5 surprises of self-made millionaires when retiring early at age 40

Bernadette Joy (USA) is a personal finance coach and author of the book “Crush Your Money Goals”. In 2025, she retired early at age 40. Joy said it was the latest milestone in her series of financial achievements, from paying off $300,000 in debt, becoming a millionaire to leaving her office job.

“On the surface, this seems like a success story. But the past year hasn’t gone entirely according to plan. There were great days, but there were also times when I was completely devastated,” she said on CNBC.

After a year, Joy gave up the idea of ​​having a perfect retirement plan. Because there were many unexpected things that happened, helping her better understand what was really important to her.

Still worried about money

In the first quarter of this year, Joy lost about 60,000 USD. She has taught investing for many years and understands that stock market corrections are normal. However, Joy was still surprised by her level of anxiety when it happened.

“I realized ‘invest and forget’ is not easy when you are relying on it for income for the present, not the distant future,” she said.

However, Joy’s family currently has enough reserves to last more than a year. This buffer gives them room to not panic or make emotional decisions. Many financial advisors recommend maintaining a cash balance equivalent to 3-6 months of expenses.

Joy plans to continue withdrawing cash for spending while waiting for investments to recover. “That helps me stick to my long-term strategy, even when the short term feels very uncomfortable,” she said.

Joy also significantly improves emotional control by maintaining a stable monthly budget and only checking the list when making large expenditures.

More creativity in health care

Joy has a chronic illness. So, when planning for early retirement, one of her biggest concerns was finding a way to avoid interruption in her medical care.

When company-provided insurance was no longer available, Joy had to find more flexible solutions. But the reality is much more complicated. First, her family spent 4 months researching and comparing private insurance plans.

Then, they went to Malaysia in 2025 for a general examination. The cost for 2 people is 769 USD, cheaper than the US. Next, they sent the examination results to the new doctor in Las Vegas – where the family moved to live. Here, they use family doctor services based on a monthly fee model.

“Compared to before, this is a new expense that arises after retirement. However, always having a doctor to talk to at any time helps me feel more secure,” she said.

Need more discipline in daily life

When she first retired, Joy was very excited because her current schedule was no longer tied to the company. However, during the first few months, she had difficulty organizing her days in a way that had meaning and direction.

After many trials, Joy found the right method. “Each quarter, I choose three areas to schedule, around health, personal interests, and passion projects,” she says.

Last quarter, Joy focused on yoga, practiced improvisation on stage, and planned a major event on personal finance and entrepreneurship through the CRUSH Your Money Goals platform.

“Even though I don’t have to work anymore, I still want to maintain training and event organizing activities. In the past, I wished I had such support resources when I was working in the business,” she explained. Joy finds joy in mentoring others and doing it for love instead of profit.

Communities are still needed

In the beginning, Joy was driven to show everyone how wonderful retirement life can be. Then she realized she was depending on others’ validation to feel like she had made the right choice. Joy kept a diary and went through psychotherapy to overcome these feelings.

She also had to redefine the community she wanted to stick with in the new period. Because she quit her job, Joy no longer has colleagues. Most of her peers are not at the same stage of life as she is.

“That’s okay, but sometimes it can make people feel lonely. So, I focused more on meeting people and building friendships through personal interests like comedy, yoga, sports and music,” she recalls.

Allow yourself to have fun

“I used to wonder if retirement would make life boring. Turns out, the problem is the opposite,” Joy said. She realized she had so many things she wanted to do, from singing, playing pickleball, volleyball to traveling. Joy is also an avid K-pop fan.

“Even though it was expensive, I made a decision that I didn’t expect. Instead of being afraid to spend money on things that bring joy, I decided to enjoy them,” she said.

Joy went to see BTS when this Korean group was on tour. She also attended a few more concerts and said “yes” to experiences that made her life more complete, even though next year she had to adjust her budget.

“I decided to allow myself to enjoy the time I worked so hard to have. For the first time in 20 years, since I started working, I can actually do that,” she said.