[XutvJet]

I'm 45, married, and two kids (11 and 15), and where I live the cost of living is low. I've got a pretty good job, my wife is pretty much a stay at home wife/mom and brings in around $10K/yr (this will likely not change), my kids college accounts are well funded, we don't carry debt, our house is paid off, and my wife and I have a brokerage account, numerous retirement accounts, and about 18 months take home salary for the rainy day fund. I have a good amount of life insurance in case I get by a bus. For someone our age in the Midwest, I think our net worth is probably considered high.

I'm a bit burned out with my job, but it's a good job and I really can't find something better that would pay more or offer the flexibility of my current job. I have the option to go part-time which would be 30 hours a week with 75% of my benefits. My goal has been to fully retire by 55, if not sooner. I've always had it in head that I needed $2M in net worth before considering retirement or partial retirement. Not sure why $2M is the number in my head. LOL I haven't considered social security into my retirement other than it would just be gravy once I'm eligible to receive it (assuming it's even there). I will also inherit my mother's estate once she passes which could be significant, but again, I'm not factoring that in because you just never know what may happen. She could die tomorrow or live another 20 years and use up all her savings.

My wife and I are pretty good at investing (learned most of it in the past 6 years), are good savers, and we don't live beyond our means. It has paid off for sure. However, it's a bit daunting for me to take the retirement plunge knowing that I'd be tapping into the nest egg plus I know we are due for a market shift in the next 24 months which I think could be knock out to 20% out of net worth in the short term.

For those that retired or partially retired early, how did you decide? Are you happy with the choice? Was it a mistake? I know there are professionals that deal in this sort of thing, but my experience with them if they often are trying to sell me something plus I'm a DIY kind of a person. Any input would be appreciated plus any simple to use programs or websites that may be helpful.