Sure did. I retired at 56 because I'd planned for it carefully for 35 years and could afford it then, and I'd just had enough of being a manager and having to deal with other people's damnfool problems and that pettifogging backstabber in the next office. So when the mortgage was paid off, the children were established successfully, and the last cat died, I was gone. And a good thing too, in retrospect I think I was pretty close to burnout.
Interestingly, my gross income dropped about 30%, but that put me in a lower tax bracket and I was no longer paying into the superannuation fund, or getting deductions for EI, CPP, and a variety of other things, so my net income was not much different, only a few $hundred a year less, which I more than made up for by converting private RRSP funds into RIFs. And since retiring I've been to Scotland, England, Wales, the Netherlands, France, and Germany, bought the high end photo gear I've always wanted, got much better at playing a guitar, bought a lathe and started making pens and bowls and plates and tools for spinners and weavers, I'm thinking seriously of getting a good astronomical telescope and starting to photograph the night sky... Best job I've ever had, doing what I want, when I want, no deadlines, and no pressure but what I choose to put on myself.
If you can retire now Kreskin, I strongly recommend that you do it. I know you have other interests, you won't be bored, and you'll be happier, more relaxed, and live longer.
