And why not retire early? Good idea! 

So 54 / 57 years old we were self-funded retirees. 

We enjoyed looking after the ever growing family, went on many more trips overseas, often going bush. The long held dream moving to the country became a reality in a limited sort of way. We did not like city life but also did not want be too far away from the children. A large house edging on to bushland in the Blue Mountains was the ideal solution. After a few bushfire too close for comfort and being almost a decade older we moved to a smaller cottage in Katoomba. The big garden there was a welcome challenge after next to no gardening in a bushland setting. And we still did lots of extended bush walks.