For more nuanced personal finance content, join 55,000+ others and sign up for the free Financial Samurai newsletter and posts via e-mail. Financial Samurai is one of the largest independently-owned personal finance sites that started in 2009.  **** Click here for the happiness by age chart. I’ve finally discovered the best reason to retire early. A longer steady-state period of happiness. It has taken me 10 years of fake retirement to come up with this epiphany because I had to experience the process myself. In the past, I’ve written that early retirement isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. I went through plenty of struggles trying to find meaning and purpose during my first two years post traditional work. Therefore, it wasn't clear that early retirement brought about more happiess. Resources For Greater Wealth Pick up a hardcopy of Buy This, Not That, my instant Wall Street Journal bestseller. The book helps you make more optimal investing decisions using a risk-appropriate framework by age and work experience. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need so your money will work harder for you. Pick up a copy on sale at Amazon today! Thank you for writing a postivie 5-star review for this podcast and my book. I really appreciate it!