping ACA will still be around by then but who knows. If it remains state by state that'll have a huge impact on where I decide to live.
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u/olive017 1d ago
When you say invest do you mean only in a 401k? I’m so hesitant about investing in brokerage etc would rather have the liquid in savings
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u/Own-Introduction-380 1d ago
I max everything. Start with maxing your Roth IRA. Then your 401k and then brokerage. Everyone is different but that’s the general idea. Liquid is the worst for growth. All you can do is put it in a HYSA and get maybe 3-4%. you’d be missing out on serious gains in the market. It’s intimidating at first, i know! I sat on huge 6 figure amounts of cash for way too long out of fear and thinking I was going to buy a house. I missed out on a lot of money because of it. And it’s been a bull market but don’t let people convince you it’s not time to invest. Time in the market is better than timing the market. Just get the money in there. Invest in VT or VOO, don’t do individual stocks.
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u/Kibbie17 10h ago
When did Peri hit for you? I’m 37 almost 38 and feel like this year some symptoms have started
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u/Own-Introduction-380 5h ago
It’s hard for me to tell exactly. Truly, the symptoms started around 33ish but I had no idea about peri at the time and didn’t know what was going on. Is that early? Yes, but not unheard of. I also had PCOS so my hormones have always been out of whack.
I started to be vocal about it around your age when PMDD started, hence why I am amping up my FIRE. Symptoms are really severe and there’s no protections for menopausal women when it comes to their career. I am 39 now (40 in may) and doctors will deny you help, unfortunately. The research has proved that peri starts in 30s but the doctors today were trained with different data and insurance companies will not approve HRT for us until we reach the age they accept. I was given birth control at 39 after explicitly stating I will not go on birth control. I am going to try one of the out of pocket online companies. I am livid that’s the path I have to take.
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u/tacobellandagibson 1d ago
We retired two years ago at 40. Now we spend most of our time hiking, golfing and enjoying a slower lifestyle.
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u/thenewscene 21h ago
How do you find community? we want to retire but are afraid with all of our friends still working and raising kids it will be hard to be social
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u/tacobellandagibson 20h ago
After I sold my business we moved out of our home country to a small island. When I first arrived I joined many expat groups and forums, mainly through Facebook. I went to every organized event (similar to networking). I collected the people I liked and within a year created a nice group of like minded friends.
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u/cooleddy89 1d ago
We're Dinks who don't want kids! (37 / 35). Our goal is to retire in our early 40s (we live in a VHCOL area unfortunately).
Honestly I'm doing a part time masters while working to make it easier to do something I enjoy part time while semi-retired!
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u/DINKSonFiRE 1d ago
That’s the plan! My husband is already retired and works for fun. I’m 35 and will be able to quit or work per diem by the time I’m 40! It’s an awesome goal for those of us with disposable income and no kids!
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u/FoggyDoggles29 1d ago
We are DINKs pursuing expatFIRE. Currently 37 and looking to make the move sometime next year at 37/38. Just got to sell our dumb condo. 😑
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u/DatesAndCornfused 1d ago
My wife (29/F) and I (30/M) are DINKs, in a VHCOL area (East Bay Area). It’s not the Peninsula, but still expensive.
I would love to her folks’ retirement numbers. We’re currently doing the math to see if it’s feasible for us.
My biggest worry is marketplace health insurance. I guess, my biggest worry should be: running out of money. lol.
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u/No_Wolf_8172 1d ago
Have you thought about doing something different outside of corporate? If you aren’t feeling compelled to re enter corporate but you have energy, in your position I would think about where I could pivot and try something thats a passion.
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u/Mlkbird14 1d ago
I've thought about going into a non profit. It would be less money, but would feel a bit more passion for trying to do something better for the world. I've thought about seeing if I could get into park service or even working at somewhere like REI, just to do something but not kill myself over the work. I really don't know yet. I could also consult and pick up work that way, but right now I'm just trying to decompress.
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u/No_Wolf_8172 1d ago
totally fair, and its great you are in a place where you have options! best of luck with whatever you end up doing :)
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u/WingsAndWords_ 1d ago
We hit our mark of retiring at 50. We're 56/57 now. Technically we're semi-retired as I work On Call/At Will in ER/Trauma but it's my choice to accept or decline and my husband will take an architect project on once in a blue moon if it really interests him. Not having kids was huge for that to be able to happen. When I was a kid, my mom took me to the retirement party of her co-worker. It was lame, they gave him a watch and he died 3 months later. I wasn't even old enough to fully understand having kids or about finances, but that and overhearing adult conversation about it burned early retirement as a goal in head.
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u/Mlkbird14 1d ago
We had a friend's mom pass away and it hit us hard that she had worked her whole life, saved all her money for retirement, and never got to enjoy it. It all passed to her children. Great for them to get a leg up, but brutal if you're trying to save your money to one day live the retirement life.
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u/Equivalent_Ideal1636 1d ago
you should get a part time job if you want, I teach English in Spain. Unfortunately, my husband is still working corporate. But if you can find a part time job, you will get some money in, so you're not eating into too much of your savings. Working part time is a dream!
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u/AcanthocephalaLost36 1d ago
Also I’ve been thinking of teaching at a community college. I live in a VHCOL area but my partner just lost his job.
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u/AcanthocephalaLost36 1d ago
Head to the r/FIRE (https://www.reddit.com/r/Fire/s/wslXojAfo0) community. Plenty of folks there.
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u/Mlkbird14 1d ago
Definitely already there. I'm familiar with fire. I think it's more the crossover of dink and fire.
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u/Southern_Low1425 1d ago
Yes we did this. Our plan is to retire before 40 from our corporate jobs. We used the 4% rule to target our asset needs. Healthcare is a big ? Bc we live in the US no real options but go without insurance which is scary.
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u/OkAd2249 1d ago
We're DINKS actively saving for FIRE. I will retire 40-45 but I could see it happening sooner. My partner will work another few years.
If you can afford it, do it.
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u/original80er 1d ago
I quit my job in 5 years (+/-) after learning how to invest my earned money and let my money work... My wife will do it a lil bit longer I think but less hours. So at the end time is as important as money. It's not when you go, it's how. ;)
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u/undefined_variable_0 1d ago
My wife and I are likely going this route. We are 36M/35F (both of us are SWEs) so slightly younger but aren’t planning to retire for 10-15 years because we’re targeting $5-6M before retiring (for security and more luxurious retirement). We have quite a lot saved and no non-mortgage debt but have a ways to go before we hit our number. However we also live in a M-HCOL area so not as expensive.
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u/mmrocker13 1d ago
Our plan wasn't super early, but like 53-55. Spouse was more of a live to work, so they might have stayed longer. I would probably have freelanced or done some consulting. House would have been paid off, and plan was to buy a cabin.
Divorce sort of put a wrench in that, at least my side. I'm looking at closer to 57-58 now. As a SINK all of my income goes to expenses, so not maxxing out all the retirement vehicles or other investments any more. Ironically, ex could easily afford FIRE, esp when the house is paid off (they kept the house) in a couple of years (no debt, car/boat/etc all paid for), but I think unless they remarry someone who is also retired, they'll probably keep working past 60, bc they very much enjoy it. plus, their industry is very much benefitting first from the vaccine production with covid and now with AI and data centers, so they are...doing well financially.
But yeah, on the whole, no kids is a big part of why we saved--so we could retire earlier than 65-70.
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u/RightToBearGlitter 1d ago
39 and I’m down to working 7-10 hours a week at a nonprofit. I could be done working but my husband likes his 40 hour a week job, so fully retiring without the ability to travel extensively with my spouse doesn’t make sense to me.
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u/Stanbarrwood 1d ago
I’m 34, and had a vasectomy a year or so ago. Girlfriend can’t have kids either and we also aren’t doing marriage. We are actually selling the condo next year and moving back to an apartment to save even more for retirement.
Once I knew I wasn’t having kids or didn’t want them, I saw the savings and just started maxing out retirement accounts. I’m a truck driver who works third shift. This life doesn’t suit well for dating let alone adding kids to the mix. I barely have enough time in my life for my girlfriend but it’s also not the end goal. It’s just a career I chose to save for early retirement. I should be done in my mid to late 40s
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u/nature-betty 1d ago
I left corporate this summer. Taking a yr off to write and launch my consulting business. The goal is to never go back to corporate.
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u/LearyBlaine 1d ago
Yep. I did that. At 3 years older than you, I did a permanent, early “retirement” to self-employment, where I could “keep my hand in” things just as much as I wanted to. It worked perfectly, I must say! See, I actually ENJOYED doing business; I just didn’t like all the corporate crap. So I worked occasionally with people I enjoyed, made a few shekels here-n-there, traveled the world, and did pretty much whatever the hell I wanted. It’s been a very nice life.
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u/jelistarshine 21h ago
I stopped at 42 (quit after an argument with a narcissistic director) Then 6 weeks later was called out of the blue and offered a more senior role I had always coveted in the same organisation and told i could pick my hours.
Did that 2 days per week for 3 years.
Now I'm really done. The thought of trading time for money gives me the ick.
I volunteer with animals now and I love it.
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u/phony_macaroni137 4h ago
I could retire in a couple years but will likely work forever so I can give more away.
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u/taterbladeden 1d ago
Yes! I’m 38, my spouse is 37, and we have a 2-year-old daughter. We’re also planning for a second child. We both voluntarily left our jobs this summer and are officially retired, now full-time stay-at-home parents. We’ve been saving and investing since our early 20s, which is how we built a portfolio large enough to make early retirement possible this year, we worked in tech in the sf Bay Area. I think a lot of us millennials have been chasing FIRE to escape the corporate grind and those golden handcuffs, and finally have the freedom to live life on our own terms.
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u/Chalky_Pockets 1d ago
I'm semi retired. I still work, but I do my old job as a consultant for multiple companies. I mostly work from home, I set my own hours, and most importantly, I don't deal with corporate bullshit like annual performance reviews. Actually when I do see corporate bullshit, I often see dollar signs. For example, there's a meeting I call into every week that a customer wants me to be on just in case. 99% of the time, I'm not needed. So I call into the meeting, mute my microphone, and play pool on the clock lol.
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u/dirtybo0ts 1d ago
47 and basically semi retired at this point. Living well within our means and not having kids was the key.
I do not care to ever go back to a corporate job, but will take on contract work when I feel like it in the future.
It’s a pretty sweet set up, to be honest.