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<p style="font-weight: 400;"><em><strong>By Billy and Akaisha Kaderli, RetireEarlyLifestyle.com</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong>Special to Financial Independence Hub</strong></em></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">During one of our private two-hour lunches, Akaisha brought up the topic: “Was retiring early at the age of 38 worth it?”</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Wow! What a question.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">We each have had our share of personal ups and downs in life – before and after we retired. It was a subject worthy of discussion.</p> <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-210624" class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_210624" style="width: 433px"><a href="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it1.jpg"><img alt="" class="wp-image-210624 size-full" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" height="325" sizes="(max-width: 433px) 100vw, 433px" src="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it1.jpg" srcset="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it1.jpg 433w, https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it1-300x225.jpg 300w" width="433"/></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-210624">Beaches, babes and boys in Boracay, Philippine Islands</figcaption></figure> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If we had stayed in our careers until the “normal” twenty years of service in the corporate world, that would have us retiring in 2006 at the age of 54. This still would have qualified us for “early retirement” by most definitions. Assuming things would have been the same, financially we would be much better off had we continued working.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">With a house and our cars paid for, living near a beautiful beach with great weather in <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/santacruz.htm">California</a>, a corporate pension, plenty of stock market assets and cash, it would seem that we would be wanting for nothing.</p> <p> </p><!-- Either there are no banners, they are disabled or none qualified for this location! --><!-- Either there are no banners, they are disabled or none qualified for this location! --> <p> </p> <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-210625" class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_210625" style="width: 454px"><a href="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it2.jpg"><img alt="" class="wp-image-210625 size-full" decoding="async" height="296" sizes="(max-width: 454px) 100vw, 454px" src="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it2.jpg" srcset="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it2.jpg 454w, https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it2-300x196.jpg 300w" width="454"/></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-210625">Lakeside treasure home, Lago Atitlan, Guatemala</figcaption></figure> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Health wise, who knows? The stress of working high pressure jobs for those extra years most likely would have taken a toll on our physical health. And two decades later with the aches, pains and caution that ageing brings, would we still be as adventurous and willing to try new things in a retirement that was just beginning?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">And then there is the question of whether or not we would still be together. Many of our friends are on their second marriages, and this could possibly have happened to us as well.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Of course these are all hypothetical notions as this is not the way it happened.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">However, had we retired from the workplace in 2006 with a greater portfolio, “traveling in style, having the good life and<a href="http://retireearlylifestyle.com/livin_large.htm">livin’ large</a>,” we would have been sitting pretty until the markets took one heck of a fall in 2008. With the S&amp;P, Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ all dropping over 38%, the shingles of our financial house would have been heartily shaken, making us ponder if we did the right thing by leaving work early.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Is there ever the perfect time to retire? And how do you know?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Experiences vs. Assets</strong></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Traveling the world for as long as we have, we have garnered a wide range of experiences and have tested our mettle. How do you put a price on first-hand education and thirty years of living around the globe?<span id="more-210622"></span></p> <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-210626" class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_210626" style="width: 292px"><a href="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it3.jpg"><img alt="" class="wp-image-210626 size-full" decoding="async" height="380" loading="lazy" sizes="auto, (max-width: 292px) 100vw, 292px" src="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it3.jpg" srcset="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it3.jpg 292w, https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it3-231x300.jpg 231w" width="292"/></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-210626">Sugar sand, turquoise sea, Belize</figcaption></figure> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Since we stepped out of the corporate box in 1991, we have sailed the Caribbean, lived on exotic islands, RV’ed the Western United States, learned skills like <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/massage_story.htm">Thai massage</a>, scuba diving, and <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/TennisCourtProject.html">built tennis courts in the heart of Mexico</a>. For years at a time we have lived in <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/thailand.htm">Asia</a>, <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/MEXICO.htm">Mexico</a> and <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/guatemala.htm">Guatemala</a>, traveling extensively through all of them. <a href="http://retireearlylifestyle.com/aaa/its_a_lifestyle_not_a_vacation.htm">Our style is not on a tour or a two week vacation</a> but getting down and dirty with the locals, many times being invited into their homes for meals or to spend the night.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">When the call came to do <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/betty.htm">End of Life Care</a> for our parents, we were there. We had the time, the energy and the patience to do so full-time, something we could never have done while holding down stressful jobs.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">We consider ourselves to be global ambassadors, living everywhere and nowhere. Our approach is to dive into local cultures like a roaming, self-generated Peace Corps, putting in thousands of volunteer hours teaching English, <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/chapala_massage.htm">business skills</a> and <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/chapala_tennis_volleyball.htm">sporting activities</a>, leaving the place better than we found it. And the learning is not just for them. Our maid is teaching me authentic Mexican cuisine and we both continue to explore digital gadgetry as well as improve our foreign language abilities and travel techniques. Much of this we photograph and journal on our website,<a href="http://retireearlylifestyle.com/index.html">RetireEarlyLifestyle.com</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="http://retireearlylifestyle.com/volunteer.htm">Opportunities to help or mentor others</a> are everywhere and the reward is much more gratifying than a paycheck.</p> <figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-210628" class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_210628" style="width: 388px"><a href="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it4.jpg"><img alt="" class="wp-image-210628 size-full" decoding="async" height="364" loading="lazy" sizes="auto, (max-width: 388px) 100vw, 388px" src="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it4.jpg" srcset="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it4.jpg 388w, https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/was_it_worth_it4-300x281.jpg 300w" width="388"/></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-210628">Decades of a Global Lifestyle</figcaption></figure> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Decades of a global lifestyle</strong></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">With over three decades of retirement, suffice it to say that no amount of money can replace the accumulation of knowledge, skills and personal confidence that our adventures have given us.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">So here we are launching into <em>our thirty fifth year</em> of living this lifestyle to the fullest, tasting flavors from exotic locations and ready to meet life’s challenges. While our finances might not reflect the substance of those who continued to work, no one can take away the dance we’ve danced.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The future is always filled with surprises whether one is working or retired. <a href="http://retireearlylifestyle.com/courage.htm">Life with its challenges</a> never stops. However, we can rest assured that we have had one heck of a ride over the last thirty years and we eagerly look forward to our next decade of upcoming journeys and adventures.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">So, was retiring at the age of 38 worth it?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">We can only say a resounding <em><a href="http://retireearlylifestyle.com/saying_yes.htm">YES!</a></em></p> <p><i><a href="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Billy-an-Akaisha-in-Thailand2.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft wp-image-20823 size-thumbnail" decoding="async" height="150" loading="lazy" src="https://findependencehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Billy-an-Akaisha-in-Thailand2-150x150.jpg" width="150"/></a>Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of information they share on their award winning website <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/">RetireEarlyLifestyle.com</a>, they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since 1991. They wrote the popular books, <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/orderpage.htm">The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement</a> and <a href="http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/orderpage-dreams.htm">Your Retirement Dream IS Possible</a> available on their website <a href="http://retireearlylifestyle.com/book-store.htm">bookstore</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=stripbooks&amp;field-keywords=billy+kaderli">Amazon.com</a>. </i></p> <div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-twitter"><a class="share-twitter sd-button share-icon" data-shared="sharing-twitter-210622" href="https://findependencehub.com/was-retiring-35-years-ago-at-age-38-worth-it/?share=twitter" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Twitter"><span>Twitter</span></a></li><li class="share-linkedin"><a class="share-linkedin sd-button share-icon" data-shared="sharing-linkedin-210622" href="https://findependencehub.com/was-retiring-35-years-ago-at-age-38-worth-it/?share=linkedin" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Click to share on LinkedIn"><span>LinkedIn</span></a></li><li class="share-facebook"><a class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon" data-shared="sharing-facebook-210622" href="https://findependencehub.com/was-retiring-35-years-ago-at-age-38-worth-it/?share=facebook" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Facebook"><span>Facebook</span></a></li><li class="share-reddit"><a class="share-reddit sd-button share-icon" data-shared="" href="https://findependencehub.com/was-retiring-35-years-ago-at-age-38-worth-it/?share=reddit" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Reddit"><span>Reddit</span></a></li><li class="share-email"><a class="share-email sd-button share-icon" data-email-share-error-text="If you're having problems sharing via email, you might not have email set up for your browser. 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