It’s hard to think about financial independence and retiring early separate from the concept of AGE.  I’ve been early retired for a year now and I get the questions constantly: How old are you?  You look too young to be retired?  What will you do for the rest of your life?

I retired two weeks short of my fiftieth birthday last year, and TODAY – April 14th – is my 51st birthday.  Two years ago – back when this blog was only a few months old and readers were measured in the dozens, rather than thousands – I spent my last birthday in the office.  I wanted to take the day off, but we had an all-day strategic planning meeting scheduled with our EVP.

It was a typically ridiculous MegaCorp day and I sat in the back of the room and savored the silliness of it all, recording the nonsense for posterity in this post: “FIRE Milestone: Last Birthday in the Office”.  When I look back on that day now I am so happy I can enjoy each and every day now as if it is my birthday.  Nothing stops me from living life with celebratory zest and a devil-may-care freedom.

How many more birthdays will you spend on the job?

Image Credit: Pixabay