> the idea being once you have saved enough to "retire" early That assumes that you have a very high natural ability to lay off gratification to pursue your go

> the idea being once you have saved enough to "retire" early That assumes that you have a very high natural ability to lay off gratification to pursue your goals. If so, good for you, most people don't, and this quality (conscientiousness from the big 5) is not really mutable above very early age. So, if you do try such a strategy, most likely you will fail because you don't have willpower for it, won't be able to suffer through the job that you hate and took only for the money, and will hate yourself for it.