I Retired Early at 35 with $2.5M—Now What Should I Do Next?

A Reddit user in her mid-30s is making $200,000 per year, but unfortunately, she is miserable at her work. Her manager is verbally abusive, and she leaves work on the verge of crying daily, but the company won’t act because the right people like the manager. Her work is so unpleasant that she’s talking to a therapist.

The good news is, she and her husband have a $2.5 million net worth, including $1.5 million in invested funds. The rest of their net worth consists of their $500K home and $500K in retirement accounts. While she said that they spend a lot of money per month, she also said her husband is happy to keep working and is supportive of her decision to retire early.

Her husband’s salary will mostly cover their expenses, although they expect to spend around $1,000 to $2,000 per month from savings. The big question she has now is, what should she do next? 

What to do after retiring in your 30s

One of the biggest things that the couple should do, ideally before the poster retires, is to talk to a financial advisor. While the couple appears to be in a good position to enable early retirement, they’ll still want to make sure they’re taking steps to make their savings last. This includes investing in the right mix of assets and maintaining a safe withdrawal rate.

Since the poster will also be retiring young, she’ll be limiting the amount of Social Security benefits she collects in the future and she won’t have much opportunity to grow her own tax-advantaged retirement savings so the couple will need to make a plan to ensure that both spouses are going to have financial security throughout the rest of their lives.

Beyond shoring up their financial situation with help from a professional, the Redditor is also going to need to find some way to fill her days and to find purpose and satisfaction once she has left the workforce.

Other commentators offered her some suggestions, including those who had retired early themselves. These suggestions included building a schedule that works for her, taking an easy and fun job instead of leaving work entirely, engaging in hobbies she enjoys, spending more time with family and friends, and doing some traveling. 

All of these options could work, but a lot will depend on what the poster enjoys and how she wants to fill her time.  

Saving money at a young age gives you the freedom to live your chosen life

The Reddit poster is in a great position here because she was able to save so much money at a young age. She also benefits from having a supportive spouse who can cover a good portion of the household’s expenses and provide health insurance for the family. For all of these reasons, she now has the opportunity to build the life she wants.  

Since most people don’t retire so young, this will require careful planning and a purposeful evaluation of the types of things that she believes will give meaning to her days once work is no longer filling her hours.

She can always choose to go back to some type of job if she gets bored, but she may just find that there is plenty to fill her hours once she’s out of the stressful job and takes the time to explore the options available.