Build a Confident Early Retirement Plan (Without Overthinking It) SB1746

22 snips

Oct 10, 2025

Sean Mullaney, a Certified Financial Planner® and co-author of "Tax Planning to and Through Early Retirement," shares his expertise on designing a confident early retirement plan. He breaks down strategies for tax-efficient retirement withdrawals and debates the merits of Roth vs. Traditional accounts. The discussion touches on prioritizing experiences over material possessions and planning for long retirements. Listeners gain practical tips to align their finances with their values while preparing for market fluctuations and unexpected expenses.

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INSIGHT

Retirement Is An Option Not An Exit

Retirement doesn't require zero earned income; it's about having the option to stop or change work.
Sean Mullaney frames early retirement as retiring before Medicare enrollment at 65, which creates specific planning needs.

ADVICE

Focus On The Savings Gap

Treat spending and savings as equally powerful levers for early retirement timing.
Reduce annual expenses or increase the savings gap to accelerate your retirement timeline.

ADVICE

Make The Delta Bigger

Increase the delta between what you earn and what you spend to build retirement wealth faster.
Funnel that extra saving into investments rather than tweaking allocations early on.

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Who says you have to wait until 65 to clock out and start living your best life? On this episode of The Stacking Benjamins Show, Joe Saul-Sehy, Paula Pant (Afford Anything), OG, and special guest Sean Mullaney—author, CPA, and early retirement strategist—explore how to design a life that lets you walk away from the office sooner and happier.

From tax-smart withdrawal strategies to dialing in your lifestyle design, this conversation pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to achieve early financial independence. You’ll hear practical steps for aligning your money with your values, structuring your investments for flexibility, and ensuring your plan can survive market dips and surprise expenses. Along the way, the team debates Roth vs. Traditional retirement accounts, shares personal insights from FinCon, and delivers a few laughs (and groans) in Doug’s trivia corner.

Whether you’re in your 30s planning a slow exit or in your 50s wondering if it’s too late to pivot, this episode is your guide to crafting a retirement plan that works as hard as you do—without losing sight of the joy along the way.

What You'll Learn

How to design your early retirement plan: The building blocks of lifestyle design and financial freedom.
Tax-efficient investing: When to prioritize Roth vs. Traditional accounts—and why both can play a role.
Withdrawal strategies that work: How to avoid tax traps and keep your plan sustainable.
The mindset shift: Why retiring early isn’t about leaving work—it’s about moving toward purpose.
How to “future-proof” your finances: Guarding against inflation, longevity risk, and unexpected curveballs.

Questions to Ponder During Today's Show:

What would your perfect day look like if you didn’t have to work tomorrow?
Would you be willing to earn less now if it meant retiring five years earlier?
What does “enough” look like for you—and how do you know when you’ve reached it?

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/building-your-early-retirement-plan-1746

Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201

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