I spent the last week in Washington D.C. at FinCon, a conference for those who create digital content in the personal finance space. After long days, late nights, too much noise, and traveling cross country, I planned to take a week off from posting on the blog.
Then I saw something that I felt every reader of this blog, no matter where you are on your journey, needs to read and consider.
At my first FinCon in 2017, I hit it off over a few many pints with a bloke named David, who with his wife Emily was writing the blog Plan, Invest, Escape (PIE). They were preparing to retire early to the mountains of New Hampshire to have more time to get outdoors, travel, and generally enjoy life with their two young boys.
I was part of a small mastermind group of couples with similar plans of early retirement with young children. We met monthly to discuss common dreams, goals and challenges. We invited David and Emily to join us.
One of the most valuable exercises the group did was “red teaming” one another’s early retirement plans. These two were detailed planners who had thought through everything we threw at them.
But less than six months into their retirement the unthinkable happened. Emily recently shared publicly what I’ve known for some time.
Her words are powerful, touching, and insightful. So with her permission, I am going to repost them here for you all to consider. . .
