Guys, I I screwed up. I left Wall Street at 35 without a plan. I was constantly told: "You're throwing away your Peak Earning years." The haters were right. I'm now 43 and my net worth is exactly the same as it was at 35. I screwed up my retirement. And that's great news. The WSJ broke down how retirees spend their time. It's a preview of what you can expect after 40+ years of the corporate hamster wheel: 🛌 9 hours sleep 😌 6 hours of relaxing/leisure 📺 5 hours of TV Wait, it gets better: 📚 34 mins of reading 👥 31 mins of socializing 🏋️‍♂️ 17 mins of exercise 🏥 10 mins of volunteer work This - my friends - represent the great dangers of the Deferred Life Plan. I'm not arguing against Delay Gratification. You should maximize your 401k. Work on the weekends for that promotion. Respond to work emails into the wee hours. But you also shouldn't forget that 1 hour TODAY is worth more than 1 hour in a DECADE. (Especially if you're trading that hour today for 5 hours of TV!) Because here's what's guaranteed to happen in a decade: Your kids will be 10 years older. (And thus mom and dad will be 10 years "less cool.") Your health will be more fragile. Skiing from "first tracks" to "last run" may no longer be an option. You will lose friends. ~~~~ Retirement has a simple promise. At end of the rainbow, lies a pot of gold. A pot of gold overflowing with time freedom, life satisfaction and inner peace. But what if that promise is a broken one? (5 hours of TV, yay!) What if the better approach is to cash in the chips a bit earlier? Not all of them. But yes, hitting pause during parts of those "Peak Earning" years. Cash them in while your kids still WANT to spend time with you. Cash them in when you can still play pickle ball without pounding Ibuprofen the next day. Cash them in when your friends and parents are still here. Those work emails can wait.