Originally Posted by
Yppej
Over the past 53 months (when I started tracking) my average spending excluding payroll deductions is between what I would get from Social Security at age 67 and what I would get at age 70, much closer to the 70 number. But that's a big exclusion because my payroll deductions include medical insurance which I would have to cover myself through a Medigap policy. So I am not comparing apples to apples. Early retirement at 62 is fantasyland for me. My SS benefit would be almost cut in half from what it would be at 70.
I think being in a single income household makes a huge difference. Most of the people who report retiring early come from two income families.