> It's less that and more that you're not maximizing retirement savings at that point, which is something that stresses a lot of folks out. What you contribute

> It's less that and more that you're not maximizing retirement savings at that point, which is something that stresses a lot of folks out. What you contributed in years 1-3 are going to be worth far more than what you are contributing after year 7, see exponential returns. >Also, even within software, I can't imagine trying to find a job with a 6-month gap on my resume. Idk what field you are in but I get recruiter calls and emails daily, there is massive demand so I don't see this making much sense. >A gap on your resume is a great reason to get immediately rejected by wherever you're applying to. I don't think this actually bears out for people with in-demand skills that can interview well. Maybe you are overthinking how long people even look at a resume before interviews, hint: it's not long. One could easily move past the gap by saying you took an extended break, were traveling, were working on a passion project, etc.