Any early retiree here? Please share your success story

We retired early.  I left the workforce at 47 but not as an early retiree.  I was under tremendous stress every day for years and was incredibly miserable, so we talked about it and spouse declared that my health was more important than money.  On April Fools' Day in 2000, I called my employees to tell them I wasn't coming back.  Spouse worked until 54, retired after 30 years with the same company. 

Since then, we've lived in Italy and Spain, travelled extensively throughout Europe, North America, Central America, South America, a few parts of Australia, and a good number of island nations, then back to the States for 10 years before moving here a year ago.   We've visited either 59 or 63 countries at last count, from 69th parallel north to 34th parallel south.  Not as many as some posters here, but a lot more than the average Americans.

How did we manage to achieve financial independence?  We didn't.  We just live frugally.  Our nest egg is zero (a very small saving is not a nest egg).  We live within spouse's pension and a tiny teeny SS (I have none), and we've been living comfortably and travelling widely in the last 18 years.

Wow Ciambella, what a great story to hear. Did you have small children when you and your husband decided to retire?
One of my main worries is college tuition.