Personal Finance

I'm in my mid-40s and am retiring in a few days - here is how I prepared for everything financially the year before

Maurie Backman

Published: February 18, 2025 2:54 pm

Most people don’t manage to retire in their mid-40s. But with enough savings and proper planning, it’s something you may be able to pull off.

That said, it’s important to go into an early retirement like that with confidence. After all, why take that leap when you could always work a few more years and build up more of a cushion?

Some people, however, rush into early retirement and end up unprepared. So I was extremely impressed when I came across this Reddit post.

Here, we have a person in their mid-40s who knew they wanted to retire at a specific point in time. They could’ve written up a budget and called it a day. But instead, they did everything humanely possible to prepare for that transition.

An extremely well-thought-out approach

The poster above didn’t just rush into retirement. Instead, in the year leading up to it, they took steps to get everything in their life in order before giving up their paycheck.

Here are some of the things they did:

• Made home repairs they knew about
• Addressed medical needs while they had good insurance
• Researched health insurance options
• Had their car checked out and replaced the tires
• Took their animal to the vet
• Met with a tax professional to get advice
• Hired a Certified Financial Planner for guidance
• Worked with a life coach to map out their next steps

I think it’s fantastic that this poster took all of these steps. There’s perhaps nothing more stressful than retiring early only to be hit with a huge home or car repair a few months in. By addressing those issues beforehand, the poster now doesn’t have to worry them in the near term.

I also think it’s great that the poster got help from a few different professionals. Granted, the tax professional may not have been necessary if they’re also using a CFP. But it also never hurts to get financial advice from a couple of different sources.

The life coach thing was brilliant, too. A lot of people don’t realize how jarring the shift into retirement can be. And this holds true for people who retire early as well as on time. I’m glad this person was able to get some guidance so they can make the most of their early retirement and stave off feelings of aimlessness.

It’s natural to celebrate the freedom of not being chained to a desk. But the novelty of that can wear off very quickly. So it’s important to have a concrete plan for how you’ll spend your days when you’re newly retired.

Make sure to go in prepared

I’m a big fan of preparing for retirement thoroughly, whether you’re exiting the workforce at a typical age or on the early side. But if you’re retiring early, I think it’s especially important that you take steps like the poster did above.

And remember, you don’t have to go through the process alone. You may not need to hire the three different professionals this poster did. But at the very least, I’d recommend meeting with a financial advisor for guidance. Not only might that lead to better financial decisions, but it could also help you approach this new stage of life with more confidence.